Holy Grounds

Delicious coffee and they have more food options than you would expect! Friendly service and the prices aren’t half bad for a downtown coffee shop.

Great place… Not religious, but place had a good latte, was good… nice place … Pleasant atmosphere…

I was trying to find a coffee shop to relax and cool off and after little bit of getting lost I found it and it was worth it.
Its inside the St David’s Epyscipale Church but the enterance is between 7^th and 8^th street mid block.
Super cute; quiet oasis with very drive fly staff and chill music. 3 comfy big chairs.
I also had the chickpeas salad that was yummy; the juices spilled on my shorts but that is another story. :)

I’m a visitor to Austin. Found this place on Unilocal.4 ½ stars. Looks good. Went there for breakfast, wanted to try their breakfast taco. I order it thinking its fresh made. But no, she reaches into a hot tray and pulls out this pre made «thing», wrapped in tinfoil. Most of the shell stuck to the tinfoil when I tried to open it. Will not return. The coffee was good. Fresh out of the thermos.

As a «reg», I gotta say that the Mayan mocha is a revelation. And the baristas are all pretty awesome. This place is like a warm blanket for all of us who work in the area.

So, a couple of things to start out with.
First, the location on the Unilocal map was incorrect — it sent me to South Congress St., which couldn’t have been further from the actual location.
Secondly, you really have to dig into the reviews to see that it’s actually inside the church (and not visible at all from the street). Kinda frustrating, but not their fault at all.
The café and little shop were really cute, with super affordable coffees (local, I believe), and breakfast treats. There was a bookstore, too, but I didn’t have enough time to try it out.
It’s a great little spot and much, MUCH cheaper (and better-​tasting) than the Starbucks at the Hilton or the coffee stand inside the Convention Center. Definitely worth stopping by! I had the Starling roast, which was superb.

What a wonderful, quaint experience inside St. David’s Episcopal Church.
Of course the people are amazingly friendly, but oh the coffee!
Try the Mayan Mocha. It really is delicious.
I am happy to be working one block from here right now.

Two colleagues and I were in town for a conference and looking for a place to kill a few hours. Enticed by the Vietnamese coffee, we decided to check it out. We encountered a comfortable coffee shop/​book store with friendly staff and a nice environment to take a little break and get a little work done. We were the only people there for the majority of the time besides the church staff and community floating in and out to catch up and chat. I also really liked the novelty drinks (had a hard time deciding) and the music.

Very pleasant atmosphere nestled in a bookstore. It was very relaxing just sipping a coffee while reading the news.

Great lunch spot! I had a turkey bacon panini — excellent flavor and just right on crispness. Also tried the basil lime drink. More bitter than I was expecting, but a terrific flavor combination and very refreshing. I thought it was a little expensive, but considering the quality of the food, it was a great value. I would eat here again.

I love this place. I have stopped here twice for coffee on my way to work, and the people make my day brighter because they are so happy/​friendly! I highly suggest just a plain latte. The coffee is delicious and they also have a gift shop with some cute items.
Note – this is inside of St. David’s church. You enter on the north end of the church.
Also, they have a $ 5 card minimum, but you can also create an account and they charge your total purchases on the 1^st of every month.

Tricky to find, located in an active church. As you enter there are friendly greeters at a concierge desk, the Holy Ground is on the left in the gift shop. Friendly, quaint and with an element of suprise. The coffee is good and fresh with a light breakfast menu. We had a dark roast and a light, both good. The shopping is whimsical, religious and cool! I highly recommend.

I love this place! They have the best coffee & the best staff! Everyone is really friendly. They even have specials/​promotions.
You cant go wrong with their paninis! and the soups are so yummy! They also have taco deli tacos every morning. Free coffee on Fridays! so many cool things about this place!

Just a nice place to get a good cup of coffee, check email on one’s laptop, or read a book. (They have some EXCELLENT books to read in their store.)
Big plus: the folks there know what kind of coffee I’m going to order and they have it ready for me on Friday mornings! That makes MAJOR points with me!

I just love to get my morning coffee and muffin from a sweet smiling face!
Holy Grounds Café is a cute and cozy spot to start my day or to eat lunch at as well!
The chicken salad was delicious and the veggie soup was so tasty on a cold day!
If you are anywhere near downtown, you must have a bite there! PS they also have gifts and books!

Good coffee and Tacodeli tacos in a great environment. It’ll definitely become my go-​to breakfast taco stop over Royal Blue; and will get my coffee stops over Starbucks.

Holy coffee! What a precious place to have nestled in the middle of downtown.
I would never have stumbled upon this place if I didn’t know it was there, and what a shame for the average wanderer! Holy Grounds has: amazing music, a wide selection of books to read and purchase while sipping coffee, Tacodeli tacos, cozy chairs to curl up in, and most exciting for me, a Labyrinth Meditation Garden!!! Walk down the stairs outside the church and you’ll find yourself in a beautiful ivy-​covered terrace. Follow the winding brick pathway and you’ll find yourself in a new state of mind, observant, tranquil, content. The baristas are so sweet, the coffee and food everything I could ask for and maybe the best part is that it is so hidden, a place undiscovered by many and therefore so much more appreciated by those lucky enough to get to stop in here.

Cozy, friendly, warm — and thus far slightly under the radar! Go before everyone figures it out, and grab a quiet table, a taco-​deli taco and some FAB coffee!!! (They have books and gifts, too, BTW). LOVE this secret gem!!!

Always excellent service here! From what I’m told, the coffee is superb. I can vouch for the hot chocolate — it’s very good, but almost too much chocolate. The breakfast items include bagels, croissants, various pastries and breakfast tacos from Taco Deli (served hot!). Lunch special changes daily. I’m impressed with this little gem in the St David’s Episcopal Church!

Where can you drink fair trade coffee, eat Rockstar bagels and Kakawa chocolate covered cocoa beans, shop for hand blown glass with a low carbon footprint, browse Haitian wall art made from recycled oil drums, and pick up a copy of The Book of Common Prayer, too? If you replied: «A south Austin hipster’s apartment with a particularly random Anglican slant», the judge’s would say you were correct. But the answer we were looking for was «Holy Grounds», the coffee shop/​bookstore located inside Austin’s own St. David’s Episcopal Church.
Whenever I have a conversation about the added perks that come with attending a downtown church, the fact that we have both Café Divine and Holy Grounds inevitably comes up. It’s wonderful to have a built-​in coffee shop for those times before or after service, or the days you find yourself at the church early during the week. Actually, it’s where I say I’m «going to go split a bagel with Jesus».
It’s also convenient to have an entire treasure trove of books to browse and purchase, especially if one will be used for a Journey Group, or a friend has recommended one for you to check out. As expected, many of the major Anglican/​Episcopalian writers can be found, but among those with more general Christian topics and philosophy.
I think what people also need to know is that Holy Grounds is open to the public. This is definitely a new place to try if you work downtown in the area, as this may be a surprisingly close locale to grab some coffee or a snack. My personal favorite is a basic iced latte, but I am definitely interested in trying a Mayan Mocha, which they list as a customer favorite. Also, it’s located in a church, so… you’re kind of guaranteed friendly service from the baristas.
Speaking of service, in the recent past I had been scouring the entire city (including the Episcopal seminary) to try and find an Episcopal shield bumper sticker for my car. It costs less than a dollar, and to me should have been everywhere, but for some reason I couldn’t find it online for the life of me, and I was told that the bookstore had stopped ordering this particular style. I left my name and number in case they ever came across one.
I had all but forgotten this request, when, months later, they received a shipment and someone called to tell me that my sticker was in. I couldn’t believe it. Like I said, even *I* had forgotten about it, so it was remarkable they had remembered and had called me.
I’m notoriously unlucky with greeting cards, but Holy Grounds has a wide assortment to choose from by local artists Michael H. McKann and Ben Sargent. Naturally, it’s easy to find cards for religious occasions such as baptisms, marriages, etc.
Along with Bibles and prayer books, this is the first place in town I’ve ever seen Anglican prayer beads for sale. Handmade by the Austin company «Fiber Figments», I have my eye on them, although I need to learn exactly how to pray them first before I actually purchase one.
In short: from breakfast tacos to quiche, candles to cards, Bibles to blown glass… Holy Grounds has it all.
Episcopalians with a passion for locally-​sourced Austin goods? Now THAT’s a real blessing!
5 Stars.