Little Victories Coffee

The counter at Little Victories Coffee pours Australian-style coffee, and the room is set up so you will drink it sitting down rather than behind a laptop. The two founders had worked as baristas since their teens and started the roastery in Ottawa in 2016, selling beans out of the back of a bicycle repair shop in Hintonburg. The first cafe opened in The Glebe in 2017, the Elgin Street flagship arrived in 2021 around the corner from Parliament Hill, and a third downtown location followed in 2024.

A roaster’s list, kept deliberately tight

Little Victories sits at No. 71 on The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026, and the reason is the roasting rather than the breadth of the menu. The house line, start every day with a little victory, comes with a promise that the attention to detail shows up cup by cup. The espresso range runs to 7-10 Split, Bright Eyed, Sunshine, Perfect Dark, a Roaster’s Choice and a Colombian decaf from Amigos del Huila. The single origins go further out: Panama Hachi Coffee Project Kaze natural Gesha, Colombia Victor Bermúdez Gesha, Colombia Granja Paraíso 92 SL-28, Colombia Los Guacharos and Ethiopia Bensa. The aim across all of it is complexity and sweetness, with growing, processing and producer left legible in the cup.

A destination counter, not an office

The room is calm, well made and built for a proper coffee and a conversation. Little Victories discourages laptop work and does not offer wi-fi, which is unusual enough in a city cafe to change who is in the room: people sitting with someone rather than working alone. Manual brewing suits that rhythm, and a pour-over here can take three to five minutes to arrive, which is part of the deal rather than a delay. The 2024 downtown location pushes the idea further, leaning on pour-over and AeroPress rather than a broad drinks list.

Order the Magic, then add a salted cookie

Start with the Magic or an Aussie capp, the two drinks tied most directly to the Australian side of the house. The Magic is cortado-adjacent, shaped by Melbourne barista training, with milk steamed longer for a velvety texture and a sweeter finish without sugar. The espresso carries cocoa, wood and nut, and the milk drinks stay layered rather than flat. If you want the roaster’s range in one sitting, ask for a flight across the three single origins. Food is pastry-led and secondary: plain and chocolate croissants, a cinnamon bun and a salted chocolate chip cookie. The croissants are flaky and buttery, the bun is not too sweet, and the cookie is crisp with a sweet-salty finish. Coffee first, cookie second.