leva cafe, edmonton

I think I've just found my favourite cafe in Edmonton!

Drum roll please.

It's Leva cafe! It's now one of my favourite places to go to for breakfast or lunch, for dessert or just to study!

I don't know about you, but I just love the feeling of bathing in the rare patches of sunlight on a -20°C day in Edmonton. It just doesn't get anymore satisfying than being seated by the huge glass panels at this cafe, enjoying a perfect cup of chai latte, a (somewhat) healthy breakfast followed by macarons or Leva's tiramisu cake - all whilst soaking up the tiny bit of warmth and gazing at the snow outside.

Wild Smoked Salmon Platter ($13.25):
Cream cheese, capers and red onion served with artisanal toasted bread. 

If you're like me and you love salmon, this is the dish for you! It's light and filling. Fresh slices of thinly cut wild smoked salmon are dressed with red onions and capers. I squeezed the lemon and drizzled the juice all over my salmon and potatoes and for me, that tasted like perfection.

The classic combination of fluffy toasted artisanal bread slathered in a thick layer of cream cheese, layered with fresh citric salmon and topped with the spicy punch from the onions and capers is nearly impossible to beat.

Smashed Avocado - Open Faced Sandwich ($13.25):
Maple bacon finished with an over easy egg served with artisanal toasted bread.

Tangy lime and pepper dressed smashed avocado, perfectly cooked egg with oozy egg yolk and insanely crisp  maple bacon, lay on four perfectly toasted slices of bread. The fluffy potatoes were just a tad underdone for my liking but well seasoned and paired well with the toast. Just cut through that sunny side egg and let the yolk ooze on to the toast.

My favourite part of this whole dish was the maple bacon. Cut them into a bite-sized chip form and throw them into some sort of packaging. I'd line up for a thousand servings of these bacon chips any day and in any weather. I could be munching on these all day - I just love the balance of sweet and salty in maple bacon. This was such a simple dish yet so satisfying and tasty.

Leva doesn't just do great breakfasts, you can't leave without trying one of their macarons, cakes or cute tarts!

Tiramisu:

This is the best tiramisu I've ever had! (I haven't had that many ... but trust me. This was good). It was so appropriately served in a cute coffee cup, topped with a decadent amount of pillowy whipped cream that just simply melted in your mouth and generously dusted with chocolate. The cake itself was rich, moist with a strong sweet coffee taste.

I've tried many cakes and tarts from Leva (I like sweet stuff, okay?) and this tiramisu is something I never fail to order.

Macarons:
Mocha, watermelon and blueberry

These macarons weren't too sweet, delicate but not too soft. My favourite was the watermelon! They're such a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee.

Leva Cafe 
11053 86 Ave NW
University/Old Strathcona, AB T6G0W9
f: https://www.facebook.com/levabar
t: (780) 479-5382
w: http://www.cafeleva.com/