I ate at this specialty café’s first Triangle location. Is it worth a visit?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Toastique opened its first Triangle cafe at the 1000 Social building in Raleigh in 2025.
- Signature toasts cost $11–$16, and 16‑ounce smoothies run $10 .
- The brand also sells juices, bowls and grab-and-go items such as salads.
The 1000 Social building in Raleigh keeps filling with food and beverage tenants.
Coffee shop WRK by The Optimist and Peregrine, an upscale contemporary American restaurant, opened earlier this year. Three other dining concepts have been announced — the North Carolina Mexican chain Mezcalito, a restaurant from the Raleigh Italian specialty shop and delicatessen Bongiorno & Son, and Capulet Cocktail Club, an Italian-inspired cocktail bar from Peregrine co-owner Patrick Shanahan.
But the newest concept to debut at the building, which is within the massive project called The Exchange, is Toastique.
Its focus on healthy foods, available in a fast-casual setting, sets it apart from the existing and forthcoming restaurants and bars.
And while the café aims to make its nutritious bites “easy to access,” it doesn’t sacrifice aesthetic appeal. Signature toasts with carefully arranged toppings arrive on paddle-shaped boards with gold-colored cutlery. Juices, wellness shots and grab-and-go foods are precisely stacked and placed on refrigerator shelves.
For this week’s On a Budget column, where a reporter from The News & Observer visits a buzzy establishment with a budget of $25, I grabbed lunch at the Triangle’s first Toastique.
Here’s how my visit went.
Toastique now open in Raleigh
Toastique specializes in gourmet toast — large slices of bread topped with spreads, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, herbs and spices, drizzles and meats, ranging in price from $11-$16.
And in this case, what you see in the pictures really is what you get.
I ordered the Tomato Burrata toast ($13), made with tomatoes, burrata, fresh basil, herbed ricotta spread, olive oil and balsamic glaze atop rustico toast. It arrived as advertised, basil leaves tucked under a mound of burrata, yellow-tinted tomato slices sandwiched between red ones.
Nearly half of my budget remaining, I asked for a 16-ounce Superfruit smoothie ($10), which blended acai, strawberry, banana, blueberry and apple juice.
The 16-ounce smoothies all cost $10, so I could have ordered, for example, an Orange Crush, Green Machine or Purple Heart smoothie instead.
As an alternative to a signature toast, I could have chosen a bowl ($13), blended with acai, pitaya, matcha, fruits and other ingredients as a base, then topped with items such as fruit, granola and cacao nibs.
My bill before tax and tips was $23 — under budget, but not quite enough room to order even a regular old brewed coffee ($3), let alone my go-to coffee shop order, a cappuccino ($4.50).
With the toast and smoothie, I left feeling full but not stuffed — though I couldn’t help but think that had my father ordered lunch from Toastique, it would have taken at least two toasts and probably a grab-and-go salad from the refrigerator to satisfy his appetite.
Toastique location, hours
Since the first Toastique café opened in Washington, D.C. in 2018, the company has expanded to 20 states and plans to enter Iowa and Connecticut in 2026. Toastique has two locations in North Carolina, in Charlotte and Raleigh.
Toastique is open at 1000 Social St., Suite 130. Its hours are 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Sunday.
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM with the headline "I ate at this specialty café’s first Triangle location. Is it worth a visit?."
