Austin Java — Restaurant in Austin

I visited Austin Java on Monday morning, February 3rd, for a caffeine fix after a 45-minute barre class. Noticing two cars in the drive-thru, I decided to park and go inside, hoping to avoid the average 20-minute wait I've experienced during peak hours.

Inside, I took some time to decide on my order and asked about pecan syrup and pistachio milk availability. It had been a few weeks since I last enjoyed a latte with those ingredients, but unfortunately, they were still out of stock. I settled on a French Toast Latte, requesting extra syrup and swapping in oat milk instead of the standard option.

As I waited, I checked my phone and noticed my drink being prepared without any distinctive milk containers indicating oat milk. Concerned, I asked the barista if oat milk was used, and she admitted that it wasn't. I had to wait five minutes for a redo with the correct ingredients.

On my way home, I reflected on the experience and was grateful I had double-checked. Upon arriving home, I called Austin Java to speak with a manager, who surprisingly turned out to be the one who prepared my order incorrectly. Our conversation was disappointing—she dismissed the mistake as something "caught before it happened." Her suggestion that I could taste the difference between oat and whole milk in a syrupy latte seemed implausible, as I certainly couldn’t!

To sum up, for those who are lactose intolerant, ordering milk alternatives is about avoiding discomfort. It is unacceptable for a barista to disregard a customer's specific requests, especially when using the wrong milk, which can lead to unpleasant consequences. The attempt to downplay the error by claiming it shouldn't matter since it was caught is unhelpful and dismissive. Furthermore, it is concerning that the restaurant manager was directly responsible for this oversight and handled the...

Great coffee, poor customer service. Long-ish read or scroll to the bottom for a score summary.

My boyfriend and I visited from out of town during our anniversary weekend, hoping to have a positive experience.

Now, I don't expect to be greeted the second we walk in, but the least the cashier could have done was say hello to us when we approached the register. Instead, we were met with a blank stare and a cold demeanor. The older woman took our order but never let us know we needed to take the number placard she half-heartedly placed on the counter (we didn't see it) nor reminded us to grab it before we walked away.

It wasn't until we walked away that we noticed everyone had one, and I saw her shrug as if she couldn't care less when a worker asked her who it belonged to. My boyfriend had to walk up and ask if we needed to get one.

The food runner was also very rude. I watched as he barreled through the line of people waiting without saying excuse me.

Lastly, we only got coffee but stated that we didn't want it to go. We wanted the cute ceramic mugs for the whole experience, but instead, they made our drinks in the to-go cups and placed them on the counter without saying a word. I noticed that the people in front of us had to walk up and get their drink before we thought we had to do the same.

All the baristas were rude, not acknowledging us as we grabbed our drinks or having the decency to call our number. I can't imagine how much of a headache they would be if our drinks got cold because we didn't know we had to pay attention to what they put on the counter.

0/10 on customer service. 10/10...

Glad to have them here as an option since I feel like mid-Manchaca is a bit of a dead zone for casual family eating, but after a couple of dinners and a morning visit, it doesn't quite hit the 4+ star spot I was wanting. Disclaimer, I'm not a huge breakfast or potato eater, so it's partially just not my niche (any dish with potatoes or fries will have a looot of them you could share with the whole table). It was hard for me to find something small to go with coffee in the morning -- figured I'd just order a croissant but they didn't have any. I should have tried something like their avocado toast instead of a bagel, but I was worried about the size. My husband couldn't finish his food and ended up taking half of his hashbrowns home.

I haven't personally had any issue with waitstaff, but I heard an awkward exchange on a Sunday morning when someone tried to sit at a table that was dirty and asked if it could be cleaned. Instead of a simple "I can get to that for you in just a moment", the employee launched into a defensive explanation of how there was only one waitress and she needed to do "that table, and that table, and then I can get to your table". They ended up sitting somewhere else, I assume because they didn't want to bother her. Feeling understaffed is stressful, but try not to pass that stress onto...