Mad Hatter Cafe + Bakeshop

Great place to eat. Delicious food. Only negative...as a first timer, I walked in and had no idea if you sear yourself or wait to be seated. No one acknowledged my presence so I had to just grab someone walking by in order to find out you order at the front and then seat yourself. Loved the food though. Everything I tried was delicious!

Stumbled across the cutest little Cafe/Bakery. The food was amazing, coffee was perfection, & the service was great! I sat outside at a bistro table across from Duke campus enjoying the scenery & amazing weather today. This is the perfect place for a quick bite, everything was absolutely gorgeous. I wanted one of everything! I'm pretty sure you can't go wrong with anything they sell. Everything was decently priced, which I know my wallet loves lol. I'll most definitely be back. So glad I made a wrong turn and ended up finding this gem in the heart of Durham. Mad Hatter Cafe made my day 💙

I ordered an online order for delivery for our breakfast on our wedding anniversary. On their end, they thought I received my order. However, unfortunately, the door dash driver who picked up our order decided that they needed breakfast too and never delivered our order. I called the store and explained what happened. They said they would reach out to customer care and try to resolve the issue. The restaurant called me back, as promised. They offered to remake the order and I could come get it, but it didn't necessarily fit our schedule to do so. About 10 minutes later, the restaurant calls again and offered to bring my husband and I our order.

The customer service went above and beyond. They have a forever customer out of me. Not to mention their pastries were to die for!

Bright and vibrant spot to apparently work on group projects and solo. Plenty of seating. I enjoyed my almond matcha latte. I got good and timely service. I did, however had a lot of trouble using the WiFi. I was barely able to load a single page while I saw everyone with their laptops open, typing away. I might go back for offline work but this week, I walked away after grabbing my coffee, bewildered 😳

Every time we come here it's amazing. Had the french toast special this morning and as always it's on point. My son said his omelet was awesome too. Their coffee, lattes, etc. are also pretty good. They have this AMAZING looking selection of cakes and pastries. I always get a black and white cookie if they have them...kind of in my mom's memory...she loved Seinfeld lol

Visiting from out of town and stopped by for a croissant and iced latte. The latte was a little bitter, but still good. The croissant was significant. The crust was a bit tough and not at all flaky, which I actually appreciated because I won’t be finding croissant flakes in my beard later.

UPDATE: After the owner's kind response, I should clarify: I didn't find the crust's "toughness" to be a drawback or a minus at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it's one of my favorite ways to have a croissant.

I would give this place 6 stars if I could!

I have been eating at Mad Hatter's since I was a freshman at Duke due to it's close proximity to East Campus. They are known for their cakes and cookie, etc. but I have always enjoyed their lunch menu. Over the years the selection has changed but they have always served a great mix of interesting specialties and well executed staples.

My favorite menu item by FAR is the Chicken Caesar Wrap. It is the best caesar wrap I have ever had even 15 years later. I was VERY disappointed to see that they removed it from the menu when I was last there. BUT they did make one for me no problem and it was just as good as I remembered.

They now have a big outdoor patio thanks to Covid, which seems like a nice place to have breakfast or lunch. Mad Hatter's may not be the cheapest place to eat, but I know that anything I order will be top notch.

This is almost always my first stop after I land in RDU. I have eaten there with a suitcase three times in the past two years. Do yourself a favor and check out my favorite restaurant in Durham!

Absolutely the best bakery in the area. We used them for our wedding cake and the sheet cakes. Sometimes heavy on the buttercream but all of our guests and the staff wanted seconds. The strawberry is easily my favorite. The vanilla was a hit as well. We added the flowers but they offer that as well.

Super cute place to just hang or study. It can take a while for your food to come out though.

Great cafe with youthful vibes full of young students from the schools nearby. Great food with even freest price. Love the place. Self serve! Their coffees red rye, latte, espresso great. Only set back is parking!!

Had a really good cortado. More comparable to a Cappuccino because of size. I think it was 7 or 8 oz. But very well made by skilled barista. Drip coffee is fantastic as well.

This is probably the best breakfast spot I've ever been to! Great theme and decor both inside and out. Staff were also super friendly and nice. The coffee drinks we got were great and the food was outstanding!!! I think it was worth the price. Any time we visit Durham, we'll be sure to come back.

cute and lively bakeshop with great coffee! the croissant breakfast sandwich was flakey & filling. loved the caramel leche latte with oat milk as well. service was excellent & quick considering customer volume, & we enjoyed the expansive shaded outdoor patio. as an added bonus, all employees were masked!

Pretty much a Duke institution for breakfast. Located directly across from Duke East Campus. Great place for early morning meetings; great baked goods; great breakfast plates. Rancheros are my favorite. Recently the building seems to have had a complete rennovation. Much nicer now.

I ordered the 6 inch tiramisu for my boyfriend’s birthday since that is his favorite dessert. It was delicious, and definitely did not disappoint! Thank you Mad Hatter!

Mad Hatter absolutely hit it out of the park with our wedding cake. They were super helpful and guided us to exactly what we were looking for. Most importantly, they delivered a beautiful, absolutely delicious wedding cake on time and exactly as promised. Professional service and delicious cake; cannot recommend them enough.

We had a small wedding and originally our cake was going to be made by a family member, but then something came up. I have been to Madhatter for breakfast and eaten their pastries before and knew everything was delicious. I had never tried any of Madhatter's cakes before, but they have a good reputation and everything I've ever had there was good, so I just trusted the cake would be good. I emailed them 4 days before my wedding and asked if they could make a cake for 32 people, that we could pick up on our wedding day. I really wanted the Lemon Lattice cake, so we got it as is, and didn't try to make it all white to look like a traditional wedding cake and it was a 10" round, single layer. Picking up the cake was super easy and it was well packaged.

The cake was an absolute hit. I have had multiple guests, male!, tell me that is the best wedding cake they've ever had. There was almost no cake left, and that was after everyone had already had appetizers, dinner, and pecan pie at The Pit. It was really delicious, incredibly lemony which I love, and I'm super sad that we forgot to grab the small amount that was leftover as we were leaving the wedding. Next time we are in town I'm definitely stopping by to get a slice.

We used Mad Hatter in Durham for desserts at our March wedding, and we were blown away at how amazing their dessert bars were. We wanted something different than cake, and Elizabeth helped us make a great selection. She answered all our many questions and was incredibly helpful! They have a great selection and also have menu options that cater to guests who may have allergies as well. We got so many compliments from our guests stating how delicious and fresh the desserts were. We highly recommend reaching out to Mad Hatter for your dessert catering needs if you are looking for something unique that you and your guests will enjoy.

I recently ordered a cake for my boyfriends graduation. Called two weeks ahead and they worked with me to understand the cake that I wanted. When it came time for pick up, everything went smoothly! Beautiful icing job and super yummy too! Whole family enjoyed it! I look forward to having another event so that I can order another great cake!

Very friendly staff! Delicious brownies and cookies, and the cappuccino I ordered was awesome! They have options for everyone, and the outdoor sitting section is very nice. Definitely coming back here next time I am in town.