Platform Espresso Bar located at 4450 Hwy 7 in Unionville

October 24, 2017:  Platform Espresso Bar is a brand new cafe newly opened in Markham as of October 10, 2017.  They are a cafe that serves all kinds of coffee including specialty coffee, pour-overs (drip coffee), lattes, teas, as well as food and dessert.  Currently, they have a brunch menu available for their soft opening but will soon serve a full menu with more food options.

I had the pleasure to visit Platform Espresso Bar this past Tuesday with Priscilla.  They currently open from 7:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday to Sunday (but expect these hours to change as they experiment with business hours and menus).  I arrived a little before 11 a.m. so I could chat it up with TK (yes, I know the owner! 😀 ).  She showed me around the cafe and it was only then that I realized why the name was “Platform”!  The cafe is based around the concept of a train and railroads.  TK had everything all planned out from the detailing of the logo to the restaurant mural to train-related signs on the walls and little details here and there.  (You’ll have to visit to see what I mean.)  I loved it all.  It’s about time that Markham has something this cute and fully themed.

New on the block in Unionville!

Take a look at this cool corner in the cafe!

They have booths for seating, single-seater tables, as well as counter space for sitting as well.  The sun shone brightly into the spacious and open space of the cafe when we were there.  They have a little area in the front of the cafe where you can pretend you are on a train and waving good-bye to your friends and family who are there to send you off. :p  It not only is a great photo-op corner but really puts the theme of the cafe in centre stage.  It’s so creative! 😀  The blue colour scheme of the cafe was also so homey and comfortable.

Gorgeous espresso bar

A peek into their cafe

Hooks for your coats

Being an espresso bar, you can’t leave here without some caffeine or a cup of joe!  For our brunch that day, I ordered the Platform Waffle Club Sandwich and White Chocolate Matcha Latte (brand new on the menu) to try while Priscilla ordered the Breakfast Nachos and the Las Palmas drip coffee.

Tentative soft opening menu at the time of visiting in October 2017

Tentative soft opening menu at the time of visiting in October 2017

The Platform Waffle Club Sandwich was served with a choice of herbed home fries or house salad; I chose the herbed home fries.  The Platform Waffle Club Sandwich was made with homemade crispy waffles as buns, and marinated chicken, house sauce, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, and pickles.  I really liked the waffles as it seemed like it was herbed too and the house sauce was tasty.  It was such a nice presentation too.

Platform Waffle Club Sandwich
-homemade crispy waffles as buns, marinated chicken, house sauce, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, pickles. Served with herbed home fries

The Breakfast Nachos was a large portion and also so pretty.  (The lighting in this cafe for photos is perfect!)  It had two sunny-side eggs on top of layers of tortilla chips, ham, home fries, tomato, avocado, caramelized onions, black beans, and a creamy cheese sauce.  I liked how the tortilla chips were crispy and went well with the creamy cheese sauce.  It was very filling and despite sharing it, we had enough for leftovers to bring home.

Breakfast Nachos
-sunny-side eggs, tortilla chips, ham, home fries, tomato, avocado, caramelized onions, black beans, creamy cheese sauce

The new “Kyoto Love” (White Chocolate Matcha Latte) was really good!  It was a gorgeous cup of latte and so smooth and rich of foamy matcha and milk.

“Kyoto Love” (White Chocolate Matcha Latte)

The La Palmas drip coffee was of Huila Colombia origin and had hints of fuji apple, green grapes, and brown sugar.

La Palmas drip coffee
-Huila Colombia. Fuji apple, green grapes, brown sugar

I love the look of these mugs!

The mugs and plates are all custom made ceramic pieces at Platform Espresso Bar, something so truly and special for a cute concept cafe!  Because they are all uniquely made yet uniform in colour, it really made for a sophisticated and cozy style.  Even though Platform has only been in operation for about two weeks’ time, I have already seen and recognized these characteristic mugs photographed on social media feeds!  Well done, TK! 😀

At the end of our visit, TK also treated us to their freshly baked brioche bread served with salted butter and berry jam.  Mmm, I really liked the soft brioche bread.  The salted butter went so well with it! 🙂

Brioche with butter and jam

I’m excited to visit again when they have expanded their menu.  I know this is a great place for Markham locals and out-of-towners to visit to have a great cup of cocoa to relax with a book or a laptop.  It’s definitely worth visiting.

Platform Espresso Bar is located on Highway 7 just west of Kennedy Road.  It’s beside Hibiki Japanese Cuisine and easy to miss.  If you do miss the opening for turning in, you can also turn in on Union Street or Eureka Street and find your way back to the cafe.  They have a small parking lot so if the parking lot happens to be full that day, you can park on the side streets as seen in the photo that they have posted on their Instagram page (and which I’ve re-posted here for you).

Map of more street parking if you need it

Happy coffee or tea drinking or eating time at Platform! 😀

So cute that their sugar packets are also labelled with their logo!

I love the minimalism look

A lot of thought put into the train-related decals

(Disclaimer:  Although I personally know the owner of this cafe and a complimentary item was provided to us to try, all of the opinions in this blog post are my own.)