Caffe Rustico - 3136 Main

If you've read the loiterer's guide in the hope of actually learning about a coffee shop that you might like to go to, you've probably been disappointed.

Every coffee house so-far reviewed has been one that is impossible to be ignorant of for anyone with even a slight interest in coffee, cafes or Vancouver. The two that may have been unknown to some - The Grind & Gallery and Re-entry - do not come highly recommended by me.

In this entry, I hope to alert a few people, ("a few people" being more than my entire readership), to Caffe Rustico, a slightly ill-conceived but charming place just up the hill from The Five Points on Main street near 16th avenue.

Rustico is owned and managed by a middle-aged Italian man named Mario. Mario is not a man with his finger on the pulse of many things, but he works hard and is disarmingly friendly. He also has a genuine interest in coffee. He roasts his own on what must be a tight budget and it is, in my view, superior to a good deal of indy roasts.

Mario's has an old Simonelli or something and you won't get any latte art, but the espresso, which I typically drink, can be very nice, especially if Mario pulls it himself.

The interior of Rustico is, like Mario, enthusiastic but not particularly polished or thoroughly considered. It's without pretension and comfortable.

The vast majority of Mario's customers appear to be regulars. There are few Macbook-toting creative professionals and not too many hipsters. Mario will often stand on the (lovely, covered) patio with regulars to smoke and to talk.

There is food, including pasta and pannini, which I don't recommend. The pastries aren't terrific, either. I imagine an old woman, inexpert in baking, makes them and Mario is unwilling to tell her they're lame.

You might, at this point, be curious what, if not the coffee, interior or food, does Rustico have to recommend it?

Mostly me. Just go.