Cafeography
Austin · East Austin

Cafés in East Austin

Flitch's 1952 Spartan trailer on Tillery, masa pastries with Mexican coffee, Japanese café food on Springdale and wine with coffee on Cesar Chavez.

Photo: Rob Gonzalez, Pexels License

East Austin's western edge is Interstate 35, built along the old East Avenue. The 1928 city plan proposed a “negro district” east of East Avenue and steered amenities for Black residents there, while the city withheld sewers and paved roads from older freedmen communities; by 1932 almost all of Austin's Black residents lived in East Austin.1

Texas Coffee Traders, open since 1994, left its building in the heart of East Austin in 2024 after nearly 30 years, for three new East Austin sites that include a roastery on Wilcab Road.2 Its café and retail shop at 3223 East 7th Street sells espresso drinks, pastries, beans and loose-leaf tea, 07:00–16:00 on weekdays and 09:00–16:00 on Saturday.3

Local tip: Flitch's trailer on Tillery Street closes at 15:00; for coffee in the evening, Strangelove on East Cesar Chavez opens at 17:00 from Tuesday to Saturday.410

At a glance

34Cafés listed
16With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
01:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Buzz Mill, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–00:00).
  • Closes latest: Strangelove, until 01:00 (Tue–Sat 17:00–01:00).
  • Most listed streets: East Cesar Chavez Street (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (29%), wi-fi (26%), specialty (26%).

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Coffee chains in East Austin

Flitch's Spartan trailer

Flitch Coffee works out of a remodeled 1952 Spartan trailer at 641 Tillery Street, open every day from 07:00 to 15:00. It pours coffee from local and national roasters, among them Creature Coffee, Proud Mary and Onyx, and sells pastries from Sour Duck and donuts from Andy K's.4

Creature Coffee runs its own bar at 807 East 4th Street. Palomino Coffee at 4136 East 12th Street opens daily 07:00–16:00, with outdoor seating.

Roasters and a masa bakery

Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors opened in 2014 and began roasting three years later; in 2018 nearly half the coffees it offered each day were roasted in-house.5 Its café at 1111 Chicon Street opens daily 07:00–19:00, with Wi-Fi and outdoor seating.

Mercado Sin Nombre at 408 North Pleasant Valley Road bakes with Mexican heirloom corn and serves Mexican coffee from small farms, roasted in Austin; it was a 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery. It opens 07:00–14:00 from Tuesday to Friday and 07:00–15:00 at weekends.6

Try Hard Coffee Roasters is at 1115 East 11th Street, Cartel Roasting Co at 1813 East 6th and Flat Track Coffee at 1619 East Cesar Chavez (daily 07:00–16:00). Klerjē Coffee at 1614 East 6th closes on Mondays.

Tea houses and Japanese café food

Sa-Tén takes its name from the Japanese for “coffee lounge” or “café”. Its owners, Moto and Kayo, serve locally sourced coffee and tea with Japanese-inspired dishes from breakfast through dinner.7 It is on Springdale Road, open daily 07:00–21:00.

Zhi Tea, a homegrown Austin tea company, runs its tea house at 1023 Springdale Road.8 West China Tea, at 1715 East 7th Street, teaches gong fu cha, the Chinese way of serving tea from a gaiwan, in classes led by its founder, So Han.9 Terrazzo Tea at 1923 East 7th stays open until 22:00 from Thursday to Saturday.

Evenings on Cesar Chavez and East 5th

Strangelove at 2614 East Cesar Chavez Street is a café and wine bar open 17:00–01:00 from Tuesday to Saturday; groups of 4 to 16 can reserve a table outside, and it sells its roasted coffee beans online.10 Wright Bros. Brew & Brew at 500 San Marcos Street, which now goes by The Brew & Brew, calls itself an old-school East Austin coffee shop and bar, with locally roasted espresso, craft beer, cocktails, trivia and live music, open daily 07:00–20:00.11

Paperboy at 1203 East 11th Street has served all-day brunch, coffee and cocktails since 2015.12 The Pershing Café at 2501 East 5th Street, open daily 07:00–20:00, hosts game nights, DJ sets and morning run clubs.13

Sources

  1. 1928 Austin city plan, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Our Story, Texas Coffee Traders, accessed October 2026
  3. Locations, Texas Coffee Traders, accessed October 2026
  4. Flitch Coffee, Flitch Coffee, accessed October 2026
  5. Meet four Austin coffee roasters changing the city's coffee scene, Time Out Austin (May 16, 2018), accessed October 2026
  6. Mercado Sin Nombre: Mexican Coffee & Heirloom Corn Café, Mercado Sin Nombre, accessed October 2026
  7. Welcome to Sa-Tén Coffee and Eats, Sa-Tén, accessed October 2026
  8. Zhi Tea: Austin tea house, Zhi Tea, accessed October 2026
  9. West China Tea, West China Tea, accessed October 2026
  10. Strangelove, Strangelove, accessed October 2026
  11. The Brew and Brew, The Brew & Brew, accessed October 2026
  12. Paperboy, Paperboy, accessed October 2026
  13. Pershing Cafe, The Pershing, accessed October 2026
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In East Austin, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Open late

FAQ

East Austin cafés: questions

Where is the Flitch Coffee trailer in East Austin?

Flitch Coffee works out of a remodeled 1952 Spartan trailer at 641 Tillery Street in East Austin, open every day from 07:00 to 15:00. It pours coffee from local and national roasters, among them Creature Coffee, Proud Mary and Onyx, and sells pastries from Sour Duck and donuts from Andy K's.

What is Mercado Sin Nombre in East Austin known for?

Mercado Sin Nombre at 408 North Pleasant Valley Road bakes with Mexican heirloom corn and serves Mexican coffee from small farms, roasted in Austin. It was a 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery and opens 07:00–14:00 from Tuesday to Friday and 07:00–15:00 at weekends.

Where is Texas Coffee Traders in East Austin now?

Texas Coffee Traders, open since 1994, left its building in the heart of East Austin in 2024 after nearly 30 years, for three new East Austin sites, including a roastery on Wilcab Road. Its café and retail shop at 3223 East 7th Street opens 07:00–16:00 on weekdays and 09:00–16:00 on Saturday.

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