Wild Thing Espresso and Gelato Bar

Little place on Harbord near Central Tech. The place took over a dive burger joint that used to be frequented by the thugs from Central Tech.

The name is quite unfortunate. I once saw these two guys give each other a high 5 and say wild thing when they saw the sign on the place.

The place is on the first floor of a Victorian house, but most of the original details are long gone. Its got the restoration hardware lighting, exposed brick on one wall. The guys who run this place have no taste in music. I've heard this techo lounge stuff playing in the place, and then on other days its kind of like classic rock (led zeppelin, beatles) mixed in with stuff like diana kral or something like that. Having no music would be a definite improvement in the atmosphere. They also have pretty shitty magazines in the place, elle and similar titles.

To me the crowd looks like a lot of University students and the occasional local. They don't have a lot seating so usually there's something like a half dozen customers or so in the place.

I haven't tried the gelato, not sure if they make it on site. They also do grilled panino's, but not sure how that works out. In terms of the coffee, there are at least 2 guys who work the machine. One is pretty decent, the other is much less so. So if you get the better one you can get a decent americano or espresso. He's got pretty good technique and does all the little things. The other guy is no where near as competent. The second stringers they have at Manic Coffee are better than him. Also if you want to put milk or cream in your coffee or americano then you have to ask for it because they don't have a little place where you can add your own like other coffee places. I'm not sure if they're trying to save a little money or something but its kind of annoying because they don't actually tell you that they don't have any milk available. They also nickel and dime you on the serving sizes. For example, like Manic and Ella's Uncle they serve an iced latte. The price of the iced latte is a little more, but the serving size looks to be a lot smaller. I've been checking the place out for a while and the prices of the americano have also increased from the early part of the summer, but the size of the cup (to stay) is also smaller.

Overall, with Manic Coffee in the neighbourhood not sure this is worth it. If you get the skilled guys at Manic its going to be better than here. If you get the less skilled guys at Manic its still better than here. The atmosphere is also better at Manic.

Rating: 0 Bunnies

Notes on the Bunny Rating System:

• 0 or no Bunnies, it's a waste of time; don't go.
• 1 Bunny, the place is worth checking out.
• 2 Bunnies, you should go out of your way to check out the place; the food is really good and the place is cool.
• 3 Bunnies, you absolutely have to go there; the food is exceptional and the place is really cool