Bennu Coffee

Came here today. After ordering a coffee with the barista, I waited to the side at the pick up counter. The barista was taking more orders so I knew it would be a wait. After he took a few orders I noticed the barista open the register drawer and closed in which he preceded to pick up all the coffee cups with hands from the inside of the coffee cups pinching them together to bring them offer to the barista area. When he gave me his attention he asked if I needed anything and I told him I could wait since he already begun making someone else’s coffee. He encouraged me to speak and said he could multitask. I asked him if he handled cash just now and he said he did, so I asked him politely if he didn’t mind washing his hands. He scoffed and said, “Are you serious?” and then proceeded to say, “ I can wash my hands before making your coffee,” and walked away to do that before I could give a full response. I had no intention to annoy him or give him a hard time. I was truly uncomfortable drinking coffee from this place if they had poor food/drink handling practices since cash is unclean. He rinsed his hands in the sink and returned back. I asked if he didn’t mind using different cups since his hands were inside the cups. He was annoyed and pointed out that I didn’t leave tip and told me “I’m just going to refund you,” in which he did. I wasn’t rude or disrespectful to the barista at all. I was hesitant and uncomfortable even talking to him because he wasn’t welcoming. After his initial rude response I was more uneasy. After his second response, I won’t be returning to Bennu Coffee. It’s not unreasonable what I’m asking when you working in the food/drink service industry. I’ve worked in that industry for a long time, and you’re required to take a food/drink handling test to work in the food/beverage service industry. If you switch from handling money or even cleaning to then making contact with food and drinks you wash your hands or put fresh gloves on. You’re supposed to understand not cross contaminating chemicals or unsanitary things with food/beverages that customers will directly consume. This is a U.S. national standard by the FDA. It’s up to a customer’s discretion if they tip, you’re still required to follow clean business practices. I don’t think this business has their staff go through food/beverage handling training and if they did, I think they should be retrained. This is a cute local business, but I will support other local coffee shops.

This is my updated review for 2/24/2026. Do not go to this cafe. There is no reason to choose this cafe over any others nearby. This cafe used to be my favorite local spot in Austin, but my opinion now is abysmal. Service - I once went to bennu on a saturday and asked for the same drink i always order. When i received it, it tasted terribly bitter for an item off the mocha menu, which all baristas describe as sweet. When i timidly asked the barista to remake the drink, she did thankfully, but later told me "it has espresso in it, so it would be bitter." this is just not true. i know how the drink is meant to taste. it was just made poorly. many of the baristas are rude and entitled and will take out their frustrations of the day on customers. Bathrooms - Awful. Theyve implemented a new 'key' system. If you need to use the restroom, you have to make a purchase and then ask for a key at the counter that you take to the bathroom with you to unlock the door. this is UNSANITARY. Even the baristas keep the keys on a paper plate so they dont have to touch them. i dont know whose idea this was, but it is INCREDIBLY disgusting. And just today after id made my purchase, asked for the key, and entered the restroom, the floor and toilet seat were completely covered in piss and the ground was sticky. Are you serious? I'm asking genuinely. Theres no way you people are serious. Prices - not worth it. You could get a much larger drink from starbucks for minimal price difference. As I said, there is no reason to go to Bennus. Overall, I'm not coming back to this place again, despite having been a regular. I wish a bright future to the staff and management, but I won't be there to see it.

I came in yesterday night when there was only one Barista working. This Barista left the counter unattended for about 35 minutes, the line was so long at one point but people left due to no sign of any employee. I ordered EXTREMELY simple just to get wifi. One hot chocolate, one bagel, it took 58 minutes to receive the bagel. - no apology given WHATSOEVER. Just an “oh” and they FINALLY put the bagel in the oven. never experienced service THIS unprofessional. Hire more staff, listen to all your bad reviews. (Funny how they don’t reply to the relevant posts ab bad service)

Visited on a weekday morning, its open 24hours and they have a speciality ghost latte. Cool place to hangout or work. Hospitality is top notch. Happened to see lot of students within the cafe. Parking is very challenging during college hours. Must visit for coffee in Austin.

Great place to study. Lots of seating, good music that isn’t too loud, and plenty of places to charge your devices. They offer guest WiFi using a code you can get with your purchases. Good options for both drinks and food. While they weren’t my favorite beverages out of the places I’ve tried recently, they were pretty good. It really depends on your taste and your mood. We tried a strawberry matcha (quite milky and missing a good matcha flavor), an iced Bennu (very strong pecan flavor), an Oliver Twist mocha (not the most flavorful mocha I’ve had but still pretty good), and a cream cheese danish (delicious). We sat and talked and studied for several hours and never felt crowded or rushed.