Starbucks — Restaurant in Mill Valley

Fear and Loathing at the Mill Valley Starbucks

Jesus, you could smell the authority from the parking lot — the sickly sweet stench of high-octane espresso mingled with the stale leather of badge holsters and the chemical tang of overcompensated cologne. I stumbled into the Starbucks near the high school this morning, looking for a fix — just coffee, black, no corporate charm — but instead found a scene straight out of some dystopian civics lesson gone sideways.

The place was crawling with uniforms — Mill Valley’s finest, puffed up and polished like prize hogs at the county fair. Two surgeons in tactical vests — or maybe just cops playing doctor — huddled with a gaggle of over-geared officers, sipping on $7 drinks and throwing back Frappuccinos like it was Mardi Gras in Mayberry. What were they doing? Community outreach? Sure. But the whole thing reeked of performance — bad performance. Cops pretending to be guidance counselors, leaning in like they were auditioning for a PTA-themed episode of "Cops: The Next Generation."

They weren’t just in the coffee shop. They were inhabiting it, like squatters in some commercial temple of teen angst and caffeine addiction. Not guarding, not policing — lurking. Watching the high school kids stream in, wide-eyed and bleary, still half in dreamland and now staring down the barrel of what passes for "friendly" in the law enforcement PR playbook.

You’d think they were selling mortgages or pitching summer camp — “Hi there, champ! Want to learn about fingerprint dusting over a caramel macchiato?” Christ. I wouldn’t let a kid within ten feet of that scene unless I wanted them to grow up thinking Orwell was writing romance.

This wasn’t community policing. This was the creeping militarization of the scone aisle. A $200-an-hour slow dance between law and latte. A bizarre, vaguely menacing high school mixer with tactical radios instead of prom corsages. No wonder the kids looked scared. I was scared too. I ordered my drink and got the hell out — no eye contact, just a fast retreat to the parking lot and a long, nervous sip.

Five stars for speed. Zero stars for vibes. Beware the sugar-slick smile of the...

I like this Starbucks as it is my closest local one I only have a few problems. First being in the morning on school days this place is packed and the baristas are going so fast it feels like they aren’t putting much work into your drink. I also was getting there new boba drink and i see a barista hand a plastic top to someone. I then ask for one for my boba and he says there are none and i would’ve been fine if they were out of tops but i saw him looks at the plastic lids and then say “we don’t have those” so this Starbucks is chaotic but if you come at the right time, it is...

stopped by this Starbucks the other day and honestly had such a good experience that i had to leave a review. The staff were all super welcoming soon as I walked in, and Jay was especially awesome. We had such a great convo while he was making my coffee, it didn’t even feel like the usual quick coffee stop. He made me feel like a regular even though it was my first time at this location. Everyone there just had good energy, super friendly vibe all around. Definitely gonna come back here again if i’m...