The Best Cafes And Coffee Shops For Doing Work In Austin

Thanks to all the young/tech/art people, Austin is a freelancer’s city. And thanks to UT and St. Edward’s, Austin is also a student’s city. Whether you’re looking for somewhere to sit with a laptop and finish writing that paper you’ve been putting off, or you need somewhere to work on your new startup idea that’s “basically Bumble for dogs,”  Austin has no shortage of great coffee shops and cafes where you can actually get sh*t done. These are the best spots in town to caffeinate, work, eat, and repeat. 

THE SPOTS

Ask anyone who went to UT where they spent most of their weekday nights, and Epoch will inevitably come into the conversation. This 24/7 North Loop coffee shop has been hosting students, remote workers, and whoever else wants a cup of coffee at 3am for almost 20 years out of a large, industrial space made cozier with the addition of lots of dining tables, well-stocked bookshelves, and colorful chairs (accompanied by plenty of outlets). And when you inevitably get hungry after a few hours of work/Tiktoking, there’s usually a small selection of pastries and pizza from East Side Pies available by the slice. Epoch also has locations on West Anderson Lane and on Far West, but the original location is the only one open all night. 

Show up to Sa-Tén at any point between 7am-7pm and you’ll probably find a packed room full of people typing away at their laptops in between bites of thick-cut Japanese-style toast. This Springdale cafe is a popular one for getting work done—partially for the quiet and relaxed atmosphere, and also for the small menu of hearty Japanese bites like yakitori rice bowls, kara-age plates, and chicken katsu curries. Grab a brown sugar cappuccino or a matcha latte, then prepare to focus like you’ve never before. 

Equal parts coffee shop and bar, Ani’s is an all-day spot in Montopolis with a massive patio, tons of parking, and multiple food trucks on-site. Add in some inventive espresso-based drinks that almost sound like cocktails—like one with espresso, milk, peach simple syrup, and peach bitters—plus some actual, real cocktails, and it’s not hard to see why you could easily spend an entire day here. Just be careful not to venture too far into the bar side of things if you actually want to get some work done. 

There are a few great reasons to head to Spokesman Coffee at The Yard in South Austin—plentiful seating, lots of parking, and coffee that’s roasted in-house. But the best reason to visit is for the Glacier Freeze Gatorade on tap, innocently blending in with the rest of the draft beer list until its neon-blue hue gives it away. It’s also carbonated and incredibly refreshing, in case you need a palate cleanser between shots of espresso. Because getting sh*t done is a sport on its own, and we once read something about electrolytes and physical activity. Spokesman also has a second location in Highland. 

The Cherrywood neighborhood sometimes feels like it’s just a series of coffee shops surrounded by little houses, and Thunderbird is no exception. Set in a renovated house on Manor Road, Thunderbird is a pretty classic coffee shop serving the usual caffeinated drinks, plus Quack’s pastries and breakfast tacos made in-house. But if you’d rather just stick to a liquid diet, we’ve found that the Honey Nut Latte does a pretty good job of mixing two of our favorite breakfast items into one morning-friendly mug. The parking lot is pretty small, but there’s ample street parking nearby, and it’s usually not too hard to snag a table. 

With three locations in Austin that are all open 24/7, Bennu is an excellent choice when you need to get some work done at any hour of the day. Our favorite is the original location on East MLK. Set in a big, open room packed full of old dining tables and chairs that look like they were collected from a series of estate sales and Goodwills, the space has an eclectic, old-school Austin feel, with power cords dangling from the ceiling. It’s close to UT, meaning it can get pretty packed when school is in session, but with plenty of seating, Quack’s pastries, Hoboken Pie slices, and a wide variety of caffeinated and non-caffeinated drinks, it’s not hard to see why Bennu is so popular. 

There’s kind of an unspoken rule that if you’re at Flightpath, you step outside to take phone calls or have conversations. And while you’re not going to get kicked out if you make a bit of noise, this Hyde Park coffee shop is very much a quiet space to get some work done. Outlets are plentiful, meaning you can pretty much post up here for most of the day, and when you inevitably need more energy than liquid alone can provide, there’s a big selection of snacks, pre-made sandwiches, pastries, and pizza from East Side Pies. It’s also dangerously close to Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs if you need to cool down a bit. 

Most things in life could be improved by being on the water. And doing work is no exception. Mozart’s has been a Tarrytown staple for over three decades, both as a place for getting work done and for casual catch-ups when the weather is nice (it’s about 60% patio). Coffee and cold brew are both self-serve and bottomless—which is great for long work sessions—and there’s a big list of housemade pastries and desserts if you need a little snack. And if you want something heavier, just head to the tiki-meets-Tex-Mex spot Hula Hut next door for some Hawaiian fajitas and a margarita. But we can’t promise you’ll get much work done after that. 

Radio Coffee’s wood-covered space feels like a cozy cabin, with tons of seating, strong Stumptown coffee, and a huge beer selection (because a mid-day work break never hurt anyone). And if the “cabin” fills up, there’s almost always plenty of seating on the massive patio that wraps around the building—though you may have to share the space with some hungry grackles. Most importantly: there’s a location of Veracruz All Natural parked permanently outside. It’s the kind of place that you’ll be actually happy to camp out at all day.

One of the best ways to start your morning is with breakfast tacos and coffee. And one of the best combos for the two is Once Over Coffee in Bouldin Creek and the taco trailer El Primo in the parking lot right outside. After you’ve fueled up on migas tacos, head inside for pretty classic coffee shop drinks with great execution. And if the weather is nice, head to the back patio where you can grab a table overlooking the small body of water that Bouldin Creek is named after. It’s calm and peaceful, and a great place to finally finish that work you’ve been putting off. 

If the name didn’t already give it away, Medici roasts all of their beans in-house, making this Clarksville spot just as great for classic coffee and espresso-based drinks as it is for getting some work done. It’s set in a renovated old house, giving the whole interior a very cozy feel.  Tables fill up pretty quickly, so get there early to claim your spot. Medici has six locations in Austin, including one at the airport, so chances are you’re not far from one now. 

It’s easy to overlook Barrett’s when you’re driving through the Highland neighborhood. It’s right behind a busy shopping center, set in a building that still touts a large, faded sign from its previous life as a liquor store. But once you get past the barred windows and through the front door, you’ll find yourself in a large, cozy space, packed full of long shared tables. On the menu you’ll find all the coffee shop classics—like espresso, tea, cold brew—but it’s the house specialties you’ll want to focus on here, including a nitro “root beer float” that’s basically the all-liquid version of the dessert classic, but coffee. Once you manage to wrap your head around that, you can drink it to keep you energized for the rest of your work session.