07/26/09

If you want ice cream go to ben and jerrys around the corner

by 34000547

The coffee is good. The ice cream is bad. The service is worse!

• Pros: coffee
• Cons: ice cream, service

01/07/09

Attention Vegans!

by howllotus

They had several vegan options which are a huge plus - I ate vegan ice cream (chocolate and peanut butter which good in taste and OK in texture, but still amazing that they have it). They also had other vegan "goodies" - good cookies... but I have not tried their coffee or other foods.

• Pros: vegan options

03/02/08

Cool location and crowd, rude service

by aqdrinker

I love local coffee shops and as a former grad student at UNC I spent many days working or socializing at many of them in the triangle. Francesca's has a lot going for it: good coffee, great location, plenty of seating, diverse patrons. However, over the many times I've been there I've found the service to be lousy. After my most recent visit I've decided that Bean Trader's will be my 9th Street home away from home. The guy who served me called me "Sir" several times in a very condescending tone and was impatient. Because I felt he was discourteous, I signed the credit card receipt without leaving a tip which was greeted with a sarcastic "appreciate it." This was perhaps the worst service I've received there, but not far away from the average.

09/20/07

Frustrating Service for a newbie in town

by spinningninny

I just moved down here from DC. I have been looking for an independent coffee shop in the area and was happy to find this place. I've been there a handful of times, but the other night I had the RUDEST woman wait on me. She made me feel guilty for ordering tea, or perhaps ordering tea in the way that I ordered it. The tea itself was wonderful, the atmosphere for a young professional was just fine, but having a rude wait person who seemed to be judging each choice I made and word I chose was not at all pleasant. Additionally, when my friend went to pay, and was aiming for exactly chance, the woman watched her counting out change and as she was getting closer to the correct amount the lady said with impatience, "Getting close......"

It would only have been more unpleasant if she had sp*t in my tea.

11/19/06

relax and be cool

by hdevil

Franny's expanded a few years ago, taking over its next door neighbor and adding some great casual seating. Taste the sorbets or the fabulous icecreams, grab a coffee or indulge in a great cider. Lust over the pastries. Bring your laptop and search out one of the handful of plugs--a good one is right by the window of the additional room--and enjoy the wifi. Feel uber cool flipping through the Independent while gazing at the often changing art work. If you must, sneak a cig on the nice, covered bench seating out front.

• Pros: ambience
• Cons: little pricey

11/19/06

BEST ICE CREAM IN DURHAM

by laurenhaley

THIS IS A LOCAL HANG OUT, YOU SEE ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE HERE. THE AFTER THEATER CROWD

IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES. IT'S A MIX OF COLLEGE KIDS AND LOCAL ALIKE. THE COFFEE AND THE

GELATO GET SO MANY FAVE REVIEWS. NOT TO MENTION THAT THEY RTY TO SUPPORT LOCAL

ARTISTS BY DISPLAYING THEIR ART WORK ON THE WALLS. IT'S THE HANG OUT ICECREAM SHOP

FOR ADULTS.

• Pros: VERY FRIENDLY, AND YUMMY ICECREAM, AND GELATO
• Cons: SEATING IS SOMEWHAT LIMITED

11/17/06

Great coffee shop

by jessgottlieb

I'm a big fan of Francesca's. The atmosphere is great, the internet is free, and all of their food and drinks are great. I was especially impressed by the fact that their soup of the day was vegan--it can be tough to find vegetarian/vegan options in the area. Unfortunately it's hard to find an available outlet for plugging in the laptop on the weekends because the place is pretty busy.

• Pros: great ambience, good food, great music
• Cons: busy on the weekends, slow service when it's busy

09/09/06

OK desserts, great ice cream, coffee and cookies

by simul

The desserts have been both good and not-so-good. But the ice cream, coffee and all the little cookie things are great.

They have a brand of tea that's actually as good as loose leaf, but is sold in a bag. If you're a tea person, these may sound like heresey, but you have to try it (or at least see it) to understand why.

The best thing about the place is the vibe, which is friendly, smart and casual. Try going on a wednesday night, when the Go-club is in, and ask someone to teach you Go!

• Pros: Cool vibe, great tea, coffee
• Cons: OK desserts.

This grown-up ice cream parlor is a perennial favorite of Ninth Street shoppers.

by Contributor

In Short
Lavender art-covered walls and wrought-iron chairs keep this shop from looking cutesy. An added-on room provides plenty of space for the townies who stream in. Glass cases contain dozens of creamy gelato and sorbet flavors--like strawberry, Key lime pie and spumoni. You'll also find coffees, teas, real hot chocolate, cookies just golden and cakes--such as the popular mocha mousse cake.

08/29/04

Over Rated

by williambraun86

Poor service, high prices and mediocre to bad food. The ice cream is average at best, everything else is awful. Blue Coffee or the Cafe at the Regulator are much better choices.

• Pros: Decor