The Grove

The Grove was a chain of locally own casual restaurants around SF, with a few locations scattered across town.  I always thought of them as mostly a brunch place, but, they are open for lunch and dinner daily as well.  The original location was open from 1999 – 2013, a second one opened in 2002, and another one, near my house, opened in 2010.  2011 added yet another, as did 2017.  Sadly, the pandemic lead all but one to shutter, the one near my house.

"We make honest, thoughtfully crafted comfort food. We’re independently owned, open long hours; warm, woodsy, eclectic, indoor/outdoor, with a zillion details and oozing with soul."

The Grove serves breakfast every day until 4pm, which likely explains why it is a brunch place in my head.  They have all the expected brunch classics - avocado toast, eggs benny, french toast, breakfast sandwiches, a healthy chia bowl, etc.  Lunch is mostly salads and sandwiches, and in the evening they add a few more substantial entrees like roast chicken, ribs, mac and cheese, and pot pie.  Or, um, a breakfast burrito.   It seems quite busy on weekends, despite generally lackluster Yelp reviews.

One thing that impresses me about The Grove is that their desserts are all made in house.  The lineup contains several cakes (including a birthday cake, which, is always fun, even if not your birthday!), cookies that are baked fresh all day long, brownies that are gluten-free even, and seasonal offerings like a fruit crisp.  And, what really caught my eye: banana cream pie.  I think pre-pandemic, they had even more pies available.

So one evening, when I was ordering groceries from elsewhere on DoorDash, I was drawn in by the "DoubleDash" feature that allows you to add on to your order from somewhere else close by for no additional fees.  I easily added a dessert on to my grocery order, and waited patiently for my pie to arrive.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

Takeout Bag.

Maybe I was just having an emotional day, but, the takeout bag from The Grove really made me smile.  The "The Grove <3s you!" sticker was hand written, and, I know they don't really care who I am or anything about me, but, it made me smile and feel appreciated for ordering, as silly as that sounds.

Banana Cream Pie. $8.25.

The pie was packaged in a box fairly big, and it certainly didn't do great in transit.  That said, who needs their pie to look good?

It was ... highly average pie.  The crust not particularly buttery nor flaky, not the kind of crust you steal from those who don't like crust.  I adore pie crust, so that was the biggest letdown.  It tasted a touch stale.  

The filling was also highly average.  A thick pastry cream, fresh slices of banana, and whipped cream.  No extra touches like caramel or chocolate lining the shell.  All fine, but, not remarkable.  There was a dusting of cocoa on top, no other chocolate elements.

Basically, average but slightly not fresh tasting crust, average fillings.  I wouldn't get it again, and needed to add caramel sauce to mine to jazz it up a bit at home.  A low ***, because it is still pie and whipped cream after all.