Updated: April 27th, 2024 | Posted by: Grace Kim
Looking to work, live, and travel in a city for an extended period of time? If you’re currently or you’re an aspiring digital nomad, one of the most important factors to consider when wanting to work remotely is reliable WiFi and enough coworking spaces.
Surely you’ll stumble across destinations that will reel your attention but aren’t the most work-friendly. With anything, there needs to be balance. Especially if you want the flexibility of traveling and working to coincide, finding a destination that can provide all that is extremely important. Think about it, how will you be able to get any work done when you’re rushing to find places with WiFi to make your first meeting?
If that struggle is exactly what you’re trying to avoid, Oaxaca City may potentially be the perfect option for you. Not only is Oaxaca City extremely digital nomad friendly, but it is also full with some of the best coffee shops and amazing coworking spaces in Mexico.
What’s better than being located in a city full of history, culture, food, reliable WiFi, and great coworking spaces?
>> Read More: 5 Day Oaxaca Itinerary: Best Things to Do in Oaxaca
Recommended Coffee Shops to Cowork From
If you know me, whenever I travel to cities, one of the first things I look for are the best coffee shops to work from. As a full time travel content creator, it’s my job to scout out for the best recommendations to do in town. This includes exploring the best food, drinks, activities, districts, and even the best places to stay in each visited city.
During my time in Oaxaca City, I took weeks researching and exploring some of the best things to do in Oaxaca City. Categorically, I’ve worked remotely out of over a dozen coffee shops in order to find the best ones with optimal coworking spaces.
So if you’re still looking for a city to work remotely out of, listed are my top favorite coffee shops with great coworking spaces in Oaxaca City.
>> Read More: Oaxaca Food Guide: Traditional Dishes You MUST Try
1. Cafébre
When I first got to Oaxaca, Cafébre was one of the first coffee shops I wanted to visit on my list. Not only were there a ton of positive reviews, but the reviews were also right.
The moment I entered Cafébre, I fell in love with everything. From the layout of the coworking space to the ambiance and staff, I knew I was going to spend most of my time there. From the number of coffee shops visited, Cafébre definitely has one of the bigger coworking spaces in Oaxaca City. Inside the space, there are tables in the middle, against and along the wall. As long as you arrive early, it’s not entirely difficult to find a seat as people come in and out frequently.
Not only is the interior properly set up as an optimal working space, but it’s also open almost all day. I like to hear the sound of that! Whether you’re working on EST or PST time, Cafébre opens at 8AM, which is perfect to make your 9AM meeting. And, it closes at 8PM, also perfect if you’re running on PST.
The WiFi at Cafébre is also extremely reliable as there are plenty of outlets to share all around the space. The staff is extremely friendly as they check up on you a couple of times during your stay to ensure everything is todo bien.
Water is also self serve so if you’e coming straight from the gym or need to balance out your coffee intake, water supply is pretty much unlimited.
While ordering your coffee, you’ll notice that Cafébre takes pride in their coffee. All their coffee beans are roasted in the back, and you can even watch the baristas roast fresh coffee beans. Overall, the aurora is amazing as you’ll surely be able to take your meetings in an extremely coworking friendly place.
From the handful of coffee shops visited during my stay, Cafébre has got to be my favorite coffee shop to co-work out of in Oaxaca City.
Cafébre Hours of Operation
Sunday – Wednesday: 8AM – 8PM
Thursday – Saturday: 8AM – 9PM
Cafébre Address: Calle de Manuel Bravo 108, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
Cafébre Instagram: @cafebreoax
2. Muss Café
Located right by the Zocalo, Muss Café has some of the best, quality coffee served in Oaxaca City. With great coffee, what many don’t know is that Muss Café is also a part of hotel Casa Antonieta. And not only are they known for their interior coworking space, but their food selection is also just as delicious as their coffee.
As people come in and out frequently, note that there are only a limited number of tables. In the morning, you’ll come across people grabbing coffee to go or taking their first meeting before the larger coworking space opens up.
Leading me to my next point. If you want to work in a the bigger coworking space, the space opens up at 10AM. From 8AM – 10AM, only the first half of Muss Café is open, but there are single tables to sit down at to start your work day.
However, note that the number of outlets are limited. There’s only a select number of outlets in the larger coworking space, but are plenty in the first half of the café with the coffee bar.
With great WiFi connection and outlets at the coffee bar, it doesn’t hurt waiting until 10AM for the larger coworking space to open. Or, while you wait, you can even get some work done at the bar until the coworking space opens up. It’s a nice difference since there aren’t many coffee shops in Oaxaca City that has access to a sit down coffee bar, unless I just haven’t come across one yet!
Staff also works and sits in the coworking space in case you have any questions about the space, booking a night at the hotel, or other general questions.
Overall, with beautiful open space, Muss Café has a beautiful open coworking space with some of the best coffee served in Oaxaca City. Plus, if you’re looking for places to stay in a centralized district in Oaxaca City, Casa Antonieta wouldn’t be such a bad option.
Muss Café Hours of Operation
Monday – Saturday: 8AM – 8PM
Sunday: 8AM – 3PM
Muss Café Address: Miguel Hidalgo 911, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
Muss Café Instagram: @muss_cafe
3. Marito & Moglie Café
Directly translated to husband and wife in Italian, Marito & Moglie Café is another great coffee shop with an amazing coworking space here in Oaxaca City.
Whether you’re planning on getting some work done for the day or not, the interior itself should be enough to attract you into the coffee shop. The moment you enter, you’ll notice a table full of books in case you need a break from work. There’s a great selection of books to skim from as you’ll also feel extremely calm reading as calming music plays out of the Sonos Speaker in the corner.
Not only does Marito & Moglie Café offer indoor, but it also offers outdoor seating. There are curtains separating the indoor from outdoor seating with an equal amount of seating from both.
The moment you get outside, there’s a long table with shade, sitting 2-3 people with reasonable space. Take a few more steps out and find smaller tables out in the sun. So if you don’t mind sitting and doing work in scorching heat, those tables will most likely be more vacant than the others.
Marito & Moglie Café doesn’t only offer great coworking space, but it also has amazing food and other beverage options. From all the coffee shops visited, Marito & Moglie has really good café styled food. From the food presentation to the service, you can already tell how much love and care is put into every dish.
During your stay in Oaxaca, you’ll find yourself eating loads and loads of Mexican food for weeks long straight. Well, that’s what I did at least. But when you’re traveling for extended periods of time, it takes time for your body to adjust to the country’s cultural food.
So if you’re used to intaking healthier food options that are only found in certain super markets, it’s important to find restaurants and food options in each destination to help balance that out.
For that reason, I ordered yogurt with fruit and a glass of kombucha to balance out the loads of corn tortilla I’ve been intaking for weeks. Talk about finding it difficult to get a hold of a bottle of kombucha in Oaxaca! Although I’ve become adjusted to eating Mexican food for weeks, it was nice being able to eat meals I normally would back in the states.
Marito & Moglie Hours of Operation
Monday – Saturday: 9AM – 4PM
Sunday: closed
Marito & Moglie Address: Miguel Hidalgo 1204, Zona Feb 10 2015, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
Marito & Moglie Instagram: @maritoandmoglie_
4. Cactus Lonchería
Take a look inside Cactus Lonchería and automatically feel like you’re in Brooklyn. With a selection of delicious cold brew coffee options to amazing sandwiches, enjoy the chill vibes offered at Cactus Lonchería during a hectic work week. Whether you’re swinging by to simply read a book or rushing to take your morning meetings, the ambiance and atmosphere offered at Cactus Lonchería is unmatched.
Confusing at first, the entrance to Cactus Lonchería has a rope tied across it. You’ll be curious to know if you’re allowed in or not but yes, you are! Once you enter Cactus Lonchería, there are two larger tables to choose from. However, if all the tables and seats are taken, there are singular seats to sit and read at as well.
What really caught my attention at Cactus Lonchería was its minimalistic feel and all the attention to detail. The interior design is super simple, chic and most importantly, there is good WiFi and outlets around the café.
Note that Cactus Lonchería is a popular coffee shop, especially for remote workers and digital nomads. So if you’re planning on getting working out of Cactus Lonchería for the day, make sure to come early enough to get a seat because there is a high possibly that all tables will be taken.
With the location of the café, there aren’t too many other coffee shops around the area with good coworking spaces so the staff will tell you to sit on the chairs near the window until space opens up.
With great atmosphere, the bathrooms are located outside. And although there aren’t any outdoor working spaces available, space usually opens up shortly after your arrival. Small in size, remember that there is reliable WiFi connection along with enough outlets to charge your devices.
Now my favorite part. Not only will you find good coffee, food and coworking space, but you will also find that Cactus Lonchería supports local businesses as well. I purchased a sticker from a local artist and stuck it right onto my laptop. What a great addition to my sticker collection!
With the increase of digital nomads entering Oaxaca City, make sure that you don’t drink too much mezcal the night before in order to wake up early enough to grab a seat and surely feel the hipster Brooklyn vibes at Cactus Lonchería.
Cactus Lonchería Hours of Operation
Sunday: 10AM – 5PM
Monday – Friday: 9AM – 6PM
Saturday: Closed
Cactus Lonchería Address: Mártires de Tacubaya 308-Interior 1, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
Cactus Lonchería Instagram: @cactus.oax
5. Café Brújula
Probably known as the most popular coffee shop to visit in Oaxaca City, Café Brújula, also known as Café Compass, has 6 locations scattered around the city. The landscape of Café Brújula isn’t the same in each location but there are some with better coworking spaces than others.
If you don’t mind noisier areas, I enjoyed working out of the Café Brújula location right across Santo Domingo. And because the location is in a centralized part of the city, expect heavy foot traffic. It’s a good, centralized coffee shop if you’re looking for human interaction, fast WiFi connection, and outlets scattered all throughout the café.
But if you’re looking for a working space with a more rustic and calmer vibe, Café Brújula located on Ruta Independencia is one you’ll probably side with more than the other 5 locations.
Besides from having great coworking spaces, not only is Café Brújula one of the best coffee shops to work out of in Oaxaca City, but they are also popularly known for their chocolates. Purchase a chocolate bar while drinking an Americano and get a taste of what Brúju Farm has to offer. And if your coffee experience has exceeded your expectations, consider purchasing a bag of beans to go.
Ever had Mezcal flavored coffee? If not, you’re in for a treat. From the number of different flavored coffee beans to choose from, my favorite has got to be the Sleep When You Die coffee beans. I mean, what a name. That’s my new motto for everything.
Café Brújula Hours of Operation
Dependent on each location
6 Café Brújula Locations:
- Calle Macedonio Alcalá 104, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
- San Pablo: Miguel Hidalgo 907, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
- Calz. Porfirio Díaz 233, Los Mangales, 68040 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
- Av Belisario Domínguez 608d, Reforma, 68050 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
- Locted inside Plaza Santo Domingo: Calle Macedonio Alcalá 407, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
- Pop Up Store: Emiliano Zapata 304, Reforma, 68050 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
Café Brújula Instagram: @cafebrujula
6. Cactus Café
Located further out from the center city, Cactus Café is a hidden coffee shop that I actually found while trying to look for Cactus Lonchería.
Although I ended up in the wrong coffee shop for the day, I’m glad I got lost and found Cactus Café instead. Yes, the names are similar but from my experience, Cactus Café is definitely an underrated coffee shop, especially for what the café has to offer. It’s not a popular coffee shop but it has everything needed for a productive work day.
Cactus Café is a medium sized coffee shop with two floors. For the amount of foot traffic that comes in and out of the shop, there are more than enough tables to sit at with outlets located all around the café.
With speedy WiFi and amazing Iced Chai, you’ll be able to get a ton of work done because it’s not a popular café with heavy foot traffic. Further, what’s also great about the location is that it’s right next to Mercado IV Centenario, which has some of the most authentic Oaxacan produce and groceries in town.
Inside the café, there are paintings of the cacti designed with love and passion. What lovely and talented people out here in Oaxaca! Take a minute and appreciate the art before starting your day and if you get to Cactus Café early enough, you can even grab a seat and sit on swings while you work. How neat is that?
Cactus Café Hours of Operation
Monday – Saturday: 9AM – 7:30PM
Sunday: closed
Cactus Café Address: Av. de la Independencia 101, CALZADA MADERO, Centro, 68000 Centro, Oax.
Cactus Café Instagram: @cactuscafeoaxaca
7. Filemón Coffee Producers
Talk about coffee paradise. Filemón Coffee Producers is one of the most aesthetically pleasing coffee shops to work at. With a balcony looking over the Xilochimilo neighborhood, walk up a couple flight of stairs and you’ll you’re in for a treat.
The food served at Filemón Coffee Producers is unmatched as you’ll be drooling while watching others get their food served. Their Americano coffee is one of the best I’ve had in Oaxaca City, which undoubtedly kept me wide awake in the morning.
However, the one downfall with the space is that the WiFi is not the best. So is Filemón Coffee Producers even a good coworking space? It can be if you don’t need so much internet connection for the day, but when do we not use the internet? If you know that you can work offline for the day, working out of Filemón will make you feel like you’re in paradise.
Besides the lack of reliable WiFi connection, thankfully, there are outlets on the patio. But with an amazing food and coffee menu along with great views, you’ll find a way to get your work done. To recommend, try Filemón’s pancakes and bread selection for breakfast, and their Croque Madame for lunch. Some of the most delicious dishes I’ve had in Oaxaca City.
If you plan on checking out the café, the best time to visit is early in the morning. This way, you’ll have just enough time to avoid the sun rising directly above your face because it does get hot during the day. So if you have high heat tolerance, spending a couple of hours on the patio will feel amazing.
Overall, if you don’t mind a hotter, outdoor working space but want to enjoy working out of a quieter neighborhood, swing by Filemón Coffee Producers and get some Vitamin D right after sunrise.
However, although WiFi isn’t entirely reliable, there is one table downstairs with good working WiFi. So if it’s too hot to the point where you cannot stand the sunlight, snag the table downstairs and enjoy Filemón’s ambiance with good working WiFi.
Filemón Coffee Producers Hours of Operation
Sunday: 9AM – 5PM
Monday: 8AM – 4PM
Tuesday: closed
Wednesday – Friday: 8AM – 4PM
Saturday: 9AM – 5PM
Filemón Coffee Producers Address: José López Alavez 1409, Barrio de Xochimilco, 68040 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.
Filemón Coffee Producers Instagram: @efilemon
Overall Experience
From the number of best coffee shops in Oaxaca City, you’ll figure out that this city attracts more and more digital nomads every year. But more importantly, that the city is exremely remote-work friendly with an ample amount of coworking spaces. From the number of digital nomads you’ll be working side-by-side with at these coffee shops, have an ease of mind knowing that there is reliable WiFi at coffee shops and even restaurants.
From the dozen of coffee shops visited in Oaxaca City, these 7 listed coffee shops are my top recommended ones with great coworking spaces. Trust me, I’ve visited way too many coffee shops to choose from and narrowed it down to this list. And as tourism in Oaxaca City grows, surely this list will grow as well.
Obviously, there are so many amazing coffee shops to visit in Oaxaca City but not all provide optimal coworking spaces. But if you’re generally looking for Oaxaca coffee near your stay or if you simply want to buy coffee beans as souvenirs, there are a ton of locally curated brands to choose from.
Don’t worry if you were initially looking for Starbucks Coffee in Oaxaca, I won’t judge. But do me a favor and make the effort to make it out to at least one local coffee shop during your stay in Oaxaca. And if you’re looking to get some work done, check out a couple of the coffee shops listed above that offer some of the best coworking spaces in Oaxaca City.
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