Private party at a coffee shop?

[saskgirl]

I'm helping to organize a co-ed baby shower for a friend, and am having difficulty finding a suitable venue. I'm looking for a comfortable, laid back place that can host 20 - 30 people. Downtown Toronto would be preferred. And something easy on the pocket book is even better. I was thinking a room at a coffee shop or even a pub may be great, where we don't have to have a full meal. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[FoodieGirl29]

I just did the Afternoon Tea at Royal York - $20/person! The room is so elegant and you get this amazing royal tea stand. I thought it was a pretty good price considering you get Fairmont quality pastries and service! I took pictures...we went for Mother's Day.

[currycue]

You could also try the Gladstone Hotel. I think they have 3 rooms you can rent and a kitchen you can order whatever you want from (including great coffee)

[canadianbeaver]

You could also get the whole top half of Harbord House....

[sweatersister]

Balzac's Coffee Shop is so frigging cool, downtown, tons of parking. There's an upstairs and a downstairs, so you can easily host a private party upstairs (overlooking the main area) without disturbing anyone.

You can get it catered by one of the other restaurants in the distillery as well.

Here's the link to the event rentals at the Distillery - but like I mentioned, you could have the party upstairs without any trouble to the business downstairs. Just call them up, they are usually down to help and I don't think you could get a much more cooler setting.

Alternatively, it's not downtown, but it's still accessible by public transit AND GO bus is West50. They have two private rooms that they can book for private parties at no additional cost - I believe. West50 has the largest draught selection in all of Canada...
Here's a write up on it, I've been there and it's fun.
http://dine.to/profile_features.php?f...

Also... what else? Amaya's Bread Bar apparently has a great private back room and it's really light and airy with good prices!

[Otonabee]

I was going to recommend Balzac's as well. We held a "meet the kid" party there when my son was born (this was in 2006). We had the top floor rented on for a weekday evening. The spot is stunning!!

I am assuming they are the same as they were before. The only bakery they will order from is Dufflet but the stuff is so good it is hardly a problem. The costs weren't too bad but they may change more for the room rental on a weekend (it was probably about $400? or so...) . We just served Lemonade, Coffee and then got a bunch of single serve things and a big cake.

All of the staff were really wonderful to work with and the place feels totally laid back! Highly recommend.

[Gary]

If you're looking for a coffee shop it might be worth checking out Bisogno, which is located on Sherbourne just north of King on the east side of downtown. It's a cozy space with a large communal table and it is very kid-friendly as well, with various toys available for small kids to play with and a lot of regulars who bring in kids. Talk to the owner Von and see if you can work something out; he also has a couple small kids. I don't know if he'd close entirely for you (his regulars might kill him) but I think it would definitely be worth talking to him. Oh, and the coffee is fantastic, as well as the other non-coffee alternatives like soy chais, teas, etc.

-----
Bisogno Espresso Bar
61 Sherbourne St, Toronto, ON M5A, CA

[Snarf]

New place, with a relatively brunch-y menu on Yorkville, called MoRoCo. Chocolate shop in the front, brunchy restaurant in the back, very funky space. Mains seem to be in the 10-15 area for that time of day, and of course, there's chocolate.

[hotpeppers]

You should check out Dark Horse at queen And Broadview... really cool space great coffee and they do private parties. http://www.darkhorseespresso.com/temp...

[JamieK]

While it does get mixed comments on the board, C'est What has a private room that would suit your group and offers finger food platters for groups that may suit your budget -
http://www.cestwhat.com/parties.asp

-----
C'est What
67 Front St E, Toronto, ON M5E1B5, CA

[OnDaGo]

What day of the week and time are you thinking of?

[saskgirl]

A Saturday afternoon or evening would work the best for everyone attending -- that way we don't have to ask people to take time off of work. We want to avoid the dinner hour though.

[canadianbeaver]

DT Bistro at Harbord and Brunswick would suit that; you could take the back area and all just have desserts, coffee, etc. Pagoe Mahone at College and Yonge might be a good choice as well; I've seen parties there of that size. I'm not sure how cheap you were thinking, but if you are looking for $20-30/person, another idea would be to do afternoon tea at the King Eddie, Four Seasons, Royal York, etc. That's a nice idea too because everyone gets dessert and sandwiches. I'm throwing a baby shower next year, but I'm going to do it in my condo's party room; another idea if one of the guests lives in a condo downtown.