Cafe Ruckus

This is one of my regular places to grab coffee. It’s not a fancy third-​wave operation, but it’s not Dunkin Donuts, either. The line has never been too long, the staff is always super friendly, and they have punch cards so you get a free beverage for every five drinks that you buy. And they are a few blocks away from work so I intend to keep coming back!

Great tea selection. Excellent quality. SUPER friendly staff. Definitely will come back. The seating is limited and the space is small, but still a great place to hang out.

Whoa! The sarsaparilla tea was the best steep in town. It has the aroma and earthiness of tea with the sweet finish of root beer. The food is surprisingly filling for just finger foods and I’m a pretty big eater. We had the Brie and turkey which was carefully hand crafted and trimmed like the other sandwiches appeared. You can really taste the quality of ingredients because the sandwich themselves are very simple yet tasty. The scones are the best in town in comparison to places like the steeping room or other brunch places because they are not only better consistency but also almost twice the size! Scones are a must with the clotted cream spread. I recommend the chocolate chip scone. Finally dessert is very innovative and well presented. Cake pops are so last year with their little cake cube bites. You don’t feel guilty eating like 3 because they are only a few bites each. Lastly the atmosphere and staff is incredible as you are treated like royalty in their small party events. This is the perfect places for a quick breakfast/​brunch bite, tea, or a party event as they have a assortment of board games.

I went here for a Sunday Tea service. The staff was amazing and they all seemed to want to be there. The large variety of teas was excellent as was the expertly decorated finger foods. I didn’t know I liked cucumber sandwiches until I tried them here. Now I want more! The Petite Fours were extremely moist and tasty. Scones with a variety if spreads made me happy.
Hope to do this again sometime.

Was here for the YEE. Check out the reviews on the event page!!!
Definitely coming back for coffee & shortbread cookies!!!
Pasting the review from YEE:
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Oh how magical it was to join this wonderful High tea on a beautiful Sunday morning with fellow YEs and the new CM.
I am not a Tea person, but that may change if the tea was this good & the sandwiches & cookies were. Umm. Perfection. How gently sweet as they complement the different flavored teas.
The bite sized sandwiches are made to perfection. The cucumber cream cheese sandwich was to die for. I mean c’mmon, so simple but so yummy!!!
The wait staff ever so attentive & considerate to every need. More importantly anticipating the pace of the event and keeping the drinks filled & the service going without ever interrupting !!! That’s professional. You can tell.
I will stop by for coffee & sandwiches as well to try more things. Did anyone notice the number of board games available at the store??? That right there calls for a perfect relaxing setting for a beverage of choice & nice conversation!!!
Please visit & support. This place is not just a tea/​coffee stopover. But a great overall experience!!!
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High tea?
Otherwise known as how to stuff your face with more scones, pastries and finger sandwiches than any adult should eat in their lifetime, washed down with vast amounts of tea.
What’s not to like?
The high tea served at Café Ruckus is a fine exemplar of this Fellini’s Satyricon for Anglophiles.
Great tea. (I particularly endorse their mixed berry tea which is one of the best herbal teas I have had anywhere.)
Definitely tasty little finger sandwiches. Cucumber sandwiches are a must for the genre and their cucumber sandwich is pretty good.
This allows you to pretend you are being delicate before pulling out the heavy guns and going whole hog on the scones.
The scones themselves are first rate.
I offer a particular shout out for the chocolate scones that have chocolate chunks the size of the Houses of Parliament.
They offer lemon curd, raspberry jam and clotted cream to go with the scones — and those are nice on the currant scones.
They are pure overload on the chocolate scones —
which in this case means, go ahead and slather the jam the curd and the clotted cream right in there!
And naturally after all that jam, and chocolate and lemon curd, you still have to have dessert right???
The petit fours are first rate …
but the secret star of the show dessert is a thin frosted chocolate mint cookie they slide in next to the petit fours.
You think this is going to be just a modest filler — but it is a completely delightful mint cookie.
And yes, there is still room for delight even after cramming down all the other stuff.
To be sure, you may come into Café Ruckus looking like Virginia Woolf, and leave looking like Winston Churchill.
But high tea is all about personal growth.
You have erudite conversation to expand your mind.
You eat a trolley full of pastries to expand the rest of you.
God Save the Queen!

The staff was extremely friendly, they have some yummy looking fresh baked goods and any coffee shop that also sells beer and wine is a great spot in my book. I was glad to see they offered almond milk both behind the counter and by the creamers to add to your drink. My one note, I didn’t totally love my latte… tasted a bit burnt but it might have just been me. I will absolutely try this place again!

Parking is a pain around this area but the coffee is delicious here. It was worth my paid garage parking! Cheap and delicious. Awesome recommendation on the milky coffee. (Forgot the name, sorry. But it was very good!) Very friendly staff!

Update* owners reach out and apologized and offered a refund which is very sweet (+1star for that)
My first visit to ruckus, I ordered my drink, a few people came in after me and the barista took their orders and began making their drinks. I thought maybe the other lady working was starting mine but after 10mins and everyone behind me getting their drinks I realized they forgot about me. I walked to the front and she asked if I needed anything, completely forgetting I had ordered. She eventually made my drink and offered a coupon for a free drink next time. Ok cool. When I came back in a few weeks later to get the free drink the barista handed it back saying it was months expired. So after bad service they gave me an expired coupon. Pretty disappointing every time I went in so I won’t be returning.

sometimes i wish i went to school in Austin just for their cafes. This is a great study spot. The barista was very welcoming and sweet! He had some great recommendations when i gave him a preference to what i was craving and i ended up enjoying it! I ordered an iced mexican mocha.

Their iced coffee is no ordinary iced coffee. It is cold brew and if you haven’t had cold brew coffee, you’re in for a treat. Café Ruckus’ cold brew is the best damn coffee I’ve ever had. Seriously. This coffee is no joke. I would drive across town to get this coffee. As the barista told me while I was there, «it’s legit» and that boy ain’t lyin’.

yeah.
I love stopping by here while walking the dog in the morning. Not nearly enough places have a window for you to order outside, plus they have a water bowl for our 4-​legged friends! I like a good, strong latte which they do well but what sets Café Ruckus apart is how friendly the staff is. Constantly friendly and always smiling, every time! I wish they had a little more variety to the breakfast tacos offered though, the mashed potatoes in 2 of them are just… weird. I didn’t even finish them. A basic bacon, egg, cheese taco would be great.

I wish I could write a wonderful review like so many others have. Unfortunately they closed at least ten minutes before 10 PM. The time it says they close here on Unilocal.Extremely disappointed.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
Friendly coffee shop. I purchased a 20-​ounce iced soy mocha from Café Ruckus. Best of all it was bittersweet – my favorite. It was nice and strong with a bold coffee flavor. One of the best iced coffee drinks I’ve had in Austin. It looks like they offer late hours on the weekends, too.
They offer free WIFI, but there was not a lot of outlets for laptops.

Cute little café with red décor.
With I took pictures…
Great service. Cashiers/​baristas were friendly and helpful in making decisions.
Affogato with vanilla ice cream: it was pricey but still good!
Chai Tea Latte: I think if I were to go again, this would be what I would get. Perfect blend of chai and latte!
Quiet little café with wifi and tables big enough to study!

I love a good Ruckus Buzz!
My most recent was visit to Ruckus was on HAAM Benefit Day. I had been up since 5:30am, running all over our beautiful city. By noon I was dragging and was at City Hall. That’s when I remembered 1. I was walking distance to Ruckus and 2. Ruckus was donating 5% of their profits to HAAM that day… WINNER! WINNER! Thank you Ruckus for giving me the energy I need to get through the day AND be so awesome and giving back to the music community.
My favorite thing to do in Austin on a Saturday is to hit the Farmers Market and have coffee at Café Ruckus. This is hands down the best coffee in town!
The have the nicest baristas in town, including the owner Keith who is a sweetheart!
Everything I have had here is amazing. I especially love the Mexican Mocha… you MUST try!

Still great, even after the Unilocal event I attended here recently. I loved this place so much I was excited to head back with some girl friends during a day downtown. It’s small, but so full of character. I love the community events they hold here, game nights, music nights, and even afternoon tea parties (pre-​registration required). Mr. Ruckus was playing barista the afternoon I came and I had the delicious Mexican Mocha. We reviewed the great diverse collection of board games and selected a 1960’s classic girly «pick your date» type game. We had a blast just hanging out sipping our coffee’s and playing the game. It was great to see others coming in doing the same us. At one time there were 3 groups of us playing games. I think one couple even brought in their board game.
This place is all around awesome, clean, friendly service, amazing coffee, and all natural St. Arnold’s root beer on draft! If you have your furry friend with, no worries order at the outside pick up window, and sit down at one of tables on the sidewalk. I just wish they had some gluten free pastries in the mix. The coffee roasted here is a special blend mixed up by Keith Ruckus. He partnered with Texas Coffee Roasters and added his special ingredients to come up with the Ruckus roast.
Looking forward to more amazing memories to be made at Café Ruckus.

We stopped in on a Saturday morning grabbed a cup of coffee and walked on over to the Farmers Market. Great coffee, but a lil pricer than Starbucks AND it was self serve. I always feel inclined to tip but it feels weird to tip when its self serve? hmmm. isnt the tipping for s e r v i c e? hmm.
not sure but anyway I felt the tip was for allowing us to use the facilities. lol.

If it wasn’t for the wonderful quotes on the outside sign, you might not know that this café was located here. Okay, the big old RUCKUS sign does help a little.
The café has strong and deep, rich coffee. I had an ice latte and a salted carmel milkshake. The milkshake is not for the faint of heart. Unbeknown to me, it was filling and rich enough to be my lunch … wow, how great is that! (It is best to finish the latte first, give yourself a little time, and then move onto the milkshake.)
We, also, purchased some of the Ruckus Roast beans and will try that out tomorrow and provide an update later.
There are sandwiches there, but they are made off site and then brought in. They do have Saint Arnold Root Beer.

First off, Ruckus is one of my new fav coffee spots! If it wasn’t a 20+min drive from my house this place would be my caffeine equivalent of Cheers!
Secondly, the owner Keith (who is so nice!) and his amazing baristas just make you feel instantly at home!
And let’s not forget about the coffee! B’Omg! The espresso was beyond phenomenal, the Mexican Mocha=life changing, and the «After Dark» (NOT a decaf) was absolutely fantastic w/​the perfect balance of flavor and smoothness!
Oh…and the pastries! Chocolate Croissant? Get in my mouth! Blueberry muffin as big as a baby’s head? Get. In. My. Mouth. ‘Nuff said!
And finally, the highlight… latté art by the Latté Artist, himself, Andrew! Kid has mad milk foam skillZ yo!
Also, talking with Mr. Ruckus himself for a bit, you can really tell his love and passion for this place and his coffee! And when love is the main ingredient, it will always taste better!
Can’t wait to come back and get my caffeine fix!