Maman | Plaza Midwood

Description: A French-inspired bakery and cafe from New York with its first North Carolina location at The Commonwealth in Plaza Midwood. Known for its South of France aesthetic with vintage decor, whimsical floral accents, and warm lighting, Maman serves an all-day menu of breakfast items, sandwiches, tartines, salads, pastries, and specialty coffee.

Comments: There’s tons of seating, including large tables that could easily fit a group of friends, and two person tables galore. Aesthetically it’s distinct from other cafes in Charlotte. It’s a French cafe but it doesn’t look like Amelie’s. It’s fancier looking. Less eclectic, more posh and refined. Lots of natural light gets in from the many windows within, giving it a light and airy vibe.

This is an all purpose cafe. All sorts of food and drinks, space for working remotely, studying, meeting friends, hosting a book club, having breakfast, lunch, or dinner, drinking coffee, drinking tea, all the things. They’re not Charlotte local, it’s a chain that got famous in 2017 when their nutty-chocolate chip cookie showed up on Oprah's favorite things list. So certainly try that if you visit.

The worst thing here is parking, paid garage run by Metropolis. Also outlet access isn’t great if you bring your laptop, so come charged up.