Over the last few months, we have been lucky enough to have a local co-op student working with us at the Barrhaven BIA. Samia Abdi comes to us from John McCrae and has become an asset to our marketing team! As a final project, Samia has put together this piece highlighting her favourite Barrhaven restaurants! As dine-in reopens, we encourage you to check them out (they are all awesome for both the young and the young at heart!)
As a teen in Barrhaven, there are plenty of different coffee/tea shops, restaurants and dessert places to visit right here in our community. A few of my favourites are Presotea, Starbucks, Mary Browns, Lone Star and Chocolats Favoris. After school is usually the best time for students to go grab a burger or a coffee or go sit somewhere to study as we make our way home at the end of the school day. Chapman Mills Marketplace is usually the first place I go after school to grab food and hang out with friends.
My favourite after school activity is to go to Presotea for a mango green tea. I’ll bring my laptop and my books with me so I can study and do homework with my friends. Presotea is the perfect atmosphere to socialize while also being productive which is what I love about it. They have a variety of options from slushes, fruit teas, to milk teas. I like to switch it up every so often and try something new and different. I recently tried the brown sugar milk tea – it was amazing and I now like to get it whenever it’s a bit colder outside. Presotea is a great place to go alone or with friends and in the summertime I like to sit outside at the tables and do my work there.
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Starbucks is one of my favourite places to get coffee. To me it’s a great place to go on a weekend morning whether it’s summer, fall, winter, or spring. Usually on Saturday or Sunday morning (or even on a Friday after school) I like to go to Starbucks and study and complete homework before the new week at school. It is a comfortable and welcoming place to study and relax with a coffee. I tend to go to Starbucks more often by myself rather than in a group because it is easy to focus and get things done.
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“Big Mary Monday” is a popular thing at my school and many students are always very excited for it every week. Every Monday after school, everyone is immediately on their way to Mary Browns for a Big Mary. It has become a sort of tradition. Mary Browns is a place that really brings students together as it gives us all something in common to relate to and a place that many students can get together. I especially love the tater poutine along with my sandwich.
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When it comes to events like a birthday party, graduation etc., Lone star is one of my favourite places to go to celebrate. The environment is friendly and inviting and the staff is wonderful. I specifically remember going to Lone star on my birthday one year with my friends. The staff sang happy birthday to me and gave me a birthday dessert which I thought was super sweet of them. At Lone Star the mouth watering nachos are my favourite part along with their delicious wings. No matter the celebration, it is and always will be one of my favourite places to go.
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Chocolats Favoris is my absolute favourite dessert place in Barrhaven. The ice cream is amazing and they also have all different flavours of chocolate bars. I once tried their chocolate poutine and it was delightful. Funnel cake fries, marshmallows, ice cream, and a chocolate coat of your choice makes for the perfect dessert. Chocolats Favoris is a place I love to visit at any time of the year whether it’s summer, winter, fall or spring. My go to order is a small double dipped salted caramel ice cream cone. However I tend to get it in a bowl instead of a cone sometimes to keep the ice cream from melting on me.
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