48 Best American Restaurants in Grand Rapids

“Highly recommend dining here. Everything we had from appetizers to main course was outstanding. The staff went above and beyond and were very friendly. It was by far the best quality dining out meal we have had in a long time. 5 stars!“

“Unique and creative craft food and drink menu, all reasonable priced. Staff is friendly and professional. Best river front restaurat in Grand Rapids. Plenty of FREE parking after 5pm. Highly recommend if you're looking for a new dining experience. They will not disappoint!“

“Was in tonight for dinner in GR on the front patio with a couple girlfriends and we were approached by a homeless man who tried to grab our bags. I’m reaching out to praise your manager and the rest of the staff for taking our concerns seriously and jumping into action. Top notch team you’ve got there. You were already a go to spot for us, but even moreso now. Thank you for a great spot, delicious menu, and for making your patrons safety a top priority!!“

“Mark was Awesome! Food Was Awesome and drinks were Fantasic! We are sooooo happy we stopped in here!“

“Great for the gluten free community! I’m not gluten free myself, my wife is, I vouch for the food’s quality and deliciousness, especially the wraps!“

“Phenomenal experience all around 🙌🏻❤️“

“This place has socialize on the way but if you're having too much fun they'll tell you they have to serve another table amd tneed you to cash out. If you want to have fun and socialize...I Do NOT recommend you go to West Sife Socal because that is not the vibe of this place. More like ANTI social!!! Don't go...parking and socializing is terrible.“

“Love the diner feel. The food is amazing, fast. the staff super friendly. We will definitely be back.“

“I’m being 199% honest; this place, this experience is the most amazing experience I have ever had in my entire existence. It’s like this place was literally created for me by the universe/my subconsci“

“My girlfriends and I met at Blue Water for dinner tonight. Our waiter named Will made our dinner so enjoyable and fun. Our dinner came out so fast and the food was delicious. We split a dessert that we all didn’t care for. The General Manager Sheena came over immediately and offered us to try something different. She brought us a new dessert. She was so sweet and personable.“

“Food and service was excellent Bartender Christopher was excellent Drinks were amazing as well Vanilla sky, espresso Yoself, tin something c at remember , all good We had the deviled eggs, bbq sliders, fish and chips and the duck 🦆 eggrolls“

“I absolutely love this place .. great customer service reasonable prices. Fast service 10/10 ⭐️“

“thanks 🙏🏽 the family is doing good“

“Had dinner here last night with some girlfriends before a show at DeVos. The fries and sauces are amazing! But the highlight? The elephant ear with vanilla ice cream!!! Our server did an excellent job and we loved the outdoor seating!“

“Applebees is always a classic for "fine dining." Food is good, however some consider it slightly overpriced.
I enjoy the Shark Bowl drink. Though a lot of the times they don't seem to have the gummy sharks to put in them. Last week I got a gummy strawberry in my Shark Bowl instead of a Shark!
It was still good though!“

“Grand Rapids’ oldest restaurant keeps its tradition and outstanding record alive. My go-to is the Crab Cake Benedict that is without rival. The service and attention to patrons’ preferences, etc. are without equal. Tom truly makes the culinary experience complete, and rest of the staff are equally as adept at making an outing to the Cherie Inn truly memorable. Bravo to Michael and his crew!“

“We only stopped and did not eat. We asked a couple of questions and the host was very helpful and pleasant. It is a cozy little place and is bigger than it looks from the outside. I'd love to stop by another time and actually try it out.

Parking: There is one handicap and two regular parking spots in the tiny parking lot. You'll almost certainly want to park on the street or a nearby parking lot instead. I wouldn't recommend Sweet Street west of Plainfield for parking, though. It is a busier and narrow street and the laundry mat across the street complicates things. Maybe park at the school on the east side of Plainfield?“

“Everybody enjoyed their meal choices...cooked perfectly. No doubt we'll be back when in town.

Vegetarian options: Best baked spinach artichoke dish ever! Better than homemade. The walley fish selection was awesome. Dittoes for the buttered pasta dish. Fish and chips...kind of small portion ...fish was excellent not so the fries. Bravo to whoever handles the kitchen!“

“Great food and service 👌“

“The Old Goat restaurant was so good. Service was top notch. Our server Bailey was new and did a great job!“

“Friendly people, great service, the food is delicious. Like it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“

“We are a Greek family and love the Greek dishes that Leo's Coney Island offers. We have dined there frequently, often bring friends. The food is always good and the service fantastic. That being said; however, we have decided not to dine there any longer during the cold months, as the owner chooses to keep the dining room quite frigid. We heat our home at 68 degrees and are comfortable at that temp. We have tried mutliptle visits to Leo's Coney Island this winter...and each time the dining room has always been uncomfortablly chilly. When we pay to go out to eat, dining with our winter coats on and still being cold is not a relaxing or enjoyable dining experience. We gave it another try last night visiting around 5:30pm (hoping the furnace was turned up). The dining area was extremely C-O-L-D! This could be why there were not many customers there? We asked the waitress if the heat could be turned up, and she replied, "No, the only person allowed to adjust the temperature is the owner, and he is not here". NOTE to Owner: Saving money by turning down the heat in the cold of winter does not provide a pleasant dining experience for your customers and certainly cannot be good for your business! So...we'll see you in the summer?.... ~ Chuck and Denise Antonopulos“

“I had a great experience at Olives tonight. Everyone from the hostess (Elise) to our waitress (Emily) exemplified great customer service. A couple of my favorites were the brussel sprouts and the lychee drink. We will be back!“

“Had the best service! Will definitely come back!“

“First time here and everything was great! The food was amazing, good portions. We all ordered perch, walleye, tenderloins, prime rib, burger, Caesar salad, and everything was great! Rachael, our server was top-notch and made the evening enjoyable.“

“I had the meatloaf and it was delicious, now I have to go back and try the shrimp pesto😀“

“We were immediately seated when we arrived. The service was good. The guys thought the stout and flights were tasty. I ordered the Traverse City Reisling which is always good. For dinner we ordered the special bacon Mac and cheese (a favorite), the mushroom pizza (amazing wood-fired pizza with several types of mushrooms and cheeses), the Pad Thai (a large serving of deliciousness), and the acorn squash special.“

“We came to try out the city sen restaurant. My husband had the mushroom goat cheeseburger. He said it was juicy and flavorful --no condiments necessary. I had the beef quesadillas. although this was on the shareable menu, it was quite large enough for me as a meal. The food was good, but it was the little amenities that made it very special --the unique silverware, carafe of ice water and pleasant ambient music in a modern setting made it a very special place for our date. It was fun to people watch through the open air windows. ( they fold close to keep in the AC if needed )Alex the manager shared with us some things we want to come back for, live music, etc. definitely planning to go back!

Wheelchair accessibility: The restrooms are quite large with low sinks and wide stalls. Although they are on the lower level, the elevator is also large and quite quick.“

“We ate here for the first time tonight and loved everything about it. We got the bread board, Wagyu steak dinner, turkey and polenta ravioli and for dessert we got the s’more! Everything from start to finish was outstanding. So much flavor. We loved the complimentary taster and drink at the beginning of the meal. The staff were all so kind and knowledgeable. This (in my opinion) is by far the best restaurant in GR. We wish we’ve known about it sooner. We can’t wait to go back!“

“Excellent food with a creative menu and variety of choices. Everything was so fresh and tasty!“

“Just visited last night and the staff and the atmosphere was amazing! Highly recommend!!!“

“Great place! The staff is awesome, the food is good, and there’s always amazing music!“

“Amazing!! This is the burger spot you HAVE to check out if you’re in Grand Rapids. Such cool vibes and killer burgers. Service was super attentive and made our experience even better giving us recommendations for tourist spots in the area. Will be going back for one of their incredible burgers and spicy fries! The Queso was unbelievable!“

“Who can go wrong with BBQ, and Smokey Bones knows their BBQ. Food and drinks are amazing. Shout out to the friendly and professional bartender Kelsey for making the visit extra enjoyable.“

“This was my first time at this restaurant and I can say that the food was very good . Braylin C was my server and she was nice and gave great recommendations from the drink menu. Things was busy so there was a bit of wait but Braylin made sure I was good“

“Today was the first time I had been at a TGI Fridays in 20 years. Funny thing is it hasn't changed. Nice to experience a little Nostalgia from time to time. Remind me of the time my mate and I would ride our sport bikes every Sunday to TGI Fridays As a treat for a week of hard work and sitting there today brought back those memories. For that I am grateful for this TGI Fridays.

The server was amazing, polite, and courteous friendly and went out of his way to make sure my friends and I were happy.“

“Excellent service! Delicious food! My only issue (which doesn’t change my rating) would be the strong fish smell that smacks you when you walk in. But apparently if you’re a dude there are urinal games! I won’t post a picture though… not very appetizing to see a urinal when trying to find good food!“

“Seen a post about them and decided to try them out and I’m happy I did! They are very nice and the food is very good! Definitely recommend, it’s worth a try.“

“greetings to you my name is Dr Ogbebu am a herbal practitioner and am specialized in diseases and virus with my herbal exploit,I cure different kinds of sickness such as : herpes Parkinson fibroids“

“This place is the absolute best! I love everything I’ve tried from here. The espresso chocolate cookies may just be the best cookie I’ve ever had. Their pizzas are amazing too! I really love the Kosovo pizza. The burek with the spicy red pepper sauce is my absolute favorite! All of the scones and patties I’ve tried from here I would order again (and I’ve tried plenty). This place deserves so much hype it’s absolutely outstanding! From the food to the employees/customer service, this place is an 12/10!!“

“Great staff, good drinks.“

“Great menu selection, great service.. the sweet potato breakfast - I do not recommend… 🤷🏼‍♀️ went out elsewhere for a 2nd breakfast..“

“The food was delicious and very filling! I highly recommend if you are visiting Grand Rapids to check this place out!“

“Went in to watch Tiger game - had mysic on but once Rob Butler realized it was the first playoff game in 10 yrs he had the play by play turned on. It was electric!! People jumping around! Great pizza and ask for Amber to wait on you.“

“This place has excellent service and down home cooking. The Soulfood wrap with extra yams is top notch, so much flavor. The meatloaf tastes like your mom made it, tender and saucy. I like it and the pork chop smothered in gravy, but you can get it without. The collards are exceptional. The corn bread is soft with a slight crust and just a little sweet. And the banana pudding is so luxurious and just the right amount of sweetness.“

“Kristy/Christy the bar tender was awesome. Knowledgeable and great service. My first time ever at Bagger Dave’s:) Food was delicious!“

“This is a great place to eat and drink! Service is fantastic! The Chef brought us a couple samples of ribs and asked our thoughts. We did order the ribs they were yummy!“