Somethings Brewing Downtown

Cozy, nice outside space, friendly staff, and lots of food and sweet options. Great spot to camp out And Work for a few hours. I was lucky to get a spot by an outlet. More outlets if possible would be my only suggestion. Oh And you should allow us to top your excellent staff! All in all a good experience. Should be more spots like these in the NW suburbs.

I came in for a quick coffee this morning as I’ve heard a lot of good things about the foods and drinks here. The place is easily located in downtown Grayslake on the main thoroughfare and parking is plentiful on the streets. While I only had time to get a quick coffee, I perused the menu as I waited. There is a lot of food choices (breakfasts and sandwiches) and everything looked good. I ordered a small caramel coffee and had to be the best one I’ve ever had! I love how they taped a peanut butter/​chocolate granola bar on the side of the coffee but word of advice — take it off before you drink the whole coffee as mine melted a little. The staff was friendly and there was a decent sized crowd inside.

I really enjoy the food menu at SB. Great options and there are multiple items that I have ordered and really liked. The salads are really yummy and pretty large servings. I also have had the sandwiches, they are a little pricey but worth it on the occasional basis. I’ve had their coffee a few times and have been left underwhelmed. Not anything to get excited about.
My favorite part would be the sweets. They have great cookies, fun treats for gifts and the Rice Krispies are good too.
My least favorite part (and the only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars) would be the service, I agree with past reviewers– it can be a hit or miss. Sometimes the staff is happy and efficient, other times they are grumpy and super slow moving.
Overall, definitely a good stop in downtown Grayslake for a casual lunch.

Great little coffee/​sandwich shop. I go here for lunch frequently and usually have a great experience. Even better that its a unique local place.

This place is adorable and charming! And their chi teas are the BEST I’ve had anywhere!!!

It’s ok. I ordered a café au lait and the barrista told me the coffee was brewed over an hour ago and didn’t offer to make a fresh pot.
This is why small mom & pop shops can’t compete with Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. Had she offered to brew a new pot, I would have ordered a large coffee and maybe some other things to go with it. Instead, I got a small and left.
It’s too bad, really. The store has such potential.

Atmosphere is adorable and cozy, the coffee is hot and good, and the sweets are too die for. What else can you ask for in a coffee shop?!

Always great coffee. They’re carrying Hansa beans from Libertyville now! I like the service and atmosphere at this location better than the one at CLC.

First time I’ve visited and I was more than impressed! Great service, friendly and helpful with all my questions! I had a latte which was delicious and my husband had a white chocolate mocha which was also amazing. They made my son a chocolate milk and then we had cookies and muffins. Everything was exceptional quality. We don’t go out often, so when we do it’s really a treat for us. This place exceeded our expectations– and it was only a quick stop for coffee! We will be back as this place has many options I’m excited to try! Make sure you stop in if you’re downtown Grayslake, they have something for everyone.

Cute little coffee shop in cute little down town grays lake :) The chococonut latte was very tasty. Plenty of seating available. I can’t speak for the food as I didn’t try it but the food menu is as big or bigger than the coffee selection. They also have plenty of muffins, cookies, rice krispie treats, and chocolates, to choose from.

Let me start by saying that the food is good and the specialty latte drink is fantastic. I’m giving 4 stars because I’ve had better food elsewhere. As much as I’d like to I can’t give every place 5 stars. I think this is my third time here so I do enjoy the place. It’s always packed here so obviously lots of other people enjoy it, too.

Something’s Brewing is a nice little local business with two locations in Grayslake. Both offer good coffee and food, in a pleasant, and relaxed atmosphere. Some reviewers comment about slow service, but everything is made fresh to order, so of course it will take a little longer. If you order ahead you can reduce your wait time.
A coworker and I picked-​up lunch from the downtown location today. I had ½ a sandwich and soup for just under $ 7 — not a bad price. I had the chicken salad on honey oat bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber slices. It was a very good sandwich. It comes with a choice of sides. Usually, I order the pasta salad which is very good. Today, I tried the potato salad which was decent; but I prefer the pasta salad. For my soup, I ordered Italian wedding. It was excellent!
Keep up the good work!

Quaint coffee shop that perfectly suits the small-​town feel of downtown Grayslake. There is another location near CLC but this one by far has more character. The baristas are very calm and helpful, countless menu items to choose from, including wraps, sandwiches and breakfast at all hours of the day. The coffee is fantastic, almond milk and soy milk are available too.
The outdoor seating is very cozy, right around lunch time the sunlight trickles through the maple trees that overhang the sidewalk. Street traffic rolls by slowly but it isn’t distracting.
Perfect location, great food/​coffee and people!

So I didn’t really get a full experience here, really I stopped by to pick up a drink and a snack before heading out on my way, but this place really seemed to be a place I could come back to more often.
They have a pretty extensive menu that includes drinks (coffee, tea, italian soda, etc.), baked goods, sandwiches, and other food.
I grabbed a chai tea latte and the spinach dip with bagel chips. The chai tea latte I got over ice (only the 16 oz and 20 oz sizes can come over ice) and it was delicious. Flavorful, creamy, and you could see the spices settling on the bottom. Mmmmm spices. The bagel chips appeared to be home made and it was a pretty decent portion that came with the spinach dip.
They sell a number of other items throughout the store including some candies and baked goods. It was not too busy when I went and there were plenty of tables. Service was friendly & fast, just the way I like it: D.

Great place to go for coffee and a bagel, a quick dessert or for lunch. Always fresh food and friendly service. Lots of seating inside. Give this place a try, you won’t be sorry! Two locations. My wife and I usually walk to the downtown Grayslake location.

If you take anything away from this, please note this.
This review is for the DOWNTOWN location, not the one near CLC’s campus.
Anyway, onward.
Something’s Brewing has a great menu, a good amount of cute things to shop for while your coffee is being made, and some great sweets to take with you. Should be a no-​fail, right?
Well, where Something’s Brewing Downtown fails, and has failed for years, is service. Not only are they much slower than the one on Washington, they’re much more apathetic and unfriendly. As I mentioned in a previous coffee house review… this is what drives people away, and not in.
This annoys me much more here than it did with Mischief’s Brewing for a few reasons. The first is that it’s a complaint many people have and that they’ve had it for years. So is it just that no one from SB reads Unilocal reviews to find out where there’s room for improvement?
Anyway…if you have the time, go ahead and drive over to the Washington St. location. Your food will be prepared more quickly, and someone might actually smile at you.

Cute place and great coffee. I wasn’t expecting an extensive food menu, so next time I’ll have to try a whole meal here!

It’s hit or miss. I like the location and the building (though I preferred the original location a couple of blocks away), and I was a fan of Grinder’s, which this business replaced.
The coffee, pastries and sandwiches are usually very good, and it’s nice to see semi-​regulars come in. The service is not always what it ought to be, though, and that is my central complaint about SB. Standing in line for ten or fifteen minutes for a cup of coffee is simply unacceptable. And for God’s sake, who chooses the radio station? «Hip-​hop» influenced pop crap and «Country» (though not really)? No thanks; I’ll go elsewhere to drink my coffee.

Great Coffee, Great, Great Food. I will say that I visit this place numerous times every week, so while they do need improvement on some things, they are close to my house and good, and they have never done anything to stop me from going back. Where this establishment falls short for me is in the staff, the deserts and some of the patrons.
and now for my Rant:
At certain times of the day it may as well be a high school cafeteria with the local riff-​raff coming in making a mess of the place or, «like, oh my GAWD do you know who so-​and-​so is dating now» chicks having their way too loud and way too meaningless conversations. I wanted to stab chicks like this in high school, now I just want them to sit their abercombie covered tushes down at the Starbucks and leave my local coffee shop unadulterated. They are loud, they are obnoxious, and they come in as if they run the place which all would be fine if they kept to themselves a little more and were not so disrespectful to the staff, the other patrons and just the place in general. College kids and young professionals, or others be warned if you are looking for a place to study or get some work done on your laptop. My recommendation: go before school lets out.
The staff are young kids for the most part and it seems to me that wether or not you will feel welcome or get good service is simply a hit or miss based mostly on whatever mood they are in. Sometimes I have literally felt about as welcome as a turd in a swimming pool and sometimes I felt like I was their most favored patron.
I found a hair in my food one time, which was gross, but I have eaten there so many times, I guess I felt like it was bound to happen sooner or later. Then again, it was gross. Period.
I think this place will cover anything in Chocolate, but be warned, it is mediocre semi-​sweet milk chocolate and nothing to rave about. If you are going to make your cake pops look more appetizing than Starbucks, they have to also BE more appetizing.
All that being said, I would rather support a local establishment than a Starbucks and the free wifi and good coffee keeps me going back to spite the other setbacks.
If you visit, try their Pumpkin Spice Latte and South of the border wrap. My two favs.

Cute hometown coffee shop. Great coffee drinks.
I’m gluten free, so I missed out on all the pastries. It would be cool if they carried some gluten free items!