Reverie: A Coffee Den

This place is awesome. My first week at NCSU I stopped by EVERY coffee shop on Hillsborough and asked for their best. Ended up meeting the owners of all of them (luck!!) And by far liked Reverie the most. He’s the only worker there, and is just the nicest guy, completely devoted to a good cup of coffee and a great atmosphere.

It’s a «den» alright. Nice little place tucked down on Hillsborough with strong espresso and a very nice cadre of workers.
Stopped in after spending several hours in another shop down the street. I was very curious because I’d walked by a mess of times but never saw this business once. Already hopped up on caffeine, I had to give them a try.
As I said, it’s small. So the seating can be cramped inside and out. But the charm is an undeniable draw. I love all the stuff crammed on the walls; grouped on every flat surface. I see this spot as a place to drop in for a quick drink, but I don’t think I’d hang out there for long stretches.

I swear by Reverie when I need a quick jolt of caffeine via my afternoon red eye, made swiftly and consistently, always at the perfect temperature. I love the warm coffee fragrance that envelopes you as soon as you walk in. Others have commented that the shop is small, but I think it just does the trick!

A quiet and relaxing place to read a book and have a really good coffee. Conveniently close to N.C. State.

I had a wonderful coffee and apple walnut muffin on a cold winter morning the other day. This shop was my saving grace on the way to class. I will be back!

I came in for an Italian soda and there was a bug frozen inside none of the ice cubes. He remade it for me, but it still wasn’t that good. Cup a joe has much better Italian sodas.

I had a Chai Tea Latte from here and it was really good I appreciate the actualy tea brew and real spices sprinkled on top. I also really appreciate the barista not sweetening mine automatically because 99% of the time they add WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much sugar and I end up hating it.

True coffee den. It’s small and has character. They are very limited on food offerings so don’t expect something like a Carribou Coffee mass of choices. That’s to be expected at a «coffee den» though.
I got the creamy caramel coffee which is really tasty, and the raspberry bar, also very tasty. What I like about this place is that they don’t always have all the varieties of coffee brewed and sitting there waiting to be ordered. Since I apparently was first to request the creamy caramel coffee today, I had to wait a whole 3 minutes for it to be brewed. That is fine with me!

The folks at Reverie are really friendly. And they serve quite good coffee – just as you’d expect at a coffee shop. It is really TINY! In a cozy, friendly, feel-​good way. And it has artwork for sale on the walls. And they serve Larry’s Beans.
However, my review is colored by the fact that for every time I stop by, there seems to be a time that I try to stop by, but I can’t because the store is inexplicably closed – so I end up at Coffee Haven or Global Village. And that makes me sad because I really like Reverie, but it’s hard to plan a drive to work with a stop for coffee if I don’t know what shop will be open. Anyway, a couple of times times, I’ve stopped by and the lights are on, it looks open, the sign on the door says it should be open at the given time, but the door is locked and it looks like no one is inside. No «back in five» or no «closed for the day» sign on the door to explain.

Fantastic Coffee. This is the only place in the City I have found so far where they know how to brew Coffee without burning it and have excellent taste!
I assume the lovely gentleman behind the counter is the owner as he is the only person I have ever seen there. Nothing else to really say except it is the beautifully quiet and very worth your money.

Don’t be swayed by the flashy hipsterism of certain other Hillsborough Street coffee shops. Reverie is every bit as local and organic, but so superior in terms of the final product. The owner is also the entire staff, which means your drink is always in the most capable of hands.
The seating area is certainly a lot smaller than CaJ or GV, but the ambiance is, in this critic’s humble opinion, the best. It’s a very chill, comforting place to drink phenomenal coffee… Not just a place to be seen.

This place is great. The staff is really welcoming and the sandwiches are wonderful. Try the turkey and havarti on sourdough. Muffins are good too.

What to do when you have time to spend while on campus and don’t want to be on campus? Grab a coffee… and I remembered that Reverie carries Larry’s Beans, which is why I visited this week.
The den is small, with seating for a few handful of people. The barista (would not be surprised if he is the owner) is friendly and helpful. This time I went with a steamer, a basic & easy to prepare drink. I enjoyed watching him make it — carefully measuring the syrup, steaming the milk, and pouring into the glass. I wish he would have stirred it though because the bottom of the glass was much more sweeter & flavorful than the top.
I thought ~$ 3 for a 20 oz. is a decent price.
Reverie does not have wifi, but I could pick up the NCSU’s wifi, which is good enough for me. The clientele seems to be less college students (a good thing if you ask me) and I struck up an engaging and interesting conversation with a local business owner about my field of study.
I am looking forward to visiting again and trying some of their coffee drinks and enjoying the den.

A Coffee Den… Most Definitely
Visit: October 4
When I walked into Reverie, I immediately agreed with the description of a coffee den. This intimate coffee house definitely has a ‘den’ vibe… relaxing like my parents’ den and eclectic like a unique college campus hangout. Reverie is decorated with a mixture of styles. There is a corner area with old big comfy chairs resembling the family room or den. Local artists have their works displayed on the walls. There are little colorful lanterns hanging from the ceiling in the windows. I really enjoyed sipping my skinny latte and looking around at all the chotchkies. Larry’s Beans is the coffee roaster of choice at Reverie. As expected from this bean, my latte was robust and smooth with a creamy foam on top. However, it was served in a paper cup and I prefer a glass or ceramic mug for my coffee drinks. Reverie offers a lot of special latte varieties. You can create your own specialty coffee drink with their huge selection of Torani flavors or use these syrups to make Italian sodas and Italian cream sodas. If you wish to get caffeinated in the comfort of your own home, you can purchase the beans at Reverie. A half-​pound is $ 8.99 and includes a free cup of coffee. Grab some java and take in the vibe at Reverie.

Whenever in Raleigh, I stop by Reverie for a latte or chai. The coffee and espresso drinks are never bitter. The chais are never too sweet. Their specialty drinks are a tasty treat.
It is a tiny little place on Hillsborough Street, directly across from NCSU, that you would never know was there unless you looked. The outside seating is particularly nice after the Hillsborough Street redo. Sala, the owner, is always behind the counter and a friendly guy. The pastries are fresh and tasty, especially the cranberry muffin.

Nice little place right across from the NCSU and close enough to pick up their WiFi. Coffees here are really good and the staff friendly and attentive. When we visited it was filled with middle-​aged professors.

How is it possible that I’ve missed Reverie in my frequent trips to the NC State campus? I’ll tell you how — I pass it up on the way to Global Village. Well — no mas!
Not only is Reverie my kind of coffee shop (perhaps I should’ve been asking around for a coffee den??), but it was just down the street all along. Granted, it seems to draw an older, professor-​ly crowd, but when I need a place to get cozy and get down to business (versus people-​watch like a mofo while my cursor blinks furiously and fruitlessly), this will be it.
Reverie is tiny but packed with so many artful details (student artwork on the wall, a tin mosaic barfront, lanterns in the windows, a vintage radio holding up the accoutrements) — makes a girl feel like throwing her money at them by the handfuls (this girl anyway).
The man behind the counter was jovial and conversational with the patrons (many of whom he knew by name) and my pumkpin spice latte (something I would never in a million years order but for some reason sounded perfect when written out on their chalkboard) was smooth, not overly sweet, and perfectly frothed.
So Global Village, when I want to watch the world and eavesdrop on bizzare conversations, I may be back. Until then, get ready to watch me stut by on my way to Reverie.

Simply the best coffee house in/​around NCSU during the day. The best prices on espresso drinks, and consistently great pulls of espresso add up to the best value around.
The shop is relatively small, but friendly and accommodating. You’re likely to hear typical university-​type conversation, from deans to professors to grad students to undergrads.
This is a one man operation, so the hours are daytime-​only, but honestly the activity on Hillsborough street is mostly daytime anyway.
Be sure to check out Friday mornings — a.k.a. Fritter Fridays! Yummy apple fritters! If you’re driving in, you can park in the «garage» underneath the building (below the 2^nd floor bowling alley).

Reverie’s never been much of an issue to me. They make an ok cup of coffee, and I’m sure the food items are passing fair, but the place is so small it just doesn’t give me that good coffee shop feeling. You’re so close to the counter all the time, it sort of feels like you have to hang out with the baristas… which is fine, just not what I go to most coffee shops for.
Outdoor seating is a big plus, but now Global Village has that as well… so there’s sort of no contest there. I guess the décor, and the general atmosphere of Reverie are pretty funky and coffee-​shopesque, which is rare. So I’ll give them an extra half-​a-​star, that makes three-​and-​a-​half, so I’ll just round up to four.

Another in the collection of great coffee shops around NCSU, Reverie is a tiny little place that serves coffee, as well as sandwiches and pastries. The coffee isn’t my personal favorite, but the sandwiches are a step above what a lot of the other coffee shops sell.
I’ve had a great time with the baristas every time I’ve visited and they’ve always been very friendly. Reverie also has the neat addition of an outdoor seating section, which, being located on Hillsborough St. offers an excellent opportunity for people watching or lazily reading the paper on a nice day.