The Purple Bike Cafe

The Purple Bike Café and Eatery opened up in Brussels just under a year ago, moving into the charming flatiron building on the corner of Turnberry Street and Sports Drive. 

The cafe specializes in great coffee, fresh-made pastries, paninis, soups and salads. Locals have quickly embraced The Purple Bike as a place to meet, have coffee, try the always-creative daily specials, and take in the atmosphere of the space. Regulars spend their lunch hour reading by the window while they eat a panini with a side of pickles. Construction workers pop in to grab a decadent vegan brownie or still-warm scone, and those in a real hurry tend to call ahead to ensure their favourite soup and sandwich combo will be ready upon their arrival.

There is limited seating in the shop, but takeout business is brisk. Popular paninis include The Club, which has layered turkey, bacon, cheddar, tomato and mayo, and The Mark, a weird-but-it-works combo of egg, cheddar, ranch dressing, dill relish and salsa. 

When owner Carrie Hall is out gathering the ingredients for their delicious menu, her small team of passionate and enthusiastic employees will make your regular order, suggest something new, or go over all the new features they’ve come up with together.

Experimenting with their espresso machine and flavour syrups has led to some incredibly tasty lattes, and anybody who works there can pitch menu ideas. The collaborative nature of Hall’s business model extends to her customers -overwhelming interest from the other side of the counter led to the creation of The Caprese, a simple sandwich of mozzarella, tomato and basil pesto, which was added to the regular menu. Soups like chicken and wild rice ride high in the rotation due to popular demand, and dietary restrictions are accommodated whenever possible. A long search for the perfect gluten-free bread finally netted them a real winner, and extra care is taken to attend to guests with celiac. The goal is to please all of the people, all of the time, and most days, that’s exactly what they do.

The Purple Bike Café and Eatery is located at 72 Sports Dr, and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 3 pm, and on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm.