20 Best Cafes in Chapel Hill

“Fantastic healthy meal choices and a hot and cold drink selection that helps you power through any task.“

“Wonderful setting for cats while they’re waiting for their forever families. My daughter commented “they might not want to be adopted after living here!”.“

“Always so beautiful and accessible to the Bolin creek trail!“

“It is a nice place for a quick coffee or a snack. Located beside the Health Science Library on South Columbia Street, this place provides the ideal setting for meetings as well as working for long hours with the coffee cheap enough to keep you going. This is a Starbucks sort of an environment which offers a selection of drinks, and slightly cheaper than Starbucks.“

“Such a cute coffee shop on Franklin Street! There's a lot of space inside to do work or chat with friends. I got a lavender iced latte, which I thought tasted great. It's also the same price for any size drink! The barista was also very nice and helped me pick out coffee beans.“

“My go-to coffee shop on campus! Great to support a non-profit run by students, for students!“

“Food was delicious. Very happy.“

“Catering team saved the day. Food was outstanding. Customer service par excellence. Prices were extremely fair.

Our wedding was displaced from WNC due to the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene, and we pivoted to a small celebration for 30 people in Chapel Hill in a family member’s yard. Naomi and Tina took incredibly great care to help us secure a menu for both our wedding day and the night before. In spite of the short time frame, they made themselves accessible and communicated consistently.

We enjoyed three comfort food casseroles on Friday—chicken pot pie, beef shepherd’s pie, and baked ziti. On Saturday we served the large Southern appetizers followed by house and Caesar salads, sweet-tea-brined fried chicken, pork BBQ, mashed sweet potatoes, and roasted green beans. All of them were scrumptious and left nothing to be desired; Naomi arrived on time—at the perfect time!—and set everything up beautifully even though the buffet tables we prepared could have allotted more room…we weren’t expecting how generous the portions would be. We ordered for our head count and still had leftovers (although we did double up on meats for the main). We had a 45-minute cocktail hour, and the food stayed hot and fresh in the chafing dishes with sternos provided by Root Cellar.

We originally planned to have an ice cream sandwich truck at our wedding, so keeping with this idea we ordered a few cookie platters from Root Cellar and purchased ice cream elsewhere so guests could build their own. The cookies. Were. Huge. And blissful to eat.

From two Food & Bev industry vets… amazing work, gang! No stone left unturned. What more could we ask for? Thank you so much for helping us make our wedding memorable even though it became quite different from what we originally planned. Root Cellar… *chef’s kiss*… we can’t wait to return to Chapel Hill and eat in the cafe.“

“Love stopping here! Great place for food, drinks, coffee, working, etc. always super friendly staff and right off a super cute and quiet courtyard.“

“Cafe McColl is a delightful, business casual dining establishment where friends are family and family means olive garden. Tourists and locals alike flock to Cafe McColl, or "La Comida Grande", in search of coffee, food, or maybe just a smiling face. There are many options to choose from - Cafe McColl offers an international pantheon of exquisite and fairly priced meals for even the most discerning of palettes. Might this reviewer suggest the daringly authentic 'Kung Pao Chicken' or the whimsical and exotic "Cheese Quesadilla". If these sound intimidating to the reader, the cafe also offers bagels, a salad bar, and their lunch-time special, claustrophobia.“

“This is a small branch of Saladelia in Marsico Hall on campus at UNC. They bring in food early in the morning with some hot and cold food choices such as breakfast sandwiches, soup, salads and grab and go items as well as coffee and bottled drinks. Clearly not as nice as the main cafe in Durham, but a nice choice to have for some variation from campus dining.“

“Had the chimmichurra sauce with rice and skewered chicken Fingerling potatoes extra chimmichurra . It was absolutely amazing. Please share the chimmichurra recipe I've had many in my life but not as excellent as the one you guys made!!!! Top score for the entire meal!

Vegetarian options: Lots of veggie lover options too

Kid-friendliness: Yes its in the childrens hospital!

Wheelchair accessibility: Elevator access

Dietary restrictions: Healthy options available“

“Le Macaron became a second home for me. They have the best coffee in all Franklin street and UNC, lavazza coffee. They’re hot chocolate is algo a great match whenever you’re trying to lower your caffeine intake ??‍♀️The girls that work there are super polite and funny. The pastries are awesome, my favorites are chocolate avalanche and the Parmesan brioche. And the ice cream! They don’t need to have too many flavors as the ones that they have are great. They’re sorbets are my favorites.“

“Preemptively leaving a 5 star review because the ones at the beach are always amazing.

QUESTION: is this one open to the public (non-student, mom of 3, desperately in need of caffeine and desperately in need of Port City Java)??? Also, if open to the public, where is the best place to park?“

“Amber was awesome to us and the food was perfect!“

“We worked with the Honeysuckle Tea House to host my sister’s Bridal Shower and could not have had a better experience. Sandy was so helpful when planning the event and checking in leading up. Rebecca who worked with us during the event was amazing and truly helped with everything! The space was absolutely beautiful. Neal and team did an amazing job with our grazing table. We were obsessed with the mini cheesecakes and pimento cheese sandwiches but truly everything was delicious! Would certainly have a wedding here.“

“Excellent, historic restaurant with 102 years of satisfied customers. Convenient location at 138 Franklin Street. Wide selection of foodstuffs for breakfast, lunch or early dinner.

Parking: Limited, paid street parking along a busy, main street adjacent to a popular college campus.“

“From the moment we stepped into the hotel, we felt comfortable and welcomed. After a 7 hour drive from PA, check in was friendly and efficient. Alonzo, the manager, was extremely kind and friendly and went above and beyond to get us checked in comfortably and quickly. The hotel was clean, the fitness room was fabulous, the pool was fun and the two gentlemen working at the Bistro were fabulous. We requested a box of tissues and they came to the room within minutes. I would definitely stay here again and would highly recommend it to any travelers going to the Chapel Hill area.“