Raleigh, North Carolina

The best coffee in Raleigh

Eight Raleigh cafés and roasters, concentrated downtown and in Glenwood South.

8 entries · verified August 2026

Raleigh's coffee is easy to navigate: downtown and Glenwood South hold most of it, and they are adjacent enough to walk between in five minutes. The city also has a deep roasting bench for its size: Black & White, Larry's, Pine State, Idle Hour and Oak City all roast their own beans, while Iris and The Morning Times build their menus around other roasters (Counter Culture, in Morning Times' case) instead.

Start downtown at Black & White, walk into Glenwood South for Iris, and you will have covered the two neighbourhoods that matter most. Jubala on Hillsborough Street and Idle Hour on Oberlin Road sit further out and are worth a dedicated trip rather than a stop on the same walk; Oak City, in Garner, is the one entry here that's genuinely a short drive rather than a walk from downtown.

  1. Black & White Coffee Roasters

    Downtown

    The strongest local roaster and the obvious downtown starting point, housed inside the Videri Chocolate Factory. Founded by US Barista Championship competitors, and reviewers consistently call out consistency across visits over any single standout drink. The sipping chocolate and a coffee-soda both get named as things not to skip.

    327 W Davie St, Raleigh, NC 27601 · Website

  2. Iris Coffee Lab

    Glenwood South

    Traditional espresso done well alongside genuinely inventive seasonal drinks. The cherry-marzipan latte and the rosemary latte are the two reviewers name most, and more than one calls it the best specialty coffee they've had in the area.

    Order: the cherry-marzipan latte or the rosemary latte

    725 Tucker St, Raleigh, NC 27603 · Website

  3. The Morning Times

    City Market

    Downtown since 2006, a five-minute walk from Glenwood South rather than in it. Pours Counter Culture rather than roasting its own, and the second-floor gallery space is a regular reason to linger. The egg sandwich on an everything bagel is the recurring food recommendation.

    10 E Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601 · Website

  4. Pine State Coffee

    A local roaster turned café sourcing from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Peru and New Guinea, the most interesting bean list in the city. It shares its space with Runologie, a running shop, so you can browse shoes while a pour-over is made. Staff will adjust sweetness on request, and the rose-lavender oat latte shows up often in reviews.

    1614 Automotive Way, Raleigh, NC 27604 · Website

  5. Jubala Coffee

    A long-standing Raleigh name that locals still put at the top of their own lists, ranked in the top 100 restaurants in Raleigh on Tripadvisor across every cuisine, not just coffee. The almond latte and the biscuit breakfast sandwich, made with food sourced from local farms, both draw repeat praise.

    Order: an almond latte and the bacon-egg-and-cheese biscuit

    2100 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27607 · Website

  6. Idle Hour Coffee Roasters

    Roasting locally, with a warm, deliberately designed room and an Americano reviewers call out specifically. The owners' flourless chocolate cake gets singled out among the pastry case; a few reviews note the dessert prices run high for the portion.

    1818 Oberlin Rd Ste 103, Raleigh, NC 27608 · Website

  7. Larry's Coffee

    An established Raleigh roaster whose beans you will meet in other people's cafés. Organic and fair-trade sourcing gets mentioned almost as often as the taste, and the decaf specifically draws praise, rare for a roaster to get right. The roasting-facility courtyard is open to sit in.

    1507 Gavin St, Raleigh, NC 27608 · Website

  8. Oak City Coffee Roasters

    Rounds out the local roasting options, open since 2012 a short drive south in Garner. Reviewers who roast their own coffee professionally have named these beans among the best they've bought, and the local delivery service gets called out as unusually reliable.

    313 Garner Business Ct Unit D, Garner, NC 27529 · Website