Monks Coffee Shop

4 words: Quad Shot Royal Brevé.
This place is quirky for sure. Tiger print floors in what looks to be an old appliance store circa 1962 filled with a mismatched assortment of similar era garage sale furniture. Lining the walls are painted portraits that walk the thin line of artistic genius and creepy stalker. Yet with all that, it still somehow manages to score a semi-​homey feel. Like if you went to visit your aunt in her mobile home and it just warms you up and you can’t help but take a nap. In fact, I am staring at several men who have fallen asleep in their chairs sprinkled in among the college student chatter that is filling the room. This place is absolutely packed with students.
Because it is really good… It’s quirky, but the coffee is great. The staff is friendly and the drinks are great. Definitely worth a visit if you’re coming through.

Best coffee shop in town to read a book, work on a laptop or just hang out. I’ve been coming here for 7 years and love it. The staff members are super knowledgeable and kind, but will also leave you be when you need to hunker down and get some work done. The background music is always good as well. I usually get their regular black coffee and love trying whatever kind they have brewed. I also love their soy vanilla latte for a treat now and then, or any of their hot teas.
This is a magical place — lots of local flavor. You’ll feel right at home.

I love this place. The coffee is wonderful, the baristas are kind, the atmosphere is great, and they have this big ol’ comfy green chair that I LOVE. Monk’s is the perfect place to meet up with a friend, spend a rainy day, or even hide out to get some homework done. I wish I could pack up this little place & take it to my next town when I move.

This is my favorite coffee shop. Friendly service, amazing coffee, great comforting environment. The owner is an absolute sweetheart and kind to everyone. Free wifi for those who need a spot to work on their computers or phones. Great spot for meetups and hangouts. MUST try the tuxedo coffee, SO good.

Great atmosphere and place for brainstorming and a later afternoon energy boost. Really helped get the creative juices flowing.

Ummmmm, it’s just another coffee shops. The atmosphere is okay, quiet, hippish look, great for work and studying. But I have to agree with some of other reviewers, their coffee/​latte wasn’t that great. But I’ll give them another try…

I’m glad Monks exists. In fact, I wish a lot more places like this would pop up in Abilene.
It’s got a hippish look and vibe. The staff is usually nice enough. Quiet when you need it to be, louder when it must (live music).
It’s generally a pretty cool place to hang out or study at.
I just wish the coffee was better. It leaves everything to be desired. Just really plain stuff. Not very strong, not much of the flavor you most likely want from a good cup.
Even the iced coffee is not very accessible. Has an aftertaste like stale pretzels, and the cup is served with a dome lid, which is just awkward to me.
Not sure if it’s their usual supplier, but I definitely saw the stack of SAMs club muffins in the back. There’s no law against this but there should be.
I like coming here. I probably won’t stop. But there’s room for improvement… All in saying.

Terrible drink. Terrible service. I ordered an ice caramel machiatto. I clearly stated that I would like it to be more coffee than anything, light on the ice, and an extra shot of espresso. The only thing they managed to get right was going light on the ice. What I got instead was pretty much caramel flavored milk. Extremely disappointing. The only reason I finished it was because I paid $ 5+ for it. Which was dumb of me for even spending that much in the first place. Wouldn’t go back there unless they managed to find someone who could actually make a drink correctly all while delivering great customer service. It’d be a joke to call anyone working in this joint a barista. Definitely wouldn’t recommend this dump to anyone.

This place is always swamped with hipsters! It’s a nice cozy place in the heart of abilenes downtown. Grab a coffee or tea and lounge around. Then go for a walk down cypress. This would be a great evening out!

If you’ve never been, GO! Monk’s was my «office» during my months of unemployment/​grad school. The furniture has been well-​loved over the years, but don’t let that scare you away. The espresso is delicious. If you’ve never had one, try a Tuxedo Mocha (and add a shot if you don’t like really sweet drinks). They cold brew the iced coffee, so it isn’t water-​down nastiness. Go to Monk’s and «Keep Abilene Boring.»

Music, open mic night, coffee, bagels, conversing with friends in a nice atmosphere. Check.

Great little shop, can be slightly hard to find but worth it for the quiet atmosphere, good drinks, and comfy chairs.

Great coffee shop downtown. Don’t make it here very often because of location. Plenty of hot, cold, iced drinks selection and smoothies. Very comfortable atmosphere with wifi. If you are downtown, stop in!

I came to visit Abilene and stopped by for a coffee. This place has good coffee, in my opinion, and has a good atmosphere. Definitely can see myself chilling in there drinking some coffee and browsing the internet. Is a change from the chain coffee shops like Starbucks. Definitely worth checking out and deciding by yourself.

I moved to Austin three years ago after spending my whole life in Abilene. In my high school days I spent a lot of time at Monks. I revisited last Sunday and was disappointed to discover that Monks has gone downhill.
When Monks first opened, they worked their asses off to provide the young people of Abilene a hip place to hang out and see live music. They brought in relatively well known bands/​artists including Final Fantasy, Cadence Weapon, and the Album Leaf. Abilene’s «scene» was no longer dominated by trite hardcore and street punk bullshit. They had dance parties. Dance parties, people! In Abilene! And people danced!
Now, years later, those who worked so hard to cultivate a hip space in the hell hole that is Abilene have moved on, naturally. And Monks is basically a shell inhabited by a new wave of students who just seem to not really care.
The employee who was there during our visit last Sunday evening inspired me to write this review. I called to verify that they were in fact open until 10 pm on Sunday like Google said, because I mean it’s Abilene, and it seemed to good to be true. Our phone convo went like this:
Monks: Monks Coffee Shop
Me: Hi, when do yall close today?
Monks: What.
Me: What time do yall close?
Monks: Ten. *hangs up*
I’m not lying! He didn’t even say bye!
So we get there and order an iced coffee and an iced chai. The employee didn’t greet us, hardly made eye contact and basically made it very clear that he didn’t want us to be there. He didn’t ask if we wanted whipped cream on our drinks, and when they were ready, despite the fact that we were the only customers and he was doing nothing but sitting at a table talking someone, he called out our orders for us to retrieve them instead of bringing them to our table.
But, I have to say, the last straw was the music. Back in the day, the baristas would be playing the usual college student indie folk/​electronic/​experimental (if you were lucky) music you’d expect to hear in a space that was meant to serve as an oasis for the young people of Abilene. Guess what our guy was playing: ADELE! Why didn’t he just turn on Power 103??? You’re really going to work in a coffee shop furnished with Salvation Army furniture and play top 40 drivel? REALLY???
So, you know, whatever, this guy has the luxury of getting paid to sit at a table and talk to someone and pick the music while he works, and me and my friend have the nerve to come and demand that he make us drinks, fine, be pissed dude. With your customer service skills and taste in music/​clothing you should be banned from working anywhere except fast food chains but you got lucky. And you made sure that I will from now on for sure pick Mezamiz over Monks. Easy.

Great little place in the heart of Downtown Abilene! Loved it.

Quiet, laid back spot in downtown Abilene. I only had a lemonade, since it was the afternoon, which was sweet and cold. It was treading that oh-​so-​tough line between comfortable and dump pretty well.

If you can deal the the wannabe hipsters and skinny jeans, the coffee isn’t bad and prices are decent enough. But, during school it’s kind of an under-​21 freakshow, I’ll pass. The t-​shirts are cool, too bad they don’t look good with skinny jeans.

Monk’s is a coffeeshop that has enough of a quirky feel to come across as special without clinging to pretension or an in-​crowd feel. Of course, almost every time I went in I was one of the only customers, and a few times the barista wasn’t even playing music, making for a sleepy atmosphere… a sneaky way to sell more coffee, perhaps? If you’re in Abilene and looking for a place to gab with your friends over coffee or are interested in breaking out the laptop for a few hours, this is the place. Limited food selection, but a cup of joe and a muffin is all you want sometimes.

Four stars is relative to the location. As far as a generic non-​chain «coffee shop,» Monk’s would be completely blown out of the water by almost any place in any major city. People from Seattle would cry if this were their only alternative. But guess what. it’s Abilene. This is as good as it gets.
With that said, and understanding the limitations of the area. Monk’s is a pretty cool place. It had that «indy» vide that most people are looking for, a place to chill out and use the internet, live music occasionally (I haven’t seen it myself, but I’ve seen the signs.) The coffee and treats aren’t going to blow you away, but there’s nothing wrong with them.
If you’re stuck in the morass that is Abilene and an indy coffee shop is important to you, this is your new home. If you don’t like it, move.