Gastown quietly picked up one of its prettiest patios this spring, and the cafe behind it is almost too small to believe.
Celeste is the new coffee window tucked into the heritage Anchor Building, near the corner of Powell and Columbia, and it soft opened in late May.
The indoor footprint is 327 square feet. TINY.
But that is the whole idea.
The action is out front, where a cluster of teal bistro tables and chairs spills across the brick plaza.
Locals, tourists, and the odd passing story all drift by, and it is the kind of corner where you order a drink, claim a chair, and lose an hour without noticing.
Inside, the narrow room leans hard into the building, with exposed brick, raw concrete, tall arched windows, and fresh flowers sitting on top of the espresso machine.
A frosted window carries the cafe’s little starburst logo, the same mark stamped on the menu.
There is also a serious cycling streak running through the place, which makes sense once you know who is behind it.
Celeste comes from Thomas Eleizegui, who used to run the cycling-themed Musette Caffe and is a partner at Isetta Cafe Bistro.
He says the new spot carries the soul of those early Musette days, scrappy and friendly and made with care.
That history is all over the walls.
There is a framed vintage racing jersey, a row of original musette feed bags from old European races, and a Nagasawa track bike mounted up high.
It sits right next to the Amber Kissa listening lounge, so the block pulls double duty as coffee by day and music at night.
The menu looks simple on the chalkboard, but there is a lot packed behind it.
Coffee, tea, smoothies, pastries, and paninis grilled to order all run out of that one small back counter.
The coffee stays refreshingly cheap for the neighbourhood, with drip at $3.25, most lattes around $5, and an espresso tonic at $6 for the warm days.
The smoothies are the splashier move, with fruit-forward blends like Strawberry Dragon Fruit and Pomegranate Beet landing in the $10 to $13 range.
We hopped by anonymously during the soft opening, so a few things on the menu and the decor were still getting ironed out.
That is normal for a soft open, and the bones here are already really strong.
There is more on the way, too.
Celeste is also building a bigger standalone cafe across from SFU Harbour Centre downtown.
Celeste Cafe Gastown joins other recently opened food spots in Vancouver like Pho An Vu Kingsway, Moving Coffee Bar, and Betsutenjin.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: 99 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1E9 (Anchor Building, Gastown)