Grindz

In spite of the aimless millennial depictions of the struggles of newfound adulthood, being a bonafide Real Adult is really all about self-awareness and owning up to your bad decisions... especially when you're aware of your terrible decision from the get-go. My brunch at Grindz is the perfect example: I ordered the chicken and spam cheese waffles without the spam and weathered some joking judgment from the server as we both knew that omitting this essential element from the dish was essentially sacrilege.

Maybe I just wanted to push Grindz out of its comfort zone by leaving out a very Hawaiian part of its Hawaiian-inspired brunch dish. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for chicken and waffles but have a dietary restriction that excludes red meat. I was initially a bit disappointed after diving into my meal -- while I was pleased by the generous portion of chicken katsu, the chicken and the waffle both seemed a little dry...

Full disclosure: the only mistake I made that day was neglecting the homemade ketchup sauce on the side of the table for the first half of the meal. Adding it to my food sealed the deal for me, and at $13.50, it definitely puts the paltrier (and more expensive!) chicken and waffles at other brunch places in the city to shame. The friendly service also justifies the trek into the Richmond if you're craving brunch without a long wait.

We came in around noon and it wasn't too crowded at all. We sat down right away. The waitress was super friendly. We were the only ones in the restaurant for a while, but the food kind of took a while. However, I think the food is good enough for the wait.

This was actually my second time coming here. The first time I ordered the spam masubi, which were alright.

My friend ordered the chicken and waffles. He really liked the chicken and waffles here the first time he had it, so that's why we came in. The waffles are pretty fluffy and substantial. This is one filling meal. Come on an empty stomach if you decide to order the chicken katsu and waffles.

I had ordered the plate where you choose your rice, your type of salad, and type of meat or poke or even shrimp. I decided to get white rice, the Mac salad, and the chicken katsu. The chicken katsu was so crispy and the chicken wasn't overcooked. The crisp was just right. It was a nice orange and not burnt at all. I'm glad I picked the chicken katsu. I would come back just for the chicken katsu.

Food took a very long time to arrive despite not being full at all on a drizzly Sunday morning at 10AM. I literally took a refill to my coffee before breakfast arrived...

That said...the coffee was very good and the food was pretty decent as well.

I had the famed chicken and waffles which were delivered absolutely piping hot. I really liked that, even if it meant losing a few tastebuds. But then again, what's not to like about spam/cheddar waffles and crispy/juicy chicken katsu pieces? For those that think that the chicken is bland...I can see why you say that, but I'm absolutely certain that it was designed such that you could use their house spicy sauce or house ketchup....and I totally vouch for that ketchup. A nice line of that on each chicken paired with the waffle and a little syrup yielded that nice foil in texture (fluffy waffle/crispy chicken) and taste (savory/sweet).

My friend had the pig moco. The portion size is enormous for a breakfast platter in my opinion. The kalua pig had pretty good flavor and did remind me of the kalua pig that I had at a luau back in Hawaii. The eggs, however, were completely overdone so there was no buttery, yolky goodness running through.

We finished off our meal with the masaladas. They were pretty good, but I felt like it could have used some type of dipping sauce. They were too dense to simply rely on a light coating of cinnamon sugar.

Grindz has been a place that I've been eyeing to try for a very long time - it was good, but not otherworldly. A decent find in the Richmond district for sure.

While it's true that I visit Hawaii annually it's also true that I consume very little authentic ("locals") Hawaiian fare while there. In 2016 I stayed within walking distance of Ted's Bakery and failed to try either their Loco Moco or their Haupia cream pie so my distancing from authentic food is real. Don't misconstrue though; I eat my way through Oahu but with little exception, what I consume isn't the truly authentic stuff which brings me to Grindz.

The first time I went into Grindz was early evening about 6 months ago. I walked in and the place was empty. Nobody greeted me - in fact, I saw nobody inside - and the tables looked unset. It felt like I'd wandered into a place not open for business and I wandered back out.

Today I wandered in and had the same feeling but this time I was with a friend who has been here before. When we got the server's attention we learned that Grindz was open for business though I'd not have called it had I not asked. The place was empty and lunch service was almost over but it felt more like it'd been empty for a long while; Grindz has a serious dearth of ambiance in which tablecloths, place settings, and even the most minimal decorative adornments would be welcome.

The menu is large and more expensive than the mid-week lunch specials (about which I didn't ask) posted on the front door. I opted for the Garlic Shrimp ($13.50, with rice and green or macaroni salad) which my friend ordered too. She'd had it here before and found it quite reminiscent of what can be found on Oahu's North Shore (think Giovanni's food truck) which is a complimentary finding.

And you know what? She was right. My Garlic Shrimp was delicious. The serving size was large and the accompanying nutty rice and macaroni salad almost had me loving traditional island fare. With such ample portions I took home much of the rice and shrimp then consumed it all while sitting in bumper-to-bumper Marin traffic.

Honest opinion? I think I liked the ambiance of my car more than the ambiance of the restaurant.

Grindz makes some very good Garlic Shrimp (and accompaniments) and serves it up in ample portions but the restaurant's ambiance detracts from that and that's a shame. It seems like it wouldn't take much to improve upon the decor or to have someone actively greet customers. Heck, even a fly strip would be an improvement (yes, there were flies). If, however, all you care about is a large plate of garlic shrimp Grindz has got you covered.

Well I had huge expectations and was pretty disappointed. My poached eggs were hard boiled, the pork had mediocre flavor although using the chili pepper water and BBQ sauce helped. Not sure what the green stuff was, but it was very bland. Maybe creamed spinach. The potatoes were a bit undercooked with a mushy exterior and the service was super slow.

Maybe I was expecting too much as you can tell by all the pics I posted. But to be honest I would have been happier with a BK crossandwich for $4 than this $14 plate of blah.

I started out wanting to give them 2 stars because they were very nice, but the more I eat, the more I say to myself I am paying $14 for this, so because of my extreme disappointment in the food I have to give it 1 star. Glad I didn't get the donut, that may had added insult to injury. IJS

For real, if you've experienced the level of greatness the Grindz in Maui serves up, your soul smiled when it heard they'd opened one near your hood.

Get there early, don't eff around, or prepare to wait.

I ordered this masterpiece: Puka French Toast. Brioche, piña berry compote, vanilla chantilly. Gwowwwwwwww. I made out with it, mauf broke, you name it.

Yes, they have high chairs. Yes, our little made a mess and we did our best to pick up after her. They didn't look twice. Chill as f***.

I'll be back. Over and over again.

Why should I pay for rotten meat?

The loco moco meat tasted and smelled rotten so after one bite I asked the server to take it away.

But it was on my bill. Seriously.

Why? Why should I pay $11 to take one unacceptable bite of food? Why didn't the server acknowledge my displeasure? What the fork?

It was disgusting.

To add insult to injury, he took the offending dish and NEVER ASKED IF I WANTED SOMETHING ELSE so I sat there with nothing to eat.

I paid $11 to sit at the table with no plate food in front of me.

The other dishes were not great either. Factually they were bad. Bland. Just no.

I paid and left to have lunch AGAIN - a block away where everyone would eat and enjoy at Richmond Republic.

The 4 star reviews from my friends were posted more than a year ago.

Yeah, this was 1 star for me.

Wasted time, money, calories, and energy.

I paid my hard earned money for rotten meat, bad service, and still honored my end of the deal by leaving an undeserved tip.

Disgusting.

Gosh, I work so hard for my money. We all do! I could cry how hard I work for my money to have wasted it on places like this.

I absolutely do not recommend. No.

I love that this place combines two things i adore -- brunch and Hawaiian food! Unfortunately, I havent been to Grindz in foooorever. But there is one thing i do remember! Their apple banana pancakes! i came here awhile back during Bay the Breakers, so there were some interestingly dressed people in here eating, and the wait was about 30 minutes.

It was quite hard to choose from the delicious sounding menu, but my friend and I shared the Li Hing Pineapples and the Big Island!
The Li Hing Pineapple, pineapples are cut and placed into the bottom portion of a pineapple and dusted with some Li Hing powder! Yuummm how could you go wrong with this
The Big Island comes with two apple banana pancakes, potatoes, two eggs and we chose kalua pork. The apple banana pancakes were sweet, savory and a bit nutty from the macadamia nuts, which i loved! The eggs and potatoes werent too memorable, but the kalua pork was soft and delicious.

The workers here are so nice, and the customers as well! I must come back for their apple banana pancakes though. And i definitely want to try out some of their lunch and dinner menu options, as well as their hawaiian dessert choices!

As much as I would have liked to rate this place higher, I wasn't too crazy about the food here. The service was pretty good though. I came on a Saturday for lunch, hoping to try their ahi tuna, which I saw on some Yelp photos. Unfortunately, they were only serving brunch, which did not have ahi tuna.

We ordered the prime rib loco moco ($18) with kimchi fried rice (+$2), which was the day's special. We asked for the prime rib to be medium rare, but it came well done. The prime rib was thin, but had decent flavor. The rice in the kimchi fried rice was a little hard, resembling brown rice that hasn't been cooked enough. The kimchi was cut pretty small, but you can taste the little spicy kick it gives. I was not too crazy about the kimchi fried rice as I've had better elsewhere.

We also had The Big Island ($15), which comes with 2 eggs, 2 apple banana pancakes, potatoes, and choice of meat (Portuguese sausage, Spam, kalua pig, or bacon. We chose kahlua pig, which turned out to be a little bland. The apple banana pancakes were good, but a little dry and definitely didn't blow me away.

Overall, the service was good, but the food wasn't that great for me. I do like the items on the menu, the cool name, and the overall concept of the Hawaiian restaurant, but the flavors could be kicked up a notch. I am still a little curious to try their ahi poke.

My favorite weekend brunch item would have to be the Chicken Katsu. This is a solid brunch item that won't leave me hungry. With a generous portion of chicken and white/brown rice covered in mushroom sauce, it's the best option out there.

I also like the Spam and Cheese waffles. A great savory combination, but not enough protein for me personally. Of course anything covered in sweet sugar I will eat, but I digress.

Another delicious options is the Katsu moco, or Loco moco, and even Kalua Benedict.

I usually lick my plate clean, so no left over box for me, but many at my table tend to take something home.

Sundays, parking is tough because of the Farmer's Market happening on Clement and 4th. so I usually end up parking far away and hiking it in.