They serve breakfast, lunch, and coffee.

Calvina Gourmet Intl
Calvina Gourmet Intl
Calvina Gourmet Intl
Foods from Calvina Gourmet Intl
Comments

2011 Dec 9
I have been going to calvina's for quite some time and its amazing for the price! Owners are also very kind and put a lot of love and care into the food they make.

I recently found out the original owners are now working out of the 99 Metcalfe location. So for those of you who like to have a quick chat with them from time to time like I do, this is where you will find them!

:) By far has the best bean salad I have ever tasted. I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

2011 Feb 22
Pictured here is a small salad from Calvina which I used yesterday to supplement my homemade sandwich. For about 3 dollars, this is a great deal for an interesting salad. Yesterday’s salads were potato and broccoli (they had others aswell). The potato salad seemed to have French dressing mixed in with the mayo, it was delicious. The broccoli salad was nice and sweet and it had pieces of ham and apple in it. At Calvina, they always allow you to mix and match the salad options!

Very tasty and very fresh.

2011 Feb 15
Panini: Chicken,brie,red peppers and a red pepper tasting mayo of sorts.
Thoughts: The panini is a decent size and the chicken, brie and red peppers all went really well together. The bread felt a little cheap, but I enjoyed it in the end.

Salad1: Potato salad with pickle and dill
Thoughts: Delicious potato salad. Potatoes cooked so they're soft but not mushy and the pickle complemented the dish very nicely.

Salad2: Green beans and mixed vegetable.
Thoughts: Meh, this wasn't that appetizing. I was full by the time I got around to eating it anyways.

Total cost with a drink is about $7.80.

Closing thoughts: I was a little overwhelmed when I got there. There was a huge line and a ton of different paninis to choose from. I realized I could be sitting there for days wondering what's inside each one, as they're not labeled. If it's your first time there, ask them for a recommendation.

Another downside to the rush is that the salads go fast. I got there at noon and they had already run out of what looked like a great pasta salad. Seems to me like you want to show up around 11:30.

The portions were huge, maybe a little bigger than I need for lunch. If Calvina's was closer to my office, I would definitely go again but order only the panini and make sure they picked it for me.

2011 Feb 9
I can’t believe nobody has commented on Calvina as of yet.

I have been coming to Calvina for about 2 years as it is right across the street from my work. In all seriousness, this is one of the best places to grab a quick lunch downtown. They literally have everything: burgers, tons of interesting sandwiches, full English breakfast, fajita’s, a rotating hotplate (which I have seen Lamb, Shawarma, tacos, sheppards pie, turkey, pork tenderloin, quarter chicken, stews, pilaf – literally a taste of everything), muffins, pizza, quiche, incredible salads (some of which are likely in-house creations), chips, pops, and about 10 kinds of coffee (although IMO Manhattans next door has muuuuch better coffee). All these products are reasonably priced, homemade and 98% delicious. The owners are a really nice Lebanese couple who run the place from the inside and out. They can always be seen serving, cooking, making sandwiches etc. Calvina is a little bit like a cafeteria, but the quality of the food is nothing like a caf. I eat here at least once a week, and it is my go-to place when I can’t figure out what to eat.

I would say that for me the highlight of Calvina are their sandwiches and salads. The sandwiches are Panini style and they have at least a dozen varieties (and some special offers). They are freshly made every morning as I can see the girls stuffing them when I grab my morning bagel or coffee. I feel that Calvina is modeled after sandwich shops in Europe. All the sandwiches are the same price at about 5 bucks. IMO the real winners are their donnair, caprese, feta/spinach, steak & cheese and roast chicken. I could really get into the all the different ingredients, sauces and cuts of meat, but take my word for it, they are ALL exceptional. You can’t beat a nice grilled Panini.

The salads are very creative. Over the years I have probably seen 40-50 different kinds of salad pop up. Every lunch they have about 5-6 different options. For fewer than 10 bucks, you get a Panini of your choice (which is quite large), two generous portions of salad (your choice of course) and a pop. Subway, La Prep (formally Café Supreme) or any other sandwich place in the vicinity doesn’t even come close (Gooney’s perhaps is the only competitor in terms of quality, price and quantity). Some examples of their salads include: tabouli, sprout salad, beet salad, greek/feta salad, countless variations of potato salad, Asian style salads, green bean, tuna, salmon, pasta salad and many, many more.

I snapped a picture of a meal I had last week. Unfortunately I ate half the Panini and I disturbed the presentation before I took the picture – so it looks a bit messy. Pictured here is the caprese sandwich which is sooo damn good. It has a generous amount hot sopressata, hot pickled vegetables, goat cheese and roast chicken.. To die for! The salads pictured are tabouli and fried potato/sweet potato/carrot salad. They were both excellent.

If you work around Laurier and Metcalf, you need to make this a regular lunch spot. The owners are passionate about their business and they take pride in the food they serve. It gets mega busy at lunch time so I suggest going at about 11:30.

It is also great to note that they opened up another location less than 200 meters away from the ‘mother restaurant’ on Metcalf. They took this over from the formally named lunch place “lunch express” which I refused to patronize because they wanted me to pay 50 cents for on single ring of red onion on a BLT I ordered. Small fish I know, but that is really stingy. Calvina is not petty like that. You want onion on your breakfast sandwich? SURE! So hopefully, the new location will help cut down on the line up.

To make a long story even longer, just take my word for it - and the hundreds of public servants who patronize Calvina - that it is a fantastic place to grab your lunch.

Cheers