Are you tired of J2 and Kins Dining? Starbucks and Kins Coffee? Then this blog post is for you! Today I’ll be talking about my personal favorite places to grab food and coffee in Austin! I found all of my new favorite restaurants and coffee shops here, and I hope you find yours too!
coffee:
These spots aren’t ranked in any order – they all have incredible coffee!
1. Caffe Medici
Caffe Medici doubles as both my favorite coffee spot and my favorite study spot! The coffee here is amazing – the best I’ve had in the UT area! It’s also right next to campus, which is so convenient! It’s almost too easy to grab incredible coffee on the way to class every morning. The ambiance inside is perfect for studying – almost like a modern Hogwarts dining hall, if you will. Overall, Caffe Medici is the most convenient place to go to for coffee and studying!
2. Mozart’s Coffee Roasters
Picture this: You’re enjoying refillable coffee and pastries while live music plays in the background – a piano, sometimes a harp. As you look to your side, you see the most beautiful view of Lady Bird Lake that Austin has to offer.
Mozart’s might be a bit far from campus, but the 30 minute bus ride is worth it every time! This is the perfect place to study with friends on a weekend. It’s so refreshing to study outside with just the right amount of background noise and some of the best pastries and coffee in all of Austin!
Pro tip: During the holidays, Mozart’s puts on the most wonderful light show! It runs everyday from the end of November to the first week of January. I highly recommend going! Here are a couple of photos:
3. Bennu Coffee
It’s a bit far from campus, but if you’re ever in South Congress you must try Bennu Coffee! There’s a lot of seating indoors and outdoors, and it’s open 24/7! The coffee here is some of the best I’ve ever had! It’s a great study spot, especially for late night studying. If you’re tired of spending long hours at the PCL, I highly recommend taking the 20 minute bus ride to Bennu!
food:
I’d like to preface this section by saying that I am a very picky eater. Very. Coming into college, I was worried about finding food that I’d like, but if this picky eater loves these restaurants, so will you!
Just like the coffee spots, these aren’t necessarily ranked in any order (except for #1!).
1. Pluckers Wing Bar
At the top of the list is my personal favorite, Pluckers! I’m from California, so I had never heard about Pluckers until I came to UT. Turns out I’d been missing out all these years! I love wings and have tried countless wings places – but Pluckers has the best wings I’ve ever had!
Pro tip: It’s tough to get seating almost any night, so make sure you call ahead of time and put yourself on their waiting list! I’ve had to wait for 45 minutes on several occasions because we didn’t call ahead!
2. Cabo Bob's
A staple at every SWE general meeting, Cabo Bob’s is like Chipotle, but so much better (this is coming from a huge fan of Chipotle)! They have the best burritos in town and such large portion sizes for such low prices. Oh, and toppings are free – could it get any better? It can! Cabo Bob’s has a wide variety of fish items for all you seafood lovers out there, with three types of fish tacos and a fish burrito on the Bob’s Specials menu alone! I know everyone in UT SWE can back me up when I tell you to go try Cabo Bob’s!
3. Halal Bros
Next up is Halal Bros! I tried it for the first time at last year’s SWE Leadership Retreat and it was amazing! Sadly, I have only had Halal Bros once, but I can confidently say that they have the best Middle Eastern food I have ever had!
4. Kerby Lane Cafe
Presenting my favorite brunch spot - Kerbey Lane Cafe! Open 24/7 and on Guad – how perfect is that?!
In the same week, I went to Kerbey Lane at 6 AM for breakfast and at 2 AM for a classic middle-of-the-night snack. So yes, my sleep schedule is not the best. But Kerbey Lane is one of those beautiful places that you can go to at any time of day and always find a meal you’ll enjoy. It’s the perfect place for any occasion, from Sunday morning brunches to 3 AM post-party shenanigans!
Pro tip: If you’re ever in South Congress, you should go to Magnolia Cafe! It’s just like Kerbey Lane! It’s such a gem, but not many UT students know about it since it’s so far from campus.
5. Madam Mam's
Last but not least is Madam Mam’s! A West Campus gem, Madam Mam’s has some of the best Thai food in Austin. The portion sizes are so large that I almost always end up taking home the leftovers eating them for lunch the next day! You definitely get more than what you pay for every time. The service is great, but it’s hard to get seating on weekend nights since it’s so popular. Regardless, Madam Mam’s is still one of the best Thai food spots in Austin!
Pro tip: If you’re looking for a spicier dish, I usually get the Pad Kee Mao with chicken! You can choose which meat you want (or no meat!).
I’d like to wrap up with your opinions! We took to our Instagram (@utswe) and asked our followers what their favorite places to get food/coffee in Austin are! Here are their responses:
coffee
Sa-Ten
Mozart’s
Epoch
Radio Coffee
Thunderbird Coffee
food
Voodoo Doughnuts
Home Slice Pizza
Hula Hut
Taco Joint
Don’s
Thanks for reading our blog post! I hope you found a new restaurant to try! More blog posts like this are coming soon from UT SWE’s very own FY21 Publicity Committee!