Oasis At Carr Mill

I’m usually a customer of this store and that certainly changed today when I had to abandon my tea in order to allow for a very loud child to have playground time inside of a coffee shop (jumping running screaming and thumping. it was a lot of noise).

The décor of this place is adorable, you can literally spend hours studying or working in one of the big pillows on the floor, but coffee wise — not good.
I ordered a double espresso, and I know we cannot rely on American coffee but this was just strange, I was served two espresso shots into two different cups.
My friend ordered a smoothie, that was certainly a better choice.
They have WiFi and a few books to be bought at the store.

You go to Oasis for coffee and come out with so much more.
Run by the ever delightful Robert, he bends over backwards to ensure your experience is awesome. The coffees and teas are excellent. The muffins and chocolates are excellent as well. I don’t often go for dinners but he does have some options available.
The gold nugget here is the atmosphere. I would call it a Comfy, Cozy Conscious Coffee shop. You will not find the Starbucks crowd hanging out here. What you WILL find is an eclectic mix of healers, shamans, nutrionists, musicians, artists and the socially conscious. Robert sponsors free nightly talks and a Spiritual Cinema with enlightening movies on Friday nights. Go. You will not be disappointed.

Pictures of the interiors don’t do justice to what meets the eye. The décor demands appreciation and the ambience is just right for quiet chat or quality time with your book. They serve only 1 coffee and they pride themselves about it being award winning coffee 2 years in a row. I decided to chance upon it and it was indeed good ! They do have soy milk options. Do ask.
They tea menu is extensive and the gentleman behind the register is a very amicable. The Mexican hot chocolate was good. It had a tinge of spiciness to it but that just helps the tastes.
The corner closer to the entrance doesn’t have WiFi. But, the rest of the café does cater to the social ones.
Bottomline: Great interesting interiors with pleasant ambience. I am coming again and again … and again !

After our Sunday brunch we were walking around and then stopped by at this place for coffee. The very first thing you notice… lovely lovely décor. Something very warm about it & you would never expect such a place within a complex. My husband wanted his caffeine doze for the day and we were surprised that they just had one kind, but that was award wining. Our experience with coffee drinking is fairly new and for us it was good. I simply loved my Mexican hot chocolate. We took our drinks & sat back to enjoy the atmosphere. It was truly like an oasis & gave such a warm fuzzy feeling. This is definitely a keeper.

Incredible décor that is extremely cozy. Has a unique way of making you feel right at home. The owner has a great smile and is very welcoming and friendly. He’s also the author of the books that are lying around the store. The perfect place to come to solely enjoy your company or bury yourself into a book, they don’t have any wifi. Tried the Mexican hot chocolate and it was delicious. Tasted like a combination of hot chocolate and chai to me. They also hold an abundance of unique events. My girlfriends and I had come here to chat for a bit and we decided to stay for a little bit of a «laughter therapy» class and we had a blast. I will definitely be coming here more often for quality conversation and more unique events.

The Oasis exudes comfort. Lots of couches, padded seats, and a floor area. Oh the floor area has lots of pillows and looks awesome, but I don’t know if I’m at a point in my life where I can lie down at a coffee shop while other people are there. Relaxing music, Indian-​inspired decorations. I think whoever runs this probably appreciates other cultures and listens to NPR and has like two dozen bumper stickers explaining why we should eat local and gets hype to Enya, etc. So if you’re into that, you’ll fit right at home here. As a study spot, this could be good for keeping focus.
As far as materialistic consumption is concerned, it was ok. The coffee was fine but nothing to fight for. I had a strawberry smoothie and I would give it a B-​/​C+. It had too much ice in it and tasted like concentrate – but I wouldn’t say it was flavorless either. The (banana?) nut muffin was fine. The dish from Vimala’s – i got the chickpea stew one – was very bland and lacked any flavor whatsoever – GRANTED they offered me sauce to put on it and i said no thanks, thinking it would be flavorful without it.
Another plus – they’re always offering living social deals, etc. so you can get good value. I used this in my first and only visit so far. The service was very friendly.
Another minus – you have to deal with Car Mill parking’s BS if you come during business hours. Also, it kind of seems like business hours have some level of variability but they update this on their website. Note – maybe they should consider having a twitter if this is going to be the norm for them.
Oh, and they have a gift shop. Never heard of a coffee shop that calls the part where it sells stuff a gift shop, but I guess that’s cool. They also apparently have films and speakers and stuff in the evening.
All in all, it’s a decent place, and i think it really carries the personality of its owners. I’d come again, but i don’t know if I’d make it my regular spot.

Oasis has been open for nearly a year, yet they’ve not garnered enough reviews to hit double digits. For a place that has a sensational rating of 4.5 stars, how can that be?
It can’t be, because it is a false representation of the scene.
Everyone has high hopes for new shops and restaurants that open at CarrMill, but the truth is, it’s difficult to survive here. Oasis might, though, because it hits some of the requisite wickets. It caters to a certain customer type, someone who is looking for something specific. You’ll know what I mean when you walk into this café that looks as though it was outfitted from a catalog for those on a hot zen pursuit. If you’re looking for faux enlightenment amidst high-​dollar waspy clothing shops, Oasis might fit you like a fine pair of ironic hipster pants.
As for my experience and what I wanted, I visited because I saw an ad on a hot day for a real fruit smoothie. If there is a surprisingly sparse drink item in this town of trendy diets and farmers’ markets, it is the fruit smoothie. What could be more refreshing on a typical humid NC day? Nothing.
So, imagine my joy.
Then, imagine my disappointment when I spy the makings of my drink through the wizard’s curtained kitchen: standard bottled concoctions, blended together.
Let’s pretend that I didn’t see what I thought I saw. Perhaps they pre-​blended in order to preserve the serenity of Oasis. Regardless, the serving size was small for the cost, and the taste was less like just-​blended fresh fruit and more like the textured too-​sweet sludge at the bottom of a Naked juice if you neglect to shake before opening.
But, skip that. I just don’t care for the atmosphere. It feels pretentious and fake. They originally advertised themselves as being electronics-​free, but they gave that up after the first two weeks of being open, so now they look like Starbucks or Open Eye, filled with glowing screens and pale complexions. So much for being unique and bucking trends.
In fairness, Oasis isn’t a horrible 1-​star experience, but it isn’t for everyone. Some places are, some places aren’t, and Oasis fits the latter category.
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Addendum:
It pains me to 2-​star a place that has a fair amount of work put in to it, so I wanted to visit again, with some objective others, before finalizing this review. We stopped by on Monday only to discover that there is no oasis for the Monday-​weary. That and they penned in a time change: opening at noon, not 11. So, we stopped by again on Tuesday, at 12:15, but the place was dark and locked. Not opening on time, I guess because they’re too enlightened to follow a clock unlike us office drones who are desperate for… an oasis.

This is what a coffee shop should be. Great coffee, friendly owner, funky chic vibe, and a nexus for open hearts and curious minds. Can’t wait to go back.

Nice little cozy café; great place to relax and enjoy your Sunday afternoon tea or coffee.

Went here to purchase some New Age hippie books, surprised to learn… also a coffee shop!
DECOR: Looks like a harem, or a hippie cave, or a Bohemian harem for hippies in a cave. With pillows.
OWNER RATING: A+! Super into the hippie cave. Friendly, welcoming, informative, invested in his business. He gave me a free chocolate truffle. Don’t expect that all the time though! I looked like a guy who needed a free chocolate truffle.
JONI MITCHELL: Music selection leaned heavily on the musical stylings of Joni Mitchell. Joni-​haters beware!
TEAS: I had the raspberry almond tea. And let me tell you the prices were the opposite of ‘steep’. Haha, get it? It’s a tea joke. You don’t get it? Well ‘leave’ me alone. That’s another tea joke.
OVERALL RATING: Woodstock ’69

I’m a huge fan of coffee shops, and this coffee shop is by far my favorite. There’s a very warm ambiance about this little store and it’s a great place to sit down and relax. All the teas are amazing (my personal favorite is the Turkish Mint) and the meals are really good as well.
Perfect perfect place to unwind.

Wonderful, sweet place to relax and enjoy an oasis from the outside world. Great tea selection but if you like strong coffee ask him to make it extra strong. Not sure he gets the coffee thing.

Wonderful little hide away in Carr Mill Mall. I enjoyed the pecan and raspberry tea.

nice place, great staff and serve da best tea choice ever

Returned to Oasis and had another lovely time. The menu has been expanded with other vegetarian items. The owner is pleasant and sweet.