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Ask locals where a visitor should get coffee in Austin and two old favorites come up again and again: Jo’s Coffee, home of the “I love you so much” mural on South Congress, and Mozart’s Coffee Roasters, the lakeside café that has been roasting its own beans on Lake Austin since 1993. Both are genuine Austin institutions. They just offer very different afternoons.
For most visitors who have an hour or more, Mozart’s is the better Austin coffee shop to plan around: the coffee is roasted on-site, the setting is unlike anywhere else in the city, and there’s usually something happening on the deck. Jo’s is the better pick for one situation: when you’re already exploring South Congress or downtown on foot and want a quick, iconic stop.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
At a glance
| Dimension | Mozart’s Coffee Roasters | Jo’s Coffee | Edge |
| Location | Lake Austin Blvd, about 3 miles west of downtown | South Congress and downtown | Jo’s for walkability |
| Coffee | Roasted in-house on the premises since 1993 | Classic coffee bar menu, known for the iced turbo | Mozart’s |
| Setting | Large multi-level deck on the water | Busy South Congress street scene and mural | Mozart’s for lingering |
| Food | From-scratch European-style patisserie | Pastries and café food | Mozart’s |
| Evenings | Open until midnight, with free live music and Thursday movies on the water | Check hours by location | Mozart’s |
| Photo spot | Lake views | The “I love you so much” mural | Jo’s for the famous shot |
Where Jo’s Coffee wins
Location and convenience
Jo’s sits where visitors already are. Its South Congress shop is in the middle of Austin’s best-known shopping and strolling street, and it has a second location downtown, as Austin Food Magazine’s coffee shop guide notes, adding that the mural is only part of the appeal. You can fit Jo’s into a walking day without changing plans.
This is where Mozart’s loses outright. It sits on Lake Austin Boulevard about three miles west of downtown, so unless you’re staying nearby, you’ll need a car, a rideshare or a bus. For a traveler with one free hour between downtown meetings, that trip is hard to justify.
The picture
The “I love you so much” mural is one of the most photographed spots in the city. If that photo is on your list, Jo’s is the obvious stop.
Where Mozart’s Coffee Roasters wins
Coffee roasted where you drink it
When Mozart’s opened in June 1993, it was Austin’s first coffee shop to roast its own beans on the premises. The four founding couples brought in Probat, the German roasting company, to help choose their equipment, and the café’s longtime roaster has spent decades building blends from beans grown in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya and beyond, as Tribeza recounted for the café’s 30th anniversary. Co-owner Ken Leonard told Edible Austin that the café has been roasting and baking on-site since day one.
That history is part of what makes a visit feel distinctly Austin. Mozart’s Coffee Roasters still roasts small batches in-house and pairs them with a from-scratch pastry case, so the coffee and the food come from the same building you’re sitting in.
An afternoon, not a stop
Mozart’s large waterfront deck is built for staying. It’s open from 7 a.m. to midnight every day, there’s free live music through the week, and on Thursday nights it screens movies over the water, which people watch from the deck or from paddleboards and boats on the lake. In late November it becomes the Festival of Lights, a holiday display that has become a citywide tradition.
The verdict
Choose Jo’s Coffee if you’re already on South Congress or downtown, want the famous mural photo and a quick iced coffee, and don’t want to leave the walkable core of the city.
Choose Mozart’s if you have time to sit, want coffee roasted where you drink it and a view of the water, or want your coffee stop to turn into an evening of music or a movie. For most visitors trying to see a side of Austin that feels local and unhurried, it’s the more memorable choice.
Better still, if you have a full day, do both: Jo’s in the morning on South Congress, Mozart’s at sunset on the lake.
Sounds like a plan, doesn’t it?
Lin xx
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