We stayed for the weekend and found this gem. We sat at the bar and Laurence our bar tender/server was fabulous. The food wasn’t too shabby either.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Corey Finkler
Bowdies never disappoints. Excellent presentation, their food tastes better than it looks, and it looks incredible.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Mac and Cheese, Crab Cakes, Soup of the Day, Cowboy Ribeye
Shayna Jones
Me and my family frequent Bowdies quite often. I have brought several of my family members here from out of town over the years. For the most part we have received great food and service, but our last couple visits have been going downhill with a lack of attention to detail and food quality and our most recent visit to Bowdies in East Grand Rapids, Michigan was by far the worst and may be our last. My husband and I went to Bowdies March 26, 2024 to celebrate our anniversary and the food was not at all good. We ordered a steak medium that came out well done on most pieces, and even burnt on the edges of some pieces, flavorless au gratin potatoes, cold mushrooms and tiny portion of Brussels and belly. We instantly alerted the waiter to our problem of overcooked steak to which he offered his opinion that it was close to medium except for 75% of the steak which was clearly well done. To that he offered us some Salt and pepper. My husband suggested a new steak be cooked. The manager, Emma came over to our table with somewhat of a blank stare. She didn’t really say why she stopped by, but we assumed she was coming to rectify the situation, or to at least find out what the issue was. We began to explain the mishaps of the evening with our food. And she nodded her head. At that point, our waiter, Manny, came over and told her he had everything under control, and she replied, “Oh OK, he’s handling you guys” and walked away. She never came back to see if everything turned out OK she never came back to see if we were content at all. No apology was offered, just no action as a manager. She passed us 4 times with no reaction or concern. The second round of food was much better, not great. The steak was MAJORITY fat and we order their steaks all the time. As we left, we found Emma by the bar, drinking, which maybe would have been fine had she handled us appropriately as guests. Needless to say, I will not be coming back here or recommending anyone to spend their money (Bowdies is not exactly cheap) when the service and food has gone so far down the drain.
We grabbed last minute reservations at the bar and it didn’t disappoint. The environment is lively and overall experience was great! Definitely favorite place to grab a steak in W MI.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Escargot, Gratin Potatoes, Caesar Salad
Allen Fiorletta
This place is a 2-star restaurant. Or at least it was for our visit on a typical Thursday evening. The steaks are Outback quality at best. There are MANY area restaurants that you will enjoy much more than Bodie's - and you'll likely end up saving a couple hundred bucks and enjoying the meal more!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Roberto Ramirez
Best Tomahawk I’ve ever
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tomahawk Steak
Gabs
Honestly, worst experience we have had in a long time as far as quality of food and lack of care. To start off, one table was so obnoxious we couldn't even hear each other talking. Understanding its not the staffs fault we tried to make the best of it. Appetizers and salads came. My caesar salad was so saturated in dressing it wasn't even realistic. I know to go for steaks, so I didn't say anything. I ordered a drink and asked for no ginger. After 20 mins of it not coming I reminded the server, and he brought it out. I then tried it, and could clearly taste ginger syrup. Told my waiter, he said "It shouldn't have any" I said I think they skipped the ginger beer but kept the ginger syrup. He said sorry. Did not offer to remake, another drink, nothing. Then the steaks came. My "medium plus" cowboy ribeye was GRAY and DRY. Someone as my table ordered the same steak medium, and it was bloody, another person ordered a filet medium plus and it was nice and pink throughout. When I brought it to my waiters attention he said "I see some pink" and walked away. I sat and had 2 bites. A manager came around and asked and I said I wasn't eating mine. They asked what was wrong, I showed her. No no steak, and I got charge for it. We frequent steakhouses downtown, we used to be big bowdies fan, but this is the 3rd time in a row and paying for a $72 gray, dry, steak and leaving hungry is not acceptable to me.
DanaDisla
Grand Rapids Top Place for a perfect steak! They never fail to impress with their exceptional tastes. Listening to Frank Sinatra, enjoying a drink, eating my steak, dimmed lighting, is a definition of a perfect night... drinks took a little long, at first, but it's not a big deal when the food and ambience is top tier.
Amber Koepsell
Came here to take my dad out for his Birthday, and it was a great experience! We had a late night reservation and we were seated early. It did take a few extra minutes for our waiter to come out, but we already had water on the table. We decided to start with two bowls of the shrimp bisque which was good, but you could definitely taste the heavy cream and this one is not for people who have a weak stomach (it’s rich!). I got the filet mignon (medium) and my dad got the Cowboy Ribeye (medium rare). Now, the server said the steaks are heavily salted, but I beg to differ. I would say they tasted great but if I had to be picky I would need a little more seasoning (no salt and pepper on tables). We also got the lobster Mac and cheese ($36) and the Au Gratin potatoes. The Mac and cheese was very rich and it was pretty good, worth $36? Not so sure, but the lobster was a little overcooked. The potatoes were good, but the bottom was a little burnt and hard to cut through. Lastly, we had a complimentary desert for his birthday, he picked the cheesecake, which was good as well but the crust was very sugary!Again, I’m just being extra transparent about my thoughts, but everything was great!Be prepared to spend a bunch, especially if you are getting anything you want;)Total bill was $240 for two people (2 glasses of wine too). This is the place you go for the experience otherwise I’d just have gone to Longhorn steakhouse lol.Kid-friendliness: I would not recommend bringing kids here unless they are 100% well behaved.
I've visited Bowdies twice and the first time was INCREDIBLE. The most recent (second) time, my husband and I went to celebrate our anniversary. The food was great but our server was very inattentive and ended up completely forgetting about us at the end of the meal (which was long after the dinner rush had left). We wanted to get dessert but it took so long for him to eventually come back that we just asked for the check (because we didn't want him to forget about us again). It was such an expensive meal to have subpar service and we didn't feel like it was worth it. If your odds are 50/50 of getting good service, I would find somewhere else to go.
Melissa
Our first visit and we were surprised on how outstanding everything was. The food was amazing and prices were great. Our new chophouse. We are looking forward to the summer to eat outside. A must visit.
Rah Rahmani
Had some of the best steak and potatoes, and they will take care of you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
MarcR
Great wine selection and service. The sommelier was fantastic. Correct lighting and noise level. The filet mignon and cheesecake were good not great. The beignets were unfortunately not done in the middle.
BrentK
Fantastic food in a very nice atmosphere. Server was very nice, but it felt a little casual for the price. I'd recommend to a friend but did feel the price was high for the overall experience.
We stayed for the weekend and found this gem. We sat at the bar and Laurence our bar tender/server was fabulous. The food wasn’t too shabby either.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bowdies never disappoints. Excellent presentation, their food tastes better than it looks, and it looks incredible.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Mac and Cheese, Crab Cakes, Soup of the Day, Cowboy Ribeye
Me and my family frequent Bowdies quite often. I have brought several of my family members here from out of town over the years. For the most part we have received great food and service, but our last couple visits have been going downhill with a lack of attention to detail and food quality and our most recent visit to Bowdies in East Grand Rapids, Michigan was by far the worst and may be our last. My husband and I went to Bowdies March 26, 2024 to celebrate our anniversary and the food was not at all good. We ordered a steak medium that came out well done on most pieces, and even burnt on the edges of some pieces, flavorless au gratin potatoes, cold mushrooms and tiny portion of Brussels and belly. We instantly alerted the waiter to our problem of overcooked steak to which he offered his opinion that it was close to medium except for 75% of the steak which was clearly well done. To that he offered us some Salt and pepper. My husband suggested a new steak be cooked. The manager, Emma came over to our table with somewhat of a blank stare. She didn’t really say why she stopped by, but we assumed she was coming to rectify the situation, or to at least find out what the issue was. We began to explain the mishaps of the evening with our food. And she nodded her head. At that point, our waiter, Manny, came over and told her he had everything under control, and she replied, “Oh OK, he’s handling you guys” and walked away. She never came back to see if everything turned out OK she never came back to see if we were content at all. No apology was offered, just no action as a manager. She passed us 4 times with no reaction or concern. The second round of food was much better, not great. The steak was MAJORITY fat and we order their steaks all the time. As we left, we found Emma by the bar, drinking, which maybe would have been fine had she handled us appropriately as guests. Needless to say, I will not be coming back here or recommending anyone to spend their money (Bowdies is not exactly cheap) when the service and food has gone so far down the drain.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great food and fantastic evening out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallop Potatoes, Tiramisu Cake, Shrimp Bisque
We grabbed last minute reservations at the bar and it didn’t disappoint. The environment is lively and overall experience was great! Definitely favorite place to grab a steak in W MI.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Escargot, Gratin Potatoes, Caesar Salad
This place is a 2-star restaurant. Or at least it was for our visit on a typical Thursday evening. The steaks are Outback quality at best. There are MANY area restaurants that you will enjoy much more than Bodie's - and you'll likely end up saving a couple hundred bucks and enjoying the meal more!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Best Tomahawk I’ve ever
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tomahawk Steak
Honestly, worst experience we have had in a long time as far as quality of food and lack of care. To start off, one table was so obnoxious we couldn't even hear each other talking. Understanding its not the staffs fault we tried to make the best of it. Appetizers and salads came. My caesar salad was so saturated in dressing it wasn't even realistic. I know to go for steaks, so I didn't say anything. I ordered a drink and asked for no ginger. After 20 mins of it not coming I reminded the server, and he brought it out. I then tried it, and could clearly taste ginger syrup. Told my waiter, he said "It shouldn't have any" I said I think they skipped the ginger beer but kept the ginger syrup. He said sorry. Did not offer to remake, another drink, nothing. Then the steaks came. My "medium plus" cowboy ribeye was GRAY and DRY. Someone as my table ordered the same steak medium, and it was bloody, another person ordered a filet medium plus and it was nice and pink throughout. When I brought it to my waiters attention he said "I see some pink" and walked away. I sat and had 2 bites. A manager came around and asked and I said I wasn't eating mine. They asked what was wrong, I showed her. No no steak, and I got charge for it. We frequent steakhouses downtown, we used to be big bowdies fan, but this is the 3rd time in a row and paying for a $72 gray, dry, steak and leaving hungry is not acceptable to me.
Grand Rapids Top Place for a perfect steak! They never fail to impress with their exceptional tastes. Listening to Frank Sinatra, enjoying a drink, eating my steak, dimmed lighting, is a definition of a perfect night... drinks took a little long, at first, but it's not a big deal when the food and ambience is top tier.
Came here to take my dad out for his Birthday, and it was a great experience! We had a late night reservation and we were seated early. It did take a few extra minutes for our waiter to come out, but we already had water on the table. We decided to start with two bowls of the shrimp bisque which was good, but you could definitely taste the heavy cream and this one is not for people who have a weak stomach (it’s rich!). I got the filet mignon (medium) and my dad got the Cowboy Ribeye (medium rare). Now, the server said the steaks are heavily salted, but I beg to differ. I would say they tasted great but if I had to be picky I would need a little more seasoning (no salt and pepper on tables). We also got the lobster Mac and cheese ($36) and the Au Gratin potatoes. The Mac and cheese was very rich and it was pretty good, worth $36? Not so sure, but the lobster was a little overcooked. The potatoes were good, but the bottom was a little burnt and hard to cut through. Lastly, we had a complimentary desert for his birthday, he picked the cheesecake, which was good as well but the crust was very sugary!Again, I’m just being extra transparent about my thoughts, but everything was great!Be prepared to spend a bunch, especially if you are getting anything you want;)Total bill was $240 for two people (2 glasses of wine too). This is the place you go for the experience otherwise I’d just have gone to Longhorn steakhouse lol.Kid-friendliness: I would not recommend bringing kids here unless they are 100% well behaved.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I've visited Bowdies twice and the first time was INCREDIBLE. The most recent (second) time, my husband and I went to celebrate our anniversary. The food was great but our server was very inattentive and ended up completely forgetting about us at the end of the meal (which was long after the dinner rush had left). We wanted to get dessert but it took so long for him to eventually come back that we just asked for the check (because we didn't want him to forget about us again). It was such an expensive meal to have subpar service and we didn't feel like it was worth it. If your odds are 50/50 of getting good service, I would find somewhere else to go.
Our first visit and we were surprised on how outstanding everything was. The food was amazing and prices were great. Our new chophouse. We are looking forward to the summer to eat outside. A must visit.
Had some of the best steak and potatoes, and they will take care of you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great wine selection and service. The sommelier was fantastic. Correct lighting and noise level. The filet mignon and cheesecake were good not great. The beignets were unfortunately not done in the middle.
Fantastic food in a very nice atmosphere. Server was very nice, but it felt a little casual for the price. I'd recommend to a friend but did feel the price was high for the overall experience.