Caffè Driade — Local services in Chapel Hill

A few days ago, we went to Driade caffé. I ordered a cappuccino, my wife got an herbal tea, and we ordered a ginger soda for our daughter.

At first, we actually wanted to get her a hot chocolate, so we asked the barista how sweet it was. He said it wasn’t too sweet and that they could adjust the sweetness. So we made it clear that we didn’t want anything too sugary. Then, during the conversation, we decided to go with the ginger soda instead. The server saw that we were concerned about sugar but didn’t mention that the ginger soda was actually super sweet. When we got it, we saw that the small can (about 8-12 oz) had 30 grams of sugar, which was just crazy. And the server didn’t even think to mention it.

As for the drinks, I ordered a cappuccino to go with an extra shot, but they served it in a regular cup instead. I prefer drinking from a to-go cup, just personal preference, but they ignored that request. My wife said her herbal tea tasted really watered down—more ice, more water, and not much actual tea flavor.

Our friends also ordered three different drinks, and they have a daughter too. They specifically asked for her drink to be made at kid’s temperature, so it wouldn’t be too hot. But the servers ended up making all the drinks at kid’s temperature—including the ones for adults. That was kind of weird, because if someone orders a cappuccino or latte, it’s probably not for a kid. You’d expect a hot chocolate for a kid, not a cappuccino.

Overall, it just felt like the baristas weren’t really paying attention to the orders. Maybe that’s not part of their job, but we’ve definitely had better service at...

I have been coming here for as long as I can remember. The scenery is phenomenal, peaceful, enchanting, and unexpected on busy Franklin St. The coffee is good, not great, but good. There is phenomenal espresso in the Triangle like Black and White Coffee, Literagy, and Jubala. The baked good here used to be from a variety of local bakeries, but mainly Guglhupf. They were insanely good. Now Cafe Driade uses 9th Street bakery which is perhaps the lowest quality local bakery around. I had a terrible, not fresh muffin recently at Cafe Driade. Look up the reviews at 9th Street and you will see that their lack of freshness and attention to the quality of their products is well known to many. Another thing is that the latte is $5 without tip?! What? I pay a premium at the best coffee places around, and no one charges that much. Jubala charges $4.40 and Literagy charges $5 but that includes the tip. Black and White coffee and even Counter Culture beans are consistently better than your beans. The fact that you use your own beans should actually save your customers money, but it doesn’t. I have always loved Cafe Driade so I hope you read and address these concerns. I’d love to experience and recommend the exceptional quality and fair pricing you used...

Caffe Driade is a wonderful spot! I appreciated their consistent approach to asking every customer with a dog if it was a service animal—very respectful and accommodating. I ordered online since I had my dog with me, and the process was mostly smooth. I didn't understand that you had to go to the back to pick up your drink, and this could have been made more apparent after order or with a large sign on the door.

The harvest spice latte was one of the best fall lattes I’ve ever had in my life—the flavor is full bodied and rich, nothing artificial tasting. My dog, who typically doesn’t like treats from restaurants/cafes, devoured the doggie biscotti they offered for free. I also savored a pumpkin bar from a local bakery that tasted low on sugar but somehow had a lot of interesting flavors.

The outdoor seating on the side of a hill was a peaceful and inviting, and I loved listening to conversations around me while taking it all in. This place left such a beautiful impression that it makes me want to move to this town. Highly recommend for dog owners and coffee...