The Hobbyist — Restaurant in Charlotte

Order: Fall Latte, Rice Krispie, Chocolate Truffle Price: $13 Positives: Super cool space (especially if you like drinking), they have a small sampling of lots of different stuff (wine, beer, coffee, food), their chocolate truffle was killer Negatives: The coffee itself was pretty weak, seems like it might be a better place to drink than get coffee tldr: Purely from a coffee perspective, the Hobbyist is ok. It’s definitely not bad, but I feel like they might suffer from trying to do so much that they don’t really specialize at any of them. If your looking for a place to drink though this whole review doesn’t really apply since we only went there for the coffee.

Thoughts: my wife and I were driving up to Virginia to see some friends and spend the night in Charlotte. We did some pre-scouting for coffee shops and decided the Hobbyist would be one of the places we stopped in. I wasn’t quite expecting how diverse the Hobbyist is when I first came in the door. They sell food, they have a very large beer and wine selection, they have beers on tap, and then almost in a separate area they have a full coffee bar. Now, in my experience when a place tries to do too much at once it can often end up doing all of it well but maybe not the best. Regardless, we decided to try one of their seasonal fall lattes and one of their chocolate truffles. The barista also convinced us to try a rice crispy treat because she said it would be the best rice crispy treat we’ve ever eaten.

It took a couple minutes to grab our coffee and we poked around the shop to find that they have a wide variety of things for sale. They serve food, sell candles, dog treats salads, sandwiches, all sorts of stuff. And it did seem like a pretty cool place to hang out or maybe get a little bit of reading done in their back study nook area. We were looking to pick up our stuff to go as we also need to go grab dinner that night, so the reading nook remained unused.

Once the coffee arrived we grabbed the rice crispy treat and headed out the door. The barista was right with the rice crispy treat, to her credit. It was the best rice crispy treat I’ve ever had; but...it was still just a rice crispy treat. It was still just sugar, in this case brown sugar, marshmallows and rice crispy‘s. If you’re not a huge fan of rice crispy treats this thing isn’t going to blow your mind. If you are you’ll probably love it!

Unfortunately the latte was honestly super week. I could taste that there was coffee in it but it definitely didn’t give me that little bit of bite that a good espresso does. The flavor was there I just think I would have doubled or tripled the amount of espresso in it, or maybe just served it with a lot less milk. Either way it wasn’t something I really enjoyed. The truffle on the other hand was fantastic. Very creamy super dark chocolate he fantastic little treat, if only I had some really strong coffee to drink it with.

I think that this place honestly just has a lot going on. I really don’t want to say that they have too much going on, but it feels like that a little bit. As I mentioned earlier, I have no idea if this is a great place to hang out and drink beer because my review is solely focused on the coffee portion. That being said, I probably wouldn’t be here just to drink...

First, I'm really glad I visited. I had a good experience. I had wanted somewhere I could get something to eat, something to drink and spend some time writing. So I googled places and found this one. I read a review where someone said he'd "never seen more outlets," and it also popped up on my search for "good places to dine solo in Charlotte." It was pretty packed, I must say, from the patio facing the street, to the bar, to the front and middle of the place but I finally found a table in the back where the group I saw when I came in had vacated. That's where my picture is from. I kind of wish I had taken some up front because it was a very cool vibe. I got an everything bagel with cream cheese and a mimosa, and then later a proseco. Since I had researched before I went I asked about a food menu becaue I thought I had read there was more food than what I saw. I'm still not sure where that came from but when you click on this review it gives you the option for recommended dishes such as eggs benedict with home fries (as of 4/21/2025), so maybe that's where I got the idea and maybe that should be removed? But it's just pastries and bagels and that was fine once I was there.

Also, I did not realize there was a parking lot until I drove up the street with many cars parked parallel on the side and went in a horseshoe around a neighborhood. Luckily, there was a parking space available but I could tell if someone came at a busy time, it might be difficult. I would go back and...

I stopped in here this morning and ordered a creme brulee latte with a raspberry cream cheese danish. Before we get into the coffee and danish, let me say that I was really digging the design and vibe of this place. They managed to accomplish a more classy and intimate setting, but at the same time it was also laid back and easy going. I found this to be a unique combination of atmospheres for a coffee shop. Although, they do have wine and a good whiskey selection so that may be why there is an overlap in the settings that I was experiencing. I also appreciated the no laptops on the weekends concept that they have implemented. Even though I didn't find myself chatting with any locals, which is what they stated the goal of this concept is, I think it's a great idea! I find that we too often bury ourselves into technology and forget to experience the things around us. It's a step in the right direction, and a good way to increase the interactions among others. Now, back to the coffee and danish. The creme brulee latte was spot on and the danish was exactly what I needed to get my morning started. I liked the location of this place, and I definitely see The Hobbyist being one of my go to...