Glenview Grind

Warning: I am a coffee geek. I went to Glenview Grind hoping for a nice local coffee shop that does coffee right (finally). To my disappointment it’s essentially a local starbucks where the coffee is made poorly, the employees uneducated about coffee making, and prices way too high for what the quality.

Thought inside was mostly clutter or narrow spaces. Seemed very little thought was put into seating and set up.
The Latte was served in a regular Coffee Mug. Not good. Either buy wide mouthed ceramic cappucino mugs or serve them ALL to GO in paper cups. The espresso seemed to be overextracted and the Latte was served less than hot. Better than the crap served at Starbucks but not by much.
The quality of the drink nor the comfort of the environs would compel me to return.

This is my go to hangout for getting some quite time to get some work done. The sitting space is very nice here. The teas and coffees are good but the food is average. Overall a great place to hangout, meet up with friends or sit to get some work done.

Perfect place to work on college apps, haha. Nice vibe, good specialty drinks, and its always good to support local businesses.

I’m so glad I stopped going to the always-​freezing Starbucks a half-​mile up Waukegan to check out this place! It’s a very friendly, warm, cozy space with huge TVs showing sports (usually) and great coffee and a far better and cheaper selection of foods than Starbucks. There’s a little blackboard for kids to draw on and they have interesting work by local artists displayed on the walls. Different groups come in to sell handcrafted items to the customers; overall it is a very nice place to sit and work on my computer all day drinking their coffee and other hot drinks (they have a delicious hot cider right now with whipped cream — wonderful!).
There is parking in the back of the store accessible from both Waukegan and Glenview Rds. My only «complaint» is that they aren’t open 24-​hours a day; if they were I’d go here to work and study all night.

The Glenview Grind was completely full on a late Friday morning and the staff ignorant and unhelpful about their clientele (despite it being a local café supported by regulars), whether the Friday morning crowd typically clears early or lingers. Utterly unsympathetic to the patron with nowhere to sit.
So looked up nearby coffee places and found Rock House just across the street, only a minute walk away! I’ll be writing their review separately but here I’ll only say: unique vibe, quiet mood, much better coffee, wider selection and definitely more reasonable prices. The variety of menu is also promising. Will easily switch from quiet study café to trendy date spot w wines and their specialty make your own cheese bars. I’ve found my local coffee joint/​date spot!
I’ve always been disappointed w lackluster coffee and overdone prices at Glenview Grind but came maybe a handful times bc convenience of location and for change of scenery and menu from Starbucks and to support a local shop.
I’ve had coffees, smoothies, pastries and juices at GG and they’ve always disappointed, never lived up to my hopes. GG CAN be a great study café, but it’s been packed 90% of the time I’ve gone. I honestly never understood why and wondered how GG is so busy despite mediocre drinks and ridiculous prices. I think RH is relatively new, which is why people still flock to GG, what they’ve always known. I wouldn’t have known about RH either if not for this morning.
Now I don’t have to put up with this overpriced GG café anymore bc I’ve found the true gem of Glenview, the Rock House!

We were searching for a new place to get some coffee tonight, and came across Glenview Grind on Unilocal!The reviews seemed great, so we went for it :) I tried the Nutella Latte and thought it was delicious! I’ve tried this drink at a few coffee shops in the Chicagoland area and must say this one was all-​around my favorite. The Nutella-​to-​espresso ratio was just how I wanted it! My husband had the Snickerdoodle Latte and liked it, as well. So many fun specialty beverages on the menu! Can’t wait to stop in again. We were pretty impressed with their breakfast menu, too, and plan to get a bite there one day. The menu aside, the baristas were very friendly, and the shop appeared to be very clean. My only complaint is that the counter was very cluttered — pans of (wrapped) pastries filled the counter, leaving no space for the customer. We came close to closing time, so I’m not sure if these pastries are always there, or if they were just moved there since they were beginning to clean. Besides that, everything was great!

–very friendly and accommodating staff
–clean, spacious, decorative shop
i had iced white mocha, which was very good and not too sweet. they brew intelligentsia. love it!
my bf had the purple smoothie and he also said he liked it
this is a gem, away from the city. very hard to find a good coffee joint around here

What a nice inviting place for a cup of coffee over good conversation. They have large selection of coffee and non-​caffeine drinks. I’m having one of the best Mocha I’ve ever had. They serve Intelligensia coffee, by the way.
Plenty of covered parking in the back of the store. Give them a try!

I tried the Glenview Grind yesterday. I paid $ 5.50 for a medium size cup of
Chai Latte. I couldn’t believe my ears. It was OK tasting but not worth the money!

Excellent coffee and excellent service! We are from Southern California came here in May as a small group and returned this month with our whole choir while on tour! They served all 50+ of us quickly and all our drinks were made to perfection! Gotta love their Peanut Butter Cup!

I want to like glenview grind. there are reasons I have been iffy about this place, but I keep coming back to give it another shot.
Today I went because I wanted to try a coffee smoothie. I asked what was in it, and the guy working there said it was a mix thing with ice. I asked what was in the mix, and he said he didn’t know. Like they don’t care about the integrity of their food/​care about what they were sellling me, as long as I gave them my money.
I think that just sums up what is disappointing about this place. Glenview is a wealthy area, so they can get away with having high prices. I would think that a place with high prices would then use quality ingredients, but no– the coffee smoothie is just a mix. And the art on the walls are just stock photos. It’s illusory. I wish there was more substance.
ALSO THEY DON’T RECYCLE! And whenever I ask them if they are going to start, they answer very apathetically. Come on…
You can be better! People are willing to spend more money here, so make your drinks and food with better ingredients of integrity! Care about the community and recycle. You will get my respect.

Glenview Grind in a fantastic, locally-​owned coffee place in this quiet Chicago suburb. The staff are always friendly and competent at brewing strong, tasty caffeinated beverages. They brew Intelligentsia coffee, one of my favs and, unique to other coffee spots, they have many interesting sweets (including vegan and gluten free options).
One of the best tasting options is the Nutella latte, a drink so decadent it is both beverage and dessert! The regular vanilla latte is also quite good. I don’t think you can go wrong with anything here. The (relatively) late hours of operation are a huge bonus as well.

When you just don’t feel like going to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, out here in the suburbs there aren’t too many other options for a simple café. Glenview Grind is a wonderful alternative.
I’ve been to Glenview Grind plenty of times now and every experience has been pleasant. The staff is always friendly and makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. The barista makes wonderful drinks (including some pretty nice foam on lattes and cappuccinos… as a former barista myself, I find this important).
Their brewed coffee is excellent (I think it’s Intelligenstia coffee) and always tastes fresh. The espresso is smooth. The specialty drinks are ALL delicious! I believe they have a nice balance between the espresso, milk, and sweetness from syrups– not overly sugary like the drinks at many other coffee shops.
OH I even tried a peach iced Italian cream soda and it was INCREDIBLE. The almond cream soda I gotta honestly say was not as good of a choice =P I’m glad I tried it though because I love to experiment.
Lastly, they have a loyalty card in which they punch holes for every drink ordered each time you visit. Once you’ve reached 10 drinks, the 11^th is free. Excelleeeeent.

I make sure to visit Glenview Grind whenever I’m in the area. They feature a vast menu full of tasty drinks and treats, a friendly staff, and a pleasant atmosphere. Prices are fair, mostly cheaper than Starbucks. The coffee is great; I’ve tried quite a few drinks on the menu, and have not been disappointed (my favorite so far is the nutella latte).
Glenview Grind is a great place to relax, unwind, and sip some excellent coffee.

Good coffee drinks, nice beer selection, friendly staff and fast service. Looks like a nice place to meet up with someone or hang out with your laptop to get work done.

My husband had a tennis match at the Wilmette Tennis Club and I had a ton of reading to complete for my first week of my first semester of grad school. Luckily, the Glenview Grind was only 8 minutes away!
They have a large selection of coffee (including Intelligensia and their own home brew), teas (caffeinated and caffeine free), smoothies and believe it or not… beer and wine! They serve beer and wine from 4−9pm. They are open daily until 9 pm and provide free Wifi (no password needed) and plenty of electrical outlets.
If you check in on Unilocal they’ll honor the $ 2 off a specialty drink offer! I tried the Nutella latte with whipped cream… so good! Distractions are also available in the form of a large flat screen tv and small plates (charcuterie, cheese & fruit plates) for purchase in the evening hours.
Plenty of parking in the back as well!

With a love for coffee and experience working at Caribou Coffee for a little while I started out 2014 with the mission to visit all of the coffee shops in my area. After visiting a few, I thought why not write reviews and share my thoughts on each of them. So here we are… without any further ado let’s dive right in to my unbiased review of Glenview Grind
Location and Ambiance:
Glenview Grind is located in downtown Glenview, and overall has a really great ambiance due to the home feel and vibe that the coffee shop has.
Coffee:
The coffee was great! I had the usual black coffee, but they also have lattes and espresso based drinks if you want something sweater.
Food:
There were some great food choices and the pastries I tried were great (Pumpkin loaf)!
Staff:
The staff was nice, and had no issues making jokes with me along the way.
Overall, Glenview Grind is a quality coffee shop and I highly recommend giving it a try!
Thanks,
Connor Brady

Friendly staff here!
On my last visit, I noticed that GG now serves beer and wine! That was unexpected!
I would also like to announce that I’m a fan of their regular/​straight up coffee. IMO, skip the fancy drinks and just get a plain ol’ hot (or iced) cup o’ joe! Mmm, mmm, strong! From the pastry case, the donut (glazed with rainbow sprinkles) was a little heavy, but I really liked the chocolate chip muffin I got!

My first experience at Glenview Grind was not great. I was not in a hurry to return. But the people who own Nail Time farther down Waukegan Road said, go in, try again. I did, and you know what? I’m glad I went in. I’ve been twice, and had much, much better customer service experiences.
The coffee is Intelligentsia. I had an iced coffee, which I drank at Glenview Grind. That was perfectly fine, and set me on a caffeine high for several hours. The next time, I looked at their specialty coffee drinks and thought, what the heck? When has the mere fact that a cup of liquid offers about a thousand calories ever stopped me before? So I had a medium serving of the peanut butter drink. Sorry, I don’t remember the exact name. It was served with a mini-Reese’s on the top, which I thought was hilarious. And the drink really did taste like peanut butter and chocolate. It was really good. Again, I’m sure it must have contained at least a thousand calories, but I didn’t care. I sucked that baby down.
I didn’t eat anything except a smiley cookie, which was fine. It was soft and sweet, which pleased me. More calories. What the heck.
The big difference was the service. I think it was Cathy, the manager. She gave me a name! She smiled! She offered me a frequent flyer card, which I declined, saying I was from out of the area. She welcomed me. There was a gentleman making the drinks, and he smiled. On another visit, another young lady, I believe of Asian heritage, was there, and she was friendly too. I don’t know what happened to change things, but I’m glad things have changed. This was already a cute place, but service was lacking. That’s been turned around, big time. Two visits, two good experiences.
Yes, I am now a fan!