Best Coffee Shops in Asheville: 11 Asheville Coffee Shops You Can’t Miss

Is there anything better than wrapping your hands around a hot cup of coffee on a chilly morning in the mountains? I certainly don’t think so! And the best coffee shops in Asheville, NC don’t disappoint.

Asheville’s cafes feature single-origin beans, creative latte art, friendly baristas, a community vibe, fast WiFi, and cozy seating. They’re great spaces to gather for a chat with friends or to catch up on email for a couple hours.

As an Asheville local, I’ve tried just about every coffee shop in town. These nine are the cream of the crop. Stop by on your way to the mountains or while you peruse the shops and galleries downtown and you’ll see yet another reason why Asheville truly is “Foodtopia.”

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The best coffee shops in Asheville NC: A local’s guide

1. Pennycup Coffee

If single-origin beans are your thing, look no further than Pennycup Coffee.

Pennycup is Asheville’s best roaster and the best place to buy beans in town. I always keep my pantry stocked with at least two varieties.

This roastery uses eco-friendly sourcing methods and supports small farmers around the world. Their offerings change constantly depending on what’s available at the farms they work with, and they always have at least one special.

Pennycup offers a full menu of espresso beverages, but you’re better off ordering regular coffee so you can appreciate the complex flavors. Their cold brew is also fantastic.

This cafe has four locations around town: Downtown (in the YMI building), the River Arts District, Haw Creek, and North Asheville. The downtown location has the best seating and free WiFi, while the RAD is take-away only. At all four locations it’s more of a “grab and go” type of cafe — not really a place to linger. They have a limited food menu, but with so many great breakfast places in Asheville, I’d skip the food here.

Don’t leave without buying a bag of beans to take home. The Mexico Chiapas, Colombia Huila, and Ethiopia Guji are the top picks.

2. Summit Coffee

Looking for a good cappuccino, fancy latte art, or a flavorful cold brew in a hip space where you can escape the tourist crowds? Look no further than Summit Coffee in the River Arts District.

Summit was founded outside Charlotte in the late ’90’s. It has now expanded to three locations across North Carolina, firmly establishing itself as one of the best coffee shops in Asheville.

This is a place that takes barista-ing seriously while fully embracing the vibe of the community it’s in. It’s in an old tannery building in the industrial sector of the River Arts District. It’s covered in street art, surrounded by old shipping containers, and you have a decent chance of bottoming out your car in the gravel, pot-holed parking lot.

Summit has an awesome setup for a coffee date with friends, with sunny outdoor seating and cozy booths inside. The loft provides a quiet space to work (including very good WiFi). It’s busy but never overwhelmingly crowded, and the clientele is about a 70-30 mix of locals to tourists.

The cold brews and cappuccinos are the best things on the menu. Skip the limited food options — walk to 12 Bones across the street for lunch instead. And if you’re heading into the backcountry anytime soon, pick up a box of their instant coffee.

3. The Rhu

If you’re visiting Asheville and you like food, you’ve probably heard of Rhubarb — one of the hottest dinner tickets in town. But it’s tough to get into and it’s not the most affordable. Luckily, just around the corner is one of Asheville’s best-kept secrets: a cafe and bakery run by the same folks.

The Rhu is the Asheville NC coffee shop to prioritize if you like baked treats, scrumptious breakfast sandwiches, warm buttermilk biscuits, or fresh-out-of-the-oven bagels with your coffee. They offer espresso drinks, but they’re nothing all that special. The beans come from Pennycup so the drips and cold brews are well worth it. Plus, you get free refills.

The menu emphasizes locally made products and Appalachian comfort food. Don’t expect to find avocado toast here — it’s more like biscuits with local ham and mayo, or Big Spoon nut butter and jelly sandwiches, or cheese plates from local farms. Anything that comes with sourdough bread is a good choice. Prices are very reasonable — you can get breakfast and a coffee for under $5.

The cafe offers good WiFi and a great work space on the second floor, with wood-paneled and exposed brick walls. You can even grab a board game or a magazine from their supply. There is limited seating downstairs as well.

4. Trade and Lore

Based on atmosphere alone, Trade and Lore would be my #1 of the best coffee shops in Asheville NC. This cozy cafe on Wall Street has warm lighting, big wooden tables, a beautiful patio in a prime people-watching location, and live music in the evenings. Oh, and the coffee is great.

If you’re in town with friends and looking for a quiet spot for conversation, Trade and Lore is the best option. You’ll always be able to find a table and the vibe is social (i.e. not many people staring at their laptops) without being noisy (i.e. take your bachelorette party elsewhere please). It has lots of signs and billboards where local artists and entrepreneurs advertise their services, so it has a very community-centric vibe.

The baristas know what they’re doing and they offer seasonal drink specials. It’s definitely the best spot in Asheville for a pumpkin spiced latte. You can also buy local sodas and craft beer in the afternoons. Food options are limited, but you can grab lunch from Chai Pani next door and eat on their patio with a cup of coffee or tea.

The one knock against Trade and Lore is it’s a bit on the pricy side. A drip coffee will set you back $3. You can get refills for just $1 though, which makes it a reasonable place to work for a few hours.

5. Izzy’s

Izzy’s is one of the hidden gem coffee shops in Asheville. The baristas are serious — they make the best cappuccino in town. If you’re a third-wave coffee purist, you’ll enjoy chatting flavor profiles with the friendly staff.

The vibe at Izzy’s is very Asheville — offbeat, where you are free to be your most-weird self. You’ll often hear political discussions taking place at the next table over while artists covered in paint stop in for a latte on their way to the studio.

There are two locations in town. The downtown shop, known as the “coffee den,” is a bit dark and small. It also lacks comfortable seating. It’s more of a take-out type of place. But the West Asheville location is in an old house, with tons of indoor and outdoor seating and lots of hidden nooks where you can work in privacy for hours.

Izzy’s works mostly with local wholesale roasters, so both the drip coffee and the espresso beverages are worth a try. You can buy beans at either location to take home.

You can get a couple of pastries and bagels to munch on with your coffee, but you’re better off eating elsewhere.

6. Liberty House Cafe

Liberty House feels like a neighborhood coffee shop — because it is one. It’s in the heart of North Asheville, in an old house on Liberty Street.

The cafe specializes in fancy espresso beverages and farm-to-table meals. Both the food and the coffee is to-die for. This is the place in Asheville to splurge on a lavender latte or roasted duck eggs Benedict. Check their Instagram for daily specials, and get there early. They sell out of popular brunch items by 11 am on weekends.

Most of the ingredients on the cafe menu come directly from the garden in back. This is also the main seating area — indoors, they only have space for a couple tables. So it’s a great option for warm summer mornings. But they strongly discourage people from working at the tables inside, and if they’re busy they’ll kick you out if you use a table for more than two hours.

The biggest downside of Liberty House is the prices are quite high. I’ve never walked out of here spending less than $5. It’s totally worth it, and your money goes to support a small business that does everything right for the community.

Liberty House is out of the way for most things to do in Asheville. You can usually find parking within a block on the street. Don’t park in the small shopping center on the corner of Chestnut, or in any of the grocery store parking lots nearby.

7. The Waterbird

If you want to hang out at an Asheville cafe where you can get hand-crafted coffee beverages in the morning, a tasty sandwich for lunch, and high-end cocktails at happy hour, The Waterbird is what you’re looking for.

This cafe-bar in North Asheville manages to do it all well. The cappuccinos and Cubanos are top-notch. Breakfasts are simple but delicious and filling. The grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup is the ultimate comfort food on a snowy mountain afternoon. And the creative cocktails are a classy way to start the evening out on the town.

The Waterbird is social but never crowded, so you can always snag a seat with an outlet if you want to work. It gets gradually noisier as you get into cocktail hour. It’s a popular hangout with UNC Asheville students and the many small business workers in the Chestnut Street area. The vibe is mostly local.

This area isn’t in walking distance of downtown, but there’s plenty of parking in front of the building.

8. High Five Coffee

High Five makes every list of the best coffee in Asheville, and for good reason. It employs some of the top baristas in town.

This coffee shop is the ultimate third-wave coffee destination. Every fancy (pretentious?) coffee beverage you could dream up is on the menu. The espresso is smooth and the cold brew explodes with flavor. Coffee snobs should not miss this place.

Unfortunately, High Five’s locations leave a bit to be desired. The downtown branch is small and always crowded (sometimes it takes 20 minutes to place your drink order). The North Asheville location has more space, but it always seems to be full. There is a much more spread-out location in Woodfin (the suburb immediately north of Asheville), but that’s a long drive just for coffee if you’re on a quick weekend trip.

Additionally, High Five only gives you two hours of free WiFi with each purchase. So it’s not a great place to work. The vibe is much more “urban grab-and-go coffee shop for office worker coffee fanatics” than “community gathering place where people can linger.” It’s priced accordingly.

If it sounds like I’m dumping on High Five a bit, that’s only because I love the vibe of so many of these other Asheville coffee shops so much more. But if you’re looking for the absolute best third-wave coffee in town, High Five is where you’ll find it.

9. French Broad Chocolate Lounge

Okay, this one isn’t really a coffee shop. But they serve coffee and pastries, so it’s going on the list.

French Broad Chocolate Lounge is the place to go in Asheville for hot chocolate, cake, cookies, brownies, chocolate mousse, truffles, chocolate bars, and all other things chocolate. They also serve coffee drinks that feature chocolate (think mocha-like concoctions).

French Broad’s main location is on the corner of Pack Square Park. It’s a huge tourist draw, and the customers tend to be about 90% tourists. (Locals love this place too, we just can’t afford to go all the time!) So it can get really crowded on busy summer weekends but is totally deserted on weekday afternoons.

The Chocolate Lounge isn’t a good place to work due to the tourist crowds. They have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, but you can’t hold onto a table for long during peak hours.

I’m not going to lie — this place is pricey. But it’s also a must-try — especially if you’re on a romantic getaway in Asheville. I highly recommend an espresso and chocolate cake, or a dark cocoa with a truffle.

10. Filo Pastries and Coffee

Filo is a true local’s cafe, far from the tourist scene of downtown. This coffee shop on Tunnel Road in East Asheville screams community.

The coffee is good, the pastries are better, and they have Italian sodas, beer and wine on offer as well. You can get more substantial meals at lunch or snacks late in the afternoon.

The cafe is in an old house, so the indoor seating is in a cozy room with hardwood floors and lots of couches. You can also grab a table on the balcony in nice weather.

Filo often brings in live jazz performers on Saturday afternoons. The concerts are free (tip the artists if you like them). They draw quite a crowd, so arrive early to get a seat!

Being an almost entirely local joint, Filo’s prices are extremely reasonable. You can get a coffee and pastry for about $3.50 here. They also sell good bread for takeaway.

Filo is not in walking distance of downtown. The parking lot is small and the driveway is steep. The location right across from the VA Hospital is perfect for grabbing picnic supplies for lunch on the Blue Ridge Parkway if you’re hiking around Asheville.

11. Double D’s

Walking around downtown Asheville, you can’t miss Double D’s. It’s the giant double-decker bus sitting on the corner of Biltmore Avenue. And it’s a coffee shop.

The first story of the bus is where you place your order. The second story has a small amount of seating (the décor is very diner-esque). You can also sit at one of the patio tables outside.

The whole thing is a little absurd and very touristy, but it’s a fun and novel place to hang out for half an hour while you walk around downtown. The drinks feature seasonal specials like peppermint mochas and pumpkin spice lattes. The coffee is okay, not spectacular — you’re really here for the atmosphere.

Double D’s is cash-only. There are plenty of ATM’s on the surrounding blocks if you need one.

Summing up: The top Asheville coffee shops

Asheville’s coffee scene as good as its food and beer scene. Whatever your preferences — third-wave single-origin hand-pours, simple drip coffee, or anything in between — you can find a coffee shop to match.

Finally, please, please, please tip your baristas well! Asheville is a service-driven economy with many career service-industry workers. They’ve spent years honing their crafts, and they’re the reason why our cafes (and restaurants and breweries and shops) are so great. So please treat them with respect and remember that if you have the money to go to Asheville for a vacation, you can afford to throw a dollar/20% in the tip jar.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about Asheville. I love my home city and I want you to love it as much as I do. I’m happy to help you plan the perfect trip to the Carolina mountains!

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