Legal Grounds Coffee

Serving on a jury and looking for something in walking distance… found this place. No fussy décor (though I really like their seasonal Halloween decorations), just a great tuna melt with excellent and friendly service. If this trial continues I will go back for sure!

Best breakfast burritos in 3 counties. Believe it. Coffee is excellent too.

Cant give less than 1 star. Dirty and unsanitary place. The old guy with a white beard has issues. Starbucks isnt great but they are at least clean and just down the street. Pass this place at all cost!

Not clean at all — I mean unsanitary. Dirty floor and countertop. Dusty items on shelves. Woman with 3 inch nails made my lunch. No plastic gloves in sight.
I paid close to $ 6 for cold soup and stale crackers and I am mad.
If the owner were wise, he would quit cutting corners on things like crackers and fresh bread — old donuts looked like they had been sitting in that plastic stand at least two days — give the place a good thorough deep cleaning, maybe some decent paint instead of the dingy white on the walls, and instruct the staff on safe and sanitary handlinhg of food. The place is in an excellent location downtown. With a little money invested into the place and a good thorough cleaning, I would bet the owner could triple his profit because he is not a half bad cook.

My Mock Trial buddies said we were going to Legal Grounds to meet with everyone. I said, «Oh, I see what they did there. A coffeeshop in the court town. SuperLOL.»
Anyway, food is good. I had a pizza-​like thing that was delicious. Sorry that I can’t remember the name of it. I also had an ENORMOUS apple fritter that I didn’t finish eating for a few blocks. Nice place.
The owner/​operator is very nice. Funny too. I bet he’s a nice guy to get to know.

I love this place. I first found the place when I went on my first wine stroll through downtown Martinez. I went in for the wine taste and they also had little snacks from there café as well. Amazing wraps, just amazing. You can’t just grab one.
So after that experience I decided I had to try the place out for lunch. I ordered a sandwich that was just out of this world. The staff are nice and friendly and the owner is awesome.

Not from the area, navigating the frustrating streets of downtown Martinez, appalled you have to pay for parking to grab take out. This place seemed like a good choice, and it was. Adjacent to a subway, you will find it is worth the couple dollar premium. The quality of ingredients is incomparable to fast food! I had a well balanced wrap, fantastic service and friendly staff. A delightful light in the center of a dull feeling downtown.

I love meeting up with friends here for coffee. Great atmosphere and friendly people!

have always had great service. good drinks. strong espresso.
i would pass up the local starbucks for this place any day.

Catchy name, nice cup of Joe. In and out, clean and quiet. For legal eagles.

So, I’ve only stopped in for coffee and tea, so I can’t judge the food yet… but I can say that the friendly service has made me say «no» to Starbucks in Downtown Martinez. The coffee was fresh and the iced tea was perfect!

Outstanding breakfast burrito.
Had the Denver scramble veggie with hot salsa.
Fresh cheese and eggs that tasted like eggs!
Mocha was good as well.
I think Starbucks would go out of business if more people had taste buds.

The secret behind my numerous reviews is that I will always write a review even if I have only visited a place once. Even if all I bought there was a $ 1 Mexican pop. Hey, first impressions really do matter.
Not so for this place. I have probably been to this place close to 50 times over the years that it has been open. I can’t swear that it’s been run by the same person through those years. I have become familiar with the owner recently, once I actually moved to Martinez and he is always consistently friendly and accommodating. Service is sometimes slower as it is often just him running the place.
I feel so bad for him, because this place always seems empty while the Starbuck’s down the street is hopping. I don’t know why people shy away from independent coffee shops like this especially when the coffee is better than Starbuck’s (yes it is). On my last visit there, somebody actually came in to talk to the guy with a Starbuck’s drink in hand. I thought that was the rudest thing ever especially when they were discussing how slow his business had been going and whether he could come up with the money for something or other. Dang, that was cold!
Anyway, I’ve never tried the food but the drinks are always consistently decent. It won’t knock your socks off, but give the guy a break and walk an extra block to give him your business.

Delicious coffee, convenient location. And they make a mean tuna wrap!

With over an hour to kill before an event at the courthouse, my friends and I wandered into Legal Grounds. How could we resist the adorable name?
Despite the fact we came in just about 10 minutes before closing time, the owner was friendly and accommodating to our large group. I think we actually kept him a while past closing, but he remained good-​natured.
Unfortunately, he seems to run short-​handed judging by the few times I’ve visited, so our food took its time coming. However, the food was hot, made to order, and pretty swell.
For the price, the servings were average, but certainly filling. I ordered the toasted pepperjack chicken sandwich, which came on awesome crusty bread topped with melty goodness. I’ve also tried a frozen mocha coffee drink, which was delicious. My dining partners have generally stuck to the sandwiches and wraps, all with very positive feedback.
The warm service and solid food had me come back the next week, and I plan to go there next time I’m in Martinez. On one of my visits there was a $ 1 off any sandwich deal, which was a sweet bonus. Altogether, Legal Grounds has a punny name, a super-​sweet owner, and solid food. If you’re not in a rush, it’s definitely a good choice for a meal.

I’ve never actually tasted anything the sell there, but I’ve had one experience that really put me off.
My mom and I were perusing the local farmer’s market and had bought a couple of hot dogs and were looking for a place to eat them We figured if we went into Legal Grounds and bought a drink or muffin or something it’d cool to sit at their patio and eat our lunch.
We were wrong.
As soon as my mom went in to purchase something the cashier snapped at her that they don’t allow people to eat food from somewhere else on their patio. That’s all well and quite understandable, but whoever was working that morning shift must’ve gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.
What we found most curious is that they didn’t know for sure if my mom was just popping in to buy something while I rested and we’d be on our marry way. Even though their hunch was correct there are more tactful ways of informing potential customers of certain company policies. Taken aback we just cut our losses and walked down the street to Starbucks where they could care less.

I am all for eating local and independent. But this place is too lax. No one wears gloves while handling food, money, coffee, hair, you get the picture.
I was so disgusted to see that the very nice (don’t get me wrong they are nice) lady who took my order and money put her hands all over my bagel and handled a few more transactions and then smeared cream cheese on my bagel. Not once did she stop to wash her hands or put on gloves.
Then I realized all of the people that work here do the same thing. Gross. Can we say «Health Department Violation»!!!

Legal Grounds is the obvious choice for coffee/​drink if you are in downtown Martinez. They have everything you want in an independent coffee shop: I drink espresso and they do it right by me; my wife and friends enjoy their coffee very much; they have a wide variety of coffee drinks, juices, and smoothies; they also make really good breakfast and lunch wraps and salads; the counter is full of tasty treats; the staff has always been friendly and I think the owner is a very nice and charitable guy (the off-​putting comment is an unfair and unfounded generalization by one commenter on here.)

Decent beverages and snacks. The title made me stop in. I’m a sucker.

As most residents of Contra Costa County the time also arrived for me to serve my civic duty. in no other place but Martinez.
Of course what do you do with 1.5h lunch break between court sessions? You scope out downtown which pretty much is Main Street.
I didn’t have to go to far in the rain and found this place for lunch. I had the chicken mango peach wrap and it took me by surprise.
Not only was is cheap, but it tasted really great. So great in fact that I returned the very next morning for a veggie breakfast burritto and a soy mocha. Wow, I’m pretty particular about my coffee and most places use burned coffee. Not so legal grounds.
It’s now up there along with Panama Bay (and their coffee really rocks) on the awesome coffee scale. So awesome in fact that we drove there this morning from Concord, besides the storm and rain, to have breakfast.
The place was packed with locals and you instantly feel like you’re with friends. Strangers will strike up conversations with you and by the time you leave you’ll feel like «one of the guys.».
Highly recommend this place. During the week, parking in Martinez is challenging due to the surrounding court house buildings, weekends wasn’t a problem at all. I’ve since returned and also tried their chicken curry wrap… I’m definetly addicted. :)