Carr Haus Cafe

This café has some nice place to sit and food looks decent for a college café; however, it is a little bit disorganize. My calzone was cold inside even though they heated it for about 5 minutes.

Love their chai lattes. My favorite anywhere. Also great seating areas and super cute building!

Good for coffee and a quick muffin. Very busy in the mornings. Gender neutral bathroom.

How on earth did I not know about Carr Haus? A friend recently alerted me to the presence of a mysterious café inside one of RISD’s buildings on Waterman «with huge windows to sit by and WARM croissants.» I finally went and saw it for myself, and the windows were indeed big and lovely (see pictures), and the croissants– which come in many varieties both savory and sweet– could indeed be warmed. Along with all of the other bakery, which they will warm up for you as well. Warm cookies… genius!
I suppose most of the RISD students know about this place and therefore it doesn’t need a big sign directing people to where it is, but unless you go to school there it’s probably kind of hard to find. Hence me not realizing it existed despite walking past this building many times. Anyway, standing with your back to the big white church you just walk into the Waterman entrance of the corner building at Benefit/​Waterman and immediately turn to your right once you’re inside, and it’s right there. You’ll probably hear the music.
For lunch either to go or to stay, Carr Haus has a few options including nicely portioned calzones ($ 5.50). Llike everything else, you can get them warmed up. I had the chicken parmesan, but they also had about 5 other fillings options when I was there, including vegetarian. It took them a super long time to warm it up for some reason (like 10+ full minutes, even though there weren’t that many people there). But oh well, it was tasty.
Sometimes I discover a new café that has good pastries but not good coffee, or good coffee but sub-​par pastries. Carr Haus does both well, especially for a student café, and for reasonable prices (it seems it’s getting harder and harder to gt a $ 5 lunch anymore!) I’ll be coming here a lot more often.

As a student, break time during Freshmen Drawing class consisted of rushing to Carr Haus for the following products of comfort:
— spinach and feta croissants
— oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (warmed of course)
— spice /​vanilla chai lattes
Long lines during peak hours and the good stuff runs out, but in the end and ’til this day, Carr Haus remains a memorable place for good school eats.

Yumi food, carr haus is just a fun place to hang with your buds and drink too much coffee

The cupcake was great and the setting, too, so I’m giving it 3 stars for that, but the service I feel compelled to mention.
As I was paying for my order, the cashier saw my bag that said «Brown» on it and she said, «Oh, wow, you came all the way from Brown?». I was confused for a moment and then realized she was being sarcastic, so I laughed and said, «I know. You hardly know where Brown ends and RISD begins.» She then took on a more meaningful (and mean-​spirited) tone and said, «Oh, no, you KNOW.»
As I sat and ate my mini-​cupcake, my face burned with silent outrage at her display of righteousness and disdain. I have a strong feeling that she is the type of person whose feeling of superiority comes from believing she has the monopoly on open-​mindedness and free-​thinking, since she is an artist. I don’t know if this attitude represents a majority or only a small fraction of RISD students, but I am hopeful it’s the later. I’ve always felt that what distinguished Brown students from so many other large concentrations of young people I’ve been around is that they embrace all types and people/​personalities/​views. They may not be as artsy or unrestrained as RISD students, but they don’t deserve to be scoffed at for that.
As a parent of a senior, I’ve always spoken with pride and admiration of Brown’s connection to RISD and the fact that the colleges offer a dual-​degree program. I’ll honestly say I thought it added a certain «cool-​factor» to Brown. I’m saddened to learn that these feelings may not be mutual, and, again, I hope I’m wrong. It would be wrong for me to stereotype an entire student body at RISD based on one unfortunate exchange. I know that intellectually, but I’m still licking my wounds from the sting.

I served bagels and coffee here to hungry art students and Providence locals back in ’98. It was so great to visit and see that this student-​run RISD institution has experienced a renaissance, but kept it’s friendly, funky charm!
Their hearty range of locally-​sourced and fair-​trade treats were a feast for the eyes… and the tummy. There was everything from bit-​sized cupcakes to face-​sized cookies. (They’ll warm them up for you on rainy days too!)
I took in the bustle of Waterman from their cozy reading nook; drinking a hot apple cider and a curry-​fueled vegetable soup.
They’re open 9 – 5, so stop by and grab a cup of coffee on your way up Waterman! (You’ll need it, Waterman’s steep!)