Cafe Ion

Best carrot maple tea cake!! They warm it up for you for a melt-in-your mouth feeling. I just love black coffee with sugar, but they have an array of warm and cold drink options to choose from. I visit The Ion once a week and it’s the perfect spot at the entrance to grab a drink that’ll start your meeting. And love the attentive service. .

Café ION is absolutely phenomenal! Whether you’re visiting for a Cup of Joey, Microsoft events, Shells, or just exploring, this spot is a must-visit. The owner, Steven, and Taylor were incredible. Taylor made my green tea with honey to absolute perfection—something I rarely experience, as most places never get the balance just right. Here, it was spot-on, and I didn’t need to adjust a thing. The banana NUT bread was simply amazing. While I initially hesitated because of the carbs, every single bite was worth it! Beyond the fantastic food and drinks, the ambiance is perfect for networking and meaningful conversations. I stayed around for a while and had such great interactions. Whether you’re a professional, business owner, or just someone looking to connect, this hidden gem (inside another hidden gem!) is the place to be. If you’re in downtown Houston or part of the ION co-working space, I highly recommend checking it out. Thank you, Steven and Taylor, for the exceptional service, thoughtful conversation, and the opportunity to connect with other Houstonians. Café ION is truly a treasure! **This is happily endorsed by Lovely is YOUR Story for Inspiring tastes and excellence of customer service.**

Got the carrot cake, the lemon turmeric , and the chocolate espresso. Except for the carrot cake, the cakes tasted stale. The cappuccino didn’t taste that good. The price doesn’t match the quality of the food and drinks. The seatings and service were good hence the three stars.

New management is making this place great! Looking forward to the new adjustments! Coffee is good and the people are great!

If you value professionalism, respect, and a well-run establishment, Café Ion is NOT the place for you. These businesses are plagued with horrible management, a toxic work environment, and a complete disregard for employee well-being. Key Issues: Unethical & Disorganized Management: Leadership is incompetent, with a blatant lack of communication, fairness, and accountability. Employees are overworked, underappreciated, and treated with outright disrespect. Disrespect Toward Employees: Staff members are spoken to in condescending, passive-aggressive ways, and any attempt to address workplace concerns is met with hostility or dismissal. Basic decency is non-existent. Payroll & Compensation Issues: If you expect to be paid fairly or on time—good luck. Payroll inconsistencies, failure to honor agreements, and overall shady financial practices make this place a nightmare for employees. Toxic Work Culture: A revolving door of employees due to poor treatment should tell you everything you need to know. Employee concerns are ignored, favoritism runs rampant, and the level of dysfunction is astonishing. False Promises & Poor Business Ethics: From hiring practices to daily operations, management overpromises and underdelivers. The company presents itself as a well-run establishment, but behind the scenes, it’s a chaotic mess. Final Verdict: Avoid this place at all costs—whether as an employee or a customer. There are plenty of cafés in town that treat their employees with dignity and respect. Café Ion and Leven Bakery & Café are prime examples of how NOT to run a business.

EDIT: The baristas are delightful and the smoothies are delicious (purple rain, duh), and the juices are so good……..and because of the lack of options, I admit that the below review ends on a lie: That was not the last $10 they got out of me. But $9 for a juice…..man, I just dunno. You’re not in Bellaire anymore, y’all. But seriously, everyone who works there is fantastic. My review has nothing to do with the service because it’s stellar. They better be making BANK with these prices. Give them all raises - you certainly charge enough. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I just paid $10.58 for a regularly sized dirty chai with only 2 shots. My friend paid $15 for a depressing chicken sandwich yesterday. Neither tasted bad, and the barista was friendly, as they always are, but this place has half the menu at double the prices. Also, for a place that prides itself on sustainability….defaulting to almond milk? Really? Almonds - as they are grown in the US - use incredible amounts of water to grow, and ours are grown in CA, where they have so little water to spare (hello, permanent drought and wildfires). Sustainability isn’t just using a bike blender, and it’s not just about the environment. Community is key, and when even your coffee prices are prohibitively expensive for the people who work & learn in this space…….y’all need to reexamine your priorities and actually think about the people who use the lower levels of this building. I’ll pay Common Bond’s prices because their food is amazing and their coffee is still affordable. This ain’t Common Bond, lol. Cafe Ion got their last $10 out of me.

The coffee is average in term of taste. The green tea options are above average. Try Matcha latte. This place is one of the best places close to downtown to meet up a meeting and business meet up. The prices are similar to the Starbucks prices. The morning time is the best to use a open space outside the coffee area to get some work done. They have free Wifi with no password included.

Cafe Ion is a midtown gem. Their signature maple latte is outstanding, complemented by an excellent pastry selection. With its warm atmosphere, ample seating, and consistently high quality, this cafe delivers the perfect coffee shop experience.