Carpe Diem

I love this little gem so so so much!
The owner is absolutely lovely and answers any dumb questions one might have with a charming smile on his face. The staff is equally kind and attentive.
We were engaging in some chit chat about what we wanted to order and it was brought up that the Cappucino flavored gelato has 16 shots of espresso, which explains to me that they make their own dreamy gelatos. YES! Their gelatos are creamy and flavorful and not too ridiculously sweet.
Although their coffee some of the smoothest I’ve had (I don’t know what brand they brew), my favorite item on the menu is the affogato– two scoops of gelato (one or two flavors of choice) with a freshly prepared hot shot of espresso poured over. Yes, it is a magical and delicious as it sounds.
Easily one of my favorite coffee shops ever!

Well I initially only wanted to give Carpe Diem less than 3 stars because there are SO FEW outlets in the shop. I’m one of those folks who likes to spend several hours in a coffee shop working (while purchasing several items during my stay to support the shop and compensate them for letting me work there, mind you.) — however, they must not want to cater to that crowd as the only outlet was in a single corner of the seating area.
However, the quality of the coffee, service, and atmosphere demanded a higher rating. Had an absolutely delicious cappuccino served by friendly and helpful staff. Love that they use the Japanese iced coffee brewing technique — the flavorful and smooth coffee that it produces is far superior to standerd iced coffee preps which can be very very bitter — this lets the coffee’s actual flavor profile shine.
Plus Carpe Diem has a charming Italian café feel — with a lovely Tuscan mural painted on the brick wall and fresh roses in mason jars on the tabels. The pianist outside was wonderful too. Great place — will definitely return to snag a spot in the «outlet-​corner» and try their beautiful gelato selection.

I love Rick and Sylvia! The staff here are always warm and inviting. The old piano outside is perfect for playing blues. They host a musician jam on Tuesday nights. I went last year and enjoyed it so much. The gelato is authentic and they incorporate fresh fruit from local growers when possible. They also do an excellent job with tea and coffee. This place is a gem in lafayette.

Best gelato around. I love the salted caramel. Great place for coffee as well.

We ordered the coffee, mint, cookies & cream, and biscotti. All were sooo good and the gentleman serving us was very friendly and patient while we tried to decide on a flavor (or two). Only bad thing was that they don’t offer non-​dairy options for gelato or fir your coffee, but then again it’s not common to offer alternatives in this area from what I’m seeing.

Coffee was good (Cuvée roasted in Austin) and gelato was quite amazing. However, I don’t feel like being berated about not being vegan anymore. The guy behind the counter was way too in my business and interjected his personal opinions about veganism, which felt inappropriate. No thanks.

Good place for coffee. Great place for gelato. An even better for service. Rick, the manager, came over to our table to be friendly. The croissants were good. Parking was easy. The place is within walking distance of The Saint Johns Oak so be sure to ask for directions. We enjoyed hearing about some of the history of Louisiana from Rick since we are from out of town. All in all a very good experience and we will come back when in town.
PS Rick we loved the Gardens and the Tabasco Factory Tour. Check the blog for pictures and stories.

Fan-​tastic. A little piece of Italy nestled away in SW Louisiana. We live away now but along with 4 – 5 other spots, this has claimed a mandatory visit on our various homecoming food tours. Recommended by my parents, Carpe Diem did not disappoint.
The gelato is high quality and smooth as silk. It is obvious that the owners take high pride in their product and as such they deserve high praise.
Wide array of flavors and complementary coffees and side treats, coupled with a relaxing and inviting atmosphere, Carpe Diem is a must stop for our caravan when we pass through now.
Personal fav — Biscotti flavor
Hope this helps.
sd

best cappuccino in lafayette so far, croissants are fresh and buttery, no much else on display

Stopped by on my way across the country. It’s in a nice location, lots of street parking, cute windows opening up to the street, and a nice country-​ish vibe on the inside. Chai wasn’t on the menu that I saw, but they said they made it. If you get the chai latte, you should know they do a true chai tea latte here– they brew the tea first, and then add some steamed milk. It wasn’t too hot, and wasn’t too tea-​y, so I was happy, but it wasn’t the sweet chai that I usually look for.
I loved the music they were playing, reminded me of Austin. Mellow, alternative. Plenty of seating, plenty of outlets, wifi, and the service was excellent and friendly. They didn’t mind that I hung out for a couple of hours to do some work, and helped me find an outlet when another customer came in and some outlet shuffling was necessary.

Carpe Diem is both a cofee shop and a gelato shop. However, I hate to be mean but I prefer places that specialize and do one of these things really well rather than mediocre at both. I really thing the gelato was better than most places, with great flavor and assortment (such as the almond fig or biscotti cookie which were our favorites!). The prices are excruciatingly expensive, with about $ 5 for a small cup with one scoop (although you can get 2 flavors).
And for the coffee, I was very disappointed. I got something I could barely drink after they forgot to make my order and I waited about 15 minutes. I went to the counter and they apologized and made it immediately. Unfortunately, no amount of brown sugar or agave could sweeten up the taste of burnt coffee. I did really appreciate the coolness of non-​white sugar options available — and I even commented very surprised that they use lasagna noodles for stirrers to be eco-​friendly. Unfortunately, the staff didn’t make up for it and didn’t find my surprise amusing, nodding nonchalantly and moving on. If the staff were super-​friendly, I could warrant going back to try another gelato flavor, but even with the prices so high, I’m sure I could find something better elsewhere.

Stopped in Lafayette on a solo journey south and east from Denver… found this hip and cozy shop while exploring the downtown area… am I ever glad I went in!
The manager, Rick, was absolutely delightful and spent time advising me on what to see in the area… and then I met Silvia, the owner, who was equally delightful! I hit it off immediately with both of them and they made me feel welcome and at home in their store and town!
I tried many items during my stay, including coffee, latte, gelato, croissant sandwich and vegetable soup… all delicious! I highly recommend a visit… a definite high point in my trip so far. :)))

Recommended by a local bartender/​musician as the best espresso around, and it did not disappoint. The americano was a little watery, but the jasmine green tea was excellent. Chocolate and coffee gelato was amazing and a pleasant surprise, enough to warrant more than one visit a day (we went twice). Regular drip coffee is great and the croissant sandwiches are pressed pushing all the butter onto your fingers so you can feel really good about yourself. Apparently the affogato is a must but we have not tried that.

I had the rum raisin gelato and it was the very best gelato I have ever had in my entire life. They make the stuff fresh there. The chef came out and was chatting with us — felt like a very familial environment. They do not have any flavored syrups for your lattes, etc so if that is something is important to you, I would purchase your coffee elsewhere.

Really amazing gelato. Weird vibes from staff… Every time.

First off I want people to know that this is NOT a place that sells Gelato. Their website claims it sells gelato, but this is simply fancifully displayed frozen yogurt. The frozen yogurt that they do sell is pretty darn good and the lactose free versions are equally good. However, the price is outrageous! I got a kiddie size, which is only slightly bigger than a package of Caine’s sauce, and it was $ 4! So I give good marks on the taste and presentation, but bad marks for trying to fool Lafayette gelato-​virgins into thinking they have the real deal and the prices are just too much. Note: if you want to try authentic gelato in Lafayette, go to Pamplonas, which is just down the street from Carpe Diem. Pamplonas is equally expensive, but at least you’re getting the real deal.

Their Gelato is excellent — subtle flavors. A place that we’ll visit again and again.

Came here because we were craving for gelato. The person who served us were so nice and was patience when we were ordering and trying out flavors. The gelato were creamy and rich and delicious, we had the following, which were all delicious:
— Tiramisu — Tiramisu gelato with espresso soaked lady fingers
— Biscotto — Biscotto gelato with lemon crunchies
— Stracciatella — Chocolate Chip
When craving for gelato around Lafayette, this is the place to go get some and hang out.

All I can say is the gelato seriously helped me go from having a crappy day to a happy one :)
Nice little spot…
Only 3 tables outside to eat at,
which was disappointing,
and it was pretty noisy inside.
Clean bathrooms.
Very nice employees.
Amazing gelato,
And the coffee was hella strong.

Lovely café. Their gelato is nice. It is not quite the same quality as I’ve had elsewhere, but good. However, they make up their few fallback with interesting and changing flavor combinations.
They have a nice tea selection.
The interior is sparse. There isn’t much seating inside.