The 10 best coffee shops in Charlotte

Charlotte’s coffee scene has two halves now. There are the roasters that built it, and there is a newer wave of late night Yemeni coffee houses and matcha bars that changed when and why people go out for coffee. This list has both. Hours are current as of this writing; chains with multiple locations list their flagship.

1. Enderly Coffee Co.

A family owned roastery whose only cafe is on Tuckaseegee Road in Enderly Park, west Charlotte. It started as a neighborhood first business with a mission and has quietly become one of the most respected roasters in the city; its beans show up in restaurants across Charlotte, including Grey’s Diner on The Plaza. The cafe is a small, window lined room that suits a slow morning or a few hours of work. Our read: the best cup in the city, with the least fuss.

Hours: Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to noon

Address: 2620 Tuckaseegee Rd, Charlotte, NC 28208

Why it made the list

• Roasts its own beans and supplies restaurants around the city.
• A calm, laptop friendly cafe on weekday mornings.
• Seasonal drinks like the iced fall spice latte.
• Retail beans worth the drive across town.

Directory listing: Enderly Coffee Co.

2. Undercurrent Coffee

The busy Plaza Midwood shop on Commonwealth Avenue with a large central bar, cozy seating and a menu of coffee, tea and locally sourced food. It shares founders with Not Just Coffee and Night Swim, which makes it part of the family that built Charlotte’s specialty coffee scene. There is a second counter inside Optimist Hall, but the Commonwealth Avenue shop is the one to settle into.

Hours: Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Address: 2012 Commonwealth Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• The central bar is the best solo seat in Plaza Midwood.
• Locally sourced food alongside the coffee.
• A second stall inside Optimist Hall.
• From the founders of Not Just Coffee.

Directory listing: Undercurrent Coffee

3. HEX Coffee, Kitchen and Natural Wines

An all day cafe at Camp North End that roasts its own, cooks a Japanese inspired menu of taro yogurt bowls and katsu sandos, and pours natural wine, in a space more than double the size of its original. It is the coffee stop on the way to anything at Camp North End and a destination on its own. HEX beans are also served at Stable Hand in South End.

Hours: Daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Address: 201 Camp Rd, Charlotte, NC 28206

Why it made the list

• A roaster with a real kitchen and a natural wine list.
• Katsu sandos and taro yogurt bowls that make it a lunch, not just a coffee.
• Inside Camp North End, surrounded by the campus’s shops and galleries.
• Open seven days a week.

Directory listing: HEX Coffee, Kitchen and Natural Wines

4. The Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters

A coffee roastery and cafe on The Plaza in Plaza Midwood, across from Undercurrent and Calle Sol, with seating on two levels and picnic tables outside. It roasts its own beans and added a South End cafe in 2024. The shop fills up quickly and the small lot fills faster, so mornings reward the early. The food people mention after the coffee is the empanadas.

Hours: Daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Address: 1217 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• House roasted coffee with a second cafe in South End.
• Two levels of seating and picnic tables out front.
• The empanadas.
• Open until 7 p.m., late for a coffee shop that is not a bar.

Directory listing: The Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters

5. Gotcha Matcha & Espresso

A 2023 pop-up that grew into two Uptown cafes a few steps apart on South Tryon Street. The first is inside 200 South Tryon, down a hallway past the building’s front desk; the second is at 401 South Tryon. The menu runs more than a dozen matcha lattes plus coffee and pastries, and the owner is often behind the bar in his panda hat. The creative matchas are what made the brand and what bring people back.

Hours: Monday to Saturday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Sunday

Address: 200 S. Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Why it made the list

• More than a dozen matcha lattes, the best matcha program in the city.
• Two Uptown locations steps apart.
• A pop-up that earned its storefront, twice.
• Pastries and espresso for the non matcha drinkers.

Directory listing: Gotcha Matcha & Espresso

6. Haraz Coffee House

A Yemeni coffee shop on Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood that helped start Charlotte’s late night coffee culture. It stays open long after the restaurants around it close, and on a weekend night the room is as full as any bar on the street. The menu is Yemeni coffee and tea served the traditional way, plus the drinks that made it a social media fixture, the iced pistachio latte above all. Go on a weekday or late in the evening for a table.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Address: 1204 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28204

Why it made the list

• Open until 1 a.m. on weekends.
• Traditional Yemeni coffee and tea alongside the viral pistachio latte.
• A social scene that does not involve alcohol.
• In the middle of the Central Avenue strip.

Directory listing: Haraz Coffee House

7. Qahwah House

A Yemeni coffee shop on Pecan Avenue in Plaza Midwood and the latest night option in the neighborhood, running into the early morning on weekends. Alongside Yemeni style coffee and tea, it serves Turkish coffee and fruit refreshers with pastries. It is a place to meet at midnight that is not a bar, a few blocks from Haraz.

Hours: Sunday to Thursday 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.

Address: 1318 Pecan Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• The latest hours of any coffee shop in Charlotte.
• Yemeni, Turkish and refresher menus in one place.
• Pastries and sweets to go with the coffee.
• Walkable from the rest of Plaza Midwood’s nightlife.

Directory listing: Qahwah House

8. Not Just Coffee

The homegrown chain that set the standard for specialty coffee in Charlotte, with five cafes around the city. Each has its own personality and menu of coffee, tea and breakfast and brunch food, so the Uptown shop is a different experience from Jay Street. The founders went on to open Undercurrent and Night Swim, and the three brands together account for a large share of the good coffee in the city.

Hours: Vary by location; see the shop’s site

Address: Five Charlotte locations; see the shop’s site for addresses

Why it made the list

• The original Charlotte specialty coffee brand.
• Five cafes, each with its own menu and feel.
• Jay Street is the remote work favorite for seating, parking and outlets.
• Breakfast and brunch food at every shop.

Directory listing: Not Just Coffee

9. The Hobbyist

A Villa Heights coffee and bottle shop on North Davidson Street that runs from morning pour-overs to evening craft cocktails, with bar and table seating inside, a patio and free parking. It is a coffee shop on weekday mornings, a working bar at night and a live music venue and event space in between, with a large selection of beer, wine and tea alongside the coffee.

Hours: Monday to Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Address: 2100 N. Davidson St, Charlotte, NC 28205

Why it made the list

• Coffee by day, cocktails by night, in the same room.
• Free parking, which is rare on that stretch.
• Live music and events.
• Laptops welcome on weekdays; not at the bar on weekends, and that is the right rule.

Directory listing: The Hobbyist

10. Summit Coffee

Born in Davidson and expanded across the Southeast, with seven cafes in Charlotte, including newer shops in Highland Creek and Wilmore, and four more around Lake Norman, all pouring the company’s own roast. Every location serves coffee, beer, wine and pastries, and every one works for a morning of remote work. The Eastover cafe is a local favorite.

Hours: Vary by location; see the shop’s site

Address: Seven Charlotte locations and four around Lake Norman; see the shop’s site for addresses

Why it made the list

• A Lake Norman original that grew without losing quality.
• Coffee, beer, wine and pastries at every cafe.
• Eleven locations across the metro, so one is always close.
• Reliable for a full day of work at any of them.

Directory listing: Summit Coffee

Also worth knowing

Two shops opened too recently for this list and both belong on the next version of it: Babaloo Coffee Club in South End, the tiramisu latte shop expanding to Rea Farms this fall, and 1122 Coffee Co. in downtown Concord.