HOUGuide
11 Cafes & Coffee Shops For Doing Work In Houston
photo credit: Quit Nguyen
Not every laptop warrior has an epic work from home set-up—like a walking pad, riser, or menagerie of meticulously cared for houseplants to continuously provide fresh oxygen and (hopefully) injections of dopamine. Some of us are still taking meetings from the couch, dining room, or bed and desperately need to get out of the house. Or maybe you’re just in a different part of the city than usual and need to find a spot to send a quick email. Here’s our list of a few coffee shops with generous wifi to get you through the work day.
And if you're looking for a guide to the best coffee shops, we've got a guide to that, too.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Richard Casteel
No matter the hour, the cafe/bar Brass Tacks in East Downtown is packed with laptop after laptop, after yet another laptop. Seemingly designed for students and remote employees working from morning to night, you can go from a coffee and a pastry in the morning, to a midday taco break, and then finish with a gin cocktail without ever leaving. There’s something to be said about late-stage capitalism burnout, but who cares. You have work to do, there are plenty of outlets and coffee, and the wifi stays connected. It can get loud with baristas barking out orders, so bring your noise-canceling headphones.
photo credit: Quit Nguyen
What’s great about Duo Coffee & Pilates is the lack of proximity to any of Houston’s major universities. This means the shop is generally busy, but not packed, and the wifi isn’t strained within an inch of its life. There are lots of outlets, a large amount of tables, and plenty of tropical plants with tons of natural light to make you feel connected to nature as you stare endlessly at your laptop screen. The only drawback of Duo is the other half of the business: the pilates studio. When it’s in session, the coffee shop can be quite loud. But, bonus, if you need a break between work and want to engage in some vigorous exercise, you don’t even need to leave.
photo credit: Quit Nguyen
Doshi House in the Third Ward serves as a hub for both TSU and UH students, as well as anyone that wants to feel college-age hip by association. Everything inside is a bit worn in, like furniture you’d encounter in a secondhand store or your coolest friend’s living room, a vibe even more enhanced by the number of study groups clustered around the shop. The wifi can be spotty, and there aren’t banks of outlets, but the coffee and snacks like jackfruit tacos and crispy lumpia are delicious, and the atmosphere is cozy. If you like a bit of a din while working, Doshi House and its large outdoor patio are a great place to hunker down for a couple hours of work
photo credit: Quit Nguyen
Blacksmith functions as the Montrose coffee shop version of Cheers. If you live anywhere in the Loop, or go out to any restaurants, or if you just met someone for a date last night, there is a high probability you will run into them at Blacksmith. The coffee is excellent, and the food will keep you fueled up to either get work done or steel you for any awkward social encounters. The cafe usually feels like an ice box, so bring a light jacket. While the wifi signal is strong, there is a severe lack of outlets, so get charged up (mentally and emotionally) before you show up.
photo credit: Emily Sanchez
Without a doubt, the Coffee House At West End in the Washington Corridor was intentionally built as a place for you to sit and do work. There are a dizzying number of tables—more than even seems necessary—plus two floors, tons of coffee drinks and snacks, and a fair amount of outlets. While most seats are filled with folks who skew a little younger, likely because the sheer size of the place makes it perfect for groups, there’s space for everyone. Since so many people are here working, the wifi drops in and out, so don’t plan on having any video chats or meetings, but you can still work non-stop without connection issues.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Fifth Vessel Coffee basically functions as a chic extension of the UH Downtown campus. The small coffee shop has massive windows, high ceilings, warm wood and leather seats, and piles of books and dried flowers—more reminiscent of a painfully curated artist’s loft than a cafe. The coffee and snacks are pretty stylish, too. Specialty drinks like peach milk matcha lattes and chestnut syrup cortados and fun plates of whipped ricotta and smash berry toasts or croque madame sandwiches fill the menu. While the wifi is strong, there aren’t very many outlets. So, maybe writing an entire term paper or legal brief here last-minute isn’t the move, but a couple hours of clicking through emails over coffee might just feel like the chicest thing you’ve done all day.
photo credit: Quit Nguyen
Nearly everyone is glued to their laptop at Slowpokes. The coffee shop and cafe in Garden Oaks/Oak Forest seems to inspire a calm work environment, like you stumbled into the quiet floor of a coworking office where everyone takes the rules seriously. Slowpokes also serves a massive all-day breakfast and snacks menu, coffee (of course), and a selection of beer and wine. Despite the legion of laptops, the wifi keeps up with demand, and so does the AC. There are lots of hidden outlets, two-person tables set between privacy bookcases, and pleasantly dim lighting. If you’re set on launching a plan for solo world domination, you could probably figure out that plan at Slowpokes in a single day.
photo credit: Tenfold Coffee
Tenfold Coffee serves delicious, in-house roasted coffee in a big, airy space in the Heights. Lots of people here are on their computers, reading, or studying, but there are plenty of tables, chairs, and outlets to go around. You can also hang out on the small patio outside if you need a bit of Vitamin D (you probably do). While the cafe doesn’t serve food, it does have a small selection of pastries for a mid-project sugar rush. Plus the inside is so lofty and spacious you can take a call without bothering anyone.
photo credit: Quit Nguyen
Named for the eponymous blue tile street names found around Houston, Blue Tile Coffee serves, you guessed it, coffee, and pastries next to the HEB off Washington and Heights. The open, high-ceiling space has lots of seating and outlets, but as always, be aware you will likely need to park in the garage or drive back and forth gauntlet-style on the ground level to find a spot. Wifi can be spotty, but once you’re settled in, time flies by thanks to the flood of natural light and the quiet din of literally everyone else around you diligently typing on their keyboards.
photo credit: Chelsea Thomas
Not sure if you’re aware, but sunlight is kind of important. And no, the glow from a laptop screen doesn’t count. So head to Blendin Coffee Club just off Allen Parkway in Montrose in which giant windows flood the cafe with bright but filtered light so you can feel alive, but not blinded, while you engage your inner laptop warrior on Blendin’s solid wifi. Plus, the coffee, produced by Blendin’s own roastery, is exceptional, and that’s mostly the point.
photo credit: Chelsea Thomas
Un Caffe in Midtown knows its audience: people who like coffee and also happen to need a spot to study or do some work. The small, one-room cafe serves a small menu of espresso drinks, baked goods, and snacks, and it’s generally pretty full of folks hunched over a laptop. There are more outlets than seem necessary, and the wifi is free, if sometimes a little spotty. But the coffee and service is friendly enough that you might welcome a distraction or two between bouts of productivity. Plus, the iced coffee drinks come with an adorable bear-shaped coffee ice cube–a reason to visit in and of itself.
