Optimizing Inter-Service Communication: gRPC vs. REST for High-Performance Microservices?

Hey everyone, I'm setting up a new microservice system, and how fast these services talk to each other is super important. I'm looking at gRPC with Protocol Buffers and REST with JSON. gRPC usually performs better because of its binary data and HTTP/2, but REST is just so much easier to work with, and its tools are really good. Has anyone actually used gRPC in a production microservice setup where its speed was so much better it made up for how hard it was to learn or connect? Are there certain kinds of data or ways services communicate where one is a clear winner for speed and how much it can handle? What compromises did you have to make when you chose?