Pinewood Coffee Bar: The Best Coffee In Waco
Pinewood Coffee Bar has quickly become my favorite Waco coffee shop. I adore this place. To be honest, from online searches and Google images, I had low expectations..it kind of looks like it could either be really cool, or really dingy. Luckily, it’s the former, and it also has exceptional coffee. In fact, Pinewood has been called one of the best coffee shops in the country by Food & Wine!
The coffee shop is pretty far away from Baylor, so it's not necessarily a college coffee shop. (although plenty of college students find their way here.) On any given weekend, the tables will be full of students, families, or solo coffee drinkers looking for a warm and inviting ambiance where they can enjoy an excellent cappuccino in Waco before kicking off the weekend.
Introduction To Pinewood Coffee Bar
Pinewood is a coffee shop, a coffee roaster, and a public house serving beer in the evenings. It started as a coffee roaster in 2014 but this coffee shop on Austin Ave opened later.
The coffee shop is actually two separate buildings: there's the coffee bar, which is where you can order your latte with oat milk, or a drip coffee, or a delicious cortado. They have a few snacks on hand, but no significant food (so don't expect to eat a full breakfast here.)
Walk across the central courtyard and you'll find a different space. Pinewood Public House is connected to the same building, but it's an entirely different room. In the mornings, guests can use this space as overflow. But at 5 pm it transitions into a pub, complete with cozy booths, trivia night, jazz music, local craft beer on tap, and wine.
Quality Coffee Beans Sourced From Around The World
As a roaster, Pinewood Roasters takes a lot of pride in their craft. They source interesting beans in a wide variety of flavor profiles, and there are always a handful of different roasts available on the retail shelf in the shop.
There's a subscription available to Waco residents who are looking for a weekly hit of this popular coffee and want to pick it up in person. There's also a subscription with a paid shipping option, so you can enjoy the coffee from wherever you live.
And then you might just stumble upon Pinewood Roasters while you're out and about in Waco. Milo Restaurant, for one, uses this local Waco roaster for all of the coffee offerings that accompany its southern-inspired menu.
Unique And Cozy Atmosphere
The decor is definitely mid-century. It has a low ceiling, covered in wooden planks (hence the name “Pinewood”), lots of pothos plants crawling over the bookshelves and walls, and windows on every wall. There’s even a central courtyard in the building to help bring in additional light.
Most of the coffee shop is consumed with the large central serving station. There’s a counter where guests can order, and then a long space where baristas prepare drinks. My favorite part of the entire shop? Right in the middle of the bar is a record player, built into the counter. They play music on the turntable constantly and the speaker fills the shop with easy-listening bops of lots of 60s and 70s stuff that people can enjoy as background music while they work or chat.
Expertly Crafted Drinks By Skilled Baristas
I grew up going to Common Grounds on the edge of Baylor University's campus. (Back in the early 2000s, that was pretty much the only coffee shop to be found in Waco, other than Starbucks.) But while the cozy vibes of Common Grounds are still the same, the quality of drinks seems to have gone downhill.
Enter: Pinewood. (And a few other coffee shops in Waco that I love.)
The baristas are skilled and talented and really know what they're doing. Whether you're just stopping by for a quick cold brew or you want to enjoy an espresso-based drink made with the perfect meringue-like steamed whole milk, the baristas deliver.
Visit Pinewood Coffee Bar For The Best Coffee Experience In Waco
You can find quite a few really good specialty coffee shops in Waco these days, but Pinewood is the one that really delivers a consistently excellent experience. From the quality coffee beans to the unique and attractive interior (that ceiling is so cool!) to the consistently good coffee drinks to the cool little pub next door, Pinewood is the best coffee experience in Waco.
WEBSITE | 2223 Austin Ave B, Waco, TX 76701
