Review The Garden Grind Cafe - Mount Gravatt

Wish there was a half star, guy who brought food out talked so quietly, and didnt even get what we paid for. Food was ready and gone before our coffees even arrived. Not pleased wont be returning

Service was friendly this morning and love the greenery in the decor. As a franchise, understand central control of prices but $5.50 for a regular strong cap is a bit steep. Lovely coffee all the same!

The cafe is situated in the middle of the shopping center. The coffee is ok and it is ok to meet with a group of friends.

Ordered a take away coffee, noticed that the barista dropped my cup on the ground, only for the other employee to pick it up and place it on the machine without hesitation. I immediately asked for another cup and both looked at me as to suggest "why" and not one apology given. Coffee also tasted foul, basically donated $5.10 for a small cup...

If you have allergies do not come here! The kitchen staff can’t tell you what is actually in anything they said it all comes in a clear packet *gross* so I couldn’t even eat what I ordered. The coffee is also pretty terrible. Wouldn’t come back.

We went for breakfast and ordered (finally after waiting for 30 mins to order even though there was no one else at the counter): To make things worse the coffee was below par, very badly. Not long after this visit, we were given a coffee voucher due to a mix up in our gift card, no change, bad coffee, again not hot. This place is also absolutely overpriced - a 'rip off'. The staff and owner were both very rude

I usually have breakfast at Coffee Club when I'm at Garden City but this morning the queue at Coffee Club was fairly long & I didn't feeling like waiting too long. I decided instead to go downstairs to the Garden Grind, a place I have never eaten at before. I ordered a mug of coffee & big breakfast. The price was average & the young lady who served me was quite pleasant. Lots of good seating available & it wasn't too long before my coffee & then my breakfast came out, both were very nice. Nice coffee & a well presented delicious breakfast. Well done The Garden Grind, I will be back & perhaps others should try it as well.

Very disappointing food, poor service and hostile manager. This used to be a great place to stop after shopping. After my recent experience I won’t go back there again. I ordered Lemon Pepper Calamari and Prawns which came with chips and salad. When it arrived almost everything was battered and tasted oily except the chips which dominated the plate. Salad was just a pile of dry leaves on the plate - not even any dressing. When I explained that I couldn’t eat battered food, the waiter got the manager. He came to my table and said “What do you want me to do?” I said I ordered lemon pepper calamari from the menu - not battered calamari. He suggested more prawns, but they were very oily too. I said I could eat a Cesaer salad as long as nothing was battered. He said they always batter and he would give me my money back. He threw $20 on the table and took all my plates and cups - even the coffee I was still drinking and had paid separately for. I asked him to leave the coffee. He then said, “You’ve finished. Do you want to lick the cup?” I eat out at Garden City once or twice a week - but I won’t be returning here.

Our last three visits here have been good. Service is friendly and the coffees are good so this is our regular rest stop. We visit last month for a coffee break and our large Cafe Latte is served hot and strong. Wonderful!

Not sure if this cafe has changed the management but it looks like new faces there. However, it is still under management of an Asian group. Love to see that they are serving Merlos so I ordered a scone with jam & cream to go with my flat white.<br/>Well, both food and beverage are passable only. Fortunately, strength of the coffee served its function to keep me awake.<br/>Rating 3.5/5

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED<br/><br/>Went here with my family for our regular coffee catchups as we are fans of Merlo Coffee. The Asian woman at the counter couldn't speak English and struggled to take our order even though we just wanted coffees with skim milk. We paid for 6 coffees and we only received 4 and they were ALL WRONG. We asked for our coffees to be corrected, only to be shown a receipt that had 2 COFFEE ORDERS? We told them we paid for 6 and the girl went to the manager who is also the chef (ALWAYS A BAD COMBINATION). He yelled at us claiming "COMPUTER IS NEVER WRONG" and claimed we were trying to steal from him. We walked away as he continued to yell at us. We didn't even ask for our money back because there was no point. Listen to the reviews people, these people can't speak English or make good coffees. Avoid at all costs. I have emailed centre management over this because this store should be shut down.

Decided for a quick lunch and came across this cafe. The coffee ok, they have recently changed the type of roast they use, which for me, is too bitter. Food was average. Ordered chicken sandwich as I thought this would be a safe option (less room for error).<br/><br/>Unfortunately, it was doused in Mayo, not the good kind, the cheap stuff you find on special at the supermarket. The chicken used also was definitely packaged, not made on site which is a shame. Lucky there was some chips and avo to fill us up. Wouldn't order again and won't visit again.

I was treated SO rudely by the staff at this establishment. Especially the older man who is apparently "the manager".<br/><br/>We saw the "Lunch Specials" on the sign. It said "Open Grill $12.90". That was ALL it said on the sign. There was also a special for the toasted sandwiches, but we wanted to Open Grill.<br/><br/>So we ordered two open grills and two iced coffees. The Asian girl behind the till had no idea what I was saying and I couldn't understand her either. She clearly had a very low grasp on the English language.<br/><br/>We paid and when I asked for a receipt the girl had no idea how to print one or probably what I was even asking for. When we sat down another Asian guy from the kitchen came out and asked us in broken English if our order was correct after he had printed out receipt. The whole thing was wrong. He showed me the receipt and the price for the open grills was $14.90 each - so we also did not get the lunch special price as advertised. So I told him I wanted it for the price as advertised on their sign. He said he had to "ask manager". <br/><br/>An older Asian man came to our table and said the special lunch price was only for a ham and cheese open grill and not the chicken ones we had ordered. (Even though in their menu all open grills are the same price). On the sign was no mention of it being only for the ham and cheese, it just said "Open Grills $12.90. I told him I wanted what we ordered for the price advertised on their sign. <br/><br/>According to the ACCC: It is illegal for a business to make claims to customers about its goods or services—including claims about price—that are incorrect or likely to create a false impression. <br/><br/>He refused, became aggressive and walked away whilst YELLING at us about how the price is "only for ham and cheese". He went to the till and took the money we had paid out, and threw it at me and yelled "I have successful cafe. 12 years. Bye Bye, See you never again! Good luck finding somewhere else." <br/><br/>He embarrassed us for HIS malpractice and was so incredibly RUDE. <br/><br/>Do not go here unless you too want to be abused and ripped off with misleading and false advertising.

Dropped by for a coffee with my parents on a weekday afternoon. The cafe is situated downstairs of garden city, right in the middle of the shopping centre (where the new and old areas meet). <br/><br/>The staff acknowledged us and greeted, asking what we'd like to order. We decided on 2 Flat Whites.<br/><br/>Considering there was only one staff on board, our coffees came out reasonably quick. Our beverages were presented hot and served in take-away cups. Unfortunately, neither myself or my parents found the coffee strong enough. There was also way too much froth in our Flat Whites. <br/><br/>Customer service was alright but could improve (a smile would've been nice).

First impression * decent <br/><br/>Ambiance * lovely <br/><br/>Indoors* with sitting place <br/><br/>Presentations *average <br/><br/>Food * had coffee <br/><br/>Jain food * not available <br/><br/>Staff* good <br/><br/>Prices* little high<br/><br/>Service* good <br/><br/>Conclusively * can go <br/>

The service was shocking and the chef who is the owner is so rude! I ordered an omelette which had eggshell in it. After 2 mouthfuls of eggshell with a lot of crunching, I advised the waitress & asked if I could have another omelette. The chef then came out to me & I thought he was going to apologise. Instead he said 'eggshells, when you break an egg, eggshells sometimes gets in, it's not dirty!' I asked for another & he went back to the kitchen in a huff. Then I thought the better of it & asked for a refund. The chef rudely dismissed me & said to the waitress 'give her a refund, she's a fussy customer!' I was absolutely flabbergasted with his rudeness. I will never ever go back & I'm trying to get this message to as many people as possible to avoid this coffee shop. Absolutely disgusting service. I wanted to give a zero rating but it won't let me.

While my cake was quite nice some things on display looked off the shelf and a little 'take away canteen' style. The Piazza Doro coffee though was quite good.

Lovely coffee and cake. The cake was clearly made somewhere else (probably Priestley's) but it tasted good and was a good serving size. The service was slow - we waited quite a while for everything to come out. If you want fresh food there are probably better options in Garden City but this is okay for coffee or morning tea.

A great place for a Saturday morning breakfast. A great way to start the morning off for shopping with the family. Fast service, lovely food and reasonably priced. Most enjoyable. ;-)

We had a really good coffee and cake at Grind. The service was slow but it was a busy Saturday morning. I suspect the cakes aren't made on the premises but what we had tasted quite fresh and very, very naughty.

Burnt Coffee and  Payment error and when questioned manager advised no we cannot fix it .Checked with bank this morning ( his eftpos) yes he could of. When we advised of our displeasure magically our simple order was the victim of a mix up and we had to wait while others who came at least 20 minutes later were served .  Would strongly recommend that you find somewhere else to go -  Shame really promised so much but failed and then the MAGIC  error really capped it off

Friendly staff & a great selection of sweet treats. The coffee is quite passable & they have a great deal going for coffee & cake. You can purchase a coffee for $2 with any cake selection

Garden Grind - Mount Gravatt, Brisbane. Taking place behind and around the central escalators in Garden City shopping mall, the Garden Grind takes the place from Monte Carlo after it was shut down and really improves upon the place in basically every way. It is well sectioned off with distinct barriers, has much brighter lighting, a lot better aesthetic and it simply feels more open. Much of this might have come from going along with the renovations that were recently done. Whatever the case is, this is basic cafe fare that is of a reasonable quality. My dining buddy and I were trying to find a new place for coffee before the usual weekly grocery shop, and this wound up being the choice. <br/><br/>One thing that feels better is the management of the place. They are a really friendly bunch, who are efficient in taking orders and bringing out the meals. They have this excellent deal for customers where any coffee order can have a choice from the cabinet (sweet, dessert, savoury) for only a mere couple of dollars more. Water is on the bench for people to go and get glasses of, plus there are many more tables around. They are doing something right as there were plenty of people flocking to here. Whatmore, it is even easy to follow where to go to place your order. <br/><br/>On their menu, it is more or less the usual range of cafe option to expect. There are plenty of sweets in the cabinet, along with savoury pastries. For the acutal menu, they have all day breakfasts, sandwiches, simple snacks such as nachos, salads and all sorts of drinks. It accomodates to as many people as possible. This is really the sort of place you take the kids to for the meal break during a shopping trip. <br/><br/>The coffee I ordered was the usual, a doppio. As usual, this was good. Strong, flavoursome, smooth and bold - everything a good espresso needs to be. Already a pass on that regard. Looking throughout the menu, I decided to get a sandwich. One range were some foccachias complete with code names - usually world cities - to indicate the kinds of toppings they would have. I went for the "Manhattan Foccachia", which was a combination of turkey, cranberry sauce, mushrooms, capsicum, onion, and a spread of cream cheese. This came with a garden salad and a side of fries. <br/><br/>Believe me, I was surprised how good it was. First off was the presentation, cut in half with a toothpick in each half giving it that flourish. The bread was good quality, and all the items on it were fresh and delicious adding a diverse array of flavours, colours and aromas in each mouthful. Especially so was the combination of cream cheese and cranberry sauce mixed together, fruitiness and creaminess. The mushrooms, capsicums and onion were all fresh produce (as was the side salad, with the obligatory quarter tomato) and there was a reasonable amount of turkey on it. On the side, the fries were a reasonable sized serve and were hot and crispy, freshly cooked out of the fryer with a good amount of seasoning and salt to finish it off. <br/><br/>My dining buddy went for a mango cream cake. I managed to nick a bit of it to try. If you can think of something between a cheesecake and an ice-cream cake, that is what the texture was like. Smooth, creamy and with the wonderful distinct flavour of mango in it, this was a good choice on his behalf. Whatever was in the recipe, they are onto something with this sweet. <br/><br/>So, Garden Grind does its job. It is wholesome, fairly standard fare that is better than you can get around and does not have the mass-produced feel to it. There really isn't that much more to say on it other than the not-so descriptive term, "nice". Even in doing its job, there are other places around but it is still good to try the Garden Grind out to see for yourself.