The Wired Monk Bistro

Nice coffee café by the beach and the staff is very good. Good place to come all year.

Finally found a coffee shop I like in my new town. Thanks, Wired Monk!

This little guy used to have live music, a decent understanding of coffee (though coffee snobs —
— needn’t apply), and was run by some semi-​hippie west coast surfer types. The smoothies were made from scratch (with real fruit!); the muffins, cookies, and other traditional coffee-​shop treats were baked in house (daily!); and paninis (paninis!!) were offered for those who wanted to chill out in the fenced-​in back patio.
But that was over 4 years ago. This Monk has changed its wires.
This Monk has a scented angel candle — a what? An angel candle, yes, in the bathroom. This monk ships in some fairly bland looking generic baking from what might possibly be Costco. This Monk makes its «fruit» smoothies from a powder. Curious.
The coffee is fine; inoffensive. The décor is the same: dare I say, quaint? The staff are… nice.
Good that it’s not a Starbucks (obviously), but man… I sure miss those hippie-​surfers.

Wifi is really important to me when I look for a coffee shop to go to, because I love working at coffee shops. So aside from good coffee, wifi has got to work.
Sadly the Wired Monk has every virtue of an amazing independent coffee shop, except strong wifi.
However, the staff are very friendly and understanding, and will happily restart the wifi connection for you over and over if you ask them. (They need to do that to get it working).
The food is great — I had a BLET sandwich (I think that’s what it was called): Bacon, Lettuce, Egg and Tomato on a pannini, served nice and hot and fresh.
Coffee is good too, though not outstanding — I just get plain drip when I’m there.
On thing that definitely works in their favour is that they offer free pump syrups at their bar station (where you get your milk and sugar and cocoa shakers for your coffee).
Of course the strong point with this place is that it is right beside the beach at Crescent Beach.
It is kept very clean, which was also impressive.

I was staying in Crescent Beach and need a morning drink, and free wifi. Fortunately they had both. My friend got a coffee and I, an organic green tea. Seems to be a morning hangout for Soccer moms with toddlers, but nothing that was bothersome. Dog friendly patio, with water bowl. Will be back in a few weeks on my next trip to BC.

We stopped in here last weekend because we both wanted a coffee and I thought, «support local, not Starbucks.» I will NEVER come back. We were the only ones to order at counter, and gave our drink orders… then about 10 people came in. There was one poor girl manning the till and taking the orders, the money… and a fellow, with his back to the line up, at the sink. I thought this odd, and wondered (aloud) who was making our drinks? The girl said she was… but seriously? She’s taking 10 + drink orders and still the dude at the sink, not moving. I know he can see/​hear the people in the café. At first I couldn’t figure out why the girl didn’t ask him for help, but then realized maybe it’s her boss and he just doesn’t ‘help.’? This is how I justified it anyway. Finally My Guy spoke up louder than me, asking again, who is making the drinks as about 5 minutes had passed. We weren’t in any way mad at the girl, but really wondering why the hell she was a) alone and b) this person wasn’t helping! He finally turned around and began to make drinks. The speed he moved was pretty much as if he had no arms… he refused to make any form of eye contact and put down a drink on the counter. We had to inquire 3 times for the name of the drink and to our surprise, it wasn’t even our drink! We came in first. About 10 – 12 minutes has passed now… I ate my cookie which was very tasty but totally not worth it as it would have been lovely to have it with a COFFEE… Finally our drinks came up, after several others came first… the sign on the window on the way out? Manager, Asst Manger, part and full time staff needed. Ya think?

I love how The Wired Monk always looks like a cottagey home! Its so comfy and cozy that even if you walk in not wanting anything, you manage to always crave a latte.
And this location is gorgeous! Basically a stone’s throw away from the rugged, but beautiful Crescent Beach. The patio is fairly large for a café and makes you feel right at home. The butterscotch latte is a must-​try, and if you’re not into sweet drinks — then ask for it half sweet, and it is just as good!