Best Cafes in Gatineau

Gatineau's coffee scene is smaller than Ottawa's but punches above its weight in two specific spots — a Th3rdwave Awards "Coffee Roaster of the Year" 2020 winner roasting in-house, and a 1989 fair-trade institution that has been roasting beans on Boulevard Saint-Joseph for over three decades. Add a Th3rdwave-listed Old Aylmer fixture, an Old Chelsea cafe doubling as the Gatineau Park gateway, and a Vieux-Hull dessert bar, and you have a five-stop tour worth crossing the bridge for.

Specialty Roasters

Brown Bag Coffee Roasters (BBCR) — Roaster of the Year

Brown Bag Coffee Roasters — operating as BBCR Cafe in Gatineau — was named Th3rdwave Awards "Coffee Roaster of the Year" 2020 for the Ottawa-Gatineau region. That's the highest peer-voted recognition in the local third-wave scene. Founded in 2016, BBCR roasts single-origin beans in-house with a direct-trade focus. Google 4.8 (342 reviews) at the Vernon location — the highest rating of any specialty cafe in the Gatineau sector.

Address: 595 Rue de Vernon, Gatineau

Brûlerie Aladdin Roastery Hull — 1989 Institution

Brûlerie Aladdin Roastery Hull has been roasting organic, fair-trade coffee on Boulevard Saint-Joseph since 1989 — a generation before the third-wave label existed. It is the longest-running specialty roastery in the Gatineau sector and a foundational piece of regional coffee culture. Google 4.7 (649 reviews).

Address: 774 Boulevard Saint-Joseph (Hull)

Old Aylmer

Café Mulligan — Th3rdwave Old Aylmer Fixture

Café Mulligan sits on Rue Principale in Old Aylmer, the heritage strip running west to the Aylmer Marina. It is Th3rdwave-listed — placing it among the small handful of serious specialty coffee shops in Gatineau. Google 4.6 (650 reviews). Pair it with brunch at Beurre Salé Crêperie or pre-dinner at Restaurant Antonyme a few doors down.

Address: 149 Rue Principale (Old Aylmer)

Old Chelsea — Gatineau Park Gateway

Biscotti & Cie — Cafe + Neapolitan Pizza + Picnic Boxes

Biscotti & Cie sits in Old Chelsea, the village at the entrance to Gatineau Park. The space combines a specialty coffee bar, a bakery, and a Neapolitan-style pizza kitchen — and crucially, they sell picnic boxes built for park days. Grab one on the way to Gatineau Park for Pink Lake or Champlain Lookout. Google 4.4 (1,589 reviews) — the volume signals how much of a regional anchor it is.

Address: 6 Chemin Scott, Chelsea (~25 min from downtown Ottawa)

Vieux-Hull

Les Petites Gamines — Espresso & Dessert Bar

Les Petites Gamines is a small espresso and dessert bar on Rue Laval in Vieux-Hull — intimate, neighbourhood-feel café pairing quality espresso with house-made desserts. Google 4.5 (130 reviews). The kind of spot you tuck into after dinner in Hull rather than crossing back to Ottawa for dessert.

Address: 60 Rue Laval (Vieux-Hull)

Quick Comparison

Crossing to Gatineau — Practical Tips

• Bridges: Portage and Macdonald-Cartier are fastest to Hull cafes (Brûlerie Aladdin, Les Petites Gamines). Champlain Bridge → Aylmer (Café Mulligan). Highway 5 north → Old Chelsea (Biscotti & Cie).
• Old Aylmer parking: Street parking on Rue Principale is metered.
• Old Chelsea parking: Free village lot, fills early on weekends in fall and winter.
• Currency & tax: Quebec uses CAD same as Ontario. Sales tax is GST + QST (slightly higher than Ontario).
• Language: Service is bilingual at all five cafes — French is the working language, English seamless.

Why Cross to Gatineau for Coffee

The Gatineau scene is smaller but has two anchors that punch above their setting — BBCR's Roaster of the Year 2020 award and Brûlerie Aladdin's 35+ years of continuous fair-trade roasting. Add a Th3rdwave Old Aylmer cafe, the Gatineau Park gateway combo at Biscotti & Cie, and a Vieux-Hull dessert bar, and you have five distinctly different reasons to cross. Pair any of them with a Gatineau dining stop — see Antonyme in Aylmer or Les Fougères in Chelsea — for a full crossing.