Idle Hour Coffee Roasters

Update (7/3/22): Finally made it here to give them another try and happy to report that the issues I previously had with ordering doughnuts have been fixed. I can now wholeheartedly recommend Idle Hour.

Frustrating experience today where my order was not fulfilled immediately and others ordering after were. As a result, several items I ordered were no longer available and I was stuck choosing items I didn't want. I understand these are challenging times for businesses, but there's no excuse for that. Not happy.

My friend and I just returned from this place; it literally HURT to go here. Let me explain...

Some places in downtown Raleigh are all about presentation and totally lacking on the actual delivery, or even basic customer care. Going into Idle Hour right when they opened this morning personified all of that.

We both ordered their hot coffee. My friend ordered a coffee cheesecake and I ordered two donuts. Her dessert was like totally flavorless flan, bereft of any coffee and only a hint of chocolate. Both of my donuts tasted like they had been frozen leftovers and thawed, with the quality akin to the back of the freezer at a Food Lion in the closeout section.

The coffee? I don't get how you can call yourself roasters when it is something you can make much better grinding your own beans from home. We know because we brought our own to comparison test. We've been to other coffee roasters (The Muse is a good one), so we can tell when someone knows what they're doing or doesn't care.

Speaking of not caring...

When we sat down at one of their outdoors tables, my friend literally fell over and scrapped her leg on the pavement because of a missing bolt in her patio bistro chair! I went inside and told the person behind the counter what happened and how dangerous it was. When he came outside, did he even ask if my friend was allright? Did he offer to get her anything? No. He only cared about his chair and brought it inside, and didn't come out to us again.

Idle Hour? More like a wasted hour.

We really wanted to do something fun and relaxing together on our day off. Instead we got a remind that a good presentation does not guarantee a good experience.

On the plus side, it reminded me why never to tip a place in advance. That's just TIPSTORTION.

Oh well. Misery loves company, even when there's bad coffee.

I had high hopes for this place but was really let down. What a HUGE disappointment. My experience could have been better to say the least. My espresso was so bitter it wasn’t drinkable. I could taste it through my latte. It was burnt and sad. I’m not sure I’ve ever had worse espresso in my life. And I agree about the bread. I’ve never eaten a crumbly desert before, but this was the Sahara. I don’t usually review places, but I had to warn people in this case. I’ll try again in a few months when they get it together.

All I can say is WOW! I 1st heard about this place from watching a WRAL news story featuring one of the owners, and I was finally able to check it out in person. The atmosphere is inviting and CLEAN. There is limited indoor and outdoor seating due to COVID restrictions, but service was fast and efficient. The beverage I had was absolutely delicious and the food tastes and looks fresh and homemade. They even have parking y'all! The staff was extremely nice and even made beverage suggestions, as I had no clue what to order because everything sounds so good. If you are in the Raleigh area and have a chance to stop by....PLEASE DO. You won't regret it. I know they are new to the area and I am hoping they stay forever. It is that good!

I really liked the vibes and foods until I found some “hair” in my cookie🤮. I didn’t unwrapped my cookie to prove it.. Next time pls careful about this🥲

This is hands down my favorite local coffe e shop in Raleigh! The aesthetic is cute and quaint, and the owners are very friendly and sweet. I love their seasonal coffees flavors, ant their small cheesecake desserts!

Bought a latte, pumpkin spice donut and mushroom cheesecake pastry. Overall experience was sub par. The donut had a burnt brûlée top so it was really bitter. The pastry definitely looked better than it taste. I would describe it as a gelatin bloop. Coffee was subpar.

I found this a pleasant atmosphere with friendly service. The coffee was great and the desserts were delicious. The food was very fresh. The shop was very clean and fresh in appearance. Had one of the best fresh bagels I’ve ever had!! Staff was cleaning and sanitizing as we were leaving.

Hands down best coffee shop in Raleigh, plus really incredible desserts & pastries

Love going here. One of my favorite new places to frequent. Good selection of food drinks and pastries and a wonderful staff that make your day brighter, will continually be back and glad you all exist. FYI, Nora is the best, but they are all great, be back soon :)