Does Capital One really have café banks?

Yes, Capital One Cafés are real. These locations are part-bank branch, part-coffee shop.

Does Capital One offer free coffee?

The coffee isn’t free at Capital One Cafés, but there are a couple of ways to get cheaper coffee than your typical coffee shop. Capital One cardholders get 50% off drinks and the cafés sometimes offer a $1 drink promotion for anyone who walks through the door.

What services does the Capital One Café offer?

At the Capital One Café, you can visit for drinks and snacks and do limited financial services, including using an ATM or working with an Ambassador to open an account, get financial counseling, or attend a financial workshop.

How many Capital One Cafés are there in the U.S.?

There are 50 Capital One Cafe locations in 16 states and Washington, D.C.

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Houston Galleria Capital One Café Review [Location, Drinks, ATMs & More]

Updated: October 9, 2024, 2:58pm CDT

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What Are Capital One Cafés?
Houston Galleria Capital One Café
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Most people don’t associate banks and fancy coffee shops together, but there are dozens of locations around the country where you can grab a cold brew coffee and open a checking account just a few steps away. Enter Capital One’s bank and coffee shop, the Capital One Café.

I’ve been curious about visiting a Capital One Café, so I stopped by one at the Houston Galleria shopping mall. I visited with my family — kids in tow — in late December 2022, and we found the café a welcoming respite from the holiday hustle and bustle of the mall. The drinks were an absolute bargain. But beyond that, I was impressed by the community spaces and friendly, yet hands-off, financial staff. I was also delighted to walk away with some unexpected souvenirs.

Here’s more on my experience and what you can expect when you visit the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

What Are Capital One Cafés?

Capital One Café is a hybrid of a bank branch and a coffee shop. You can stop by to use an ATM, open an account, get money mentoring, or enjoy a coffee and a snack. There are also facilities for studying, working, or conducting meetings.

Small table at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — A small table at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

These cafés are designed to be friendly community spaces where you can conduct limited financial services, obtain financial education, and spend time with friends, family, or colleagues over coffee. You can also participate in educational workshops hosted by Capital One.

Each Capital One Café offers:

ATMs that are no-additional fee for Capital One customers
Capital One Ambassadors who can open accounts or offer financial education
Education and events through the Money & Life Program
Free Wi-Fi, charging stations, a study nook, and a community room
Peet’s Coffee, including espresso drinks, teas, and frappés (note: Capital One Café is now partnered with Verve Coffee Roasters)
Snacks, such as flatbreads, sandwiches, pastries, and packaged snacks

Houston Galleria Capital One Café

Location

This is the only Capital One Café in Houston, and it’s located within the city’s high-end shopping mall, The Galleria. The Galleria is a major Houston shopping center and tourist destination known for designer stores.

The Houston Galleria Capital One Café is in between Swarovski and The Daily Grill, and just 2 doors down from the Apple Store. It’s very close to an always-busy Starbucks location where I’ve stood in many long lines over the years.

Room balconies of the in-mall hotel, The Westin Galleria Houston, are just steps away from the Capital One Café — which you could make your morning drink stop if you’re not planning breakfast at the hotel.

It takes some effort to reach the café: to get to the space, you’ll have to face Galleria traffic, park in one of the garages, get upstairs, then walk past other stores. This isn’t the sort of café location you can just pop into quickly off the street to grab a coffee, but it’s a good spot if you’re already planning to visit The Galleria.

I’d be excited to see a drive-up Capital One Café that’s easier to get to and accessible directly from the street, like the one I walked right past in downtown Austin when I stayed at The Driskill.

Seating at the Houston Galleria Capital OneCafé — Seating area at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

As we stepped into the café from the frenzied mall corridors, I immediately noticed how quiet and peaceful it was. It was almost like the feeling you get when you walk into an airport lounge — you’re still in a busy area, but it’s a calm within the storm.

Yet Capital One Cafés aren’t exclusive, as anyone can walk in to grab a drink. Like other Capital One perks such as the Capital One Shopping portal and CreditWise’s credit reports and credit monitoring, the café is available to everyone, whether you bank with Capital One or not.

The space was open and inviting and there was definitely a friendly coffee shop vibe. We saw plenty of available seating and a variety of large and small tables.

We visited in the evening, long after what I’m sure was a busy morning and afternoon coffee rush. There were some signs of previous chaos, including a few drinks left behind and a dirty bathroom floor. As I talked to the barista, we found out they’d been slammed that day with a $1 drink promo.

Shelving and tables at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

Hot Tip: You don’t have to be a Capital One customer to enjoy the café — it’s open to everyone.

Hours of Operation

The café was open Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Food and Drinks

Coffee cups at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Capital One Cafés featured Peet’s Coffee products.

The Capital One Café’s menu featured cold brew coffee, hot and cold espresso drinks, teas — including tea lattes — and frappés. For snacks, the café had hot naan flatbreads or pastries in a glass display, along with packaged snack options. Capital One Café has since partnered with Verve Coffee Roasters and the offerings will be slightly varied now.

Packaged snacks at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Some of the packaged snacks available at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

There was also retail tea and coffee to go.

Packaged snack pricing at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Retail snacks and packaged coffee and tea menu.

We walked right up to order our drinks with just 1 customer ahead of us. The barista was friendly and immediately informed us that all drinks were $1 that evening — a promotion that Capital One Cafés sometimes offer.

Barista at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — The Houston Galleria Capital One Café menu features cold brew coffee, espresso, teas, signature drinks, and naan flatbreads.

The $1 drinks were limited to 2 drinks per person per day, and I had 5 drinks to order. She was extremely kind to suggest that we do separate transactions so all of our drinks were just $1 each. I spent under $20 for 5 drinks, 2 snacks, tax, and tip. With a family of 5, it’s a rare day I walk out of any shop spending less than $20.

One of the main attractions of Capital One Cafés is 50% off drinks when you use your Capital One debit or credit card. But with the $1 promotional drink special, I didn’t need to test that out since the promo offered greater savings.

Coffee bar at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Capital One debit and credit card customers get 50% off drinks at Capital One Cafés, though you can save more if you visit when the café offers $1 promotional drinks.

For drinks, we ordered 2 kids’ hot chocolates, which the barista offered to make at a kid-safe temperature. We also got a strawberry lemon fruit tea shaker, a chai latte, and a holiday spice latte. The kids annihilated their hot chocolates and tea shaker, so it’s safe to say those drinks got an enthusiastic 2 thumbs-up! Both my husband’s holiday spice latte and my chai latte were sweeter than we’d expected — more than we’d prefer. Though I think it’s fair to expect any holiday-themed drinks to be pretty heavy on sugar. I’ll try the basic cold brew next time.

For snacks, we would have liked to order one of the naan flatbreads, but the café was out of them by the time we visited. Instead, we got a packaged gluten-free brownie (the only kind of brownie I spotted) and a lemon pound cake from the pastry display. The lemon pound cake still tasted fresh at the end of the day, and the brownie was delicious and filled with huge chocolate chips, though a little crumbly.

Latte snacks and pins at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — We picked up holiday drinks and treats at the café, plus a few pins to take home.

We got our drinks superfast — far faster than the nearby Starbucks we’ve visited on other trips to The Galleria.

Hot Tip: Capital One customers get 50% off drinks at Capital One Cafés. Use your Capital One debit or credit card to take advantage of the discount unless there’s a better promo available.

Community Spaces

Within the café, there are 2 private rooms available for use: a study nook and a community room. Both display an accessibility symbol on the room signs and have plenty of room to maneuver around.

Study room at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Outside the study nook at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

The nook is first come, first served and can be used for small meetings, remote work, studying, or just a quiet private space. I didn’t get a great photo here, as it was in use and I didn’t want to bother the person inside, but this is a small room with a desk, chair, and power outlets. It could comfortably fit 3 to 4 people. I asked the staff about it and they said it’s nearly soundproof, so this is a great space to get some thinking done if it’s available.

Community room at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Entrance to the community room at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

There’s also the community room, a much larger space that is available by free reservation for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, students, or educational groups.

Interior view of the community room at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — The community room at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café is a large space well-suited for groups.

The community room was not in use when we visited the café, so I peeked in to see that it is a rather large space with seating for about 20 to 25 people. There was a mix of tables, chairs, and bench seating, along with a large TV on the wall. The sliding doors close for privacy and sound dampening.

Exterior of the community room at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — The community room is available to students, educational institutions, and nonprofit groups.

Unlike the study nook, the community room is not first come, first served. You can book this room for free in 2-hour slots on LiquidSpace. It’s limited in use and available only to educational institutions, students, or nonprofit groups.

Financial Services

Capital One Cafés offer limited financial services along with the coffee shop. It seems like the bank’s approach is to be there for you with financial resources, and when you do decide to get a new financial product, like a credit card, you’ll be more likely to choose Capital One. The banking side of the café was absolutely not pushy — I felt welcome to inquire about what they had to offer or just enjoy the coffee.

Informational sign at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Coffee with a side of banking at the Capital One Café.

The Capital One Café looks like a coffee shop, but it’s definitely still a bank. On the opposite side of the coffee bar is a financial services desk. You won’t see a teller wall here, but ATMs are available.

ATMs at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Go straight through the front door to get coffee, or take a right to use a Capital One ATM.

You can visit ATMs at the front of the café with the coffee bar just steps away.

ATMs at the entrance of the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Capital One ATMs are just inside the entrance of the café.

Each Capital One Café, including Houston’s, has Capital One Ambassadors, who are the financial staff in each café. These staffers can help you open accounts and answer questions about Capital One products. For other transactions, you can hit the ATMs within the café.

Financial services desk at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — On the opposite side of the coffee bar is the financial services desk.

I didn’t have any financial tasks to complete when we visited the café, but I did talk to the Ambassadors on the finance side. I asked how much banking people actually get done in the café, and they said it’s mostly self-serve banking with the ATMs, but they can do transactions and open accounts.

I had been a little apprehensive about financial staff pushing products, but at the café, Capital One takes a notably no-pressure approach. The idea is to be comfortable in the café, have information available, and the Ambassadors are there if you want to talk more. But otherwise, they’ll leave you alone to enjoy your coffee.

Money Life Program information at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Signage in the café advertised Capital One’s Money & Life Program.

The Ambassadors also offer financial counseling as part of Capital One’s Money & Life Program. Capital One hosts financial workshop events at the cafés, but I couldn’t find any upcoming events scheduled.

Houston Galleria Capital One Café Money Life Mentoring Room — The Money & Life mentoring room at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

Aside from the Ambassadors, the main features of the financial side of the café were signage and informational pins.

Finance education signs at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Financial education signs at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

I was just expecting coffee on my visit to the café, but we walked away with souvenirs. The Ambassadors encouraged us to take any pins we wanted — and I love collecting pins, so I was happy to do so. My kids picked out their favorites and I grabbed one of each pin available: a happy face, shopping bag, and luggage. We didn’t see the ticket or piggy bank pins on our visit, so I’ll be back for those.

Free product information pins at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café.

These pins are ingenious marketing tools. I doubt I would have picked up any flyers or brochures at the café, but pins? I’ll take all 3, thanks.

Closer look at the free product information pins at the Houston Galleria Capital One Café — Each pin offers subtle financial product information from Capital One with a QR code to learn more.

The luggage pin card — obviously travel themed — advertised Capital One travel rewards and benefits. It listed the benefits of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, like 2x miles per dollar on every purchase, a statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, and the ability to transfer miles to travel partners.

When I pulled up the QR code, it took me to a Capital One Goals website, which had a page for each of the 5 pins available at Capital One Cafés.

Capital One Goals QR code landing page for the luggage pin — When I followed the QR code on the Capital One Café’s luggage pin card, it took me to a landing page for travel goals. Image Credit: Capital One

On the landing page was information similar to what’s on the physical card: a snapshot of the Capital One Venture card’sInformation collected independently. Not reviewed by Capital One. travel rewards and benefits.

More information on the Capital One Goals QR code landing page for the luggage pin — The QR code led me to information about the Capital One Venture card. Image Credit: Capital One

When I followed the link to Explore Venture, it took me to a page where I could apply for the card …. just a few steps from café pin to application.

It was a similar story for the shopping bag pin card, which took me to a page advertising some of Capital One’s products for shopping, like Capital One Shopping and the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit CardInformation collected independently. Not reviewed by Capital One..

Capital One Goals QR code landing page for the shopping pin — The landing page for Capital One shopping perks and rewards. Image Credit: Capital One

First, this page told me about Capital One Shopping, which is Capital One’s shopping portal that offers coupons and deals for shopping online.

Capital One Shopping on the Capital One Goals QR code landing page for the shopping pin. Image Credit: Capital One

Next on the page was information about the Quicksilver card’s 1.5% cash-back earning rate. Like the Explore Venture link, the Explore Quicksilver button took me to a page where I could apply for the Quicksilver card.

Quicksilver Card on the Capital One Goals QR code landing page for the shopping pin — The Quicksilver card on Capital One’s goals landing page for shopping. Image Credit: Capital One

The happy face pin card said it was for people who want to stress less about the small stuff. When I hit the QR code, it took me to a landing page for Capital One banking products.

Capital One Goals QR code landing page for the happy face pin — The happy face pin advertises Capital One banking accounts. Image Credit: Capital One

The landing page featured Capital One’s 360 Checking product, which promises no monthly fees or minimums along with many no-additional fee ATMs. Like the card pages, clicking on Find out more took me to a page where I could open a 360 Checking account.

360 Checking on the Capital One Goals QR code landing page for the happy face pin — Information about Capital One’s 360 Checking from the café pin. Image Credit: Capital One

Final Thoughts

I’ll admit I went into the café with a bit of skepticism about Capital One leaning into a coffee shop format for bank branches. I get free coffee and cookies when I visit my regional bank branch down the street — why should I visit a Capital One branch to pay for a drink? But the coffee bar had better offerings than my regional bank branch’s drip coffee, the cost was low, and I could hang out at the café, which would be weird at a regular bank.

I also worried there would be pushy staff hovering around and asking guests to sign up for financial products, but there was zero pressure — it was me who approached the financial team to ask questions.

I’ll be delighted to visit a Capital One Café next time I visit The Galleria or if I find another convenient location. The café was inviting and we enjoyed our extremely cheap food and drinks. It’s a nice space to relax whether or not you need to do any banking. I’d like to try out more of the café’s drinks, and hopefully, the naan flatbreads will be available next time. Plus, I definitely want to pick up the other pins to round out my collection!

The information regarding the Capital One 360 Checking Account was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

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