Catalina has been a fixture on Washington Avenue for years, a neighborhood shop that never chased trends and never needed to. The menu is a list of classics done carefully: Americanos, cortados, lattes, and a drip coffee worth drinking black. The pastry case covers the essentials, with a chocolate croissant, a rosemary scone, and mixed berry muffins. What sets it apart is what it leaves out. There is no Wi-Fi, so the room fills with conversation instead of laptops, and a cortado here tends to turn into an hour with a friend. For a city that often confuses coffee shops with coworking spaces, Catalina is a quiet argument for the old way, and it has made that case to Houston's coffee people for a long time.
What to expect
- The room is small with tight, shared seating, so a table is not a given.
- A small side patio has a few more seats.
- Small parking lots behind the shop fill up; street parking is the backup.
- The line moves quickly, and plenty of people take their coffee to go.
What to order
- Cortado
- Americano
- Rosemary scone
- Chocolate croissant
- Classic espresso drinks, no Wi-FiKnown for
- 713-861-8448Phone