Daily Grind

Sleepy little coffee shop. Good espresso, great pastries. Perfect for a 15 minute caffeine stopover, doesn’t necessarily seem like the best place to post up and work, though.

I had a wonderful cup of coffee, free refills! Yay! The staff was lovely, however the cookie I had was a bit hard. The staff offered to warm it up for me and I should have taken them up on that offer. But instead I just dipped the cookie in my mug of coffee and enjoyed the people watching. Cool place, cool area.

Absolutely amazing service, drinks, and food. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. Everything they serve is fresh and tastes incredible. I’ve been here twice and it’s been enough to solidify it as one of my favorite café’s in the Albany area.

Good food, good coffee, cool place to hang out. The ambience reminds me of Santa Monica and Venice in California.

This place is really a hidden gem. I was in Albany for 5 years and discovered it when I left :(so unfortunate! The hot chocolate, french toast, Belgian waffle, turkey egg sandwiches all soooo soo yummy! My friends and I loved it enough to go back twice in one visit. I will definitely visit when I am in the area again.

Great spot for breakfast, only downside is they don’t have a whole lot of seating. Even though it’s a small spot, the food and drinks have me coming back again and again.

Great place. The owner and his employees are phenomenal. They have everything and today coffee on site. It’s what every coffee shop should be like.

Just for fun folks check out Albany county health dept on this place… and then for more fun go back and get anything there

Nice Local Coffee Spot!
Although not daily coffee drinker (I’m more partial to tea), I do enjoy an iced coffee on a hot day. It’s been hot, so I thought I’d give the local coffee shop in my new neighborhood a try.
I was impressed; I ordered a medium iced coffee and a ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. The coffee has a great, medium-​roasted flavor and the breakfast sandwich was made fresh to order. I paid $ 6 for both items and which, in my opinion, is the market price for an order of this nature (unless your going to a fast food spot, and then you may pay half that), and I’m happy to support a local business that has tasty food. The guys behind the counter was also friendly.
With respect to the ambiance, it really didn’t both me that a portion of this coffee shop was in a basement, it has an upstairs with large windows that let in a lot of natural light, and tables out on the street if you want to sit outside.

A very average coffee shop. Good place if you’re in a rush to grab food and a morning coffee, but you shouldn’t have high expectations when it comes to the food (especially their bagels, sub-​par) or prices (overpriced for this area).

Love this place. Friendly service, great atmosphere, fantastic coffee and yummy food. Five damn stars all damn day: D

Great place for food, speciality coffee drinks. Offers a small town vibe, tucked in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Lark Street. Staff is nice, often overwhelmed, leaving tables dirty or not always the cleanest. Wifi is free and works well, but cell phone service is spotty. Check out when in Albany !

I really have high hopes for independent places, but this place was a dirty dump with bad iced coffee the Sunday (at 3pm, it was not busy) I visited it. Coffee tasted like hot brew that was left over and just had ice added to it. Please keep an eye on your floors and napkin/​straw area as it was really messy.

One of my favorite hidden coffee joints in the area. I drink plain, black coffee, nothing fancy so this is perfect for me. I enjoy coming in and smelling the fresh roasting coffee from the upstairs area.
Today I had a light brew that was good, with a vegan cranberry cookie. Nice and filling. The cookie was chewy and moist, good amount of filling. Kind of wish I had the chance to get it heated, though.
It is enjoyable to walk into here and see a variety of vegetarian, vegan, and non-​vegetarian items available. I have had breakfast sandwiches here and they were delicious as well.
Going upstairs is another treat, where you can sit and watch Lark Street traffic (both people and vehicles) pass you by. There are tables up there and you can order food there also and they will bring it up to you. The staff is helpful, willing to talk and explain things to you if you have questions.
One of the highlights for me today was watching them roast the coffee. It was explained to me that the machine has been in use since 1905! It smelled so great with the beans actively roasting.
The only downsides I can find, is that the downstairs area is very small for sitting and parking can be a nightmare.
Other than that, I love this place.

Coffee is ON POINT, the cheese on my breakfast sandwich is melty, service is attentive, my chocolate chip cookie have pretzels in it, and the walls are lined with outlets. Thumbs up.

In the neighborhood for the day and it was FREEZING, and I was on the lookout for some hot cocoa (I don’t drink coffee). Was walking around and saw the sign, plus two people sitting outside talking and drinking their whatever (seriously, it’s about 26 degrees, so I figured they had to be enjoying whatever they were drinking).
Ordered a hot cocoa and it was $ 4.00; I had high hopes. At least the whipped cream was good. I have decided the problem with cocoa made in coffee shop machines is that hot cocoa is not really «hot»… it should just be called «warm cocoa». Really, it’s just warm cocoa milk. I just chugged it down and went on my way, which really was not what I wanted.
The place itself looked like it had some good eats for the people that are usually hanging out, but the cocoa — for you Albany cocoa fans — was disappointing :(

I’m not big on coffee so this is more of a general/​food review. I should also note, I’ve been going here for many years (it’s veeery close to my house). It’s a popular place, small seating area, decent service, but take-​out food is pricey for what you get in my opinion. Chicken salad (not so great) on a roll is $ 8.60 with nothing included; no pickle or chips, nothing. They have a breakfast sandwich deal that comes with a coffee/​tea for $ 6 but if you want that sandwich on a bagel it’s another $ 1 and if you want only egg whites it’s another $ 1. I get it anyway. Sometimes you just need a breakfast sammich. The fresh brewed flavored ice tea is delicious. And my coffee friends love their varying flavored coffee options (iced coffee options in summer). So, I will continue to go here for necessary morning purchases because it’s so close, but it’s not a place i’d bring friends. Fyi, no parking.

Courtesy of the local Albany (NY) Unilocalers, I came across the Daily Grind. While my convenient dedication will always be a Starbucks, when I have the opportunity to explore a new locale, I’ll strive to find an amazing place such as this.
Once I found street parking, I walked up to a converted brownstone on the hip and trendy Lark Street block (closer to Central Ave) and was greeted by a choice… Follow the amazing aroma of freshly ground coffee upstairs and choose from a smörgåsbord of imported beans, or, satiate my taste buds down stairs with a crazy signature breakfast sandwhich???
I chose the downstairs option because my empty stomach will always prevail over my caffeine and sugar deprived brain and luckily for me I was able to get an inexpensive and delicious made to order breakfast sandwich with today’s dark roast option coffee = the best of both worlds!
I ordered the Spicy Andouille Sausage Egg Sandwich and accompanied it with the Black and Tan dark roast coffee. I’ve never sweat so much at a meal in public before. That’s not a knock on the chef. I knew going into the first bite when I saw chunks of green and/​or jalapeño peppers littered throughout the green sauce on both sides of the roll.
This is a great place to try and make a daily routine if you can!

I don’t know how this place doesn’t have more stars, they have the BEST breakfast sandwiches you will ever have in your life.
I used to live in Albany and this is one of the places that I miss going for the coffee & breakfast sandwich combo. Sure, it did take awhile to make but it was made with care and love with fresh ingredients. This place has a charm about it that no other coffee shop I have been to has. Forget starbucks, come to a place like this and I guarantee everyone will be friendly and you’ll meet some interesting people.
Upstairs is actually a really cool antique shop, definitely check it out sometime. I used to go upstairs and study and it was so relaxing just people watching and having my amazing food. Miss this place!

When I first moved to Albany, this was one of the first coffeeshops that I visited. It was a bit confusing at first, since there was both an upstairs and a downstairs. The café is downstairs while the coffee shop is upstairs. They have different flavored coffees that they’ll brew depending on what day it is. The coffee in general tends to taste a bit burnt, but I love the fact that they sell these huge vats of coffee — I’m guessing around 40 oz?
Price-​wise, it’s a bit pricey, and since they make all the food to order, it tends to take a while to get the food. I can get the same sandwich at another café or deli for around $ 4, but here it is $ 6.50 or so.
The people behind the counter are usually friendly, but at times, it can feel like they’re a bit inattentive. I’ve only sat down and eaten here once. I got had an omelette and a friend of mine had the waffles. The portions were big, but there are definitely better places for brunch on Lark St (or right around the area), including Ramona’s and Iron Gate Café.
I’d come here again, moreso for convenience and a quick cup of coffee than for the food. However, I don’t think I’d sit down and eat or even grab food to go from here again.