My current work has me working out of various coffee around Austin, TX 3+ days a week, so I thought my experience could help others in the same situation. All coffee shops aren’t created equal, and I’m not just talking about the coffee. Aside from a good espresso, I like coffee shops that have open tables, reliable wifi, plenty of power outlets, comfortable chairs, ample parking, and food options.
I’ve created a list below to make it easy. I’ve ranked each on all of the important factors. I’ve left out reliable Wifi and comfortable chairs, because they all have them.
Juan Pelota (Downtown – N. of River)
Juan Pelota is one of the first coffee shops in Austin I worked out of consistently. They have a super friends staff, are downtown, and serve great coffee. Juan Pelota also has some history. It’s attached to Mellow Johnnies bike shop and in the basement they have a lot of the bikes Lance Armstrong rode in the Tour de France. Even the name is a play on the face that Lance Armstrong had to have one of his balls removed due to cancer and now only has one left. “Juan” sounds like “One” and “Pelota” means Ball….
Location:
Downtown – 400 Nueces St, Austin, TX 78701
Open Tables:
I’ve rarely had trouble finding a table to plug in here. They have a variety of small table for the individual and and larger tables for groups.
Power Outlets:
Lots of power outlets. Combined with being easy to find open tables, you shouldn’t have a problem plugging in here.
Coffee:
They serve Stumptown Coffee from Portland, Oregon. I lived in Portland and it was one of my favorite coffees while there, so this is one of the things that initially attracted me here. In short, it’s delicious; you’ll be happy.
Food Options:
They serve the standard bagels and baked good and have breakfast tacos in the morning. If you’re in need of serious food, there is a small grocery across the street called Royal Blue Grocery that has a big variety of sandwiches, pizza and other prepared foods. If you happen to be there on a Wednesday, stop by Royal Blue for a great $5 burger special that you can eat back at Juan Pelot – they’re cool with it.
Parking:
The parking here used to be amazing, but very recently they started charging for their parking here. It costs $2/hr, so you’re better off parking on the street for ~$1/hr. I’ve always found a spot to park, but it’s a bummer it’s no longer free.
Bennu Coffee (Downtown – S. of River)
This is my current favorite coffee shop to work out of. Bennu has two locations and this one refers to their downtown location. If you’re familiar with the Dominican Joe’s coffee shop, they took over the location about a month ago. Why is it may favorite…
Location:
Downtown – 515 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
Open Tables:
Lots of tables of various sizes here. It looks like they scavenged a bunch of garage sales, because almost every table is unique. I’m actually writing this post while sitting in Bennu, and they have over 20+ tables. Although a lot of them aren’t empty, the flow of people in and out works so that I VERY rarely see anyone waiting one.
Power Outlets:
Ample tables aren’t enough; you’ve got to have power. They’ve done a great job of that here. As long as you’re OK running your power cable across the ground I have yet to find a single table that can’t reach an outlet.
Coffee:
Great coffee. I’m a fan of the Raven Mocha, which given a nice sugar/caffeine kick. Don’t be surprised when it comes served in a thick-walled beer mug.
Food Options:
They have a variety of smoothies, sandwiches and baked goods. They also have breakfast tacos in the morning. If you’re looking for something more substantial, there is a Freebirds World Burrito in the same shopping center, and a quick Mexican place accoss the street that has great tacos.
Parking:
Parking here is free, and it’s rare that I don’t find an open spot.
Monkey Nest (North Austin)
I normally hang out around the south side of Austin, but when I’m up north, I work out of Monkey Nest. It’s a combination of a restaurant and coffee shop and I see a lot of other people working out of there as well. Pro-tip: They have a room in the back with larger tables, but on hot days, the room heats up and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Location:
North Austin – 45353 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78756
Open Tables:
They have A LOT of tables. Most of them are smaller tables that are perfect for the solo worker, but not big enough for two laptops to fit comfortably. Luckily, there a usually a lot of open tables, so you can push a couple together. As I mentioned, they have some larger tables in the back, but you’re going to want to avoid that room in the afternoon on hotter days.
Power Outlets:
They are lacking in power outlets. Most of the tables are in one large room, and there are only power outlets on the walls. The back room has a lot, but again, avoid it on the afternoon of hot days.
Coffee:
The coffee here is good, but is my least favorite on the list. It’s likely just a personal preference thing.
Food Options:
They are a restaurant as well, so they have lots of food options. Think Deli – lots of hot and cold sandwiches, pizzas, etc.
Parking:
Parking here is free and plentiful. I’ve never had an issue finding a spot here.
Radio Coffee and Beer (South Austin)
Radio keeps growing and adding more seating – for a good reason. The whole place has a very Austin feel to it, and after 5pm??? they turn off the Wifi and people come to hang out and drink beer. They have a couple onsite food trucks serving great food and they’re coffee is delicious, but due to they’re popularity, finding parking or an open INSIDE table can be difficult. I’ve had too many experiences waiting 10+ minutes for a table to open up, that I moved on to Bennu.
Location:
South Austin – 4204 Manchaca Rd, Austin, TX 78704
Open Tables:
They have a lot of tables, but only about 25% of them are indoors. I’m too easily distracted and appreciate the comfort of AC while working, so I only work indoors. If working outside isn’t a big deal to you, you’ll find an open table anytime you come here. As I mentioned above, I frequently have to wait for an open, inside table here.
Power Outlets:
I can’t speak for the outside tables, because I don’t use them, but they have a decent amount of power outlets here, although less than my current favorite Bennu.
Coffee:
Great coffee. You’ll be happy.
Food Options:
The two onsite food trucks have great food. Veracuz Taco’s serves some of the best tacos in Austin and although I haven’t had it yet at this location, Paperboy serves great brunch food at their other location, so I would expect no less here.
Parking:
They have 3 parking lots here. The main paved parking lot is often full, so you have to park in either the gravel lot behind it or another paved lot about a block away.
I hope this is useful to some of you that coffee shop hop like myself. Say hi if you’re in the area.
