Beatrice Society isn't your average cafe: they also deal in adaptogens, healing plants, psychedelics and alternative therapies.

They serve a cafe menu of smoothies, bowls and toasts with lots of vegan and gluten-free options as approved by a nutritionist, plus you can opt for add-ons like a shot of lion's mane in your coffee.

The concept of Beatrice Society actually started out as a website that launched in 2021, with content on everything from herbal remedies to psychedelics, intended to cut through the noise in the world of wellness.

They branched into e-commerce later that year, selling their own mushroom-infused coffee as well as products from brands they trusted.

It wasn't until October 2022 that the cafe was actually opened. Meant to be a space where people could browse the functional products in person and see how they could be incorporated into day-to-day living.

It's the first food offering open in the new Waterworks building near Richmond and Spadina, although it's not part of the highly-anticipated food hall.

Beatrice Society was actually founded by the team behind Boxcar Social, along with new partner Eric Vieira, co-founder and owner of One Academy.

Think of it this way: Where at Boxcar you can learn about and experience high-quality coffee, wine, and whisky, at Beatrice, you can explore the world of functional food offerings, mushrooms and adaptogens.

"Our name is a reference to Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, which details a man's journey through the afterlife," Taycia Chaplin, one of the minds behind Beatrice, tells blogTO.

"In the poem, the protagonist is led by three different guides. The last one is Beatrice, who guides him through paradise towards enlightenment. Our goal is to explore the wellness space, helping to guide people through it, so Beatrice felt like the perfect namesake."

Chaplin says Beatrice Society is "currently not a psychedelics company per se," but at the cafe, psychedelics and fungi are viewed as a part of medicine, as they've been used therapeutically for centuries.

If you want to give functional mushrooms a try, they have a line of accessible mushroom-infused coffees with lion's mane, reishi, cordyceps, and chaga options all available for at-home brewing and behind the bar.

Their smoothies are also popular. Plus, they've recently added alcohol-optional cocktails to the menu that are supposed to be good (with or without alcohol), and even a little nutritious.

"Our Heal smoothie is made with ingredients known to reduce inflammation, like turmeric and chaga mushrooms," says Chaplin. "Our Focus smoothie is built to support brain health, featuring Lion's Mane mushrooms and healthy fats from avocado."

In addition to their coffees and smoothies, Beatrice also serves a lineup of what they call "better for you" food options, composed mostly of toasts and bowls.

Toasts are topped with typical options like smoked salmon and avocado. The "Mediterranean" is topped with hummus, hard-boiled egg, parsley, turmeric and sea salt.

Bowls include cilantro chicken and turkey quinoa, as well as a black rice salmon option with cauliflower, carrot, tomato, pickled cucumber, edamame, pickled onion and a sesame ginger dressing.

Aside from reading up on wellness on their website and giving a few mushroom coffees and smoothies a try, you can also interact with the Beatrice community through events they put on like a book club with local indie bookstore Type, that discusses wellness-related reads.