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Cumpari is a beautiful, bustling cafe and dessert destination in Coquitlam. They have an assortment of gelatos, cakes, pastries, and beverages available.
We've passed by this place a few times but never went in because we thought it was closed. This time we passed by & saw a lot of people inside, so we went in, not having read any reviews. Thank goodness because the reviews may have deterred me. But it's just a scoop of gelato, so I probably would've gone in despite having read mostly terrible reviews here.
The gelatos I chose were really good. So i don't know which ones are bad. Mint Oreo was minty but also chocolately. I went with pistachio instead & it was creamy & fragrantful. But I was surprised the sample was melting as soon as the girl took it out. I think this means their restaurant is too hot or their ice cream is held at a really low temperature, lower than normal. We got our ice cream with our cake on the same plate. Where do you get that these days? Any flavor gelato you want with a large number of cake choices? I can only think of places like Cactus Club, which doesn't do either of the above! The plate was warm but I knew the gelato was melting like crazy. I think it comes from lower butter fat than ice cream. However, I don't think the gelato tasted like it had less fat than other gelatos. It was just delicious, like roasted pistachios blended with cream & frozen. We had a coconut cake. It had 3 layers of white sponge, which were light, more on the Asian side. I would've liked it even moister & fattening. But hey, it was delicious & it didn't stuff me! The layers of cream were sweetened & thicker than typical whipping cream. The coconut shreds on top tasted good; I don't care if they're real or not. They were good, but my bf thought it would've been even better with toasted coconut. The cake wasn't dry like bean brothers or sweet revenge, nor hard like sweet obsession or true confections, nor too light like Chinese bakeries & sweet e's, nor super rich like moxie's. You could eat the whole thing & it would be the perfect dessert. The prices are a bit higher, but then the slices of cake are bigger than average. In total, I would've preferred paying $10 including tax instead of $11 something. But that's only a dollar difference.
The ambiance is very nice. The tables are glass & metal while the chairs have firm cushions on them. They have both tall & low tables. The tables are really far from the counter & there's plenty of space to see what's in their display case. It reminds me of eiskafes in Austria. Modern & sophisticated, yet traditional with plenty of food that's both delicious to eat & look at.Their displays are beautiful & well-lit. I would've liked to have more information on the cakes available as many didn't have names & our server wasn't knowledgeable at all. And yes, a downside is you can only try 1 sample of gelato.
I started coming here just after this place opened in 2006 and it's been a favorite ever since. They have a very good selection of gelato (laughed when I read the review that claimed that they didn't - 20+ options not enough? Really?) and other deserts. I am a pretty picky eater and the only time that I was disappointed here was with the creme brûlée because it was not hard on top. Other than that, this place makes delicious deserts and drinks.
The service is what it is; counter service. Everyone is friendly and efficient and they don't mind waiting for you to decide between the various options. And even though this place tends to be very busy, it is also kept very clean.
The atmosphere is good and is definitely geared towards either a fun evening out with friends or a nice après movie stop. Their prices are a bit high and to be honest I can understand why. This area has a lot of students who like to order the cheapest items and then take up a table for hours to use wifi. High prices tend to deter this.
To be completely frank here, I do not understand the slew of bad reviews. And given how busy it usually is here, I'd guess that a lot of other people like this place too.
Went to Cumparis for a late night visit with a friend and had a decent time. The selection of Gelato was smaller than what I am used to but they all looked good at least. I had the lemon, my favorite and enjoyed the tartness of it. I had a coffee too afterwards and was disappointed. Not only was it expensive for such a little thing, it was too weak as well. My friend agreed about the coffee. Maybe just stick with the gelato here.
Also, if you plan on going here, be warned it is quite busy with people just hanging out and chatting. Didn't see too much food on the tables but it is open later so a popular hangout I guess.
decent ambiance for coquitlam, but the prices are too high and the gelato/sandwiches/coffee is not good. stick to ordering a pop or something they dont have to make
i dont think they are too worried though as they seem to still get a lot of business
also dress warm if you plan to sit outside, there is no heat for the outside seating....
I've come here a couple of times and usually with a large group of people so I've had a chance to sample most of their cakes. In the bright displays they look so good but in reality they all taste so bad. I don't think they use quality ingredients in the cakes because they don't have much flavor and have a plastic artificial texture to them. Plus they are so expensive too, stay away from the cakes.
The gelato on the other hand isn't so bad so that's all I get now on the rare occasions I visit. Depending on who makes your drink, it can be fantastic or terrible. Its pretty hit or miss, I've had some great cappuccinos and other times the milk is over steamed and the espresso sour.
I was looking forward to good home made gelato and Italian coffee, but was very disappointed.
Despite clean appearance the place is very unwelcoming and staff is unfriendly.
Tables and chairs are very uncomfortable for sitting especially for children. No wonder the place is almost always dead empty.
Below the average gelato, uninspiring coffee, rude customer service.
And on top of that there's one gelato sample per customer. Very strange, especially if you consider that they only have a dozen flavors or so.
Bottom line: very disappointing experience.
Good quality stuff here! My boyfriend has been taking out desserts here for me since it's so close to his work. Nice and fresh cakes that are light but flavorful and not too sweet. I like their napoleons best though, along with mocha to drink. Arguably the best mocha here.
Since I've only had their take out and haven't actually dined in, I gave a mid rating for the service and ambiance. For what it's worth, my boyfriend has been in to dine and has no complaints.
A friend suggested this place after bypassing our usual choices for something different. By sight as we entered it seemed like all would be well and thensome but the highs peaked once we dove into our desserts.
Brightly lit display cases showcase their offerings of desserts from panna cotta to tartlettes to cakes to gelato and even some savoury sandwiches. I found it suspicious that they do not advertise prices on most of their delectables, which is pretty much unheard of. Perhaps most of us chose wrong as the panna cotta was the best of the bunch, a smooth but somewhat runny consistency though hardly out of this world. Next in line was our chocolate mousse cake which was good but lacked moistness while the maple cake was a dry, crumbly mound surrounded by puff balls and with an overpowering maple/rum hit. Our friend thought his Italian cheesecake was terrible for cheesecake and he is by no means picky on desserts. Prices are in and around the $10 range, which if the quality was there I wouldn't mind but where they are lacking of which what we had.
Service is merely over the counter at best with first-come-first-serve seating but it was nice to have the staff clear empty plates and cups from occupied tables.
Good use of space with a nice distance between the display case area and the seating - hard to believe this use to be a Burger King. Neutral colours are easy on the eyes and it seems they are prepping for a 2nd level area.
I would definitely be willing to give this place a second try, especially since they seem to be open late but I'm not holding my breath. Their desserts taste like coffee shop chain offerings with the boutique look and price.
last night a few friends and i had planned on going to a movie and stopped by cumparis on the way to the coquitlam movie theaters. First off the staff was very helpful and curtious and the coffee is to die for! The gelato is some of the best that i have tasted and the facility itself gives you a very beautiful european vibe. The portions are good for the price you pay and again the staff was very helpful. Cumpari's in my opinion is a great place to bring a date where you will not leave unhappy! We were so impressed with the cafe that we asked for the owner and started to talk about the buisness. Overall it seemed like he was a very nice man who cares about his buisness and clientell. It was a very pleasent experience and i will definitley be heading back soon!
Cumpari's is one of the nicest cafes you will find anywhere east of downtown or Commercial Drive, but that being said, that doesn't mean they need to charge west side prices.
Formerly a Burger King, the establishment is fairly large with an upper floor (which is never open), I am quite sure the rent is quite high, but I still don't think the prices are justified. The North Road area is not exactly un upscale area, but business seems to be pretty decent as I am Korean and it is a popular place for Koreans who love nice cafes.
Korea actually has (or had shall I say) an abundance of beautiful, elegant cafes in Cumpari's but is now sadly on the decline due to the invasion of Starbucks in Korea. North Americans have no idea how to enjoy coffee and need to get a clue.
Cumpari's does well in this area because there are no alternatives to the usual fast food choices of Tim Horton's or McDonald's. The closest place I can think of with decent ambiance is Bread Garden on Lougheed.
Cumpari's is a breath of fresh air in my not-so-upscale neighbourhood of North Road, but any place that charges 75 cents for extra hot water gets an upturned nose from me.
A group of us were seeking gelato when we spotted CGCI. It looked very fancy inside with nice ambiance. We were also impressed by the friendly staff, who helped us decide on just the right gelato flavor. After some deliberation I tried the banana split flavor, and the rest of the group tried green tea, coconut, chocolate, and pistachio. All the gelato was very tasty. The downside? It was ridiculously expensive. One little scoop for $4.50? In Coquitlam? The cake was $7.50 a slice, so by comparison the gelato looked like a bargain.
One insightful member of our gang suggested that this was the sort of place you would go to impress a date. That sounded about right. As for me, I found it to be too expensive.
I came by Cumpari's while jonesing for something sweet on a Saturday night. We noticed how busy it was from the street - it is brightly light and there were many patrons inside the cafe and outside on the patio.
We parked our car and went inside, where we were served promptly by a knowledgeable gentleman who recommended the tiramisu - it was great!
I haven't had a chance to try their gelato as that section of the establishment was extremely busy, but I have to say that our desserts and coffee was delicious as ever, and that the seating area (inside and out) was new, clean, and well maintained.
I am SO GLAD to find a place like Cumpari in the Tri Cities!
I've been here a few times but nothing truly stands out other than it is close by and has large tables. I tried the Mango cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake, Snowflake cake, the Chocolate Hazelnut cake, & some kind of apple pie looking thing that was nuked in the microwave. The cakes are only meh and coffee alright. Did I mention pricey? But the Strawberry Gelato and Pistachio Gelato are pretty good. It is cool that Tri-Cities has a place like this, but it baffles me to why - I've had far better cakes and gelatos elsewhere.
The cafe is swank and fancy looking and totally disappointing. You expect so much going in.
Limit one gelato sample?!? How the heck are you supposed to figure out what you would like?
BTW... soy vanilla tastes like stale vanilla wafer cookies. I reiterate STALE...
The crabby employee was not pleasant.
Though the fancy cakes looked like a lot of work went into them, but it was a bit expensive for what it is.
I love Cumpari's-for it's ambiance, service, and great desserts!
A fabulous option for any day of the week or every day of the week. When I first walked into Cumpari's I was taken back by the beautiful decor I was met with. In terms of dessert, a haven for every heart's desire. There are food options as well, including panini and soups.
Their significant selection of high quality gelato, including several sorbet options (dairy-free), maintains a rich, flavorful taste without the synthetic or powdery mess you can get in other places. In my opinion, their lemon and pistachio is hands-down the best in Vancouver.
My husband is a connoisseur in espresso, and since trying Cumpari's bold and smooth flavour (and with all that crème on top!) nothing else makes him as happy. I was a little disappointed that they didn't offer my favourite white chocolate mocha, however, their regular delicious mocha smoothed down any disappointment I may have had. Their thousand-layers cake, which to us is like a Napoleon and a hard cake to find, was excellent. While we do go back to try any of thousand and one other options for cake, this one is as classics go, a sure thing.
Try it, you’ll love it!
I went to Cumpari this morning with a friend for coffee. I have ordered a panini sandwich and a caffe latte. Surprisingly, their prices has a significant increase since the last time I went. My panini cost $8 and it was quite small and a small latte is $5 and it's not even hot. For $13, I probably can get a fairly good lunch at a nearby restaurant. For other desserts/pastries, they do not have prices on each item so you would have to ask for. For Service, it's standard, just like any other self-serve cafe. Ambiance, it was very quiet in the morning and the restaurant is clean. I am not sure if I would go there again as the food is over-priced.
My wife and I have been going to Cumpari for a couple of years. The food and ice cream were always good but they have always been overpriced. Since this is the only ice cream shop in the area, we mainly go because of the convenience. Well now we probably will never go back. Things have gotten even worse with Cumpari. We went this past weekend and ordered two small cups of ice cream. When we asked to try a sample the girl said that they only allow 1 sample per person. What a joke! I can understand not wanting people to try every flavour, but 1 sample only. Geeze!. When we found the flavour we wanted we choose the small cup which is extremely small but we thought the girl would at least put in a nice round scoop higher than the lip of the cup. Nope!. The ice cream was flat, level to the lip of the cup which I would say ended up being about a 1/3 of a cup of ice cream. How much did it cost you ask? Well for this 1/3 of a cup of ice cream it was $3.50 before taxes. Never again!
Went there today for the first time with m'ladyfriend and shared a medium ice cream (2 flavours). Was really surprised that the ice cream was mushed down so that it fit below the top lip of the (rather small) cup. I thought it was ridiculously small for $5.00 even though the ice cream tasted great.
Also ordered a slice of cake to go, and it was just under $9.00. The prices weren't displayed anywhere that I could see, til the cashier rung it up. Was expecting to pay around $4.00 for such a small piece.
Might go there again as it's the only gelato place near that area, and the decor is rather nice.
Tried Cumpari again a week or so ago after a dinner out - figured we would go somewhere nice rather than just a stock restraunt dessert. In hindsight we probably should've stuck with the restaurant.
2 small cakes and a large gelato were $24 including tax. One of the cakes (cream puff) tasted stale and the inside was soggy, as if it had been prepared a few days before.
I don't particularly mind paying for high quality, but I'm not going to be returning until they make some changes for the better. They also need to be putting prices on their cakes, it's quite a shock when they ring in the total at the register.
I've been to Cumpari on several occasions. The first time I went I was impressed with everything from food to ambiance. However over the last two years my visits there have gotten worse. Coffee is terrible and not even hot at times. Desserts tasting like they have been in the fridge or freezer for quite a while. Had a strawberry sponge cake which crumbled easily and was dry...not to mention cleaning brush whiskers incorporated into the cake. For value, they should not charge such prices for subpar desserts. Don't know why this place is quite busy at times but maybe this is the only type of establishment in the area. Hmmm...maybe some competition in the form of another Gelato Cafe nearby will wake them up.
| 1. | Bubble World (55 m) |  |
| 2. | Church's Chicken (55 m) |  |
| 3. | Papa John's Pizza (110 m) |  |
| 4. | McDonald's (118 m) | |
| 5. | Cafe Tanja (131 m) | |
| 6. | Tim Hortons (189 m) | |
| 7. | Starbucks (191 m) | |
| 8. | Grainery Cafe (191 m) | |
| 9. | McDonald's (191 m) | |
| 10. | Kernels Popcorn (191 m) |
