Kick Butt Coffee Music & Booze

Great spot close to home… Had never been here but heard about a Friday night comedy showcase and coupling that with the word of mouth reviews, I finally gave it a shot! Coffee was great, and Dan definitely left a lasting impression that will bring me back for my second visit. Will definitely find time soon to check their schedule and see what other events they have going on…
Oh, and nobody kicked my butt, so that was nice.

This morning I made my shameful «half hungover/​tired as one young 20-​something gal tends to get» over to kick butt coffee. First of all, let me tell you about the convenient location. Coming from my best friends apartment, it was so close! Which I needed, because typical… I was running behind for work. Less than 10 minutes from downtown and out of traffics reach it made me super pleased! Anyway, I walk in with my smeared makeup and probably giving off a weird odor. They welcomed me nicely and the atmosphere was awesome! Really chill, and I can see myself going back and just spending hours there! By the way… Order a caramel café latte, it was the best latte I’ve had in awhile… I’ve been on a hunt for one that actually tastes good. And to all you white girls out there. Totally beats Starbucks. This coffee shop was… Well, KICK BUTT.

I’ve been sitting here for the past 2 hours working on a term paper and I thought I’d take a quick break to write about this place. First off, I love how the owner is often hanging out here, drinking a coffee, interacting with customers and employees, just chillin. There’s something charming to me about a restaurant or bar where the owner can be found reading the paper or balancing their books. Like they have have created the kind of place they would want to go to on the regular.
I love the food selection here. Get here early enough and they have some tasty tacos. TBH they’re a little small for me but they are quite tasty. They also carry greek parfait, bagels, pizza, sammiches, and other delicious treats.
The coffee is great as well. Very flavorful. It has a nice balance, doesn’t taste like tea, or burnt. And of course it’s great that they have alcohol. I miss the Green Muse because I use to love working at a coffee shop all day and then come 6−7pm switch over from coffee to a good beer.
The atmosphere is warm and inviting. Easier to study here in the daytime when things are calm, before all of the open-​mic, pub quiz type stuff that happens here most nights.

Ive been regularly visiting Kick Butt since my office moved in down the street. I recommend the (1) chai tea latte blended with their two different chai mixes, (2) the americano with two shots of espresso, (3) and their iced coffee. All are wonderful drinks to refuel your engine.
If you can get there early enough, I also recommend you try their tacos! Delicious.
This café is a bar too so… Yes, please! The service is always great and the atmosphere is original and cool.
My only gripe is that the drink prices are comparable and sometimes more expensive than the big chains. If you’re like me in this respect, grab a punch card for your 10^th free drink and look for the many opportunities for BOGO!

Kick Butt Coffee have some kick butt smoothies and tacos. The place is nice and friendly. A coffee shop by day, a bar by night! The green apple smoothie tasted great with freshly blended apples. The potato egg cheddar taco was great but too pricey for its small size (~$ 2).
FOOD: ⁴⁄₅
SERVICE: ⁵⁄₅
AMBIANCE: ⁴⁄₅

They have the worst wifi. I complain every time I come. Fix it please. Just call Time Warner and complain like everybody else.

If you like the smell of mothballs, this is a great place. Please fix this, KB!

It’s coffee, it’s karate, and now it’s music too. Seems like the success of Strange Brew with their music lounge has given other coffee shops a loftier goal to shoot for, and Kick Butt is going for it.
They’ve recently remodeled and doubled their space, moving the stage from a corner afterthought to a raised corner focal point, complete with pro sound and lighting. The tabled area is much larger, and they’ve added a full bar and kitchen for food, though they’re not serving the full menu at night.
On the nights they have live music, they stay open later than their posted hours, so call to check before you head out. We saw a full rock band there recently and they started at 9PM. No wimpy music for a place called Kick Butt.
The coffee and sandwich vibe is still there during the day, so they’re a good hangout and work/​study option if you’re in the area. And if you’re not into karate, don’t worry, no pressure. Personally, I think Jackie Chan is kinda hot.

I really like this place. It caters to several types of consumer. It serves the hard core coffee shop crowd, the gotta get a morning bite crowd, the entertain me crowd and also the I just want a relaxing, delicious cup of Joe served by friendly folks crowd (my type). The baristas are friendly and they will chat if they’re not insanely busy. There is a large selection of morning (my visit time) goodies including muffins, bagels, cookies, breakfast tacos and (drum roll) Round Rock donuts. What a great idea to have these delightful donuts in this part of Austin. I haven’t visited yet outside of the morning hours, but the place is set up for some raucous night time fun. There are nightly activities and events posted on the wall. From the other reviews it must really get to hopping. Friendly folks, nice bites and kick butt coffee, a good combination.

This is my favorite place to get coffee. The staff are friendly and helpful. Everything I have had tastes great!
Why go to a generic chain when there is something way more fun and delicious available.

I went in here to get 2 iced coffees and 2 pre-​made sandwiches. I had been here before over the years and this time I noticed they have expanded, taking down a wall and taking the spot next door. It looks great. The vibe is hit or miss and the food is average but the cookies and iced coffee are great. However, something was different this time around.
The prices are not good anymore. My 2 iced coffees to-​go and 2 cellophane wrapped cold sandwiches came out to a whopping $ 24.51
I really thought the barista said my total was 14 something and we were talking when I was signing my credit card slip. As I was walking out it hit me; «did she say 24?» Lo and behold I looked at my receipt and it was 24 bucks.
I returned to the counter and asked the barista how much the sandwiches were and she said «I don’t know, like 6 something and the coffees like 4.50 or 5»
I let it go in the moment but thought I’d share this here with the Unilocal community and my neighbors in Hyde Park and surrounding areas.
Great food, pretty cool staff but L.A. prices on the food is not Austin cool. I won’t return but solely for the over pricing.
If you’re in the area try Corona Café, Epochs or Quacks instead.

I’ve been trying to expand my coffee experience to include new places.
This week I decided to try Kick Butt Coffee after some decent reviews on Unilocal.
I came in on ⁷⁄₂₄ and was surprised to see no one was hanging out.
You could tell someone really ran with their karate theme as it’s prevalent from the décor, barista wardrobe, and product names. I felt it was a bit over the top for my taste and especially here in Austin.
I ordered a large mocha which came to $ 6.25. This is the most expensive I paid for a mocha in all of Austin. There is a huge red flag if your coffee costs more then a beer. I would understand some of the costs if the place was renowned and award winning like other local establishments, however that was not the case. They use an automatic press from what I saw which creates a starbucks taste (that’s not a compliment).
Over all I was left leaving a lot to be desired by the atmosphere and coffee. I will not be back.

Yummy coffee drinks and pretty good breakfast tacos! The smell of the inside is a little off putting, but that may be seeping in from the shady donut store next to them. The guy making the coffee joked with everyone standing in line, and seemed to be familiar with quite a few of the customers. I ordered a black ice with almond flavoring in it. Pretty good! I would be willing to try this place out again, if I ever end up on this side of town again. (Which is rare!) certainly a good alternative to Starbucks!

I popped in here to grab some morning Joe and everyone was kung-​fu fighting.
Nah, not really, but the Asian influence, dojo vibe was definitely in full-​effect all over this coffee shop/​bar/​music venue. Yeah, it’s the best of all three of worlds, obviously catering to the morning, afternoon and evening crowds like no place I’ve ever seen before. I loved looking around the large, spacious venue while waiting for my large, iced caramel latte.
I really hated to leave at that point, but hunger and a long drive ahead awaited me, which was much more enjoyable with the delicious, cool drink in my cup holder. A great find in a little out-​of-​the-​way strip mall in northern Austin!

after numerous visits, kick butt has changed my mind. i like you kick butt, you’re alright. the reason i say this is for 3 reasons. #1 Damn good cookies, #2 Great venue to go watch shows in an intimate setting, also kudos for expanding! and #3 Best baristas, seriously they deserve nothing but good things (like more money)

I adore this place to work at during the day. I’m excited to see what the expansion of their space means for business.
The comedy open mic on Wednesdays is pretty fun for me, too. It’s a great place to get started if you want to try to be funny in front of people. When it’s embarrassing, I still enjoy it…

Grabbed a latte at Kick Butt this morning. As I entered I was immediately and exuberantly greeted with what sounded to be my long lost friend, except that I had never met her. Perhaps they support sampling of their caffeinated beverages?
After looking over their lunch menu I decided against ordering anything. While they were eager to help accommodate my dietary requests in any way they could, their vegan options were very limited.
Ended up ordering a large (because it’s that kind of day) English toffee latte with soy. One employee took my order and rung me up while the second FOH employee immediately began preparing my tasty beverage. Pricing was a bit steep (over $ 6) and I had to make sure I hadn’t accidentally wandered into Starbucks, hence 4 stars rather than 5. I’d go with 4.5 stars if I could though (hint, hint Unilocal) because the service was outstanding.
The espresso beverage itself was also very good. Not quite the «best I’d ever had» as the barista assured me, but still quite nice. The froth was very creamy. I am a self-​described «foo foo» coffee drinker, meaning that I take a little coffee in my cream and sugar, so the strong espresso presence in the drink was a tad much for me, however, I know it would have been perfect for the many coffee drinkers I know. Just something to keep in mind.
Overall the tasty caffeinated beverage, and especially the service, were pretty kick butt good.

5 stars ++++++++
Bottom line: Favorite coffee shop in all of Austin. What can be said that hasn’t been already said? It’s unique and it’s funky as fuck. And I’m all about funky stuff. While some may be put off by the location, I guarantee you I’m not and never have been. The old stomping grounds are just down the road. I’m biased, I like the location. It’s central enough. Every time I’ve been in, the service is extremely friendly and helpful, offering suggestions. I learned a lot one day. The barista asks:
«Do you want that dirty, filthy or disgusting?» This is the name for how many shots go into your coffee. 2, 3 or 4? GENIUS!
The treats are going to get me. I finally decided to cave and get one of their awesome cookies. If you have an affinity for some weird thing on a cookie, they have it. Cookie with fruit loops? Cookie with candy corn? Cookie with ruffles chips? And all with clever names, it’s safe to say I’m going to have to get one of those cookies every time from now on. They’ve got breakfast tacos in the morning (pre-​made, pre-​wrapped for your convenience) and also serve lunch as well. In the evenings they have liquor and beer, and all sorts or quirky events. Someone else said it, and it’s true, this is the least pretentious coffee shop in Austin. I’ve been to a lot of coffee shops. You want touristy, pretentious coffee? Drive south. You want coffee drank by the locals with a touch of weirdness? Here.

A tad underwhelming considering the overall average rating on Unilocal.
Went for coffee and the breakfast tacos. The tacos were tiny, not made fresh to order yet wrapped in foil packages.
Lots of interesting stuff to read on the walls, friendly staff, and its Okay for sure. Yet as the Taco Monster of the Brazos Valley I would seek breakfast tacos elsewhere where they are fresh made to order instead of tiny examples premade.

This place kind of reminds me of the Antichrist, but in a nice way. When I was there it was all dark & red & Kanye West, with the most unusual crowd I’ve ever seen in a coffee place. TSA would have had a field day with us.
But what the hell, that’s what makes Austin interesting. Would I ever take advantage of their full bar & interesting food menu? Probably not. But what makes me a fan here is the nice counterperson who was concerned about the temperature of my straight black from their thermos, and I said go ahead & just nuke it. She gave me a big discount. Was it the best cup I’ve had in recent memory? Not really, but sometimes genuine customer service is all you need to Kick Butt.