Grounded

This place great. It’s the only place on campus to get organic vegetarian food. If you don’t mind paying a little more for organic it is worth it. They have these new purity drinks that are delicious and will quench the thirst. Another favorite is the soup. Getting a minestrone soup with a bagel or grilled cheese is awesome. I highly recommend this place if you need a quick bite to eat before class. Well worth it

This place is what is. Not a fine dining establishment, a coffee house, or a bakery. It’s cheap, organic food served by students. They even have a sign right by the window saying they run out of things. So either people aren’t reading, or just want to compain about something. So far the staff has been really friendly and the coffee good. I’m not sure what kids are expecting, but this is my new favorite place on campus and probably the only one I’ll go to in the future; because the new student union building sucks.

The hot chocolate with hazelnut is amazing. Another great thing to try is the Mexican hot chocolate with a shot of expresso.
Definitely try the falafel chips as well, they taste just like the real thing with the perfect amount of crisp.
The staff is always so nice, I’ve never had a bad experience here regardless of what time of day it is. They’re always helpful and in a great mood.

The staff were relatively friendly but the establishment could use some tidying. It just seems a little uncared for. The location is convenient on the way to class if you’re coming from tenth street but my main issue is the product itself. My drink tasted like burnt coffee and despite paying an additional $ 0.85 for syrup the burnt taste was still too strong to enjoy. I’ll definitely walk the extra minute to the student union and wait in the lines to actually enjoy my drink and pay about $ 0.50 less (struggling college student, half a dollar makes a difference).

I don’t know why the bad reviews. Good coffee, smiling people working there, and 3 cold turkey sliders for $ 5.65.
Not that they only have wheat ‘n granola– there are plenty of unhealthy things to chose from if you’re in the mood for chips or soda!
Don’t know about the others… but shoot– I’ll be back here!

First off, the hot chocolate here tastes amazing. Not as good as Philz hot chocolate, but still pretty darn good.
Aside from that, there’s nothing too special about this place. The food items are a hit or miss (mostly misses) and the other drinks are good but identical to options at other stores around campus.
My main complaint is that I ALWAYS ask for my hot chocolate to not be too hot, which is never an issue for people at other coffee shops. Here, I always scald my tongue regardless of how many times I remind them not to make the milk so ridiculously hot.
I usually wait a half hour after buying the drink to actually drink it so I can still enjoy the taste, but Grounded is definitely not the best option around here.
One star for good hot chocolate. No stars for the state of my poor tongue.

4 stars for the good quality scone, convenient location, and great customer service.
HOWEVER,
I really wish the owner of this small on-​campus café would consider the reviews here as valid pointers as to how to improve it. The majority of customers to this small coffee shop are business students (since it is located between the business tower and the Boccardo business complex) who are actively engaged in proper business practices and are thinking critically about every business they encounter. I recommend the owner to take these free criticisms and make money off them!
Why not list your prices as they really are? You are going to charge me 50 cents for a cup anyway. The list is misleading and quite deceitful. I shouldn’t have to «read on» to calculate my actual cost of buying coffee from here. Why not offer a 50 cent DISCOUNT to those who provide their own mug/​thermos/​cup? That’s 5 times as much as Starbucks discounts and it is ENCOURAGING! Isn’t that part of your mission statement: To encourage San Jose State students to maintain a greener campus and lead a more sustainable lifestyle? Charging me 50 cents for a cup when I’m already buying a drink from you seems nonsensical, and almost like a punishment for choosing to drink your coffee. Include it in the list price, give it to me straight, and if I remember next time, I will feel like I have earned 50 cents off of my drink.
If you’re truly a «green» establishment, you should know that veganism is the ultimate form of sustainable living. How could you forget to cater to your most firm believers? At least one snack item should be completely plant-​based and enjoyed by any and all consumers! Show us how delicious vegan food can be. Chips and guacamole? Hummus?! Peanut butter? ANYTHING!
The café also seems to run low on inventory frequently. Especially cream cheese and jam. I have seen a sign there for one or the other, or both, on more than one occasion. The inventory ordering system needs improvement. Who’s in charge and why aren’t they aware of the constant shortages? It’s a small shop and it doesn’t take a specialist to set up a working system. I mean, seriously, people have been complaining about this since 2011!
Also, the brewed coffee! You can’t be out of drip coffee. The solution here is so simple. Brew two containers. One runs out and you use the other till the first one is ready or else you will lose the customers rushing to class and grabbing a quick pick-​me-​up on the way. Figure it out.
I got a large coffee and a $ 3 scone for $ 5.25. Let’s be real, the tiny scone in the picture is worth $ 2 tops. What’s with the 200% markup? And if I’m wrong and you’re not marking it up that much, then you need to switch vendors right away. Check out c’est si bon bakery in south san jose. Their scones are giant, affordable and AMAZING, plus they offer 3 different flavors. Plus they’re local, and from what I’ve seen, encourage green practices as much as any other place.
The coffee is good, not great, but is the cheapest I’ve seen so far! I still recommend tyring verve coffee (verve, santa cruz; also sold by «bellano» and «yeganeh» both located on steven’s creek, Cupertino) to know what great coffee really tastes like. Greenest company I know with the best coffee practices known to the bay area. The smell of these beans alone will lure students from the student union and the dining commons!
Also, it seems like no one has anything GOOD to say about the food you offer… How could that be? Your scones are great. Especially compared to others you could find on campus. But your bagels are average and everyone seems to complain about anything else they’ve tried. Does the staff even enjoy the food items offered? If not, ditch them! Why serve food at all if you’re not good at it? Sell trader joe’s brand frozen veggie burritos and pizza and heat them up while people wait. These are already-​successful products and people will pay for the convenience as long as it’s quick and edible. I don’t know if that’s exactly what you should do… I just know that what you’re trying to feed us is obviously not working.
Everyone writing here LOVES your mission statement and would love equally as much to support your business. But we need your help. Respond to your customers’ feedback and get your first FIVE STAR REVIEW! Every business must have at least ONE extremely satisfied customer. Help us out and give us something to rave about! Your lines are never longer than 3 people. Which is great when I need something fast… but shouldn’t a business strive to have people queuing up as a sign of growth and having reached full capacity?
Sorry this turned into an essay, but like I said, it’s time to react to your customer reviews and change our minds. We want to support businesses that share the same goals as us individually. I want to give you 5 stars next time I visit your Unilocal page! Good Luck.

Food is overpriced and terrible. $ 6 for a mexican style wrap consisting of a slice of cheese, beans, and artificial chicken and, romaine lettuce the whole thing was Bland. I was starving and I couldn’t even finish it. The worst part was watching the guy behind the counter trying to wrap it without gloves, touching the whole thing before he finally gave up and put it in a box. Coffee is okay, people working are nice but .50 for a paper cup! don’t think so…
I see what they are trying to do but, it just isn’t working out all that well.

You’d think that a organic, vegetarian, healthy, café might offer a few vegan options to munch on, but sadly they have nothing in this department…
I mean, really, what isn’t vegetarian at any regular café? The coffee shop in the student union makes a much better soy latte/​mocha and does it in about ¼ of the time it takes to get a plain odd coffee at Grounded.
Grounded, I love that you are organic, but give me a few vegan options (muffins, cookies, bagel spreads???) otherwise you are loosing your whole market. Anyone who cares about going to a vegetarian/​organic café won’t mind if you sell tasty vegan things, and then I might actually spend some money there.

This location is on the SJSU campus between the Business building. They have a variety of teas and coffee. Some snacks are also available. They do charge .50 for a cup of water. Everything is reasonably priced. Lines are never too long.
Customer service isn’t too bad either. It’s nice that I can grab my iced chai tea before heading up to class!

Only had one class today and that was at 130pm at BBC, but I came to school early to deal with crappy parking during first week of school. Anyways, I studied for a while outside of SPX then decided to grab a snack a little before noon. At first, I was going to go to SU or Just Below, but since I’m sick, there aren’t much places around that serves soup/​noodles or small snacks. Seeing how there’s a little café where BBC quad is, I gave it a try. Friendly students who works there. (:
I’m sorry, but I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and it took forever! The cashier asked if I wanted my bagel toasted and I said no and what did I get in the end? A TOASTED BAGEL. Plus, on the menu, it had the option of cream cheese or strawberry cream cheese and I wanted regular, but guess they ran out, so I got the strawberry cream cheese in the end. And who mixes their cream cheese to look and taste like a smoothie? Toasted bagel was a little hard for me to swallow with a sore throat, too. And no wonder it took soooo long. D:
I should’ve gone to SU or bookstore, but I didn’t want to deal with crowds nor long lines, but that’s better than here. Maybe I’ll have better luck with their drinks…

Located at the College of Business quad at SJSU, I stop here in the morning for a large coffee. The coffee is pretty good and they have a lot of free condiments to add. I’ve never tried the food here. The staff are friendly students. The prices are the same as other places on the campus.

Overpriced food with a bland taste. I was excited when I heard about the focus of Grounded, prior to being opened. Unfortunately, it did not meet expectations. I got the salad and was disappointed that I paid $ 5 for very, very small salad in a biodegradable box. I could have gotten a salad 4x bigger @ the SU. Also, I’m pretty sure the $ 5 was to cover the cost of the container.

I had such high hopes for Grounded café. I was truly excited to see what they would add to the campus atmosphere and seriously lacking food offerings (except for Just Below).
But sadly, I’ve tried to eat several different things here, from croissants to the Teriyaki Tofu Salad, and everything is just SO SO SO SO BAD. The tofu salad was soggy and disgusting and flavorless; the lettuce was soggy and maybe previously frozen? Gag-​worthy. The «almond» croissants were hard and had no almond filling; I guess the «almond» came from the random bits of specks of brown that I saw inside? I don’t know. Aside from all that, the salad is two cups of food total and is somehow almost $ 6. $ 6 isn’t a lot, but if you could see this salad, you would agree that it’s so not worth it.
The drinks are not unreasonable to drink though, if you don’t mind that there is no consistency. I’ve gotten two out of five chai lattes there that were any good, but I only mention this because I’m grasping for anything good to say about them.
So anyways, I gave them a pretty fair shot — esp. since I’m on campus every day and I live so close — and I’m officially done with it.
And also, I don’t blame the staff. They’re so friendly and quick. It isn’t their fault if what they serve isn’t edible.

friendly staff, depletion of inventory by 5pm. Not such a happy camper:(

I was excited when this place opened. I work at SJSU and am always looking for a go-​to lunch place with healthy options. I had the teriyaki tofu salad because they were out of falafel. Unfortunately, I found myself asking, «Hello… teriyaki? Are you there?» I love the concept, and the staff was really helpful and friendly, but come on – and I am not some sort of anti-​vegitarian, militant carnivore – $ 9 for about a cup of cold, bland rabbit food and a small iced coffee? Sorry, guys. I’ll come back again, but only because I’m here every day and want to give the falafel a shot or maybe try new specials that pop up. Otherwise, for my veggie fix, I’ll keep heading over to Tofoo Com Chay on Santa Clara St. for cheaper, better fare.

friendly staff, if you’re hungry the egg pitas take awhile, drinks are more popular. missed out on the samples on their first day

Hate to be the first one to do this, but their latte literally tasted like steamed milk with a small squirt of caramel. I stopped by during my 6pm class and they ran out of vanilla syrup…
Other than that, I like the whole organic concept and the place looks cleaner and more updated than the shop that was there before. Workers are friendly and condiment station was nice and clean as well. I’ll probably update this review once I try their coffee or other drinks…