The Grind

Wonderful little cafe around the corner. Great music ambiance and some people working on their laptops. Relatively quiet and peaceful. I had the lox avocado toast and lavender latte. The baristas offered me a latte to go as I was leaving for free . Very sweet people and good caffeine

I love their veggie omelette with feta cheese instead of cheddar and a side of home fries and an onion or garlic bagel. Their drip coffee is delicious, I like to add half & half and sprinkle some cinnamon powder.

I ordered coffee, toast, and eggs, and the staff was friendly and pleasant. The staff recommended the sausage, which was spicy and very tasty!

The Grind SF is a fantastic spot for breakfast and coffee. The vibe is cozy and welcoming, perfect for a relaxed morning or getting something to go. The menu offers a great selection of breakfast and lunch items, and the coffee is top-notch – rich, flavorful, and just what you need to kickstart your day. The staff is friendly and attentive, making sure you have everything you need. It's become my go-to spot whenever I'm in the area. Highly recommend checking it out if you're in San Francisco!

Very friendly staff! Great for large groups! The grind has plenty of vegetarian options! Their hash browns are amazing! I’ve always loved getting brunch here!

Really cozy place with great food. If you ever imagine yourself in a friendly neighborhood cafe in San Francisco, this is probably the place you have in your mind.

If you are looking for a lively breakfast/lunch atmosphere while getting diner food - you wont be disappointed. It's pretty loud inside, the food tastes good, and portions are decent.

Great coffee, pancakes and veggie Bagel. Delivered freshly and warm. Can recommend! 😋

People of the Lower Haight, how lucky you are to have The Grind. The place is huge, there's even seating outside, hugging the building, no parklet needed. I know The Grind has been on Haight forever, interior harkens back to the 70s, meaning a funky vibe. Cash machine safely inside. Six large menu boards high on the wall. Coffees, smoothies, bagels, salads, omelets, house favs, pancakes, French toast, avocado toast, Belgian waffles, burgers, sandwiches, chili, pastries. For those staring at their laptops, even if you're milking a coffee, you're not contributing to their operating expenses, but there's plenty of seating. I've taken many salads to go, always generous & delicious. 9:30 on Thursday: Friendliest counter woman ever. She made sure I was comfortable with the ingredients, chatted a bit, clearly loved by the many regulars. About the Avocado Toast. Generous avocado mash, could have been given another day to ripen. Giant bread slice, toasted, can cut in 2, with everything seasoning, & pinch of chili flakes. (More please) Perfectly fried egg to order. Side of 4 strips thick & chewy bacon. Mighty Leaf tea. No regrets. Support Local!

I ordered delivery so I can't speak on the ambiance. I ordered cheese omelette because Uber eats didn't have the options I wanted to pick. The chicken sausage is really good. Home fries was good too. Omelette was basic but good. My only issue is that this was a delivery order to a hotel and they didn't give me any utensils and no condiments so my bread was dry with no butter or jelly. That should be included.

Only tried this place via delivery so far. I think most of us like a chicken fried steak once in a while. By the way, if by the chance you don't know this. Chicken Fried Steak doesn't have any chicken, it's thin cut of beef steak marinated in buttermilk, breaded and fried. It's called that because it's prepared like southern fried chicken. This is essentially a Southern dish with either a white or dark gravy on top. I thought they serve pretty good CFS dish here, so this is a good find.

I don't know why this has 3.6 rating. When I see a rating that low, I get leery and usually skip over. Good thing I didn't this time. I have a family member at CPMC/Davies a block or two up the road. I scoped a couple places on Yelp from the hospital. I decided to give The Grind a shot based on it's proximity and extensive menu of breakfast & lunch items, just in case couldn't decide which I wanted. I walked in, there was one person sitting eating at a table. I was greeted by an enthusiastic person working the counter. I scanned the menu and decided I wanted to try the Scott Street Omelet and a coffee. With the omelet, you get a choice of hashbrowns or country potatoes and bread selection. I chose hashbrowns & sourdough. I was handed my large coffee and added the necessary items and chose my seat. There were plenty to chose from (there is outside seating as well). It took a few minutes to get my food. I just want to say, the Scott Street omelet is out of this world good. I would never have guessed avocado, spinach, onion and bacon would be a good pairing, but it just stood out when scanning the board. I'm so glad I ordered it. Standard hashbrowns and good bread. Overall a very good breakfast (for lunch @ 1130'ish). I'm going to be in SF visiting for another couple of weeks. You bet I'm going to return. There's so much more I want to try, but maybe revisit that Scott Street omelet. Pix of the menu board are found on Yelp and on their restaurants website. This is definitely worth a visit for breakfast (possibly lunch as well).

Decided to check this place out for breakfast while staying in SF for a couple of days because it was within walking distance of my hotel. I ended up coming here both mornings for breakfast because it was so convenient and the food was good. I ordered the Haight Scram both times because I'm a creature of habit, lol. Both times it was excellent. The toast was perfectly toasted and the hashbrowns (my favorite!) were excellent. Plus, everyone who works here is suuuper friendly. I'm glad I know where I can come back for breakfast (or lunch!) next time I'm in town.

Whats kind of sad is I walked into this place thinking i was going to the juice place next door. Wamp wamp. Thats what happens when you are hung over! I ended up having a banana/orange juice/ice blend which was basic but cold and delicious. Ha. Then I had a veggie melt and while it did the job i can't say i ever order it again. Lots of onions, crazy melted cheese. The fries that came with it were of course not good. But, there is no way that after this item you would still be hungry. The space was nice for breakfast: both indoor and outdoor space. Patio wasn't cute by any means but hey you could breath fresh air. Also the cashier was nice. I would go there hungover again but i'd prefer acai bowls and the juice shop that supposedly exists.

We live pretty close by to this place so decided to stop by for a pre-football breakfast last week. I had no issues at all with this place other than it was pretty expensive for what is a pretty unassuming cafe place. But I enjoyed the food and the service was good and they even had a TV for sports. I got an english muffin egg breakfast sandwich and we got champagne for mimosas. All in all a good little neighborhood joint. Very quiet as well.

Came in for a quick, last minute breakfast and was super tasty. Honestly, not quite sure why the rating is low because we think the food was really tasty and the cashiers were super nice. Their menu offering is quite lengthy with a lot of sweet vs savory options. I would def get the croissant French toast again - it was so good!

Found this spot that serves vegan breakfast. Hard to find vegan breakfast serving restaurants. This was perfect. Simple protein & potatoes .Friendly staff too!!

Good food, good prices, local, and generally plenty of seating. Can get busy for weekend brunch. But that's because of good food, good prices, local and *generally* plenty of seating. My favorites are the Scott Street Omelet, the Portabello Mushroom Sandwich with sundried tomato and pesto, the Sweet Potato Fries, and the Cesar Salad. But the burgers, fries, pancakes, and really everything is a solid, satisfying four stars. You can't go wrong. It's all good and reasonable, and a short walk from where you are or somebody in your party.

The salmon bagel is perfect. Fresh open faced like it should be always be.served with some lemon wedges The staff are always very friendly and pleasant The atmosphere is exactly what you see when you walk in the door basic and clean

I ordered a banana bread and a latte. I liked that service was quick my order was taken right away. I waited only a few minutes for my coffee and the banana bread was freshly made. I saw people eating breakfast plates that looked like good portions. I will have to come back to try their breakfast. Oh and I also saw they sell mimosas. If you are in the area stop by this place.

Come for the service, stay for the food. I seem to have fallen into the habit of having breakfast out every weekend and The Grind turned out to be an excellent choice. This is one of those places where the menu is on the wall so you order at the counter and they bring you your food. The lady / girl / person / woman at the front counter was absolutely delightful. She even apologized because she was in the middle of making a fresh pot of coffee. I will wait until the end of time for fresh coffee, not a problem. I ordered a waffle and bacon. It was early (8:30 or so) so my breakfast was out in less than 10 minutes. The bacon was excellent, three big slices perfectly done. The waffle was good as well. It could have used maybe a little sprinkle of nutmeg or some such thing to up the flavor but it was definitely edible. In addition to the wall menu, the front counter is literally covered in baked goods. If you're looking for a coffee to go and something sweet to go with it, this should be just the place for you. Yep, I'll be back.

(hot) caramel latte was pretty good, sweet but not sickly sweet. espresso base was nice

Pretty nice spot, I got eggs with bacon and hash browns. Best hash browns I've had in a long time!!! I forgot to take pics but the food was good, and staff was friendly.

I had written the Grind off having heard mixed reviews from my friends, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. This isn't some cheffy / fancy / trendy breakfast spot, but it does what it does well. It's the kind of place you go to if you live in the neighborhood on a casual weekend morning when you don't feel like making breakfast. The service was also really friendly, and they were happy to accommodate my substitutions. I got the Scott omelette, as a scramble instead of omelette, and subbing bacon for ham, and it hit the spot. The sides were good too - the fruit was fresh and I even liked the wheat toast (+ that it came unbuttered for you to butter yourself).

Awful coffee. Mind bogglingly bad. Just ordered two lattes and they are both extremely weak and room temperature. Place seems to do just enough business to get by. Decor is blah from the 90's. Great location . Hopefully a new business will take it over one day and add better offerings to the locals.

Was in the neighborhood for an appointment and absolutely needed coffee and some brunch. I have been trying to find the most unpretentious restaurants possible in SF, not because I don't appreciate cute cafes, but because they have simply been disappointing. I've decided unpretentious mom-and-pop restaurants rarely disappoint. The Grind cafe is no exception. I came here on a game day so the TVs were on and everyone was watching but that doesn't really bother me. I have my ear buds on and I picked a table in a corner and I didn't face the screens. Problem solved. I'm not sure what the issue with service is that others describe. Is it excellent, middle-of-nowhere diner service? No. You order at the counter and you get a number and they deliver the food. Lady behind the counter was nice and patient and I didn't feel that any extra service would've been necessary. The menu was terribly overwhelming with waffles and avocado toasts and eggs (but I do like having options--gives me a reason to come back!) so I went with popular dishes and picked steak and eggs. Everything was excellent. The prices were decent for SF and the coffee was fine and I was overall very satisfied. Will definitely be back for more.

Solid 3.5 on the breakfast burrito. It was fresh, well-seasoned, and had a nice balance of ingredients -- egg, cheese, bacon, avocado, sour cream, and a pico de gallo with a slight kick of jalapeño. I'd give it the extra .5 if it had some texture, but all of the ingredients felt very "soft" throughout, despite asking for my bacon extra crispy. Looking forward to trying more items!

Live in the neighborhood and this place is always packed! It's not gourmet but it's very good for what it is. Anything you want for breakfast they probably have on the menu. Service was fast coffee was hot (not good but hot) and my ham and eggs craving was satiated. Only complaint was that it was pouring and so windy outside but they kept the front door open so our food got cold fast.

Very overpriced for the quality. The coffee drinks are all syrup & taste awful. I wish I took a picture. Syrup bursted out of the straw, so I asked for a hot mocha (which I originally ordered but they thought I said iced & I was trying to be a team player). Hot white mocha was still awful & tasted like all processed syrup. Also, I don't know if the staff were irritated that I asked for a replacement drink, but I picked up on some passive aggressiveness. It was a shitty experience, which sucks because I live up the street so this would have been really convenient. But the venue is great. Love the windows. And Christian the busser was a really nice.

I have nothing but great things to say about this place! First of all who doesn't like to be greeted with so much enthusiasm when you first come in. They are always very attentive with their customers! The food is great, I highly recommend belgium nutella waffles.

Ordered breakfast from here via GrubHub, including a $7.95 order of chicken apple sausage (it's on the menu for $5.95, but that links to an option list that includes bacon, [regular] sausage, and other meat sides - to get chicken apple sausage you need to pay an extra $2). The order contained 2 breakfast-sized links. $4 a sausage. It was the most offensive markup I've seen in San Francisco all year, and that's saying a lot. The bagel that was the rest of my order was weirdly stale. Won't be returning.

Rise and grind it's breakfast time. It's a good fulfilling breakfast with a good taste. The scramble is deliciously hearty. A good breakfast spot.

There's one lady there who just has the worst possible service and attitude I was shamed for my name and hung up on and unfortunately this one bad apple really did ruin my whole experience they have a really sweet girl there named jazz who showed a lot of genuine care in rectifying the situation but the other lady just rubbed me to wrong hopefully they consider getting rid of her. Im only giving 3 stars because jazz was so kind otherwise it would be a 1 for me.

Most of their food is great! I've had some duds before, but the chicken fried steak and lox avocado toast were good.

I'm not sure why this place doesn't have a higher rating. I'm so glad that we took a chance on it while in the area. Delicious Haight Scram was delicious and my husband's breakfast was great too. Definitely give them a try. They deserve a higher rating than this. And no, I don't know them. We are in town from Texas.

Good food, service is hit or miss, there's a nice guy that works there some days who is great and then an aggressive lady who works there other days. I've been coming here for years ordering a the 2-egg with hashbrowns and add a pancake (note I am explicitly *paying* for the extra pancake) and a coffee, always tip well. I like what I like, that's my meal. Go in to order, things are slow, in fact it's completely empty at that moment, Aggressive lady insists they have *never* done that and won't do that and that when I protest that the other guy does it, she insists that the only other guy who works there is the guy standing next to her (until he corrects her that there is another guy that works there). Ok, lose me as a regular customer I guess, but seems unreasonable for no reason.

Love this place been coming here since 2019, introduced to this place by friends and we loved it. Always try and come here when I'm at work and it's right down the street from my job. The service and food is good the ambiance is welcoming. Nice house and sometimes hip hop music playing. I'm a regular here I will always try and come through

Big menu, big coffee. Didn't come up in a Yelp search, so they get five stars. ;) Had the lox and bagel, good price for a good breakfast. The coffee comes in pint glasses, but I didn't see any beer taps. lol They really do have a huge menu in this place. If it's a standard breakfast item they probably have it. My only complaint is they don't have napkins to speak of, just the single sheet from the dispenser type by the milk and sugar

Review update during shelter-in-place! Been ordering takeout here during shelter-in-place and got to try more items on the menu - definitely a great sandwich place. The triple deck club is fire - super thick and toasted well. The chicken in a sandwich is very juicy, cooked perfectly! The pesto chicken and the chicken bacon cheddar sandwiches were so good. I hardly eat an entire sandwich (big leftovers person) but I couldn't put those two down.

Great breakfast joint on Haight. Convenient to Muni and #7 bus Counter service. Nice urban feel.

Great coffee cake and omelets. Easy to get a table and good service. Can bring the doggo as well.

I've worked in the neighborhood for over 15years and I love the grind, feels like I've tried everything on their menu and I honestly haven't gotten tired of it. The staff there are super sweet and always greet me with a friendly smile. Also the food has great taste, my favorite is the bacon cheese burger with curly fries. Super tasty and full filling.

I have been coming here since they opened 20+ years ago. When the other brother was there. I think his name was Mo. When they opened, they started out w/a bang and everything from Breakfast to burgers and the pasta and salad dishes were FAB!. It wasn't uncommon for me to eat here a couple times a month and meet up with friends. The last couple visits have not been all that good and the wait for my food was a bit excessive (30 min). To add to this, one of my orders was not what I ordered. Recent experience was on a weekend. I was craving pancakes - banana pancakes. In the past, they have been really good. Not this time. They were completely flavorless except for the bruised bananas that were inside the pancake. I had to pick those out and set them aside. They lacked flavor and weren't even the slightest bit fluffy. In fact they tasted burned or the grill hadn't been cleaned. From the get go I asked for extra butter and got to hard pats - seriously. So I asked the server person for more and he brought 1 more hard pat. I'm done. Which is really sad as they are a local business, close to my house, I love the vibe and the remodel inside. Good job on the park-let, but I prefer inside seating. Not a fan of exhaust on my food. I see mixed reviews of late. May be time for management aka Owner to revisit what's really happening in the kitchen. The Love just isn't there any more.

Breakfast sando highlights: 1. Egg cooked perfectly 2. Sourdough well-toasted and not pre-buttered 3. Accompanying potatoes ft. that freshhh Rosemary

I feel like this place taste pretty good and super flavorful.. if they get your order right. When I placed my order for a breakfast burrito yesterday morning, I wanted apple chicken sausage as my protein and no salsa/sour cream. However, when I started eating my burrito, there was bacon in it and it was loaded with salsa with a small hint of sour cream. I was super disappointed but still managed to eat half of it because I didn't want it to go to waste. I was too full after the half to eat my home fries but I gave them to my co worker to eat and she loved them. Overall, if I decide to come back here, I wouldn't get take out - I would dine in just to make sure that my order is right.

Like many others have said, the food here is great! Quite a bit overpriced but overall pretty tasty. They do mess up the occasional order but what warrants the one-star rating instead of a 4 star, is the wait staff, namely the older white lady at the front. The rest of the staff is friendly and great but she is discriminatory and downright rude. For the white couple ahead of us, she gave them ranch and extra items for free, but for me and my ethnic girlfriend, we had to pay for all these things. When we went to grab the ketchup, she said those are for dine-in only and told us that we had to grab the ketchup packets for to-go even though the other ones are also clearly grab and go. We asked for a cup of water, and she said that we can't have any, and explicitly marked "No drinks" only on our bag. She proceeded to glare at us as we walked out. I thought this would be an isolated incident so I gave them another shot today, and I was treated the exact same way by this employee if not more aggressive as if she recognized me. This cafe has a potential to become a local favorite and comfort food place of mine, but as long as the restaurant continues to keep employees who don't appreciate SF's diversity and treat customers so poorly, I don't think I'll be coming back any time soon. I also encourage others to not support such businesses that tolerate a culture of discrimination and hate. UPDATE: just opened my food and there was a single piece of bacon on top of my veggie sandwich! This is absolutely unacceptable as bacon/pork is considered taboo in many religions/lifestyles including mine and they should be extra careful especially when someone orders a veggie sandwich. Though as seen in the photo, the placement looks almost deliberate which makes me even more suspicious of potential discrimination/retaliatory behavior.

This is a great spot for a big hearty breakfast! They have a huge menu, but I opted for a breakfast burrito with chorizo. It was really great! It had hash browns inside, making it an especially good hangover burrito. My boyfriend got the chicken fried steak, and it was exactly what you'd want when you order that.

We ordered pickup from this location. The staff were courteous and the food was ready very quickly for a Sunday. We both ordered the grind combo and tried to order a variety of their dishes to try a lot of the menu (pancakes, French toast, hash browns, and home fries.) Everything was just Ok...nothing special. They have a fairly large menu and maybe we caught them on an off day, but for the price it wasn't that great.

Not worth it. Ordered from UberEats, ordered hashbrown hill and only got a side of hashbrowns. Luckily, refunded by UberEats. HOWEVER, halfway through drinking my coffee, I found a fat bug. GROSS.

Great place for a casual breakfast or brunch. They have a lot of classic brunch options, and they're ordering at the counter and seat yourself style is great for any small party that doesn't want to fuss with crowded brunch places. As soon as I saw the hash brown hill on the menu, I knew I had to try it, and I wasn't disappointed. The hash brown was crispy and cooked to perfection, and it was loaded with toppings. I could have used some tomato, lime, or something to cut through the richness of the sour cream and avocado, but ketchup and some hot sauce did the job. The service was friendly and quick, and it wasn't hard to find a table for us. They have an array of pastries to tempt you at the counter, and I didn't try any this time, although maybe I will next. Overall, great place for a chill meal that doesn't break the wallet!

Food is great! However the lady with the ponytail could use a smile or two. Doesn't stop me from going in though :)

Though they still have good food... They don't tell you if you don't ask, but The Grind now charges a mandatory 15% gratuity on orders over $50. They don't have waiters to offer you services you are grateful for. You order at the register and someone from the kitchen brings your plate out. They don't allow you to decide if the service is worthy of a gratuity. This is a sneaky upcharge. When I was learning etiquette, gratuities were a gift the purchaser made IF they liked the service. The standard was 10%, really happy was 15%. If restaurant employees are underpaid, then there are two things that should happen. Employers should pay a living wage and employees who don't like their pay rate should quit. That's how employment works. The employer can increase the cost on the menu to compensate, and the consumer can decide if they want to pay that amount. Don't lie and mandate a fake gratuity that the consumer did not offer. Pre-pandemic, I ate here often. I will never eat here again.

Came here off of a recommendation, and for a brunch spot it is a solid choice in Lower Haight. With most brunch places having a huge wait, the counter ordering system here knocks off the reservation time massively. With that being said, the wait time to get our food was 30-40 minutes and I started to get a bit impatient. There are tons of things to order on the menu, and the food is pretty good too. Solid option. Isn't going to knock your socks off, or disappoint

Ran in to get a quick coffee. I was kinda grouchy and the two ladies working sensed it. They turned my mood around. Funny. It's just a good vibe in there with the music too. Go in if you need a mood change and a great cup of coffee.

I really wanted to support this business, but my food was delivered COLD. I know it was not the delivery driver's fault; since I scheduled the order in advance, the restaurant probably had it sitting around for a long time. Not good. And they didn't provide utensils. How do you eat hash browns without utensils? I hope they do better next time, if I give them a second chance.

HIGHLY recommend this place!! The Grind and, especially Lil who works up front, have made getting breakfast a treat every time I go. The food is delicious (especially the breakfast burrito!!) and I can't thank Lil enough being so kind. Definitely order the off-menu vegan breakfast burrito! "Breakfast burrito, veggie sausage, hash inside, no dairy". You're welcome :)

I went to The Grind Café to work on a Thursday afternoon. They had a lot of free spots to seat. I ordered a coffee and almost got a pastry because they looked very delicious. They have WiFi which is a plus when you'd like to work efficiently. I feel like, in my experience, not all of the coffee shop have WiFi so I recommend to ask before ordering and seating down. The waitress was very friendly!