09/13/08

Two great Denver coffeehouses

by saintm

Common Grounds has two locations, and while different, they're both great examples of an urban coffee house. The Highlands location (the original) is still funky and comfortable, with sometimes wacky art and a variety of local musicians, and the Downtown location is convenient, cool, and absolutely non-corporate (hear that, Starbucks?). I've always found the staff friendly at both shops, and they make great coffee. I've never found either place dirty, and if things are a little cluttered, its certainly because of the brisk business that Common Grounds does. You can't go wrong with Common Grounds.

• Pros: Funky, unassuming atmosphere, no pressure to be cool and hip
• Cons: Highlands location has somewhat limited seating

07/16/07

2007 Review...

by buffalochef

I guess its easy to see that NOBODY has reviewed this spot for years. The reason, and I'm guessing here, bis we Highlanders are just too polite. "Food Snob", never reviews bad spots. They just dont deserve mention. But, I need to check in here. I've been going to CG's since they opened. YEARS !!! For just the meeting of neighborhood friends. In all those years the owner has never said "hi". Thats one ! Two... the place is dirty ! and 3, the coffee is just plain awful. Enough said. There are now 6 good coffee houses within walking distance and soon another. Who needs it. Get it together CG"s !!!

• Pros: Very "in" neighborhood
• Cons: service, coffee, parking, friendliness, thats enough

Excellent venue for the LoDo professional's tete-a-tete with friends and business colleagues.

by Contributor

In Short
The crisp decor here includes ornate suspended lighting fixtures, large front windows and dark woods used throughout. There's also bookshelves full of books and board games, bulletin boards advertising groovy events and an upright piano.
All the food --pies, cakes, cookies, sandwiches, salads, quiches and breakfast burritos--comes from different vendors. But the real draw is the full coffee bar plus a fine selection of teas. The high-quality coffee is imported from Colorado's Breckenridge Coffee Roasters.

07/09/04

Just around the corner

by the_knew_girl

My boyfriend and I like to go here to get something yummy to drink and sit around and play games. That's the kind of thing you do at Common Grounds. It's a great hang-out spot where you don't have to worry if you're the prettiest person there or not. Try their hot chocolate!

• Pros: Good drinks, Good atmosphere

01/14/03

Keeping it local...

by gypsytiger

Common Grounds has a great location, wonderful food with lots of choices (oh, the pies!), and good coffee to boot. Nice, quiet atmosphere during the day; good for us book & coffee lovers. BUT - they don't accept credit/debit cards. I rarely carry cash anymore, so sometimes I have to go somewhere else for my caffeine fix... Otherwise, this is definitely one of my local faves.

• Pros: Location, Comfy, Books/computers
• Cons: Cash & check only

12/12/02

making impact on coffee in denver!

by spikerx

Common Grounds has consistently put forth great coffee for the common man. They work hard to maintain that funky coffee house atmosphere without raping your wallet for a great cupofjoy/joe...I dont often review but I drive 20 miles to buy their beans which they have only recently begun roasting themselves in small batches and the coffee couldnt be more fresh. I am really pleased with the small batch roast and the flavor consistency and the aroma of the organic sumatra is absolutely perfect.

10/31/02

Uncommonly Bad Coffee

by FarmerNed

Common Grounds is all about atmosphere--but not about good tasting coffee. Their espresso is horribly over roasted and bitter--which makes for terrible Americanos, Lattes, et al. Creepy old college professor types scope young women from behind their newspapers, while neighborhood yuppies line up for an average cuppa joe. The coffee jerks behind the counter are generally slow--the male ones, not the female ones. If you want a great cup of coffee with service to match, try Kaladi Bros. coffee near the University of Denver.