When I'm home for break and want to catch up with friends, I'm never very impressed by the places New Iberia, Louisiana, has to offer. I can't be the only one, so here are a few places I've found that are just as good as, or even better than, Lafayette coffee shops and don't require the drive.

Beau Soleil

Maybe my cousin is the chef, and maybe the Mullen Special Salad on the menu is named after my dad, but I’m not biased. The food is good. And the space is recently remodeled, so everything is nice and clean. My mom’s Cajun cooking is definitely in competition with the gumbo and boudin egg rolls here.

Cooper Street Coffee

This place is worth the little trek to Jeanerette. They have coffee and food, and the place is huge. It’s perfect for meeting up with bigger groups of people, but the comfy couch scene is also great for one-on-one conversations.

Jolie Fleur Florist

So there are in fact flowers, but the coffee here has Community in the name, and the couches are unreasonably comfortable because they haven’t been worn down like the chairs in Starbucks. Tucked into a little corner of Main Street, this place is highly underrated and super quiet and low-key.

KK’s Café and Cakery

I’m a little embarrassed at how many times I’ve eaten here since it opened a couple of years ago. Every time I come home, this is the one of the first places I suggest to meet my friends for lunch. There are pretty good soups, salads, and sandwiches, but you should definitely go for all of the desserts.

I know that there are other places I have yet to discover, but I hope these work out as well for you as they have for me.