The best coffee shops in Raleigh

Raleigh has a genuinely strong coffee scene and two competing sets of evidence about it: the Indy Week reader poll, which rewards the neighborhood favorites, and Axios Raleigh's Triangle ranking, which rewards the coffee. This list uses both, so the winner of each appears here alongside the shops that show up on every list.

The practical thing to know is that Raleigh coffee closes early. Most of these shut between 3 and 5 p.m. Two stay open past 7, and only one runs to 9.

Hours below were taken from each business's own published information and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.

Jubala Coffee

The Hillsborough Street shop, pouring Counter Culture and turning out a Nutella-banana waffle that people line for. Second in Axios Raleigh's Triangle coffee ranking and an Indy Week runner-up, which is about as close to consensus as Raleigh coffee gets.

Hours: Mon-Fri 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat-Sun 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Address: 2100 Hillsborough St., Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27607

Why they made the list

• Ranked second in Axios Raleigh's Triangle-wide coffee ranking and an Indy Week 2025 runner-up for best coffee shop.
• Serves Counter Culture, the Durham roaster most serious Triangle shops build around.
• A real food menu behind the coffee, including the waffles and bacon-egg biscuits.
• Open seven days until 5 p.m., so it works for an afternoon as well as a morning.

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Black & White Coffee at Videri Chocolate Factory

Founded by Lem Butler and Kyle Ramage, the 2016 and 2017 US Barista Champions, who bought Wake Forest's Back Alley Coffee Roasters and rebuilt it around a 15-kilo Loring roaster. This is the Warehouse District counter, inside Videri.

Hours: Mon-Fri 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sun 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Address: 327 W. Davie St., Raleigh, NC 27601

Why they made the list

• Founded by two consecutive US Barista Champions, which no other shop in North Carolina can say.
• Roasts its own coffee on a Loring, the roaster most specialty operations aspire to.
• Wake Forest connection: the company grew out of Back Alley Coffee Roasters here in town.
• Sharing a building with a bean-to-bar chocolate factory is a genuine reason to make the trip.

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NoRa Cafe

A North Raleigh room on Strickland Road that won the local vote outright. Breakfast sandwiches and Liege waffles are the draw, and it pours wine and beer too, which makes it one of the few shops that works past mid-afternoon.

Hours: Daily 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Address: 12333 Strickland Rd., Suites 100-102, Raleigh, NC 27613

Why they made the list

• Won best coffee shop in Indy Week's 2025 Best of the Triangle reader poll for Wake County.
• Open seven days at the same hours, which makes it the easiest shop here to plan around.
• Serves wine and beer as well as coffee.
• Liege waffles, which are a different thing from the waffles most cafes make.

See the full directory listing

Sola Coffee Cafe

A Lead Mine Road gathering place that functions as North Raleigh's living room, with smoothies and a full lunch menu alongside the coffee. Mini doughnuts are the thing people bring visitors for. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Hours: Tue-Sat 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Address: 7705 Lead Mine Rd., Raleigh, NC 27615

Why they made the list

• An Indy Week 2025 runner-up for best coffee shop.
• A genuine neighborhood gathering place rather than a laptop farm.
• A full lunch menu, so it covers a midday meeting.
• Only open five days and shuts at 3 p.m., so it is a morning destination.

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The Left Hook Coffee Roasters at College Park

Ranked first in Axios Raleigh's Triangle coffee ranking. Kristin Kulik started as a barista at Rebus Works, ran pop-ups for years and worked a counter inside Gussie's before opening a permanent shop in a former College Park laundromat in August 2026.

Hours: Not published. The shop opened in August 2026 and trade press reports expanded hours are still being worked out, so call (919) 322-0001 before going.

Address: 912 E. Hargett St., Raleigh, NC 27601

Why they made the list

• Ranked number one in Axios Raleigh's Triangle-wide coffee ranking, ahead of every other shop on this list.
• The newest serious coffee bar in Raleigh, open in its permanent home only since August 2026.
• Years of pop-ups behind it, so the coffee program arrived fully formed.
• Some listings still show the closed Gussie's counter on West Morgan. East Hargett is the current address.

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Cup A Joe

More than thirty years on Hillsborough Street, roasting its own beans in house and hanging local art on the walls. The NC State hangout that outlasted every trend that came for it, and the only shop here open at 6 a.m.

Hours: Daily 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Address: 3100 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC 27607

Why they made the list

• Thirty-plus years on Hillsborough Street, the longest run of any coffee shop in this guide.
• Opens at 6 a.m. and runs to 7 p.m., the widest hours on this list by a wide margin.
• Roasts in house, which very few shops of this age bothered to start doing.
• Rotating local art, and it has been a student institution for three decades.

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Morning Times

A downtown fixture at 10 East Hargett pouring Counter Culture, with upstairs seating that doubles as a small art gallery. Coffee downstairs, a room to sit in upstairs, and a kitchen that stops before the counter does.

Hours: Daily 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., kitchen closes at 3 p.m.

Address: 10 E. Hargett St., Raleigh, NC 27601

Why they made the list

• The upstairs gallery room is the best place to sit with a laptop downtown.
• Counter Culture coffee, same as Jubala.
• Open seven days to 6 p.m., later than most.
• Kitchen shuts at 3 p.m., so go earlier if you want food.

See the full directory listing

Heirloom

Heirloom Brewshop blends Laotian, Taiwanese and Japanese influences in the Warehouse District, and was named to Bon Appetit's top 50 restaurants of 2019. House syrups run to ginger rosewater and brown sugar five spice, and it stays open until 9 p.m. five nights a week.

Hours: Mon-Tue 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wed-Sun 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 219 S. West St., Raleigh, NC 27603

Why they made the list

• Named to Bon Appetit's top 50 restaurants of 2019, the only shop on this list with a national honor of that kind.
• Open until 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, which no other coffee bar here does.
• Tea is taken as seriously as the coffee, which is rare in this city.
• House-made syrups rather than pump bottles.

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321 Coffee - Farmers Market

A small-batch roaster and cafe staffed primarily by adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, now running counters at the State Farmers Market, Hillsborough Street and Centennial Campus. The mission is the business rather than a line in the marketing.

Hours: Farmers Market: Wed-Fri 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sat-Sun 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Mon-Tue. Hillsborough St.: Mon-Fri 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sat-Sun 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Address: 1209 Farmers Market Dr., Raleigh, NC 27603

Why they made the list

• Employs adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities as the core of its staffing model, not as a program.
• Roasts its own coffee in small batches.
• Three locations across Raleigh, so there is usually one near you.
• The two main locations keep different hours, so check which one you are heading to.

See the full directory listing

Pine State Coffee

Established in 2019 on Automotive Way, roasting its own beans and turning out a flat white that is consistently the best in the city. Gluten-free and vegan pastries, and the only shop on this list open until 8 p.m. on a Thursday.

Hours: Mon-Wed 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thu-Fri 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sat 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sun 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Address: 1614 Automotive Way, Raleigh, NC 27604

Why they made the list

• Roasts in house, and the flat white is the drink to judge them on.
• Gluten-free and vegan pastries as standing options rather than occasional.
• Open to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
• Short Sunday hours, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., so plan accordingly.

See the full directory listing

Frequently asked questions

What is the best coffee shop in Raleigh, NC?

It depends which measure you use. NoRa Cafe in North Raleigh won best coffee shop in Indy Week's 2025 reader poll for Wake County. The Left Hook Coffee on E. Hargett Street ranked first in Axios Raleigh's Triangle coffee ranking. Jubala Coffee is second on the Axios list and an Indy Week runner-up, which makes it the strongest consensus pick.

Which Raleigh coffee shops roast their own beans?

Black & White Coffee Roasters, Cup A Joe, Pine State Coffee, 321 Coffee and The Left Hook all roast their own. Black & White was founded by Lem Butler and Kyle Ramage, the 2016 and 2017 US Barista Champions, and it grew out of Back Alley Coffee Roasters in Wake Forest.

Are there coffee shops in Raleigh open late?

Heirloom Brewshop on S. West Street is open until 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, which is the latest of any coffee bar on this list. Pine State runs to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Cup A Joe to 7 p.m. daily. Everything else closes between 3 and 6 p.m.

Which Raleigh coffee shop is best for working with a laptop?

Morning Times at 10 E. Hargett Street has upstairs seating that doubles as a small gallery and is the best downtown room for a long session. Jubala and Heirloom both work well and Heirloom has the longest hours.

Is there a coffee shop in Raleigh that employs people with disabilities?

Yes. 321 Coffee is a small-batch roaster and cafe staffed primarily by adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with counters at the State Farmers Market, on Hillsborough Street and at Centennial Campus.