Overpriced coffee and stale environment, servers lack personality. I’d rather go to Lazarus or Cuvée which are literally across the street and 10x better and local
Jisun Yi
Coffee is good but service is really meh and got charged extra $ for almond milk after being asked specifically if whole milk was ok (I don’t drink oat milk), which I answered yes!! New to the neighborhood but after 3 mornings of picking up coffee here, not
Yulia
Small modern coffee shop, great location to pop into while walking the furball. Mumford approved ?
Sheldon Sandbekkhaug
Great coffee tucked away just off of East 6th st
Lauren Briscoe
I was very struck by the choice of name of this coffee shop, particularly located in Texas which borders Mexico. Cartel? Cartel????? Is this coffee shop owned by the cartel? Why in the world would anyone name their business this. Even outside of the Mexican cartel, just the very definition of the word is awful. I've traveled to many parts of Mexico and very confused by the choice of name. As someone who has been around the business of branding and marketing I imagine lots of thought went into this which makes it even more dumbfounding.
Alyssa V
Love their cold brew. Great flavor and smooth
B D
These guys have great coffee, truly excellent 3rd wave small batch roasted artisan coffee. Unfortunately where they fall short is in the exact area a coffee *shop* should excel: bring a welcoming place to hang out. I went first thing in the morning, no one else there. The guy working there gave barely any notice. Fine. I tried to ask about the coffees, uninterested in talking. Cool, so I ordered, and noticed a very interesting book on the shelf. Asked to read it- expecting it to be a formality, a courtesy, of course you can read a book about coffee in a coffee shop.. No, sorry, that's there for sale. Odd. Fine. But then I looked around.. "dont put your feet on the furniture", "don't put dishes here", "don't this don't that", labels everywhere... I get it, you want people to respect the place, but these signs are tacky and unwelcoming, and combined with the responses and attitude from the guy working.. Not impressed. Too bad, he actually made a decent cup too. Didn't even phase him when I said so either. Must be used to hearing it. I likely won't be back in Austin soon, but if I or a friend are, I won't recommend this place to go.
Justin Riojas
Great friendly service. Very clean and coffee tasted great. Right next door to a hotel
bob s.
I've been to many locations of cartel ( mostly az) and have always enjoyed there coffee . But this location in austin just doesn't seem like the rest of the cartels . I went twice last week and both times thu were closed at 12pm . Door locked no sign on door . With many options in austin I think I'm done with austin cartel .
Leandra Piliery
The place has a nice vibe but it seems like they do not clean very often. Bathroom was very dirty as well as the seats and tables. Quality of their drinks is not great, I don’t think it’s worth their high prices.
Out of ingredients for their specialty drinks. Didn’t have the coffee beans we were looking for. Struggled to get a refund and didn’t get a refund on the tip we gave for drinks we couldn’t get.
Sam S.
My husband and I were visiting out of town and when searching for coffee this place came up and we were really excited to try to Iconic Tonic since it was so unique. We drove out of our way to give it a try and while we were waiting for our order they tell us that they're out of the ingredients to make the drink... after we had already paid. They're wasn't anything else similar on the menu so we decided to get a bag of beans and they can just charge the difference. Turns out they were also out oft their beans (of course). They then tried to refund us the cost but couldn't do it electronically so had to give us cash which was a only annoying because no one seems to take cash anymore. On top on that I had originally left a tip but didn't get refunded that. They weren't too apologetic so it wasn't a great experience.
A Porat
Nice little coffee shop located next to the Arrive hotel lobby. It’s a bit hidden away from 6th street itself, but their cold brew coffee is worth the trip.
Aalia A.
I stopped by early today to get a drink. The server seemed uninterested in his job and mumbled through our conversation. I asked and was charged for a lavender matcha then later wss told he was out of lavender. The latte tasted ok but it lukewarm.
Dave Diaz
Either the good reviews here are paid for or these people have never had real coffee before. I was staying at the attached hotel and decided to check it out. The place was terrible!My cold brew tastes like the beans had died a cold watery death and then the faintest hint of their desolate spirit was extracted and poured over ice. What the heck? My friends daily drip actually tasted sour.Not coming back here again.
Overpriced coffee and stale environment, servers lack personality. I’d rather go to Lazarus or Cuvée which are literally across the street and 10x better and local
Coffee is good but service is really meh and got charged extra $ for almond milk after being asked specifically if whole milk was ok (I don’t drink oat milk), which I answered yes!! New to the neighborhood but after 3 mornings of picking up coffee here, not
Small modern coffee shop, great location to pop into while walking the furball. Mumford approved ?
Great coffee tucked away just off of East 6th st
I was very struck by the choice of name of this coffee shop, particularly located in Texas which borders Mexico. Cartel? Cartel????? Is this coffee shop owned by the cartel? Why in the world would anyone name their business this. Even outside of the Mexican cartel, just the very definition of the word is awful. I've traveled to many parts of Mexico and very confused by the choice of name. As someone who has been around the business of branding and marketing I imagine lots of thought went into this which makes it even more dumbfounding.
Love their cold brew. Great flavor and smooth
These guys have great coffee, truly excellent 3rd wave small batch roasted artisan coffee. Unfortunately where they fall short is in the exact area a coffee *shop* should excel: bring a welcoming place to hang out. I went first thing in the morning, no one else there. The guy working there gave barely any notice. Fine. I tried to ask about the coffees, uninterested in talking. Cool, so I ordered, and noticed a very interesting book on the shelf. Asked to read it- expecting it to be a formality, a courtesy, of course you can read a book about coffee in a coffee shop.. No, sorry, that's there for sale. Odd. Fine. But then I looked around.. "dont put your feet on the furniture", "don't put dishes here", "don't this don't that", labels everywhere... I get it, you want people to respect the place, but these signs are tacky and unwelcoming, and combined with the responses and attitude from the guy working.. Not impressed. Too bad, he actually made a decent cup too. Didn't even phase him when I said so either. Must be used to hearing it. I likely won't be back in Austin soon, but if I or a friend are, I won't recommend this place to go.
Great friendly service. Very clean and coffee tasted great. Right next door to a hotel
I've been to many locations of cartel ( mostly az) and have always enjoyed there coffee . But this location in austin just doesn't seem like the rest of the cartels . I went twice last week and both times thu were closed at 12pm . Door locked no sign on door . With many options in austin I think I'm done with austin cartel .
The place has a nice vibe but it seems like they do not clean very often. Bathroom was very dirty as well as the seats and tables. Quality of their drinks is not great, I don’t think it’s worth their high prices.
Restaurantji Recommends
Out of ingredients for their specialty drinks. Didn’t have the coffee beans we were looking for. Struggled to get a refund and didn’t get a refund on the tip we gave for drinks we couldn’t get.
My husband and I were visiting out of town and when searching for coffee this place came up and we were really excited to try to Iconic Tonic since it was so unique. We drove out of our way to give it a try and while we were waiting for our order they tell us that they're out of the ingredients to make the drink... after we had already paid. They're wasn't anything else similar on the menu so we decided to get a bag of beans and they can just charge the difference. Turns out they were also out oft their beans (of course). They then tried to refund us the cost but couldn't do it electronically so had to give us cash which was a only annoying because no one seems to take cash anymore. On top on that I had originally left a tip but didn't get refunded that. They weren't too apologetic so it wasn't a great experience.
Nice little coffee shop located next to the Arrive hotel lobby. It’s a bit hidden away from 6th street itself, but their cold brew coffee is worth the trip.
I stopped by early today to get a drink. The server seemed uninterested in his job and mumbled through our conversation. I asked and was charged for a lavender matcha then later wss told he was out of lavender. The latte tasted ok but it lukewarm.
Either the good reviews here are paid for or these people have never had real coffee before. I was staying at the attached hotel and decided to check it out. The place was terrible!My cold brew tastes like the beans had died a cold watery death and then the faintest hint of their desolate spirit was extracted and poured over ice. What the heck? My friends daily drip actually tasted sour.Not coming back here again.