Saving Gigis is one of those places you can have an incredible conversation with a total stranger or write a novel without anyone interrupting you. It's a community where jazz musicians play their instruments with passion and precision, where record players have an infinite selection and you have that vague sense you have been invited to an introvert's perfect party.
If you go for breakfast get the biscuit sandwich. It's a gourmet version of that Tim Hortons biscuit that makes it okay to get up at five in the morning to get on a plane and sit next to someone who snores. Every gourmet sandwich is delicious. Personally I stick to my top three : melted cheddar, cranberry club and another sandwich I believe named after a cheese. All have bacon. Good bacon. The type your mother made when she realized you didn't cry at the end of Charlotte's Web. Horrifyingly delicious.
I am an addict of ice americanos and Gigis makes a mean one. The type to get your heart going a little faster and make your mind razor focused like you were ready to defuse a bomb if you had to.
The owners are community builders and a fantastic couple. They know most everyone who comes there and have good singing voices. I know this because I hear them singing to their adorable child. The songs usually involve the words poop. That is the only shitty thing about Saving Gigis and I mean that exclusively as a pun.
They have cool drink specials everyday and great beer on tap.
It's the type of place that makes Toronto worth living in. Where the staff actually want to work there and hang out after their shifts and know what you are going to order before you do.
Where the coffee is great, the food memorable and the people the friends you haven't met yet.