It’s A Grind

This place gets a solid 4 stars. Every time I come hear I have a great coffee situation. The staff is friendly and the place feels more like a real neighborhood coffee house which I love.

When I arrived I wasn’t quite sure what to order but after talking with the barista at the register he recommended a drink that wasn’t on the menu but was popular with a lot of the regulars who come in. Deciding to be a little adventureous, I tried the ‘london fog” which turned out to be amazing! I’ll definitely be stopping by when ever I’m in the downtown area. Hopefully one day they’ll open one out in El Cajon.

Only if it’s after 2 p.m. (the Brickyard is closed) and I’m desperate for a pick-​me-​up will I come here. It’s a chain… what else can I say? You pay more for less. OK, it’s not horrible… and, you know what you get every time. That’s a chain alright.

Sigh… sorry…but this place really was a grind for me. It was pure irony.
I ordered one thing here: the Greentea Blueberry Smoothie. I thought there would be green tea and blueberry juice in there. No. It was literally all syrup and ice. I even double checked just to give the place the benefit of the doubt — by waiting for the thing to defrost — and sure enough, it was all syrup at the bottom. (Please don’t call this a smoothie if it has nothing but artificial syrup.)
On the other hand, this place had some of the friendly staff I met in town. So don’t blame the people, blame the franchise…

It’s a grind is the best. If you don’t like it’s a grind, YOU SUCK.

OK, I have terrible taste in coffee, and even I will not return here after tasting (and not finishing even though I was running on 3 hours of sleep) their iced coffee. Go to 7 – 11 up the street instead and save a couple bucks.

A more appropriate name for this establishment would be: It’s A Gouge.
Earlier today, I stopped by It’s A Grind Coffee House and ordered their Green Tea Latte Press. Costing $ 4 for a «regular,» the press was less than impressive. Any beverage that comes equipped with a step-​by-​step procedural guide (figuratively speaking) in order to enjoy is not a winner in my book.
The Green Tea Latte Press was served in a paper cup with a special lid called the Xpress Lid. The Xpress Lid is renowned for being the world’s first recyclable, disposable and portable French press in a lid. To me, the lid is nothing more than a waste of $ 4 attached to a 16 ounce paper cup with a rod sticking out from the top. Once the rod is depressed, tea is filtered into a mesh that allows more of the tea leaf to be in contact with the brewing process.
After following the barista’s instructions of waiting three minutes to let the tea brew, I depressed the rod expecting to receive the tea’s maximum flavor. The end result? Lukewarm, tasteless tea. Ugh.
Still, It’s A Grind has some advantageous qualities worth mentioning including:
1. Friendly baristas
2. Cool blues and jazz motif
3. Nice, outdoor seating area
For all the foregoing reasons, I give It’s A Grind a 2.5 star rating. D says I’m much too generous with my stars but I like to give credit where its due.

I live in downtown Gaslamp and I used to walk ten blocks everyday to Java Jones until they closed. I needed another café to frequent daily and this place is right next to where I live.
It is a cozy neighborhood favorite. In the morning you can see all the downtown (and convention) people who work nearby stop in for coffee. I always order a foglifter and I LOVE the flavored coffees they offer — flavors change every couple of days. I am not a fan of adding syrup to my coffee.
Plus, they offer free wifi and AMPLE outlets so you never have to fight to plug in your laptop. Comfy chairs, a clean bathroom, computer-​friendly and great staff. It’s definitely a place that has everything taken care of for you so you can relax or work.

Good lattes, good music, good seating areas. This place ticked all the boxes for a great coffee shop. We sat here and worked on our lap tops for a good 3 hours in comfy high backed chairs and sipped on vanilla lattes and «nutty cows» (I think that’s the name of their signature drink!)
We came back the next day hoping to do the same, but they were packed, so alas we had to move on. Darn!

I came Downtown to people watch for Comic-​Con, but I still needed to get work done. I found this coffee shop a short walk from the Convention Center Trolly Stop.
The seating here is comfortable, and there are plenty of places to plug in for the computer user. And for people who want to sit outside, the building shades the outside seating in the afternoon, and the breeze coming in off the bay keeps things cool.
The staff is friendly. The bake case has a number of things to choose from, though on this Sunday afternoon it looks a little thin. It is the end of a long busy weekend though. They have an array of coffees and syrups to chose from as well for the person who loves their coffee.
I know I plan on coming back by when I make my way through this part of town again.

I used to work right across the street from this place and never once walked in until a year later. It has become one of my favorite coffee places and I miss the drinks like no other!

Great!
I was avoiding this place ever since I moved to LIttle Italy, because of all the weird crime stuff with the previous owner… it was also still closed when I first moved in.
I am sooooo glad I decided to finally try it here! Coffee was good, people were very friendly! Especially Amy, who was very helpful and nice. They have comfy chairs and a nice outside area… and the best part? Free Internet (unlike stupid Starbucks) and lots of plugs to put your computers in. Also, they have 50 cent refills on coffee!
Great. No more Starbucks for me… even though I live above it.

Good coffee… Erin was verrry nice!

Best coffee house and excellent place to study! Don’t really want to write a review, because i want to keep this place lowkey. But its blissful. Free wi-​fi that is definitely quick. All along the wall, there is easy access to outlets to plug you in. Nice crowd in the middle of the day. Decent selection of food and coffee. All pretty standard. Only gripe? It doesn’t say open too late. closes around 8 pm i think. if only this was open until midnight, I would love it even more.

I’ve visited many of the San Diego It’s A Grind locations, and this would definitely come in as my favorite. As a self-​employed web developer, I used to work from this shop, 8 – 10 hours a day, 4 – 5 days a week, so that should speak for my fondness of it.
The location is good, kitty-​corner from Horton Plaza, across from Ralphs, and in the generally clean outskirts of the Marina District.
The store itself has a really friendly staff that will get to know you after a few visits. There isn’t a ton of seating, but the booth seats against the wall opposite the register are PRIME for using a laptop at. I can sit there for 6 hours without any back or @ss pain, which is a problem in hard chairs. While there are a lot of regulars, the seating always seems to open up every few minutes, so don’t fret if you can’t find a seat at first.
The coffee… well, the coffee is pretty good, but I’ve had better. My favorite drink there is a vanilla latte, which they do very well. They have good espresso drinks, and decent coffee, and good tea.
== Location: Good, no complaints.
== The goods: Average to just better than average. Good espresso.
== Ambiance: I like this place a lot. Occasionally it got really hot or cold in the store, but otherwise it was pleasant.
== Overall: Definitely don’t hesitate to give this place your business. You might even see a passing Padre every once in awhile (Greg Maddux was a regular until he was traded)

I used to come to this place ALL THE TIME when I worked down the street at the now defunct Harborside School. The coffee is good, the people who work there are very nice, the atmosphere is very relaxing and nice, but the best part? THE PASTRIES!!! Oh my goodness, the chocolate croissants and the muffins they get in the morning are sooo delicious. Sometimes, if I give people rides to the airport in the early a.m., I still go here just to get a tasty yummy, a smile, and a good cup of coffee. This place is well worth a stop, so go on in!!!

Was looking for coffee, drove by, spotted the place, and loved the atmosphere. Service wasn’t exactly top notch but I liked how the place felt. It’s also a good place to people watch outside.

Came in to hang out, have a mocha (much better than that crappy expensive stuff at the green and black mucho-​popular places), and read the local paper.
Comfortable chairs, good service, mellow crowd.

I’m not a big coffee person. The coffee is like any other coffee place. I do like tea. They only sell bagged tea of course. It’s alright. A big plus on my list is that they do offer free Wi-​Fi. I like to come here to do my homework. It’s quiet and the atmosphere is nice. The other location across from Ralphs has a bit more hustle and bustle. What does suck is that there is only street parking, which is to be expected downtown, unless you live in Little Italy or know someone who does.

Great frozen and speciality drinks. Haven’t tried the pastries, but they look yummy. I enjoy the neat deco cups and hand painted items that they have for sale.
I wish they were open later. they close way too early! :-(