Grapevine Cafe

Our office was in this business complex in San Mateo the past year and it was truly a pleasure and treat having this very nice restaurant and coffee shop just across the parking lot. The food is terrific and the staff was always friendly. They also catered several events and did an awesome job each time. Russ

Big fan of grapevine. They know what I like, and the food is good. Recommend the turkey sandwich. Their specials run out quickly, especially the meatballs. They always have plenty of options.

Great place! Great costumer service! And on top of it they have Starbucks! AWESOME FOOD! I really love this place! I really reccommend the mesquite chicken sandwich its delicious!

For the price, the food is pretty decent and the portions are generous. I think the staff are really friendly and they remember me when I come in. They are always quick and if they make a mistake, they’ll fix it! The menu has so many options sometimes I have a hard time choosing. Thankfully their menu is on their website, so I can decide before heading over.
Salami sandwich on hard roll — yummy! The roll wasn’t very hard, but I was fine with that. Also, such a nice portion of salami.
Vegetarian pocket — pretty good. plenty of veggie goodness. Needs oil and vinegar or something though.
Falafel wrap — alright. I have had better and probably won’t get this again.
Mesquite chicken sandwich– warm chicken sandwich with tons of chicken. Very filling.
Domino — excellent and highly recommend. Lots of avocado — no skimping here!
Cheeseburger — hit the spot! Not the best but great for 40 steps from the office.
Caesar chicken wrap — This is good. I like that they add tomato.
I haven’t tried their soups and daily specials yet, but I see everyone else ordering them all the time. Also, they have a salad bar, some pre-​packaged to-​go salads, fresh hard-​boiled eggs, various sodas and juices, ice cream, tons of various chips, protein bars, granola bars, etc. Also, they have good looking smoothies and Starbucks coffee and pastries.
SO:
— Minus 2 stars for not being the best food around
— Plus one star back for good prices and numerous options

Lots of good wraps for a reasonable price. Very convenient for me since I work in the business park. Their tacos are excellent if you happen to be there on the right day! Lots of indoor and outdoor seating available though it gets pretty busy around noon.

My go to place for coffee and lunch. Service is good and the location makes it very convenient.
Pros:
+ Good number of vegetarian options
+ Special menu changes everyday
+ Staff is friendly and helpful
The Chipotle Black Bean burger is great — try it out :)

This place is like walking into a bountiful, heavenly North Korean supermarket (if there was such a thing). Sure, it’s stocked. You can get everything — hamburgers, bagels, Starbucks, pastries! But do you REALLY want to consume anything from here? No, you really don’t.
The staff doesn’t give a ****, plain and simple. The cashier can barely bother to tend to the cash register when there are customers. If you think they don’t give a care for the customers… well, you can only assume what goes on in the kitchen. *shudder* The food sends your stomach into auto-​pilot somersault mode. Pretty sure I’ve been food poisoned here. Yet, you continue to eat here because you work in the grotty little office park surrounding said café. It’s a running joke in our office park about how disgusting Grapevine Café really is… yet we go there out of necessity.

Ate the beef and jalapeño sandwich for lunch a few weeks ago and got food poisoning. Couldn’t keep anything down or in for three days. Keep away from that! I have had other stuff like the turkey sandwich and burger, and I was fine. Wouldn’t eat there again just in case.

I eat here 2 – 3 times a week because the food is 8+, the employees are 8+, the price is a 9, and the location is a perfect 10.

I’m surprised by the poor reviews for this place. I’ve worked in the area for a couple of months and have come to Grapevine numerous times simply on it’s proximity to my building.
Every time I’ve come here for lunch the service is on point, the staff is friendly, and the place is clean.
There’s not much else to say really, the food is good, sandwiches were large and hearty.
They’re also a Starbucks affiliate. So that’s nice.

Horrible service.
Came into the café and cashier was writing on chalk board. I thought «I’ll give her a little bit to finish up.» Something like a minute and a half later, she decides to mozy up to the cash register. She takes my order and the one of the lady behind me. She starts on her drink order first despite the prep times being relatively similar.
The lady behind me is already out the door and a line of self-​serve coffee people has built up. A cook in the kitchen looked on as the line got longer and longer.
This was my first and will be my last visit.

Second visit here… First time for food. (Again) The cashier is dreadful, no hellos, thanks you or anything else resembling customer service. I sat and watched the operation as I ate my Thai chicken wrap (6 on a scale of 1 – 10). I watched the small grumpy cashier as she disrespected each subsequent customer (mainly by walking away from the cash register and talking to visitors… once to hand-​deliver smoothies to a woman with two children who called her «Tia»).
I study retail operations for a living and this unspectacular eatery is «one strong competitor leasing a space nearby»…to being expendable.

Good place to get a quick coffee or bite to eat and relax The food is ok and service helpful.

It is so convenient since I work in the same business park. It’s great to be able to walk over and get something quick to eat in between meetings. Menu is large-​mostly sanwiches and wraps. They do have a salad bar. I often get the soup and salad bar combo.
Food is pretty good. Nothing crazy unique or spicy. Good for a weekday lunch at work. A bit pricey ($ 7−10/meal) but for the convenience of being next door to my office, I can’t complain.
I really like their domino sandwich (turkey and avocado on a super yummy, moist croissant).
Plenty of seating both indoors and outside. Umbrellas outside. Food comes out quickly. They get a good lunch crowd so I think many people who work nearby come here for lunch during the week.
I will definitely continue to have lunches here.

It is so funny that the 2 previous posts I read complained about the lady cashier named «Lola,» especially since I too, have not had the most pleasant experiences with her! She really is a grump and I wish she could see her face every time I order food!
I mostly come here for convenience as well– I agree with Megan D.- their fries are good. I don’t know what it is about the fries, but that is what I mostly order! The wraps are pretty good and made fresh. The chicken cesar salad wrap is yummooo, but will fill you up if you get fries, so I suggest ordering it to-​go.
The food is a bit overpriced and there is nothing special about it being a «café.» The pastries and baked goods are all store bought and just individually wrapped. There are Specials of the Day, but I have never caved in and tried them.

When I first started working in this area, they were a 3.5 rating. Now, two stars would be generous.
I come here when I’m jammed for time and want my fill of fries. Wanting or expecting anything more would be silly of me. So, the location is what kept me going… until I snapped today.
First, get rid of the cashier lady, Lola. She always has a terrible attitude and gives terrible customer service. As a paying customer (albeit grudgingly…) I expect someone who can be pleasant and get my order right. Not someone acting as if I’m not worth the time or money.
Which brings me to my second irritant with this hole — my order has been forgotten FIVE SEPARATE TIMES! I only order small side of fries. Nothing else. At first I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was just because they were a bit busy… then it happened again. And again. And even when I would stood in front of their glass partition.
The owners, or whoever thinks they’re capable of running this place, are capitalizing on the fact that the surrounding workers will always order here purely because of convenience.
I won’t be returning here any more though.
THANK BEJEESUZ that there are now different food trucks in front of Capcom almost every day!

OVERPRICED, OVERPRICED & OVERPRICED…
I only go here when I am absolutely too lazy to go anywhere else, and even then I have contemplate whether or not I want to give them my money. Like a fool I always give in and go … only to get a bad attitude from the lady who rings me up… I believe her name is Lola. It always looks like she’s unhappy, or unhappy to be at work… Don’t work in customer service if you don’t like to SERVE customers.
They always get my order wrong, I don’t understand how if I specifically say I don’t want certain things… oh and my favorite, the same 20oz Vitamin water you can get at 7 – 11 for $ 1.50 is $ 2.50 there… The CAN soda is $ 1.50 when in reality you can get the same mediocre can at 7 – 11 for $.75 to $ 1.00
Oh, and the «Starbucks» they service is crap… They cant even make a chai latte the way Starbucks is! *SUGGESTION TO MANAGEMENT* hire someone who has ACTUALLY worked at Starbucks it’ll help your business!
Don’t waste your time coming here unless you’re extremely desperate!

In a lot of ways, Grapevine Café reminds me of a typical Starbucks. You have the standard coffee shop setup of tables and sofas with some potted plants thrown in between. Customers order from the front counter and seat themselves. They also have a small patio in front, but the only scenery you will get is one of the parking lot, which isn’t too exciting.
As mentioned by other reviewers, this establishment plays oldies music. They are actually playing the radio station 96.5. It is not too distracting during the holiday season because no matter what station they tune in, people will hear Christmas songs regardless.
Unfortunately, like Starbucks, food is not a specialty for Grapevine Café. I ordered a Philly Cheese Chicken Sandwich, but it resembled a Chicken Salad Sandwich instead. I hoped for a large, scrumptious piece of tender chicken breast, but I ended up with meat that looked and tasted eerily like preserved, shredded chicken from a can purchased in a supermarket. The melted cheese also tasted like mayonnaise, and the pickle was ridiculously sour. In terms of portions, I ended up with more bread than anything so it was certainty not worth paying over eight dollars for even if I did get French fries and a complimentary soft drink. Unfortunately, this is one of the only two restaurants available in this area, and the other place, The Grill, isn’t any better, judging from their Unilocal reviews. If you work near here, either pack lunch in the morning, or pick your poison.

3.5 stars??? Seriously Unilocalers?
I’ll give it two. It’s clean. It plays cheesy pop songs from the late 90s. The veggies appear fresh. That’s about all I can give it.
Sure, they’ve got a variety of drinks… but you want a 12-​oz can of soda? $ 1.75 please. Seriously??? I could by a 2-​liter at the Rite-​Aid down the street for less than that.
The sandwiches I’ve had are pretty much Oscar Meyer lunch meat with weird things thrown on there. Their $ 8 – 9 California wrap is turkey lunch meat, tomato, and bland salsa. Tomato AND salsa? It was like eating a bowl of tomato salsa wrapped in a tortilla. If I want salsa wrapped in a tortilla, I’ll go to a Mexican restaurant and to it for free while I’m waiting for my meal mmmkay?
And my last complaint/​advice? Definitely don’t order anything ethnic/​outside the range of typical café fare. I mistakenly got their Chicken Tikka Masala one day. It was chicken. In plain tomato sauce. WITH SLICES OF JALAPENO ON TOP. ??? 0. o ???

A solid 3.5 and I’ll round up for the following reasons:
+ very clean restaurant (their posted health inspection has all «excellent» ratings — I like that)
+ friendly staff
+ varied, large menu
+ cozy atmosphere with sofa, large flat-​screen TV, music, ample indoor and outdoor seating
+ frequent dining card — «buy 9 sandwiches & the 10^th is free»
+ fast service
+ salad bar
What I’ve tried so far has been pretty good:
* veggie burger
* daily special of Indian chicken curry over rice
* daily special of hot meatball sandwich with provolone cheese
* Cesar salad with chicken
This is not so much a destination café as a place to eat if you work in the surrounding office complex. It does the job nicely for a quick lunch without having to drive anywhere.