Stopped into Daily Grind for breakfast after a sunrise walk on the beach, and it was the perfect…read moreway to start the day. The vibe was welcoming and exactly what you'd hope for from a local beach coffee shop. The staff were friendly and made us feel right at home. We ordered a couple of cold brews, bagels, a bacon, egg & cheese breakfast sandwich, and a cinnamon roll. Everything was fresh and hit the spot. The cinnamon roll was good, though compared to some of the best I've had I'd give it about a 7.6/10. Overall, Daily Grind is definitely worth a visit if you're in Surf City. Great coffee, friendly service, and a laid-back beach-town atmosphere make it an easy recommendation.

Cute spot! The daily grind was recommended in the guest book at our Airbnb, so we popped on in. It…read morehad mostly locals, it seemed, and getting into it involved walking through a bar, but no biggie. The shop was well-staffed and they took our order right away. I got an Iced Americano and bagel with cream cheese. They made my iced Americano nice and strong, which is all I ever ask. Also, the bagel was delicious even though I had to wait a little bit for them to get it made. They did get busy pretty fast, so I wouldn't doc them for this reason. You can tell this is a family owned place because there is memorabilia from the owner and the owner's late husband all over. I loved the portrait that said, "don't sweat the small sh*t, and it's all small sh*t." Truer words were never spoken! Overall, solid place to pop in for your caffeine fix!

You push open the door and get hit with that sweet mix of fresh espresso, salty air, and coconut…read moresunscreen somebody tracked in from the beach. The whole little surf town coffee shop hums like a porch party after Sunday service and the locals lined shoulder to shoulder chatting with one another while waiting for their morning caffeine injection. The walls were painted in those happy, sun-washed colors only a beach town could get away with -- coral orange, seafoam greens, faded turquoise -- like somebody scooped the whole coastline up and brushed it across the room. Art for sale covered nearly every inch, layered together like treasures collected over a lifetime near the tide. Nothing matched perfectly, and that's what made it beautiful. The staff moved through that little café like sunshine with shoes on -- all easy smiles, loud laughs, and hearts so big you could feel 'em the second you walked through the door. Every single one of them treated strangers like cousins comin' in from outta town. Honey, baby, darlin' floated through the air sweeter than the vanilla syrup steaming behind the counter. Their coffee was smooth enough to make you close your eyes after the first sip and forget every worry you walked in carrying. Rich, dark, and velvety without a single bitter note, it tasted like slow mornings on a wraparound porch with the ocean humming somewhere nearby. It felt less like being served and more like being welcomed home! Cheers!!

ALWAYS a go to! Amazing coffee and even more amazing staff. The friendliest people you'll ever meet…read moreat Topsail.

We were coming here for our vacation. It gets busy during the brunch hours. The line was out the…read moredoor. But there was plenty of seating indoor and outdoors. It looks like a house converted into a cafe. It would be a great place to work or study here. I got the coconut bowl, which was a little bit runny. I wish it was more thick and creamier with some honey to sweeten it. The BLAT was really good. I loved the paprika paired with the avocado.

Do not get the matcha here. Stick to açaí bowls & food. They don't have a whisk for the matcha &…read morejust pour it into milk.

Sugar Island is a cozy used book store, that sells pastries, coffee and a few vintage items and…read moreantiques. I loved the store from the moment I walked in, with the quirky ceiling and stacks of old books. There are two floors of books with scattered vintage items here and there. Downstairs, I found the coffee and pastries. I picked up a Raspberry Crisp to take home. All the cookies looked yummy. Upstairs, there are children's books in a section and then other adult books. I could have spent hours browsing. The staff as welcoming and friendly. There is plenty of parking in the little strip mall. This is a fun, independently-owned, place for a book lover to come on a rainy (or sunny) day.

Great bookstore and coffee shop. Wide variety of books, plus local jams and other foods, decor,…read morecoffee and I think pastries. We had just had breakfast so were here for the books. We each found something cool. Service was great. Prices a little high, but, you're at the beach. Easy access, decent parking. Definitely would come back.

Since moving back to NC in September bestie and I have been geocaching and dining our way around…read morecoastal NC and having a blast. We wanted to start our new year off with a bang so, January 1 found us here on our 1st stop to pick up a cache. I was quite surprised to find the Cafe open and even more surprised to meet the new owners! We talked at length about their new café and about geocaching and how we were glad to find a cache at a local business. It was a very cold and blustery morning so when we found our way in from the cold I had the most delicious hot cocoa I have ever had in my life. It was made with whole milk, whipped cream and even had a smattering of chopped peppermint as a topper. Bestie had herself a coffee that she also said was delicious. Because it was cold we didn't have any of the ice cream offerings but I am a gelato aficionado and told them we will most definitely be back in the spring/summer months. If you find your way down to Surf City, you'll be doing your taste buds a favor by stopping in for your preferred beverage or pastry. They even have protein items to dine on! I didn't get any pics of the interior or my cocoa but bestie did and hopefully she'll post a review soon too. Thank you for the wonderful conversation and even more so for the best hot cocoa in my 60 years! It warmed both my body and soul.

We visited family from Florida, and this place was probably my favorite stop. The lovely woman at…read morethe counter was very helpful when I ask questions about coffee and flavors. I got a decaf iced caramello which was caramel and marshmallow syrup and it was delicious!!! The place also was very beachy and clean, and very inviting! I wish this was my local coffee shop and hope to comeback when I come back to town!!!

Pretty solid bacon egg & cheese. Drive through and parking lot was easy to access and the servers…read morewere sweet. I enjoyed my food but wish my hashbrowns were a little more crispy. Good coffee but not as good as other Dunkins' I've been to.

The store was clean and bright, and a pleasant and competent employee was stationed at the register…read moreto take orders. They got my standard coffee and a very complex mix (to me, my daughter ordered it) in an iced coffee correct. Both the cruller and the blueberry cake donuts were on the dry side; the jelly was good. The selection was not vast.

I found it very pricey, but my perspective on value for money paid should not affect anyone's…read moredecision to try this place out. Furthermore I decided that a 5-Star review is still owed, since "price" should be a matter of perspective and not something that should cost a good business a star. That being said, I got exactly what I ordered and it was delicious!! It was the perfect way to start my day at the beach. My bagel was perfectly toasted and I could taste all of the flavors I asked for. I stepped outside to sit under the sunshine while I waited for my order, and to my surprise they brought it outside for me. Overall a great experience and I would definitely do it again.

Bagels were delicious, service was fast, definitely a 'grab and go' place as there is no indoor…read moreseating and only seating outside is a few benches while waiting for your order. Parking is chaotic and it is busy so be mindful of that when coming! Very small shop and there will most likely be a line out the door depending when you go

Best donuts around! Kids loved them, they were a nice treat for the beginning of a great beach day!read more

Despite a couple scathing reviews I've written over the years, I really try hard to only do good…read moreYelp reviews simply because posting a bad review unfairly is playing with a person's livelihood. That being said, I feel like this review should be viewed more as a public service announcement. Call it what you want, it ain't good, but neither are these donuts, so there's that... Just this morning, my wife asked me what kind of donuts I wanted, and my exact response was, "I don't care. A bad donut is better than a good bagel any day, so get me whatever." About 30 minutes later, I was proven wrong AND introduced to the only bad donut I've ever eaten. First of all, understand going into this place that chaos theory is their business model. By that I mean this: whatever your vision of a "donut" is, flip it upside down and inside out, and then make it all way more complex and intricate than it needs to be, and that's what you're going to get here. If the idiomatic phrase "too clever by half" were a donut place, it would be this donut place because they take a simple donut and turn it into a Rube Goldberg device that just isn't as good as it is complex. As far as texture goes, think of a donut in your head. Whatever your favorite is, think of that. You may think of sweet, dense, cakey donuts capable of holding tons of toppings (think Dunkin), or you may think of the uber-sweet, light-and-fluffy donuts glazed and hot off the conveyor belt (think Krispy). Now that you've pictured that, mash them both up together. Take a cake donut and treat it like a "hot off the belt" donut while frying it in oil that's too cold so it absorbs too much grease. Cakey donuts and Krispy donuts, they aren't the same, friends, and they shouldn't be treated the same because what you're going to get if you do is nothing like the donut in your head. Next, flavor-wise, understand that these donuts are basically made from slightly more dense pancake batter. That's it, and not much sweeter I might add, and definitely nothing special. Here's where the whole thing goes off the rails though. They take all of these steaming round rings of run-of-the-mill and douse them with thin coats of whatever you want on them, and none of whatever they're putting on these convoluted collars of cake ends up as a solid covering; it all turns to a puddle of liquid disaster surrounding this so-called donut. You want a Boston cream? Well, they douse the whole thing in a watery chocolate glaze and slap a dollop of vanilla pudding into the hole of said disappointment. There! Done! You want a maple bacon donut? Well, kiss the maple goodbye, glaze it with something watery and too sweet, sprinkle it with sugar, and throw some bacon on top. There! Done! All in all, these were just really bad donuts that tasted like pancakes (I love pancakes, but these wouldn't even qualify as decent pancakes!). I'm sure it's a local novelty, and I'm sure they have cultivated a cult following of good ole southern Karens, Kens, and their kids, but I'm also sure their product doesn't live up to the definition of what a donut is in its most basic form. I have to assume they have survived because they are the only donut shop in the area, and they have the market cornered. I won't be a repeat customer, but good luck to you if you choose to try these, and I hope they're better than the two boxes I have that are going down for the dog to eat the second my wife turns her back.