The Grove Chestnut

Finding it closed was a big disappointment of my visit latest to Marina… The retail business that replaced it somewhat does not substitute. I could not believe my eyes — walking few times the street and trying to assure myself I am not hallucinating and my memory serves me well. GONE.

The Grove on Chestnut Street has permanently closed. As much as I’ve had a love and hate relationship with it in the last few years, I definitely miss it now. The windows are all taped up, and it’s gone for good. Apparently their rent was raised through the roof by the property owners, so they closed up shop. Even if they open a new location in the Marina, it won’t be the same Grove. :-(

Sadly, very sadly, the Grove has slipped.
1. $ 12.50 for a breakfast burrito?! With tip n tax, $ 15+. That’s gotta be one of the priciest burritos even in SF. Nothing special either.
2. No more Wifi? In other words, «please come again… but don’t stay long.» Not such a welcoming move for place that started out as a coffee shop.
3. In recent visits, the service has been noticeably more formulaic/​commercial and less competent at the same time– definitely less warm. A nifty but unfortunate feat.
If the Grove is trying to become a fast-​churning, overpriced, unfriendly, albeit hip cafeteria, they’re on their way.

I stayed in the Marina over the weekend and was happy to stumble upon this gem. I loved the décor and my Turkey Club was good.
I’d come back.

Love the food and coffee.
I just wish the lady during next to me would be quiet and at the very least talked at a normal pace. Sheesh! Chill! Also your 38 and calling others old and saying «love it!»

This place was awesome! Super cute place in the marina. My sorority sister and me had the eggs flourintine and chai tea lattes. The place was so cute and rustic I felt like I was in Tahoe. The food was yummy and I would definitely be back for a cup of coffee or bunch and lunch

I’m torn. Although I always love the idea of The Grove when someone mentions it, I always end up wondering why I agreed to pay $ 14 for a mediocre chicken caesar salad or $ 3 for a bad espresso.
I guess it’s the idea that there are so many options (salads, sandwiches, soups, eggs, drinks) that I feel convinced I’ll find something I like and won’t regret. And it’s a cute spot with outdoor seating that reminds me of San Francisco. My feelings never really work out that way.
I would 5-​star if they gave me free WiFi — despite the food — but they can’t even give me that!

Loved this place! Their cherry and pecan pies are amazing! Great décor and lovely interior.

This place is always bustling and a hot spot for brunch on the weekends, but personally I think the food is a’ite. Their OJ is nice, but at $ 4/​$ 5 a pop, it’s pretty pricey. I wish their egg breakfast dishes had more meat options.
Looks like there are 5 locations in SF:

I don’t know how to give a star rating for this place.
The coffee is kinda bad and yet expensive
The pie is delicious. Sour cherry yum!
The OJ is heavenly, small 8 oz glass for $ 6
I like the outside seating, great morning and day sun. But they don’t clean the tables often and they can be disgusting
Salads are great, but not that large for $ 10 – 11
Oh yea Pot Pie is a special treat here, really amazing.
Customer Service tends to be snotty, passive aggressive or negligent.
The prices used to make sense when people would linger using wifi. No wifi. Which is fine, more seating available, but now is overpriced.

Homestyle environs, outside seating, funky lavender lemonade you’ll want to take home with you and drink daily, fresh French toast and hearty oat meal with fresh fruit. What’s not to like?

I bin told
this closd
Don’t pay attention to reviews written before 2012; the food has changed drastically.
This is a comfortable restaurant to hang out if you can find seats, but the food and drinks are inconsistent. Unfortunately for vegetarians they no longer serve breakfast after 4pm.
The espresso drinks are very sub-​par. The chai has a weird, perfumey smell. I pass on hot drinks here.
They have wine and beer on tap. The fresh orange juice is good. They leave drinks on the counter for you to pick it up-​they won’t notify you it’s there but they make them quickly.
The menu is on the wall behind the counter, and weirdly, a part of the menu is not included there, it’s on a section of wall between tables on the right side of the restaurant.
Most people don’t notice it; I have to point it out to newcomers.
The line blocks the view if you’ve passed it and want to go back and read it.
You also have to hover between two tables, which is awkward if they’re taken-«Hi, no, I’m not staring at you eating, I’m trying to read the meandering script on this strangely placed menu board, sorry…»
The person who made the decision to position the menus like this is not that smart.
They give you a code for half an hour of wifi, which doesn’t work-​so, no wifi.
The Grove is a comfortable, casual place to hang out with a group. Go with low expectations for food and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by some things, and about the others– well, I told you.

First of all, The Grove’s food is okay, but nothing to write home about,– there are a few signature items that stand out, like the pot pie and the chili (although the latter in micro-​portions). The reason for the one star? The recent ‘no wifi’ decision Jan. 1. I’m sitting in an empty restaurant, and I can only assume this is the reason. They were obviously making money hand over fist before, and had a ½ hour paid wifi with purchase deal which was not really a deal, but better than nothing, and I’m sure it got people to move along fast enough.
This combined with the one-​themed classic rock thing makes me feel like I’m sitting in some boomer’s attic who doesn’t really want me here. Note to owner: your food is just not good enough to sustain you. Listen to your customers, and your workers, who probably are suffering tip-​wise. Let go of this silly and not so smart business experiment, before it beeps-​up in your face!

The Grove is probably the place to go if you’re looking for a good people-​watching scene in the Marina. For most meals, be prepared to pay up, but I actually didn’t find the breakfast to be too expensive. The dish I ordered was a good value for the money at %8.75, especially based on the portion size.
Never having had breakfast here, I decided to keep it healthy and ordered the healthy eggs pomodoro. Basically it’s a take on egg bruschetta, albeit a descontructed version. Poached eggs and grilled zuchinni accompanied the grilled bread topped with tomatoes. Light, tasty, and filling!
Grab a table outside with a cup coffee and your breakfast of choice and you’ve got yourself a great way to start the day off!
P. S. The scene inside the restaurant is loud and somewhat obnoxious. Opt for one of the few tables outside.

I used to love this place because the service and food was good. Not so anymore. I went recently with my sister and the counter staff were completely unhelpful and rude. Could it have been the fact that we were with 3 smaller kids? I am sorry to disrupt the legions of Marina-​ites who were clearly lounging around working on their next business plan or surfing on their Macbooks. We were not noisy or disruptive; the kids sat at a table and wanted hot chocolate. However the staff didn’t have any soymilk and refused to make a milk steamer. Every question was met with a «no» which is highly unusual in the service industry. Where do they learn their customer service?
So we left. I took my business down the street to good old Peets where the coffee is cheaper, it tastes better and and they know how to treat a customer. Sorry Grove Marina. You’re not worth it. (I will still go to your other locations in Fillmore and Yerba Buena tho. They know how to treat people.)

I typically stroll on into the Grove on Chestnut on Saturday mornings for breakfast. Great food but super over priced for what it is. Fresh ingredients and great espresso drinks definitely bring the score up a bit. It’s a nice atmosphere and keep coming back.
Breakfast is one thing, the dinner/​evening options are another. I got a lemonade and meatballs on parmesean toast…$ 18! Refilled my lemonade… another $ 4.50. Meatballs were pretty tough, the sauce had very minimal complexity with a hint of red pepper. There are really not many options beyond this and a Pot Pie. Was pretty disappointed.
My suggestion, hit it up for breakfast, espresso, or fresh-​squeezed juice. Walk 3 blocks in any direction and find a far more suitable option in the evening.

Disclaimer: By far the most obnoxious place we’ve visited in San Francisco. Despite my wanting to punch nearly all of the Sunday morning clientele in the face, I try not to rate patrons.
Onward: Frommer’s suggested starting Day 2 with a stop here. I’ve got to believe they’ve never been here on a Sunday morning. The staff, except for one waitress, was happy and helpful but the clientele was Friends with trust funds at the ski lodge. Yes, I judge.
We seated ourselves before heading up to order. A couple walked in and stole our crappy seats. They should have paid more attention because as they did this a primo bench seat by the fireplace opened so K grabbed our stuff and moved it over.
It was hard to decide on what to get. Breakfast sounded awesome, bagel sandwiches with house-​made hummus called to us, lunch was appealing. K got the healthy pomodoro eggs (they were out of poached and offered scrambled instead), mom got a fruit cup and hash browns, and I had the turkey club with the Harissa mayo. We also got freshly-​squeezed oj and coffee.
The man taking our order had some significant issues getting it right. He was really focused on banter but after adding a sandwich and leaving off all the drinks four times, I was getting a little worried about what would show up. Focus on getting it right first and then I’ll banter with you to your heart’s content. Finally he got it right and we were off. I’m undecided on the tip situation. You pay before your food comes, which is great for convenience but I’m a tipper who tips based on service. And a good tipper. Do I give the standard 20%? Write «cash» and hope for the best? Will a nice tip up front influence service? (it won’t). Next time I encounter a spot like this I’ll write «cash» and keep my fingers crossed.
Service was slow, understandable since the place was packed but we were given drinks up front so that was good. When the food came our waitress made sure it was correct, asked, «Do you need anything else?» and then we never saw her again at our table. Never to see if things were okay. Never to check if we wanted more coffee. Nope. So much for that up front tip.
The food was good. K and mom had perfect portion sizes. My sandwich was huge. Too huge. Definitely better for sharing than one person. And sharing between three or four would be best. I took half (as I’m known to do) with the hope of giving it to someone begging but this area of San Francisco seems to have a lack of homeless people.
I don’t know that this place is all it’s made out to be. Steep prices, minimal service, repeating the order five times? Meh.

This is a current review. This place USED to be great, a cozy alternative place to work, study, lounge, talk, drink anything from the oj, the coffee or a beer and also decent food. It WAS a way better alternative than sbux and peets, especially for the Marina. That is something the Marina lacks.
Now, like others have said, removing the power outlets (very subtle), raising the prices, decreasing the quality and blasting the music (this is not a club) — I am pretty sure you will decrease the amount of customers as well. That is one of the many great things about this city, people are not idiots and they have options. So they will move elsewhere. Its looking emptier than normal… Pick something and do it well!

So far the food was okay, but not great for the price. Being a regular customer, I noticed that carrot caked unsliced for three days straight, so I thought I’d get a slice before they threw it out. It was sliced too small and was a bit dry, but the icing made it taste OK. Again, the portion size is tiny (10″ cake cut into 1″ slices).
The coffee was above par, but still the price is a bit higher than the many other shops up and down the street.
The atmosphere was initially nice with the fireplace going. However I (and a few others) were run off by management today (apparently two hours is too long to eat your $ 15 slice of cake and coffee). I understand the dilemma management has when there are people waiting to be seated, and other (paying customers) are seemingly lingering about. Today however there were at least four to five tables still available and the place was starting to thin out when the manager asked us to leave. I think management doesn’t realize that the $ 15 cake should include some «ambiance» (they seriously think they can run people out and have a sustainable business on their food alone). Up until that point, my night was going well. The experience was a total buzz kill.

I am inbetween 2.5−3 stars. Based on my most recent visit, I feel like this place is kinda overrated. The atmosphere is awesome, its a cozy place. Ive been to the fillmore location a handful of times and really its the atmosphere that did it for me. I feel like a great deal of items are overpriced for what it is ($ 6.50 bagel?!), and some things are hit or miss.
I went to visit the Chestnut location since its close to my work. I was going to get the french onion soup (which is yummy) and I learned they do it to-​go too. I was unsure how that would work out but if they do that regularly then it must be fine. Well it took almost 20minutes for my soup. I get it was busy, but I was quoted 8 – 10 min on the spot and waited there. I finally went up to ask and apparently my soup was sitting there hidden behind the counter.
Fortunately it was still hot. However, I was disappointed to unpack a small to-​go cup size of «onion soup» (no breading pieces inside, just onions and the broth), and in a seperate box was a small slice of bread with melted cheese on it. Seriously for $ 9 this was not worth it. Its FAR from the size and soup served when dining. If I were them I wouldn’t even allow the soup to be done for take-​away because it just isn’t nearly the same. It really was a bummer. I didn’t wait 20 min to have an overpriced cup of onion soup w/​a slice of cheese bread. Had I know that would be the case, I would’ve eaten it there since it took so long.
:(I’m gonna stay away for awhile… or maybe just stick to the Fillmore location…

Café sympa sur Fillmore street, idéal pour prendre un sandwich ou une salade et profiter du beau temps en terrasse. Accès WiFi gratuit dans le café. Idéal pour consulter ses mails tout en profitant d’un jus d’orange frais!