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Narrative Coffee Company

4.6 (33 reviews)
Closed • 8:00 am - 3:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

Narrative Coffee Company Photos

NARRATIVE COFFEE COMPANY ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Outdoor seating
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Narrative Coffee Company

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Danielle L.

I had to lock in for multiple summer study sessions during my boards exam preparation and narrative was apart of my coffee shop rotation. The service is always fast, the vibes are always good, and the coffee is elite. Stop reading this review and go get a damn coffee here.

Tiff T.

Quick service, delicious drinks, beautiful interior aesthetic. Street or garage parking. More outdoor seating than indoor. I love their seasonal specials. I ordered the banana pudding latte with almond and loved it. Will be back soon to try their seasonal matcha latte.

Southern banana pudding latte
Gabrielle B.

I love Narrative coffee co. I cannot get enough of their southern banana pudding latte. The "she's the girl" is good too. Staff is always welcoming and nice. I absolutely love the cozy and cute shop. My new go-to coffee spot

Outside
Dennise A.

Love the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Latte & Thick Banana Bread n the outside ambiance. Its very relaxing.

Josiah L.

Classy interior and drink offering. Visited this location on a weekday in the middle of the afternoon and it was busy, but service was fast. There are restrooms available (customers only) and additional seating options in an atrium connected to the coffee shop. Loved the matcha latte with Madagascar vanilla syrup and classic black cold brew.

Butterbeer Iced Latte
Francine G.

Finally a good coffee spot in Durham area within walking distance to the Arts Center! Loved the themed specialty drinks & that they use house made syrups, would've loved for them to be a bit sweeter as it was hard to taste the syrups themselves but otherwise really good. Not much seating indoors (plenty outside) and limited drink menu for non coffee drinkers. Friendly baristas and fast service, would come back again!

Yolanda Y.

Excited to try this relatively new spot in downtown Durham! I sampled a few drinks--they have quite a few seasonal options, overall good quality, though I noticed that the lattes all had a pretty similar taste. I think (as somebody who enjoys a favored, sweet drink) the syrups could be more distinct, since the coffee flavor tended to dominate. Their cold brew was solid. Service was quick, and the space has a nice, quiet work vibe. Though being so close to Google means it can get crowded at certain times of day. Even tho their coffee is not my favorite, I have found it to be a great place to grab a morning coffee and sit outside by the fountain to read or catch up with a friend.

Gingerbread Latte
Phillip N.

Stopped in before the Durham Christmas Parade to grab a coffee to enjoy while watching the parade! I got an iced gingerbread latte. It was really tasty and festive for the holiday time. The shop was super busy because of the parade, but the barista's were super efficient and friendly! The shop is cute so I'd love to go back and enjoy the space while sipping on coffee! I'll definitely be back!

Front counter
Markie'Sha J.

This was my first time visiting this space, and it is definitely one of the most coffee shops that I've been to in the area. I had a buttery fresh warm croissant. The employee was extremely welcoming and the working space had a great temperament. There was music playing, but it was at the perfect volume to where it was not a disturbance and still created a comfortable working space.

Petal & spice w/almond milk. Front view of the building.
Emebet E.

Determined to find a black owned coffee shop this morning I made a pitstop at both locations! Important to check their schedule for Raleigh (Tuesday-thurs). Found my way to Durham and found their sweet brick and mortar. For barely 10 am on a Friday, they were busy. I ordered a seasonal Petal and Spice with almond milk-- delicious. The vibes immaculate & the service fantastic! Thanks so much!

Inside
Liz F.

In the bottom of a mixed business building so it's very high foot traffic which is fun! Good amount of space to sit. WiFi. Has free two hour street parking across the street that is first come first serve.

Alyssa M.

The decor in the space is very cool. Has a mellow vibe. Smaller space but has plenty of outlets to wfh. I got a spring special coffee with housemade blueberry syrup- Yum! The staff was very kind and welcoming.

Staci H.

I didn't go for food. Just for coffee. But the service was nice and the ambiance was my fave. Modern and relaxed. Which I loved the most.

Ordering counter

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11 months ago

Very cute coffee shop! Well located! However the lattes we got were not the best. The milk frothing was subpar...

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9 months ago

Was really excited about this place but was hugely disappointed. Paid over $8 for what tasted like hot milk and a cramped atmosphere.

Business owner information

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Rodrick L.

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Morning Ritual

Morning Ritual

4.5(32 reviews)
8.6 mi

Bottom line: Really enjoyable first visit to Morning Ritual. This coffee shop/cafe served up a…read moretasty latte and Egg + Cheese Scramble to start my day off right. Helpful service in a nicely decorated small cafe, a nice stop for getting a morning going. The Deets: Deciding to venture out a bit to try some place new, I found Morning Ritual on the trusty Yelp app and headed off to there. It is joined along side The Goat restaurant on the edge of an apartment complex campus near Brier Creek. I like the look of the building and while noticing there is outside seating available, there is a convenient take out window on the side as well. I went inside and liked the warm, inviting but still slightly modern look of the cafe style seating and ordering area. There are a couple of seats within range of a power outlet and there is WiFi but note it is public/no password/unsecured access, it appears. Their menu shows a good array of beverages and eats to satisfy those morning needs. I decided on a 16 oz hot skim latte to drink to enjoy there and then ordered the Egg + Cheese Scramble which has Monterey Jack and Cheddar and served with one of their biscuits. You order and pay at the register/counter then they give you a table number to take to your seat. My beverage came in well enough time to enjoy while I waited on my food order. My latte was so good that I had no need for additions such as sweetener or syrups and I like the mug with it to enjoy in house. Food came in good time as well, looking pretty tempting. The toasted biscuit was good and I liked it but a tad small bit sweet for a Southern type biscuit (the type that I'm used to/grown up with enjoying). The scramble was really great...I usually do not favor getting cheese in my scrambled eggs but everything was delicious here and perfect texture as well as portion on the eggs themselves in a small cafe setting. There's always that challenge in a new coffee shop/cafe in figuring out their used dishes protocol/station but loved that my server saw me searching and happily took my dishes at the counter for me. I enjoyed this first visit to Morning Ritual and can see me visiting in the future, I like it.

The coffee was actually delicious. The service not so much!…read more To be fair I ordered my coffee with my breakfast at The Goat (the restaurant that Morning Ritual shares the building with) but the coffee is listed on The Goat's menu, so they need to get in sync. Our breakfast ended up coming out before coffee, which made no sense. I had to ask about the coffees before they were actually made. When the girl came from morning ritual She brought out my husbands, hot cappuccino but my mocha out iced and I immediately said I don't drink cold coffee and I did an order iced. Instead of being apologetic, and stating that she would change it, she just snatched the iced coffee and walked away. That was such a strange encounter. It was rude and I got no apology, nor did I get any explanation of what would happen next. I let my server know to ensure I was still going to get a coffee because I can't live without my coffee in the morning! When my Moca loved her honey, oat milk, coffee came I took a sip and was glad i didn't flip out and say "forget the coffee" (as I was already done with breakfast by the time in arrived) because the drink was delicious! If I'm ever back in the area (I was staying in Raleigh but decided to take a little detour into Durham that morning) I'll come to only Morning Ritual to see if I can change this 3 star review for service issues into a 5. For now they need to work on getting coffee service to The Goat streamlined!

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Morning Ritual - Counter and pastries! - March 2026

Counter and pastries! - March 2026

Morning Ritual
Morning Ritual - Outdoor entrance

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Outdoor entrance

Foster Street Coffee - Iced Miel Oat Latte - lifewithhanny

Foster Street Coffee

4.3(121 reviews)
0.2 mi
•$$

A long-time favorite of mine here in Durham, particularly for anyone wanting a place to study. They…read morehave a ton of tables, free coffee refills, and lots of outlets. The lighting is good, the music is at an appropriate volume, and the seating is comfortable (particularly in the back room). During the weekends and on holidays they can be quite full (particularly during the school year), but generally speaking I can usually find a seat here. Baristas are friendly and competent. They are well-staffed, and even when there is a long line things come out quickly! There is also free parking available in the parking garage around the corner, which is certainly a bonus. My go-to here is simply an iced americano or coffee, but their seasonal drinks are also delicious. Can't recommend enough!

It's time for "second coffee" and my office for the morning, landing at Foster Street at around…read more8:30 am. Parking wasn't easy since I can't fit into a parking deck but a metered space opened up and I was able to jam into there. Warmly welcomed and my cortado was ready before I'd even finished plugging in the laptop. Strong coffee that had a deep flavor and I'd already had breakfast so I was able to resist the pastries. An hour in, another cup of drip was all I needed while I did the Internet thing. Foster Street is conducive to laptop but it did get a bit loud in there with the talking, the music and the sound of the espresso machine. But if you can handle all of that, it's ideal. I stayed about two hours this morning. [Review 943 of 2025 - 4346 in North Carolina - 24498 overall]

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Foster Street Coffee - Breakfast burrito

Breakfast burrito

Foster Street Coffee - Order counter

Order counter

Foster Street Coffee - Mocha latte and chocolate croissant

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Mocha latte and chocolate croissant

Joe Van Gogh

Joe Van Gogh

4.2(164 reviews)
1.4 mi
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The space nails the industrial-warehouse-meets-neighborhood-cafe thing without trying too hard…read more Exposed ductwork, dark ceilings, warm wood slat paneling on the counter and half-wall, white subway tile behind the bar, and enough trailing plants to soften it all. There's an upstairs loft and a mix of seating downstairs. Prices are fair for the quality. Latte $4.50-5.75, mocha and chai in the same range, drip from $2.50. Flavor shots are $0.50 (rosemary brown sugar and toasted coconut stood out). The grab-and-go case is well stocked with sandwiches, fruit and cheese cups, overnight oats, granola, and Nitro cold brew if you need it to go. Food menu covers biscuit sandwiches, breakfast burritos, and the Van Gogh Wich. Small gripes: it's hot only on several drinks (pour over, espresso, cortado, cappuccino), so know that going in, and no pets allowed. Summer menu had some fun seasonal stuff--iced prismatic with cherry cinnamon apple. If you care about where your beans come from and want a cafe with genuine character, this is an easy recommendation.

Outstanding local coffee spot with exceptional service. It's got lovely natural light and plenty of…read moredifferent seating options, though it can get pretty crowded during peak hours (especially in college exam season). They have some wonderfully creative seasonal flavor options, though I wish the flavors came through more strongly in the drinks. I appreciate the variety of non dairy milks. Their premade foods have never disappointed me -- they're a little pricey, but not astronomical for the area, and everything is fresh. The selection of pastries from Ninth Street is great too! The service has always been what really stands out. No matter how busy they are, they make a point to connect with you kindly and genuinely. On the one occasion I had difficulty with an online order, they went out of their way to help. Overall, JVG is my reliable neighborhood coffee house.

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Joe Van Gogh - Iced vanilla oat latte - lifewithhanny

Iced vanilla oat latte - lifewithhanny

Joe Van Gogh - Peppermint vanilla oat latte - lifewithhanny

Peppermint vanilla oat latte - lifewithhanny

Joe Van Gogh - Upper section overlooking the counter to order

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Upper section overlooking the counter to order

Narrative Coffee Company - coffee - Updated October 2026

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