Work-Life-Coffee Balance: The 5 Best Cafes to Work at in Houston

1. Boomtown Coffee

Website: Boomtown Coffee
Address: 242 W. 19th St. Houston, TX 77008
Contact info: (713) 862-7018
Operating hours: Monday – Sunday: 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Google Reviews Score | 4.5/5 |
Yelp Reviews Score | 4.1/5 |
Facebook Reviews Score | 4.2/5 |
Total Reviews | 4.3/5 |
Score Consistency | 4.3/5 |
Pros
- Coffee bags are great gifts
- Great price point on coffee
- Beautiful space
- Okay Wi-Fi
Cons
- Not enough filling food options
With two branches in Houston (one in the Heights and one in the Downtown area), Boomtown Coffee offers beautiful spaces and wonderful tasting coffees!
If you really want a bang-for-your-buck, undiluted coffee experience, you should try their Iced Americano. It’s not too watered down and you can still taste the coffee, which is rare on this side of town.
Their space is well thought-out, too, especially their Heights branch. It can help you concentrate and get some work done.
But what Boomtown Coffee lacks is that they don’t have much food options. They have great tacos though, and we recommend the Chorizo and Egg, but none of them are as filling as expected.
But hey – their coffees are still great, and you can get their coffee bean mix to have in your home, too! We didn’t quite catch what their Espressos are made out of, but we did get the Spindletop House Blend!
2. Retrospect Coffee Bar

Website: Retrospect Coffee Bar
Address: 3709 La Branch St Houston, TX 77004
Contact info: (713) 993-6600
Operating hours: Monday – Sunday: 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Google Reviews Score | 4.6/5 |
Yelp Reviews Score | 4.2/5 |
Facebook Reviews Score | 4.3/5 |
Total Reviews | 4.4/5 |
Score Consistency | 4.4/5 |
Pros
- Different vibes can put you in work mode
- The morning menu is served all-day
- Toasted paninis are well-made
- Homemade frozen custards
Cons
- Early closing time
- The menu isn’t available on their website
Repurposed from an abandoned 1920s gas station, Retrospect Cafe Bar offers a unique vibe. The atmosphere and the overall aesthetic of the place is enough to motivate you to work!
Now, we do have to start with a warning – you won’t see any of their menu items up on their website. You will have to visit their brick and mortar – which is totally worth it!
For us, you should try out their Donald Judd Toasted Paninis and pair them with their homemade Vanilla Custard. The panini’s melted Swiss goes well with the rosemary ham, and the frozen custard’s sweetness evens out the panini’s saltiness.
The biggest downside is that Retrospect Cafe Bar closes at 3 PM. So it isn’t exactly the place to work all-day. But hey, you can get their breakfast menu for the entire day and it’s a wonderful place to have a cup of coffee and meet with friends!
3. Slowpokes

Website: Slowpokes Houston
Address: 1203 W 34th St. Suite D., Houston, TX 77018
Contact info: 832-742-5949
Operating hours: Monday – Thursday: 7 AM – 9 PM
Friday: 7 AM – 10 PM
Saturday: 8 AM – 10 PM
Sunday: 8 AM – 9 PM
Google Reviews Score | 4.6/5 |
Yelp Reviews Score | 4.3/5 |
Facebook Reviews Score | 4.6/5 |
Total Reviews | 4.4/5 |
Score Consistency | 4.4/5 |
Pros
- Great breakfast menu
- Amazing price point on the menu
- Nationwide shipping on coffee bags
- Coffee is roasted in-house
Cons
- Coffee roast can be a bit slow
Work-from-home slowpokes, watch out! Slowpokes might be your next go-to cafe!
We really have to hand it out to Slowpoke’s beautiful vibe. Whether you take your work inside where you can chill and work in silence or outside if you want to hear the ambient street noise, Slowpoke’s overall vibe can get you in the working mood in a heartbeat.
Their coffees are great, too! If you want something to get you out of your “slowpoke” vibe, then the Nitro Cold Brew should be your pick. But if you want something calming, then the Lavender Chai Latte should be your go-to.
Slowpoke also roasts their coffee in-house, which means that the service for the coffee can take awhile. And we did feel bad that we had to ruin the beautiful latte art by drinking it – but the flavor is outstanding and it makes the wait well worth it.
But if you don’t want to wait, you can grab their specialty blend beans online. The Ethiopian Yirgachaffe has an incredible flavor, and it’s priced well for that quality of coffee beans – and you can get them shipped anywhere within the country!
4. Tout Suite

Website: Tout Suite
Address: 2001 Commerce Street Houston, TX 77002
Contact info: (713) 364-1990
Operating hours: Monday – Friday: 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Saturday – Sunday: 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Google Reviews Score | 4.3/5 |
Yelp Reviews Score | 3.6/5 |
Facebook Reviews Score | 3.8/5 |
Total Reviews | 4/5 |
Score Consistency | 4/5 |
Pros
- Amazing coffee blends
- Great breakfast menu options
- Beautiful interior
- Well-curated special events
Cons
- Special events can distract you from work
What stood out the most about Tout Suite for us is their menu. Unlike other cafes to work at in Houston, they offer a wide variety of food and coffee options that can really help replenish your energy while working!
If you get there before 11 AM, you should get their Breakfast Hash with 2 large eggs. The eggs pair incredibly well with the bacon and chorizos! Pair the Breakfast Hash with their Red Eye Iced, and you’ll thank us later.
And if you find Tout Suite’s prices to be a bit expensive, then you can wait for their discounts on their menu items. As of the time of writing, they currently have Macaron Mondays, where you can buy 3 and get 1 free!
Though these events are nice, the place can get a bit noisy when there is an ongoing one. And though it’s nice to get your food at a discount, it can distract you from what you’re working on at the moment.
5. Agora

Website: Agora
Address: 1712 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77098
Contact info: [email protected]
Operating hours: Monday – Sunday: 9:00 AM – 2:00 AM
Google Reviews Score | 4.5/5 |
Yelp Reviews Score | 4/5 |
Facebook Reviews Score | 4.2/5 |
Total Reviews | 4.3/5 |
Score Consistency | 4.3/5 |
Pros
- Beautiful open space
- Fast Wi-Fi
- Open ‘til 2 AM
- Great coffee and pastries
- Vegan Items are available
Cons
- No filling food options
Unlike other cafes to work at in Houston, Agora provides a welcome space for night owls and late workers alike by opening at 9 AM and closing late at 2 AM.
Their late closing hours make them the perfect space for group work and finishing late-night work projects. Agora’s Wi-Fi is fast and the atmosphere can really help you concentrate.
Their tasty coffees help you stay awake for that, too! There are lots of choices to pick from, but our pick would have to be the Cortado, paired with their Almond Croissant.
However, if you want something filling then you’re better off going somewhere else since they just offer pastries.
And speaking of Agora’s pastries, they also have vegan options which isn’t half as bad as we thought it would be. The Vegan Cinnamon Rolls can really help you scratch your cinnamon itch, while still being guilt-free!