The best specialty coffee shops in Austin are Figure 8, Fleet, Proud Mary, Desnudo, Mercado Sin Nombre, Flat Track, Barrett’s, Houndstooth, Sightseer, Talisman, Terrible Love, Flora and Klerje. Start with Figure 8 for the strongest introduction to local roasting. Choose Proud Mary for rare coffees, Flora for pour over and Klerje for rotating guest roasters. Desnudo concentrates on Colombia, Mercado Sin Nombre on Mexico and Talisman on coffee from one family farm in Nicaragua.
If you’re heading to the Austin Coffee Festival, which returns to Palmer Events Center on 17 and 18 October 2026, these are the coffee shops to visit while you’re in town.
Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors
East Austin and North Loop
Figure 8 is my first recommendation for Austin. Ryan Hall and Kathleen Carmichael opened on Chicon Street in 2014. They work closely with Falcon Coffees, whose Austin office sits only a few blocks away, allowing the team the opportunity to evaluate coffees with its importer before buying them. If time is limited and you can choose only one Figure 8 location, make it Chicon.
Fleet Coffee
Webberville Road, Manor Road, Downtown and Rainey Street
Fleet began in 2016 on Webberville Road. Patrick Pierce now runs four Austin locations, but the original should still be your starting point. Fleet roasts most of its own coffee and also serves Sweet Bloom from Denver. Order House Rules, the permanent espresso. And try one of the seasonal drinks. They’re made from scratch and can involve citrus, infused milk, tea or cereal, depending on what the team has been playing with.
Proud Mary Coffee
South Lamar
Instead of a conventional list of origins, Proud Mary divides its coffees into Mild, Curious, Wild and Deluxe categories. The Austin café also maintains separate Showcase and Deluxe pour over menus for its rarest lots. Prices rise sharply at the top end. Take your time and ask what is available as a tasting. The South Lamar kitchen serves a full Australian style breakfast and lunch menu, so this is the place to plan an entire morning around coffee.
Desnudo Coffee
East Austin, Downtown, South Lamar and West Sixth Street
Sergio and Juan Trujillo founded Desnudo around coffees bought from small family farms in Colombia. The company roasts to order and uses a membership programme to share individual farmers, varieties and processing experiments. There are now four locations. Go to the original Webberville trailer for the music, outdoor tables and busiest version of Desnudo. The brown sugar miso latte deserves its popularity, but ask which Colombian coffee is available as cold brew or pour over before joining the queue.
Mercado Sin Nombre
Holly in East Austin
Mercado Sin Nombre buys coffee exclusively from small farms in Mexico and roasts it in Austin. The kitchen takes the same approach to Mexican heirloom corn, milling masa for tortillas, biscuits, pancakes and its much photographed Twinkie. Order the atole cortado. Espresso is mixed with a blue corn preparation that adds texture and a restrained cereal sweetness. Have a horchata cold brew in the afternoon. Don’t expect a a conventional storefront – Mercado occupies an alley off Pleasant Valley Road.
Flat Track Coffee
East Cesar Chavez
Flat Track has occupied East Cesar Chavez since 2014. Think cycling and motorcycle culture, with blends named Dogspeed and Sidepipe. A point of view that feels authentic because bikes and racing have been part of the company from the beginning. Coffee is roasted in-house.
Barrett’s Coffee
Highland
Barrett’s began roasting in the 2010s and opened its St. Johns café in 2017. Roasting happens behind the counter, while long communal tables fill the former liquor-store building. Order the nitro root beer float, an all-liquid riff on the dessert. For another side of Barrett’s, Barrett’s Too on North Loop adds matcha, Achiame’s Mexican and plant-based food, plus open mics and trivia.
Houndstooth Coffee
North Lamar, Downtown, East MLK, Rock Rose and Laurel
Houndstooth opened on North Lamar in May 2010. The company now has five Austin locations and serves coffee from Tweed, its Dallas roasting partner. Choose North Lamar if you want to see what started it all, Rock Rose if you need a spot that stays open later, and Laurel for beer, wine and a large outdoor area.
Sightseer Coffee Roasters
Bouldin in South Austin
Sightseer’s tiny South First bar shares space with Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop, pairing pastries with coffees sourced exclusively from women producers. The best introduction is the Fade Into You: espresso, smoked maple syrup, black walnut bitters and black lava salt. Teaches of Peaches shakes cold brew with peach nectar and mint before adding Tajín and a chili-lime peach ring. The psychedelic wallpaper, checkered floor and bright yellow bags refuses specialty coffee’s usual self-seriousness. I love that.
Talisman Coffee
Manor Road and Far South Austin
The Alvarado family grows Talisman Coffee on a 35 acre farm in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Yuri and Johanna manage the farm. Their children Fernando and Jo run the Austin operation, where Fernando roasts each harvest. Eleven farm acres are reserved for conservation, with five more being restored using native trees. The resident sloths explain the logo. Compare the natural light roast with the darker red honey lot at the Manor Road shop inside Mum Foods. A second trailer operates at the Far Out Lounge.
Terrible Love Coffee
Hyde Park
Terrible Love began in a converted horse trailer and now operates from the former boiler room at the Baker Center. Huckleberry supplies the espresso and drip coffee. Mercado Sin Nombre supplies the Mexican coffee used for cold brew and pour over. The grapefruit brown sugar latte is the signature, with citrus bitterness keeping the syrup in check. The Trrbl Latte goes in the opposite direction with banana, chocolate, whipped cream and wafer crumbs.
Flora Coffee
North Shoal Creek
Flora is hidden in an Anderson Lane shopping centre between Burnet Road and Mopac. It roasts every Thursday, ships online orders on Friday and runs tastings, seasonal flights and public brewing classes from the café. The pour over menu can extend to several coffees at once, including rare varieties and unusual fermentation methods. Ask which coffee is working best on the current recipe.
Klerje Coffee
East Sixth Street
Klerje is a multi roaster café. The East Sixth Street bar rotates guest coffees and sells them beside its own espresso drinks, shaken cortado, house tonic and changing specials. A small pour over club meets on Sunday afternoons, usually with seven seats and coffees brought by both the host and guests. Book ahead if the session is running during your visit.
Here’s the route you should take for your coffee crawl
Begin at Figure 8 on Chicon. From there, Fleet’s Webberville shop and Desnudo’s original trailer sit within a short stretch of East Austin. Mercado Sin Nombre lies farther south in Holly, while Flat Track and Klerje bring the route back towards East Sixth and Cesar Chavez.
Have an espresso at Figure 8, one of Fleet’s smaller seasonal drinks and a shared cold brew at Desnudo leave enough room for the atole cortado and masa Twinkie at Mercado.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best specialty coffee shops in Austin?
The best specialty coffee shops in Austin are Figure 8, Fleet, Proud Mary, Desnudo, Mercado Sin Nombre, Flat Track, Barrett’s, Houndstooth, Sightseer, Talisman, Terrible Love, Flora and Klerje. Figure 8 is the best overall starting point, while the remaining shops cover rare coffees, guest roasters, country specific sourcing and original Austin drinks.
What is the best coffee shop in Austin for a first visit?
Begin at Figure 8 on Chicon Street. The original café contains the company’s roastery and provides the fullest view of the business. It also fits naturally into an East Austin route with Fleet, Desnudo, Mercado Sin Nombre, Flat Track and Klerje.
Where can I find the best pour over coffee in Austin?
Flora, Proud Mary, Figure 8 and Klerje are the strongest pour over destinations. Flora frequently presents several coffees for comparison. Proud Mary has separate Showcase and Deluxe menus. Figure 8 serves coffee roasted at its Chicon location, while Klerje rotates guest roasters and hosts small Sunday tasting sessions.
Which Austin coffee shops roast their own beans?
Figure 8, Fleet, Desnudo, Mercado Sin Nombre, Flat Track, Barrett’s, Sightseer, Talisman and Flora roast in Austin. Houndstooth serves coffee from Dallas based Tweed. Klerje works with rotating guest roasters. Proud Mary operates an international roasting programme connected to its cafés in Australia and the United States.
Where should I drink espresso in Austin?
Start with Figure 8 on Chicon, Flat Track on East Cesar Chavez and Houndstooth on North Lamar. Figure 8 roasts beside its original café. Flat Track offers its permanent Dogspeed and Sidepipe blends alongside changing single origins. Houndstooth’s North Lamar bar was built around espresso service.
Which Austin neighbourhood has the best coffee shops?
East Austin has the strongest concentration. Figure 8, Fleet, Desnudo, Mercado Sin Nombre, Flat Track and Klerje can be combined into one route. Four shops are enough for a morning. Figure 8, Fleet, Mercado Sin Nombre and either Flat Track or Klerje make the most varied combination.
When and where is the Austin Coffee Festival 2026?
The Austin Coffee Festival takes place on 17 and 18 October 2026 at Palmer Events Center. The event brings coffee shops, specialty roasters, food and live entertainment together across several ticketed sessions. Sightseer and Barrett’s appear on the current roster, but exhibitors can change. Check the festival website before attending.
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