East Village Cafe

First off, I love this place. The coffee is excellent, and I love that they have the cortado. The staff are wonderful, and the place is quiet and a good place to read. The small selection of food has gotten better recently, so I can usually find something I really enjoy for a snack or breakfast. So why three stars and not five? Maybe I’m a little too German/​Yankee, but the hours of operation are extremely sporadic. I often make a special trip on the way to work to get coffee. Sometimes it is open at 7:30. Sometimes not. Sometimes not at 8 AM. Sometimes not at 9 AM. This is a coffee shop. People want coffee in the morning. I often see multiple people waiting for the door to open, or trying to open the locked door and then moving on. Sad. Please post hours and stick to them. I’m rooting for you!

Love this place. I swing by at least once a week for some coffee and am always greeted with a smiling face and some chit chat.

Lovely spot and amazing owners and staff. If you’re going to frequent any coffee spot on the east side come here! Great place I can’t say enough about how welcoming everyone is here!

This gem of a café is the production of a labor of love… so much thought and consideration went in to making EVC a place where everyone knows your name… Rafi and Will always have a smile on their faces when you walk in the door and sincerely thank you when you leave… that is why people go back… oh, and the kick ass coffee and delectibles…
I recommend to any Austinite to make this your staple coffee house and to all newcomers or vacationers, definitely put it on your list of places to check out

I love this place! When you walk in the door, you’re always greeted with a smile. The baristas are really thoughtful and friendly — but not in that in-​your-​face, Mr. Morning Person kind of way. These folks are just truly pleasant, and they will remember you.
On top of that, they usually have the classical jams on. Debussy + coffee = YES.
Best of all, their coffee! is delicious, strong, and very fairly priced. I like to pick up an iced red eye on the way to my night shifts… it’s only $ 2.70 for what I’m eyeballing as a 16 to 20 oz cup (?) And, AND! Free delicious sweeteners — the good stuff, y’all: simple syrup, agave, honey, etc. I LOVE a coffee shop with *free* simple syrup.
The other stuff:
Free wifi — check
Charming and relaxing interior — check
Bike parking — check.

A small coffee place with good service and a laid back atmosphere. One side of the room is a bid old school couch and the other side are 5 tables. I can imagine this place being crowded very fast. Luckily I came here Friday after work and I’m basically the only one here. Strange. Hey come on down and try their good ice coffee. Also they have a cute mini fridge for the half and half.

Probably the best café on the east side for work, assuming you can find a table — which you usually can. Places like Bennu and Thunderbird get crowded fast, especially once the UT students return. By contrast, East Village Café doesn’t seem to get much traffic despite a pleasant enough atmosphere and — thank heavens — classical music on the in-​café speakers. (Anyone who’s had to sit through the erratic and loud music selections at, say, Epoch Coffee will appreciate this.) I assume part of the reason it doesn’t get crowded is because it’s in kind of a questionable part of east Austin, even for east Austin — and being on a less-​trafficked part of Chicon doesn’t help either. But rest easy, it’s safe enough for your workday needs.
Anyway, recommended: it’s four stars instead of five only because the food selection is a little underwhelming. As I type this, there are open boxes of donuts just sitting on the counter, and … there is a basket of fruit inside the glass case. No matter, because the coffee is really quite good — some excellent drip brew, in truth — and one is here to work, not eat. And for that, East Village Café gets a solid thumbs up.

I went here today from 4:30 — 6:00 and the place was just about dead. The guy up front was nice. He recommended an Americano, which tasted great with a bit of honey. I was reading a book and thought it was really dark inside. Chairs were comfortable enough. I’d say it’s an alright place to stop by and get coffee, but the loud classical music and ads killed my reading experience.

I really like the atmosphere of this shop and they have really good coffee, but the deal-​breaker for me is the wireless internet. I asked for the password, signed in and was «connected,» but every time I tried to go to a website it claimed connection malfunction. It’s too bad because the small staff are very friendly and it’s usually always pretty quiet. I guess my conclusion is that this is a stop-​and-​go coffee joint, not somewhere you want to bring your computer to get work done.

Super-​nice barista. KMFA playing (nice).
I have yet to try the coffee, but would like to.
The walls are adorned with one picture – the famous portrait of John and Jackie Kennedy. Hilarious.
I got a root beer I’d never tried, one apparently made here in town: Barton Springs Soda Company root beer. Not bad. Just the right amount of spice. But although «made with the finest quality cane sugar» is on the label, it also has sucralose for some reason, which pretty much ruins the flavor. Be forewarned.

I go to coffee shops for work so my needs are pretty simple: good coffee, lots of seating & outlets, reasonably quiet. For me, East Village Café was perfect.
The espresso was great, barista was really friendly, and I didn’t have to fight for a space to sit. In fact… the place was practically empty.
It’s not the coziest of coffee shops by any means, but it’s a solid spot to work and chill. I like it better than nearby Vintage Heart Café (nicer baristas, more space).

The perfect spot for an iced latte on a hot day! We were able to find street parking nearby. There is plentiful indoor seating and there are cute little tables outside.
Extremely friendly staff. I was thrilled when the barista offered to give us a discount on our order because of the foursquare check-​in special even though we didn’t get a drip coffee (which is what the foursquare offer is for). My iced vanilla latte was perfection and quite large. Heard no complaints from Brother on his soy latte to which he added agave. They use Torani syrups.
Brother and I sat outside at one of the little tables to maximize the sun exposure before going back to colder climates. Pretty quiet out, although not sure what was going on at the house across the street, lots of people coming and going.
A great place for a break. Would become a regular if I lived nearby!

Stopped in here the other day. This is what I like about coffee shops. A little, unpretentious place that serves good coffee cheaply. If there’s anything I could say that needs to change is that it needs more space. There’s something like 5 – 6 tables inside and 3 tables on the little porch out back.
Still, it’s a great place for studying or reading that book or just getting away. It won’t ever become a hugely social coffee shop-​which is a great thing.

They sent me off with a lid that didn’t fit the cup and coffee is all over my car. Total AM bummer…
update… they reached out and made it right.

Best espresso in Austin. Hands down.
Also, the only shop in Austin that made me a dry cappuccino that was actually dry.
We tried 6 cafes in Austin over the past week and this was really our favorite.
The only reason I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because we walked by at about 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning (after getting coffee at 9 a.m. on Thursday) and the place was closed. No hours are posted so maybe it’s a casual thing but I was sad we couldn’t get coffee Friday.

After passing by the quaint little building every week, I finally stopped in East Village Café today.
First off, the barrista was very nice and made you feel very welcome. It seemed like everyone else in the shop were regulars, which was a comforting sign. I got my coffee to go this time, but I will definitely consider this place to work or meet up with a friend.

I’m editing my previous rating. The last time I was in, the barista went through Great lengths to ensure all customers’ comfort, including bringing extra ice water out and closing the shades. Awesome people, great customer service, laid back atmosphere, and the owners and workers are Sweet people. Be sure to read my other ‘pluses’!
Pluses: The baristas and owners are all really good-​looking, nice guys. How is this possible? They support a communal atmosphere; everyone in there is chill. There’s plenty of space, and it’s easy to get a table. Also, the wi-​fi works great. Non-​pluses: It warms up in there pretty fast, and I couldn’t get comfortable. That building has a hard time taking this heat. Also, I wish there was brighter lighting in the evening. Clearly, I utilize coffee shops to hole up, read, and get work done.

Perfect East side spot for intimate coffee; small, quiet, clean. One big comfortable couch and five small tables inside. Take a peek in the back alley, which has a shady spot with room for two more tables.
I had an iced coffee, which was perfect (not just hot coffee on ice, but the toddy variety). Friendly service as well.
Free wifi, room to work, pleasant music. I will meet with clients here in the future.
Recommended!

I can’t resist mentioning the names of some of the wireless networks that came up along with East Village’s own wifi:
toastedgophers_​EXT
poo poo pee pee
friedchicon
Gotta love the funky east side.
EV Café is wonderfully friendly, quiet and airy. It’s also small — no more than a half-​dozen tables line the walls inside — and offerings are limited. That tiny size is the source of both its charm and downsides: Though the atmosphere was perfect for one of my quiet laptop work sessions I felt a little bad taking up space once all the tables filled up. I’d be a tad hesitant to make it a destination not knowing if there’d be any open tables. And I might be tempted to pick someplace with a wider selection of noshes.
Somehow, though, my gut is telling me these are *my* hangups, not EV’s. Clearly I’ve fallen under its spell. And as long as your wants are simple, I suspect you will, too. So, with the caveats above I offer what’s likely gonna be the most ambivalent-​sounding five-​star review you read all day.

This place is QUIET. The owner and his staff are friendly, the wifi is fast, and the coffee is good.
The space is very small, but there’s a hidden little area out back, and it’s cozy. This is the place to hide and try to write your next Great American Novel in peace, quiet, and caffeine.
My only complaint is the location — which isn’t bad — it’s just nowhere near anything else in my life.