The Grove Cafe & Market — Restaurant in Albuquerque

The Grove is an American fast casual restaurant in downtown Albuquerque on Central near Highland Park.

The restaurant has a private parking lot, though it’s not very large and you may need to search for street parking along Walter St. Be aware you will need a zone permit to park directly adjacent to the restaurant on Walter from 8am-5pm each day, so you’ll need to park farther down and walk.

The Grove has indoor and patio seating. The seating is metal chairs without sides, so large-bodied people will have no issue and will feel comfortable. Wheelchair users will have no issues either, as there are no steps and the chairs can be easily moved.

Patrons order at the counter and get a table number, after which your food is dropped off. The Grove does not have table/full service, so filling waters, getting condiments, etc, will be the diner’s responsibility.

I had the Organic Egg White Frittata, which typically comes with cremini mushrooms, roasted asparagus, roasted tomatoes, arugula salad, and is topped with pecorino cheese. I had the arugula held off on mine just because of personal preference.

The frittata was very good and the ingredients were high quality. It was cooked fresh (unlike quiche at some restaurants) and was a healthier selection. If having healthy options for breakfast/brunch food is important to you, The Grove will be a good choice and they are known for their well selected ingredients.

Be aware their portions aren’t the largest; you won’t be getting a loaded down breakfast platter. The online menus do not list prices. My frittata was $16.11 (with tax, excluding gratuity), so somewhat on the higher side price-wise for the volume of food, but the food is well made and high quality.

Overall a good experience and I’m excited to return to explore more...

We came here for the first time based on the great reviews, with people saying it's the best breakfast in Albuquerque. Maybe our expectations were too high because of that, but we were disappointed. The staff was friendly. We ordered the two specials: the eggs Benedict and the blueberry French toast, along with a blueberry muffin and an English muffin, because those are our two favorite things, even if the order seems a little redundant! The English muffin came to our table first. We knew they made their English muffins in house so we couldn't wait for this awesomeness. We were shocked at how bad it was. It cost $3, and I think they must toast them all in the morning before they open to get toast marks on them, but it was served to us stone cold and tough, as was the butter that they served us. Anyone who loves bread knows that the butter for it has to be soft and room temp. The whole point of an English muffin is to enjoy it soft and warm with butter melted into the nooks and crannies. "The meals will be better," we told ourselves, and waited for them to come. When they arrived, we were really surprised to find the same issue with both of them. The eggs Benedict hollandaise had great flavor, and the eggs were cooked perfectly, but the English muffin was stone cold. Even more surprising? The blueberry French toast was also stone cold. I don't think they cooked the bread at all. Again, the flavors were great, but rather than a crispy, crunchy piece of toast, it was completely soft and cold. On a freezing day, when we drove 20 minutes to have a well deserved special Sunday breakfast, it was a bummer to get served cold, uncooked bread. The recipes seem right. The execution and quality...

I moved to the neighborhood circa 2007 and as I lived alone, I would often frequent the Grove for breakfast. The owners always greeted me by name. The food was delicious, the staff attentive and for one brief moment, I would feel like anything was possible. Over the strong coffee, I could see my script to Hollywood and was dining in a hip Santa Monica retreat. I even contemplated writing a new script based on an interaction with a waitress who claimed she was a member of the Afghan royal family. I never wrote that script..

Now that I'm married, with a demanding schedule, I don't get to eat at the Grove as much as I would like. With my wife on the road and feeling nostalgic, I decided to take a trip up Memory Avenue for a breakfast.

I arrived at 8:05, just after it opened. The place was still coming to life, but already buzzing. I ordered the French Toast special and then took my seat in the airy restaurant. The coffee was still strong. The food was still delicious, light and yet savory. The service was still fantastic. With all the positive energy in the air, I really did feel like I was in a hip Santa Monica eatery and that my Afghan princess script had just been optioned by HBO.

By 8:45, the place was packed. The diners were diverse, but united in their love of good food. Stoll, I would advise you to come early.

While the possible Afghan princess waitress is long gone, one of the original owners greeted me by name as I took my...