Mercantile

You don’t need to travel all the way to Montrose to find a quality coffee shop. It’s pretty close to the Rice campus, which is a major plus if you are a student.
The wifi is great and it was not really packed despite being the middle of the day — an advantage to the competition in the area. Something about the atmosphere made it feel less of a coffeeshop and more of a library /​home, but that’s such a small point. I’m glad that it is relatively quiet enough to get a good amount of work cranked out. The only downside is that parking can be hard to find in the area, and most spaces are 2 hours maximum. But unless you plan on camping out for an indeterminate amount of time, I would definitely recommend the Rice Village branch of Mercantile.
However, the service was friendly, and the prices are comparable to those in the area. Great place tucked away in the middle of an otherwise hectic part of town. Be sure to check out the Montrose Mercantile as well

Friend and I came in Sunday afternoon after eating lunch to chat over coffee and tea. I love the well lit space, the sunlight hits the front of the store and lights up the inside! There were no tables remaining, so we opted for the bar, which was nice and spacious. There is no sound system here, so they play music from their speakers, which was placed right next to us at the bar. We might have inched it away a time or two…
I ordered the vanilla latte and my friend got the earl grey. The latte was so good, great deep taste and served at the right temperature. My friend asked for milk in her earl grey and the barista poured steamed milk in it, what a treat!
They also have a fridge of kombucha, which is my current obsession. The service is friendly, there was one guy working and he seemed to have all the orders under control with fast and amicable service.
They close at 7pm on Sundays, but I hear it might be extended to 9pm, as per the owner.

Mercantile is my favorite coffee shop in Houston. Mercantile is very comparable to my other favorite cafes in Sydney, New York, London and Rome. The coffee is great. It is nutty and chocolaty, not very acidic (unlike blacksmiths and inversion in Houston). The baristas are very talented and clearly understand coffee and care about customers leaving happy (on one occasion the barista made me 3 different cups of cappuccino in different styles because he sensed I might have desired more, I didn’t even say anything to him. Best barista ever!). The atmosphere is very welcoming, they have tables for collaborative gatherings, couches, bar benches as well as cozy tables. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Best of all, they get amazing evening sun through the glass wall, which makes for a perfect atmosphere to unwind and enjoy a perfect cup of coffee. They also play very relaxing yet engaging classical music. They do have some food for the weekend brunch but the menu is a bit too special and as such not very appealing to the wider audience; however, we are here for coffee and that is perfect!

I’ve been a huge fan of Mercantile Montrose and usually hang out there. I was in the area and decided to try out this location again and I was pleasantly surprised! They’ve added more seating and opened up a restroom for the public (before you had to go next door). This is a lovely space that’s bright, open, and relaxed. Their coffee is some of the best in Houston. I always get the Gold Cup pour-​over to really enjoy the rich flavors in their excellent coffee. I will definitely be coming here more often in the future!

Decent cappuccino… they serve Boomtown coffee’s espresso bean. Nothing to write home about though… The service and vibe was good, I would recommend visiting here. The 3 stars are based on the coffee experience. Sloppy milk consistency and latte art. However, I would come back. Great place to study/​work…

Hidden gem in Rice Village. I’m not a coffee connoisseur, but their cappuccinos are good enough for me. They have almond and soy milks and also carry vegan cookies and bars by Sinfull. Plenty of chairs and tables.
Great study spot.

Lattes are good, atmosphere is great for studying or doing work, though the wifi is unreliable. Music selection can be a bit odd at times. I wouldn’t come here to socialize unless you plan on sitting outside on the patio.

I come here in the AM before work. It’s peaceful and they made a damn delicious Americano every time. It’s luxurious for what my other options in the area are. It’s a lovely place to sit and chat with the barista or just look out the window while eating an almond croissant!

It’s s very basic and bare coffee shop. Coffee was alright. That’s really all we ordered. Not sure if I’d go back if I had the choice.

Very small, cute coffee shop in Rice Village. Honestly it’s really tiny — not too many seats and a tiny bathroom past some refrigerators in the kitchen. Doesn’t offer too much, but if you’re just looking for a place to have a coffee and a read a book, it’ll do!

quite a modern and clean place; the tables outside are nice, especially on days with good weather. The menu is extremely limited, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get a good cup of coffee. I saw the barista make my hot chocolate, and he put in chocolate syrup and milk… Did I miss the actual chocolate part?

A friend had to tell me about this place. For some reason, it doesn’t show up when you look for coffee places in the area. It’s a nice quiet place. I had a cappuccino and a croissant and both were excellent.

This little shop is part coffee bar part upscale cornor store. There is a family friendly atmosphere built around the unique countryside décor that is inviting. They offer a veritiety of products that seem the be built around 3 concepts, quality, sustainability, and local. Their latte held its own without any syrups needing to be added. They had locally roased coffee on the shelves, and local milk in the fridge, I’m assuming both were in my latte. It was sweet, had great foam, and free poured art on the top. I ate an almond croissant they had in a case, made by a close by café, it was the best croissant I’ve had. Regardless that there was a limited choice in products, not enough to do your weekend shopping, they have a lot to offer if you want to try something new or local, and they have the best latte in the rice village. Check it out!

Love that they use greenway coffee but the quality and aroma of the coffee depends on who is making it. Its a hit or miss for me. That being said I’d rather come here than to Starbucks though.
Nice place to sit n chill with friends or perhaps a date since it’s more quiet than Starbucks.

I really like this place for its ambiance, convenience to Rice campus, and its coffee quality. I know that I’m drinking quality brew from a famous roasters company, and there are always plenty of seats and a quiet atmosphere inside. That being said, the only thing that’s a little weird to me is the fact that I’m sitting in a grocery store of sorts. But it’s still a refreshing chance of scenery from the busy, jarring atmosphere in other coffee shops here in Houston. And the lattes are always served in these deep white porcelain cups – clean cut and beautiful!

Quaint spot in the Village area. They don’t have an extensive drink menu but they take what they do offer and make it really well. I had an iced vanilla latte which was not overly sweet and perfect for the hot the summer day.
Inside the shop there’s some seating along the window along with a couple chairs and couch along the back wall. They sell some baked goods from local houston eateries and also have a lot of coffee related retail items. Also have some cool books lying around to peruse while you’re there.

One of the better selections of coffee within Rice Village. (Aside from Salento’s and Croissant Brioche). Starbucks does not cut it for me. Anyhow, I thoroughly enjoyed my iced vanilla latte on a hot mid afternoon day. I had dropped by Mercantile in the past to look around their shelf items, but this time around I finally grabbed a drink. The shop was about to close within 10 minutes and Graham (the Manager) was cleaning the coffee station. Although it was time for closing, he was kind enough to whip up a drink for me. I thoroughly appreciated that as I had always wanted to try the coffee here. Love how the product is local — They use Boomtown’s beans and pastries from local vendors. My iced latte was smooth and creamy, just the perfect drink I needed to cool myself off. Nice shop and concept. I can see myself dropping by again in the near future.

Got an iced Chai Tea Latte with Almond milk, which was really good. However, I will not be coming back to this place, and I don’t think you should either.
First of all, there is no bathroom. Not a big deal, except that I usually spend a while at a coffee shop to study, drinking coffee/​tea the whole time. By the end, a bathroom is required. When I asked about it, the staff said to go use the bathroom at Torchy’s across the street. That struck me as odd, and not really fair for them to do to Torchy’s.
They also didn’t have a lot of electrical outlets close to the tables, which isn’t great if you are trying to work on a laptop.
The staff in general was less than friendly to me, and outright rude to my friend, snubbing him when he asked about the bagged coffee they sell.
We were there in the half hour before close. I get that the place needs to be cleaned at the end of the day, and that the employees want to leave ASAP after working for so long, but the vacuuming of the equipment was loud and disruptive, and probably could have been done in the 15 minutes after close so as not to disturb the customers.

Cold brew? Excellent. And they let you put your own amount of cream in, but don’t forget to ask for it sweetened!
Chai latte? Deliciously light but well-​spiced.
Latte? Perfect foam, excellent espresso with different types of milks.
Unfortunately not much of a study spot, but with excellent coffee it’s a nice stop in the Village to take a breather from the crazy shoppers/​traffic/​way-​too-​early-​Christmas décor every year.

The gold cup coffee is the best black coffee I’ve had outside my own house in a very long time and that is the main reason for my rare 5 star eating. For their gold cup they use a different way of brewing the coffee that I believe is the main differentiating factor. I can’t remember the technique but it’s a special machine that helps in the process.
I do love my coffee black the majority of the time with no sugar, no cream… Nothing at all. I was very delighted from the very first sip and I believe if you like to dress your coffee that you’ll love this one too. It was a great price too. Only $ 3!
From the exterior it does not look like your typical coffee shop. In fact, I was on the patio of torchys that’s across the street for a good amount of time until I was told it was a coffee shop. I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Even when stepping inside its immediately recognized as «not your typical» coffee shop. There’s something about it that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes me like it. Maybe it was the mostly bare walls or the nonexistence of overly modern design efforts. Maybe it was the clean bright white atmosphere or the spacious floor plan. Or maybe it was the genuinely polite unpretentious baristas but it’s got my vote.
Definitely my favorite coffee in Houston now and I’ll make a stop when I make it into town fairly regularly. Get the Gold Cup and no need to thank me.