or some hipsters, Queen and Spadina is the center of the universe. But there hasn't been anywhere to eat that's cheap, chic and unique. While the pastel painted walls and high ceilings at Lettieri make for a soothing and airy weekday breakfast, the weekend experience is nothing short of suffocating.

Lettieri’s casual weekday atmosphere gives way to an unbridled frenzy as streams of caffeine deprived customers wait impatiently for a table. Lettieri is smack in the middle of Queen West, making it a weekend Mecca for what seems like everyone within a five-mile radius. The muffins and pastries served by the barrista may get everyone's insulin up, but they do little to curb their agitation. Go the pizza route here, good portions - five bucks. Good price.

Those smart enough to avoid the weekend madhouse will find the perfect café for lazy mornings, when all you want to do is idle away the hours reading the paper and gulping down an endless stream of joe. So eat cheap, eat well. Your stomach, and your wallet, will thank you.

Lettieri has all the marks of a classic café: cheap food, total lack of decor, coffee in various forms, and a couple of old men sleeping on the banquette at any given time. But Lettieri has an added charm. And that charm is the colourful pack that flock there. Who needs fucking decor?Patio seats 20. Italian lunch and dinner menu features panini, pasta, cappuccino. Sun-Wed, 7am-10pm; Thu, 7am- midnight; Fri-Sat, 7am-2am.


Reader Reviews

A definate must on the list of urban experiences
barb toronto
Feb 1, 2003
Hit and miss with the capps and lattes. Sometimes the surley woman boils the milk to the temperature of a nuclear reactor. The man will make them perfect. Careful though, if you are not cool or hip enough the surley woman will pay no attention to what you have ordered. A definate must on the list of urban experiences after your shopping trip along queen st!