On Sunday my wife and I made the most of the beautiful weekend weather by taking a trip over to Chapel Hill. The highlight of our day was a visit to Caffé Driade for a relaxing cup of coffee. The café is tucked away in a private woody setting just off of E. Franklin Street and is probably the most unique place to enjoy coffee in the Triangle and is widely regarded as having some of the most skilled baristas around. In addition to their drink menu, which also includes beer and wine, they feature fresh baked goods from the Guglhupf Bakery in Durham.
The quirky looking exterior of the café resembles something you might expect to find in the desert of Arizona. The interior is small with a cool funky ambiance and includes a few tables tucked away by the coffee bar. There are also a few tables inside a temporary enclosure as you enter from the front porch area. I believe they take the enclosure down after the winter months. Seating outside is spectacular and plentiful with both a front and rear patio surrounded by a garden area and woods with additional seating set down amongst the trees behind the café. My wife and I sat on the back patio overlooking the trees that lead down to the Bolin Creek greenway trail. I had delicious a large frothy mocha while my wife enjoyed one of their hot teas.
The café cleary has a strong following and can be quite busy at times. The gravel parking lot was almost completely full when we arrived. For a minute I was actually thinking we weren’t going to find a place to park, but they have additional parking in a lot next door. Like most coffee shops there are plenty of people working on their laptops. I read online somewhere that with wifi access is not free there, but I don’t know for sure you may want to look into that before heading over there if that is an issue. It looked like a pet friendly place as I noticed a few dogs relaxing on the patio. I understand that occasionally they have music performances or DJs at night on the weekends.
I think the combination of skilled baristas, quirky ambiance, and natural outdoor setting is what keeps people coming back to Caffé Driade. While my wife and I sat on the patio we really felt like we were a world away from the hustle and bustle of the Triangle. I noticed they had strands of Christmas lights strung across the trees above the patio and think it would be neat to come back on a summer night to have a glass of wine under the patio lights while listening to some live music. I’m looking forward to our next visit!
To see the rest of my pictures from our visit to please check out my flickr photo album.
The Triangle Explorer 
Definitely go back after the trees have bloomed. Gorgeous!
I bet it looks great when things green up! I will definitely check it out again in the Spring. Thanks!