New all-day European-style cafe and restaurant just opened in Toronto

If you’re dreaming of a European summer vacation but can’t afford the airfare, you’re in luck as a coffee shop and restaurant is bringing a little slice of Europe to Toronto this spring.

Cafe Gigi is actually a component of the new restaurant The Dirty Laundry, which is serving Tex Mex food like enchiladas and nachos alongside cocktails.

The new concept called The Dirty Laundry is a spacious Tex-Mex cocktail bar from Robin Goodfellow of Vela, Pretty Ugly and Bar Raval, and Aldo Pescatore-Tardioli, who’s been involved with viral projects La Carnita and Sweet Jesus.

However, The Dirty Laundry opens at 5 p.m. and stays open until the wee hours of the morning before closing at 2 a.m. The Cafe Gigi part of the business serves the early risers and all-day snackers who are looking for a bite to eat along with a coffee or maybe even a glass of wine or a cocktail.

The tiny coffee shop and snack spot is intended to be inspired by the likes of those in places in Europe such as Venice, Lisbon and Seville. These places are known for their snacking and drinking culture, with an emphasis on all-day eats and small plates.

Along with European-inspired small plates, the new coffee shop is also offering some familiar morning favourites that work especially well with a takeout coffee for those on the go, such as egg bites in varieties like egg, bacon, and cheese, or egg white, spinach and vegan cheese.

The coffee shop is also serving an all-day breakfast sammy and hashbrowns for the early birds, as well as stracciatella boquerones tapas and tortilla espanol as the cafe continues to operate throughout the day.

The all-day breakfast sammy is made with baked egg, dill chive mayo and bacon on classic fluffy white bread.

The coffee menu at Cafe Gigi consists of the typical lineup of espresso-based coffee beverages such as macchiatos, cortados, cappuccinos, flat whites, lattes, Americanos and mochas, and other options like a matcha latte and a London Fog.

A couple treats in cases on the counter might also include options like ginger pineapple sugar pie, brownies, cookies or dulce de leche flan.

Cafe Gigi operates with hours that are opposite to The Dirty Laundry, open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., when the bar in the back opens up speakeasy-style.

Cafe Gigi is now open in the neighbourhood of Parkdale in Toronto at 1186 Queen St. W.