Caffe Prada

Caffe Prada is located on the intersection of 4th and Broad St. in downtown Winston-Salem, NC.  It's situated in the ground floor of a little apartment complex.  It kind of reminds us of Central Perk (from Friends), or that little bookstore from You've Got Mail (The Shop Around the Corner) - what a great movie.  Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks... you can't go wrong with those two... Anyway, so great things are expected from a coffee place in such a location.

  Let's go inside!  First impressions:

Bridget: "Wow, this looks bigger from the outside... Where's the big, comfy couch for all our friends and us to hang out on?  This is not Central Perk... Sad face."

Ainsley: "Ooh look!  Gelato!  What's gelato?  Wow, that's a lot of orange... Everything is orange... Yet they have no orange gelato..."

  Overall, our first impressions didn't quite add up to our expectations.  But this isn't to say Caffe Prada didn't redeem itself.  The second thing we noticed was the service.  We had barely made it in the door before we were greeted with a friendly, "Hey there!"  and offered a free gelato sample.  Bonus points! (Bridget loves gelato - Ainsley's never had it.)  The good service didn't stop there, the drinks were made in exceptional time, and the server was very cheerful and accommodating - not just to us, but to everyone already there.  He made his way to each table to talk to everyone personally.

  The menu was surprisingly varied.  They offered coffees, teas, baked goods, pastries, appetizers, gelato, wine, and beer.  We were quite surprised with how much they had to offer.  They also carried coffee grounds and dog biscuits (which gave them bonus points from Bridget).  Also, the menu was displayed on a flat-screen television that cycled through every five minutes.  So that was cool.

  The coffee was very good.  Ainsley got a frozen mocha and Bridget got a chai latte.  Bridget's latte had the perfect amount of cinnamon and foam and Ainsley's mocha was like a frozen, chocolatey epiphany (her words).  Both drinks blew Star-gotta-have-a-lot-of-Bucks out of the water.  However, there were some grievances over the size of the frozen mocha coffee straw.  The straw was enormous.  It was even too big for a slushy.  Apparently, it made the coffee drinking experience a bit cumbersome.  It helped in not getting a brain freeze, but the concentration required for drinking through such a large straw distracted Ainsley from the entire experience.  It was also orange.  Minus points from Ainsley.

  The prices were reasonable.  Not the best we've seen, but also low enough we could afford go at the end of the week (poor college students that we are).  The only points off that Caffe Prada got was for the fact that there is a $5 minimum to use your credit/debit card there.  Even though we were looking around and noticing other things, we didn't notice the sign that warned us about the limitations on cards.  (To be fair, the sign was orange, but then, so was the rest of the establishment, so it didn't jump out at us as it should have - more points off for the orange). 

  Once we had our drinks, we looked for a place to sit down and chat.  There was a small bar near the back, and behind that, there was a little area with a comfy-looking chair and a little love seat.  We would have sat there, but it was unclear whether or not that was open to all customers (points off for confusion - Bridget).  We settled on a table near the window facing Broad St.  The whole layout of the cafe is a little crowded, though, so it was difficult to feel like we had any real privacy.  From our seats, we could see down Fourth St. towards downtown Winston.  This was pretty nice, since all the lights were on and we could see some of the goings on from a quiet distance.   It really seems like it would be more enjoyable to sit outside during the day than inside at night here.

  The music was very eclectic and played at a good volume.  We heard everything from country to soft rock to love ballads, in just the twenty minutes we were there.  There were electrical outlets EVERYWHERE (this made Bridget exceedingly joyful), but the WiFi was password protected (sad face).  However, there was an unprotected WiFi within range which could have been used, depending on your moral standards...  There was also a TV for people to use and a TV behind the bar set on a sports channel.

  Basically, the overall feel that we got was that there really wasn't one.  It seems that they're so focused on trying to be different that they're not really anything (Ainsley).  While the atmosphere appeals to everyone, there's not one particular thing to draw you in.

  Both Bridget and Ainsley agree, though, that the coffee and the service are well worth returning for - we might just get the coffee to go next time.

Random Points Round!

Ainsley:

    + 1: furniture was surprisingly comfortable

    + 3: community involvement (selling stuff made in WS, advertising local shops, etc)

    - 1: creepiness ('nough said - it's personal)

    + 2: I like their emblem

    - 2: separation of service area (the coffee bar and the wine/beer bar were too close together - you couldn't tell where one started and the other ended)

Bridget:

    + 2: community support (bicycle meets every weekend, advertizing local art shows)

    + 1: pet friendly (it wasn't expressly stated if pets were allowed or not, but I got the vibe that they would be)

    + 1: card racks (they sold a wide variety of greeting cards - I even found one for my mom!)

    - 3: didn't see the bathroom (I don't know about you, but after downing a large chai latte, it would be nice to know where the bathroom was - especially when you have to walk to the car, since neither one of us can fly... haha)

    - 1: limited ground coffee variety (the only coffee they sold was theirs - if you are going to sell coffee grounds, try a variety)

Overall score:  30

"I would rather suffer with coffee than be senseless"

~ Napoleon Bonaparte ~