Radio

Reviews 6

AA

Aaron Arnold

After a single visit, this has become my favorite place to drink on Manchaca that isnt Moontower Saloon (please ignore for a moment the fact that, until Strange Brew finishes remaking the remains of the Bakehouse, currently this is about the only place to drink on Manchaca that isnt Moontower Saloon). I grew up a few blocks south of where Radio is now on the other side of Ben White, and its been awesome to see this stretch of road gradually acquire more and more cool new businesses. Radio does both coffee and beer, which are two things I appreciate greatly in life. As far as coffee is concerned, the prime draw is the Stumptown cold brew nitro. Apparently its from Portland or something; its delicious, and is easily a match for Cuvée or any other local cold brew. $2 gets you 10 oz of some of the creamiest cold brew coffee youve ever had. Their beer selection is also legit: two dozen taps, ranging from local staples like Firemans #4 to more eclectic choices like Brother Thelonious or 512 Tripel. Sadly they wont let you get a pitcher of the Tripel or some of the other high-ABV drafts, but 5 straight pints of 8%+ beer is just asking for trouble; console yourself instead with an $11 pitcher of Magic Hat #9. But good coffee and great beer need a congenial atmosphere, and Radio delivers here as well. Theres a nice modern interior with ample seating via tables and couches, and outside the beer garden has a nice mix of smaller round tables and larger benches for bigger parties. A hidden upside of the Austin food truck boom is rather than each coffee shop or bar having to make their own mediocre food, they can just outsource it to the pros (this beer-food synergy is a big draw for places on E 6th or Rainey). Radio brought in Veracruz All-Natural for their food, which is awesome. When I was there I had a quick chat with the wife of one of the owners who said they were thinking of bringing in others as well, which is even better. Its a great addition to this stretch of Manchaca and Im looking forward to checking it out many more times.

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Leila Rahil

I originally came here on their opening night and had what I came to dub "3-Layers of Heaven" which is an off-menu concoction of Guiness, Espresso, and chocolate syrup (I know and youre welcome!), which is exactly as delicious as it sounds! However, it is a $7 treat because they charge you for the beer and reg price of a double shot...it is what it is. I also had some nice, rare bottle beer choices, but had some "sticker shock" here as well as they were not published anywhere that I could find nor was a bottled beer menu offered to me. But, other than the price tag surprise at the register, this is a hip little coffee shop with a bar and I can already tell after a completely fully occupied interior on my second visit that this place is a S. Lamar hit. I had their on-tap Kombucha my 2nd time around and it was pretty good. It made a nice accompaniment to my Veracruz tacos. There is ample outdoor seating, but beware, as with every other new restaurant/bar/attraction to pop in Austin, parking is an issue. You will have to seek out either residential street parking or wait until nightfall to park in the back of the auto-parts store which I was told is "allowed" by a fellow desperate parking seeker. They serve pizza inside, but I am not exactly sure what kind (they are outsourced from a local place) or for how much as I did not see a menu to this effect. I dont see myself going out my way to come here, but it is a decent spot to grab a brew & brew when my accompanying my friends.

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Matthew Anderson

Ive been here a ton of times and usually have had a decent experience. Im a bit of a coffee nerd. Normally Im not a huge fan of Cold Brew but the nitro Stumptown is on another level. Unfortunately they were out so I ordered a single origin pourover. I got a Finca Guatemala which is a pretty cheap but good single origin choice. It looked to be a 8 oz pour. They charged me 6.00$ + I tipped $1.00. For an 8oz Finca Guatemala thats highway robbery. Its usually 5$ for a 6 cup Chemex. The guy said it was so expensive because its time consuming. And honestly the coffee didnt taste great either. It was a bit aged out. And most of the stuff they sell is a couple weeks past the roast date. I dont think they understand that good coffee IS time consuming. A pourover takes 3-4 minutes depending on the vessel. They shouldnt offer the option if theyre unable to accommodate. Ive had much better experiences with 7th Flag and my personal favorite Figure8. Both places use a v60 or Chemex and you pay a dollar less for twice the yield of coffee. The reason I gave it an extra star is because they have a Veracruz truck outside and those tacos are on point.

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Nate Shiz

Was kicked out for supposedly not buying things even though I have a bank statement that shows me purchasing something there at least three times a day. When I asked to talk to a manager or owner one of the employees refuse to allow me to talk to anyone of any authority. I also asked them my bank statement to show otherwise And they still refuse to look at that. I feel the employee that said this was lying and just maybe coincidentally had never seen me buy something. Even though some of the other employees could vouch for the fact that I have bought things daily and I can even list things that they themselves drink and that are their favorites. I used to talk positive about this place but a few employees her singing to embrace a yuppie attitude which is spoiling this town. As a customer that spent over 300 dollars a month to be treated like a vagrant the only attitude I got was racist and classist. Notice the lack of black people at the establishment. Well I am not the only person of color to notice this others will be commenting on the bias at Radio coffee.

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Ally Warren

I really like this newish coffee joint on Manchaca and Ben White. So far Ive only had the cold brew coffee, but only because I like it so much. They do the nitro infusion stuff to it, so its almost creamy and not acidic at all. They also have a great selection of beers, a few typical coffee house snacks (pastries, muffins, and the like), and kombucha on tap. Theres a decent amount of seating inside, but it fills up fairly quickly and can get kind of loud on the weekends, so if youre looking to get work done on a Sunday, this may not be the best place unless you bring along a pair of headphones. Theres lots of seating outside and the best part is that theres a Veracruz All Natural taco truck in the parking lot! They give you a number and bring your food to where youre sitting so you can go about your business in the mean time. This seems like a really fun place to hang out alone with a book or with friends any time or day of the week. They open early and close late! Im so glad Austin has another cool coffee destination.

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Nick Elliott

I really wanted to love this place, I really did. I love the outside patio and the interiors modern feel. Not to mention its within walking distance from my apartment (which is good, because theres rarely a parking spot available). However, I have been severely disappointed with both beverages Ive had from the coffee bar. The espresso is incredibly bitter and I was unable to take more than a few sips of my macchiato. My second drink was a soy chai. Same scenario as before, took a few sips and ended up tossing it into the rubbish bin. The chai tea itself was too heavy in cardamom flavor and the soy to chai ratio was off, which only exacerbated the issue. Two visits with two bad drinks later and Ive decided to call it quits with coffee from Radio, but they do have an expansive array of local brews and some pretty darn good tacos from the trailer out back - so there is some silver lining.

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