Joe Van Gogh — Restaurant in Chapel Hill

TL;DR I love the hot lattes, delicious food, and fast, friendly service. Only downside is it's always full & hard to find a seat.

There are a lot of things I love about this place: their hot lattes are consistently piping hot, often with beautiful latte art. The staff is friendly, and the service is WAYYY faster than other coffee shops. I've rarely waited more than 5 minutes for my latte, even after waiting in line to order. The breakfast sandwiches and pastries are also delicious and served piping hot (bear in mind the food items come from another location that has a kitchen).

My only gripe with this place is that it's always so full that it's often hard to find a table. This really is my favorite little cafe, so it's actually kinda frustrating that it's so hard to find a seat - otherwise, I would literally be there EVERY day enjoying a hot latte "for here" (and that says a lot considering I'm on a graduate student budget). I tried for a week straight to go there in the morning and study, but each time was unable to find a seat. It seems like a lot of the tables are occupied by regulars who seem to be a tight-knit group. Don't get me wrong - I love to see the community coming together, but it does mean there's not always enough space for new comers. If your loyal customers are always packing out your café, then perhaps it's time to consider adding a few more tables or adjusting the layout so more people can gather. Hopefully, this issue will resolve itself once the weather warms up and people can use the outdoor tables.

My advice: get there before 8am on a weekday, or your dreams of grabbing a table to study and peacefully sip a...

I had a strongly positive experience here 3 weeks ago. I thought I wrote a review at that time but it isn't showing up so unfortunately I don't remember the experience quite as well as I should, but I'll give it a shot.

Joe Van Gogh came onto my radar as a local shop that roasts its own beans, which to me is a surefire sign of a quality location. And it certainly was in this case. Joe Van Gogh Chapel Hill is by far the best coffee shop in Chapel Hill and Carrboro for an espresso enthusiast - and I've tried a lot of espresso that wasn't as good to say that.

I've been here a few times now, usually trying the single origin espresso (of which I've now had two varieties) and once trying the standard espresso roast. All experiences were excellent. The motivating experience for this review was the visit my partner, Melody, described in her own review in which the barista remade a single origin we ordered because he was concerned with the quality of his first attempt (both were excellent, but the second attempt was absolutely masterful - elegantly complex, beautifully crafted, and delicious). I don't remember many details clearly beyond that so I'll refer to her review, but wanted to express how impressed I have been with this shop not just on that trip specifically, but on other visits consistently as well, and how much I look forward to returning...

The Nitro Cold Brew was watered down (in my opinion), I left out with it anyway but had to go back in to use the bathroom.

When I came out I asked the Barista if she could add a little more coffee to it if I brought my coffee back in (I knew that that is not a normal procedure and said as much when I asked) but she said she'd "let it slide this time". Knowing that they don't normally do that I offered to pay for a shot of espresso when I came back inside. But, she went ahead and added more coffee to it, along with a condescending statement telling me: "normally this is an upcharge that I would have charged you for when ordering"

That to me was unnecessary and rude when she already made it clear in the beginning that they normally do not do that so at that point I was a little irritated. So I kindly responded by saying "I know that is why I said I didn't mind paying for a shot of espresso instead, but thank you".

I don't live in the area my Goddaughter does so I don't frequent this place too often but, the previous two times were much better experiences and the coffee was a lot better, however l, also did not buy a "Nitro Cold Brew l" (which is what I told her) so I'm not sure if it's just that drink or if their quality of taste has changed but I was wasn't too satisfied...