The Movie Groove and Grind Coffee Bar

I used to come here when I was younger and there was no Grind Coffee Bar (they stopped caring about the movie part, at that point). We never really liked BlockBuster and it was always great to support the little guy.
This was the one true thing I looked forward to going to do every Saturday night. We would go there, spend around an hour looking for a movie, talking to the people working there, and looking around. Too bad companies such as Netflix and Hulu Plus had to kill this place, it really was a great place to go to. Everyone who worked there always had a smile on their face and were always really friendly; they didn’t seem like they absolutely hated their job. This was a great place to walk or ride bikes to and bring a friend, because there always was something to find and watch. They were always a bit slow to put new releases into the store, but we mostly rented classics.
I remember one time I went in with my friend, just him and me, (we were like 9 or 10 years old), and we wanted to check out a PG-​13 movie. The cashier was like «Well, you don’t have your parents here, but I’ll let you rent anyways since you’re an original here.» Everything about this place screams AMAZING.
The owner, Scott, waved all of our late fees. Meanwhile, at Blockbuster, it is less personal and they really don’t care if your movie is late.

Unfortunately, this place closed up shop a while ago, and now in its place is a vitamin shop. Bummer.

This was simply the best coffee you could get. ‘The Mexican’ is a signature drink that i’d always recommend to first timers. It was very sad to see them go (they DID move to San Carlos… but it’s not the same). I had been renting movies exclusively from Movie Groove since I was a little kid, became a big fan of The Grind when it opened up, and EVEN shot my short film «Franks Mug» there (
)

NOT Closed! They moved to 601 Old County Road, San Carlos.
The place looks great and is combined with Station Café. Beautiful new digs and the coffee is still fantastic.

A local non-​chain combination of local and indie region free DVD’s with drip coffee made by the cup. What more could you ask for?

Recently discovered this place, and its absolutely incredible. Mildly obsessed.
Fantastic coffee, great staff.

Nice people, great service.
I loved my cappuccino and my breakfast burrito. The vibe is cool, not pretentious… I like that in a coffee spot. Nice neighborhoody place on a busy street.
Parking lot is limited… about 8 spaces?

Best coffee place I have ever been to. By far.
I take coffee very seriously. I buy fresh beans, I have a burr grinder, chemex maker, the works. I take my coffee seriously. Grind does coffee WELL. They have about a dozen coffees at any time, the staff is both knowledgeable about the coffees themselves, and well trained in how to brew a good cup of pour over coffee.
Every cup has the beans ground and brewed to order. So its not fast, and if theres a line, it’ll take a little while. You have to expect as much. If you want starbucks, go to starbucks, but this is way better. Parking is good. Price is fine. Its more expensive than Starbucks or Peets, but whatever, the quality is WAY better.
I generally don’t give out too many 5 stars. This place is worth it. If you in the area, check it out, its amazing!

First off, I have to say that I believe coffee chains have their role to play, and that role is consistency. The great thing about a Starbucks is that you can go anywhere and always reliably get the same drink you love. That said, I am completely biased towards local, independent coffee shops. If I find a nice one, I will go there instead ten times out of ten, so keep that bias in mind as you read this review :)
This place is amazing. I’m vegan, and often my options are limited to just straight soymilk. Here, I had a choice between plain soymilk, vanilla soymilk, OR almond milk. (I’ve been vegan 4 years, and I’ve literally come across this plethora of options maybe one other time.) I had an almond milk late, and it was absolutely delicious.
I am a chronic coffee-​shop inhabitant (and have been for years). I love to sit in coffee shops to study, to read, to work, to catch up with friends and so on. So what matters to me even more than the coffee quality, is the atmosphere. If the coffee isn’t great, but the atmosphere is, I will STILL come in and just have tea. (It’s hard to mess up tea.) The employees here are very friendly, willing to bring drinks to your table, and just act like they’re genuinely happy to be here. (It is for this reason alone that I’m switching my regular spot from La Tartine just a few blocks away, to here.) The place has murals on the wall, decorated tables, about 10 tables, big windows, and just a generally lovely vibe. They also have FREE wifi (a necessity to me) and a small variety of food options.
If you are in a rush, it seems to me like this might not necessarily be the place to go. Because the staff ARE so friendly and genuinely pay attention to each customer, I could see this place taking a long time if they had a huge rush. If you’re just coming to sit and hang out though, I highly recommend this place.

Takes a good half hour to get your coffee sometimes.
Bonus: Store generally devoid of impatient dbags.
Coffee is expensive
Bonus: Store generally devoid of lame hipster crowd.
Parking sucks
Bonus: Superfun watching people try to park. I walk, so, shadenfreude.
Sometimes nowhere to sit.
Bonus: Oh well.

Wow I was very impressed by this place. They slow drip your coffee individual, similar to Philz but not exactly the same method. They have many different roasts to choose from and the people working there were very helpful in helping me choose a type of coffee. They gave me their personal opinion of which roasts they liked better, which helps a lot more than when some workers just tell you that all the roasts taste good.
I personally enjoy darker roasts in my coffee and this place definitely had a great dark flavor in their coffee that did not over power as well. The one thing that surprised me was how much caffeine I felt in the coffee even though I got a darker roast, which is a great thing. I will be coming back here again and trying some of their other roasts.

I like the Grind #1 for the single-​lot micro origin coffees they have #2 for the fact that it is a small business with an alternative vibe. I usually come here once a week a pick up beans and make my coffee at home. This place is almost too busy for its own good without the management or the employees responding to how much their customers love them.
I came here today in the morning to get coffee before work and it TOOK 30 MINUTES TO GET A CUP OF COFFEE WITH 2 PEOPLE IN FRONT OF ME! While one employee was chatting it up with her regular the entire time I was waiting just to make her one drink, the other employee wasn’t really operating at the speed he needed to be. In the mean time, the line was growing to be 8 people long. I wonder how long some of them had to wait! When I usually come, the team of guys in there are usually jamming and moving everyone through quickly. To top it off, when I went to pick out my beans, they were out of the first four choices I selected.
While I know getting coffee from a drip bar takes a little longer I don’t have time to wait 30 minutes especially during the week! It is hard enough getting into this place as there is never any parking in their 6 space lot and you usually have to park at one of the other area businesses and cross the street to get to them. Beyond that challenge, you may get service that doesn’t consider the fact that you have to get to work and could probably get your coffee from no less than 10 other places on the way.
MY HOPE for The Grind is that they develop a little more understanding of their customers’ time they have to stop for coffee by speeding up the service and maybe even having a third person on during the morning rush. I also hope can open up other locations that are enjoyable spaces to read and socialize in and that have parking. While I hope this business makes the changes to best serve their customers and grow, I am strongly considering ordering my Verve Coffee directly from the roaster.

I’m not a drip coffee kinda girl, so I can’t review that – although I’ve heard it’s superb and from the lines I’ve waited in, I assume it’s true. I read that they had the best vanilla latte in town, and I had to check it out (since that’s my drink of choice). Absolutely delicious. Not sure if it’s the bean they use for their espresso or what (I think that may be it), but whether you’re getting whole milk all the way to soy milk, it’s damn good. I only come about 1 – 2 mornings a week since it’s not on my way to work (and Starbucks is unfortunately much more convenient), but I always look forward to my Grind vanilla latte mornings oh-​so much.
The service, sometimes a little slow – but that’s to be expected with a mainly drip coffee place. If you go to Philz, you wait wayyy longer for a coffee. The baristas are always super nice, and get your order RIGHT (not always my experience at other places…). Friendly, and when the service IS slow, they always give a little apology for the wait time.
Basically, my new favorite coffee joint.
Oh, parking can be tight if it’s busy. But since I usually get to-​go, I swing into the mexican place next door if the Grind lot is full. Not totally legal… but there’s always space and I’m only going in for 5 minutes, right?

I don’t know what to say. I used to live in RWC about 4 or 5 years ago. I remember countless times when I was like, hmm I just want to chill outside of home and outside of work. Usually I would go to coffee shops… but there were none. Recently though I came down back to RWC for some routine car maintenance. I walked over and found a cool little coffee shop. Ok they win. I am used to finding starbucks or peets in the area or a bakery that serves tully’s or something. However what they got here is nice. Verve coffee from little places all over. Ask the servers about any of the coffee and they know. Like the service was totally something I expected from talking to one of the blue bottle or ritual shops. So don’t be shy, as the board for coffee is overwhelming and a little intimidating with the amount of choices and exotic names for all the blends. These guys were passionate and excited to talk about coffee AND had a great taste in movies.
Like the back wall is what seems to be unfinished (sadly), mural of all these movie characters ranging from 1950 until present, all sharing a cup of coffee and either dancing or chatting at tables. It was glorious. 007 (All of them), Clockwork Orange, Startrek originals, Superman, Batman and the Joker (Heath Ledger), and a lot more all line the wall. Even some very cool table art is present. Very cool overall, I would return.

My favorite coffee shop in the peninsula thus far. FINALLY found a place with legit, good coffee AND study space.
Coffee is done here slowly and carefully (handpoured!), and the guys that work here actually try to have conversations with the customers. It’s a pretty awesome environment, and I appreciate how much care is put into the drink and my patronage. They also carry a variety of local roasters, like Verve!
Their dark, strong mochas are the way to go for me so far, but I’ve been dipping my feet into their different hand-​poured coffees (figuratively, not literally).
I will continue coming back. Keep up the good work! (:

BEST DAMN LATTES IN REDWOOD CITY!
The décor is awesome here, the employees are fun. The groove reminds me of cafes in the city, perhaps its the unique look and the arts on the walls. The vanilla lattes are creamy, frothy and semi sweet flavor is perfect!
The only down fall is the wait, but like I always say. ITS WORTH IT!

This place has (literally) the best coffee in the world. I’m an espresso girl and I look forward to each and every visit here. It never disappoints. It’s a fun coffee shop with a lot of personality. A lil landmark of the city. Scott (owner), Zack, James, Enrique:], and the rest of the crew are great! They can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about your coffee and cut no corners in giving you the best. Parking can be a little tough, but it’s always worth it!

I’m impressed, mainly by the person working behind the counter. He really knew his coffee beans, described the differences, allowed us to smell the beans, recommended unbiasedly some different types to try. The coffee was very good and they had an unique selection. It’s a little pricey for drip coffee, but I suppose its worth the treat.
The place is open and well lit, but parking is quite limited. Seating inside seemed fine for the crowd midday on a weekday, though I’d imagine it would get quite crowded on the weekend.

I trekked long and far from my work place to find this coffee shop and it was well worth it. In person, it looked exactly how I would have imagined it, something out of a Kevin Smith movie. Grungey video store/​coffee shop with a little attitude and full of character.
There is so much character to this shop and its coffee though. They list out all the coffee beans they have and label it L=light roast, M=medium roast, D=dark roast, O=organic, and FT=fair trade. Since their specialty is drip coffee, I decided to try Cassandra’s Drip which is a light roast and has cardamon in it. I normally love cardamon in cookies and what not but in coffee it’s quite a different experience. I didn’t love it initially but it grew on me. Also, they put the cream/​sugar in for you and will continue to adjust it until it’s to your liking.
Random fact: They get their beans from three different places in the Bay Area.
The video shop doesn’t look special on the outside but the coffee shop guy told us that you’ll find a lot of unique videos or cult classics that you won’t be able to get on Netflix or Comcast Demand. And if there’s a video you want that’s not in stock, they’ll order it for you. Awesome possum.
The guy was super nice and explained everything as soon as he knew we were Grind newbs.

The Grind (at the Movie Groove) has re-​opened for business, and I stopped by today for a delicious cup of Joe. As usual, it was as good (if not better) than Peet’s and twice as good as Starbucks on any day.
But here’s the best part: If you bring your own cup (like I always do), it’s only ONE DOLLAR to fill it up. (At the other places it’s 60 to 70 cents more… and that’s AFTER the ten cent «cup deduction»). I defy anyone to find a better coffee deal on the peninsula !!
The interior is really shaping up now, complete with new furniture and chalkboard menus. The mural is still in progress. See if you can name all the people and characters painted so far. (New interior photos uploaded).
Plus let’s not forget this is still also the best damn video rental spot in the area. It’s not fancy, it’s not new, it’s not flashy, but they have a huge selection, super-​knowledgeable staff, and if they don’t have it (very rare), they just might order it for you. As good as it gets.