Great atmosphere great service beautiful view of the city good appetizers recommend you try them out
Jaime Sue Williams
My husband and I ate at Mertens Prime for my birthday. We had a 5pm reservation and when we arrived had to wait 15 minutes to be seated.
The food was wonderful but the service was slow. Until almost 6:30pm we were the only people seated at a table. Only 2 people came in to the bar prior to that time as well. The biggest issue was the wait time for cocktails. Each time we ordered a drink it took 15-20 minutes for our drinks. The second time we ordered drinks and our waiter came to check on us after it had been 15 minutes past ordering, I asked about them. He checked and found out one was done but was told the bartender did not have the ingredients to make the other. So we had to order a different one and the bartender had not told anyone about the issue.
With being the only people in the restaurant I do not feel that we should have had to wait that long for drinks. I watched the bartender wander away from the bar several times, sometimes in the middle of making drinks for a couple of minutes, once with what looked like her phone.
Our waiter did not seem to follow through with making sure the drinks were made within a decent amount of time. He, as well as other staff, were often in back so this did not help with following through with the checking in on her performance.
We ended up being at the restaurant for over 2 hours, a significant amount of that time sitting and waiting for our drinks.
mkkline
AVOID!!! The food had potential, but it was all cold. From the escargot, to the steak, to the coffee…literally everything was room temp at best. My cassoulet came out still partially frozen. The manager said “maybe too much food was under the warmer” and that “maybe the packet didn’t thaw out completely.” I’m sorry, but for this price, the food should be fresh and not just thawed out. It was extremely slow service as well, took 3.5 hours to eat. Will NEVER be back. They claim a staffing shortage, but maybe they should just close if they can’t keep up.
Sarah S.
Came her for a pre-dinner drink. The place is smaller than what I was expecting but the view was lovely, and we did end up getting 2 barstools by the edge. The drinks were good, and we ordered their cheese platter. It's open seating but heard you can get on the list if you have dinner at Mertens prime.
Jenna Zimmerman
Drinks were good, view was beautiful. Service was decent. Only problem was that the shade was limited on the patio. Not the worst problem.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4
Roetorooter
Really just kind of meh.$17 cocktails are a sham for what you get, you're essentially paying a premium for the view. It's worth one visit, but not worth a 2nd visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Matt O
Super disappointed. Drinks were very expensive, unusually small and bad tasting. $43 for a low pour wine and a half glass of a terrible coffee booze drink that had coffee grounds in it. We skipped dinner and left because the drinks were so bad. The bar tender was very nice though. Drinks on the ground floor are much better.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Jason Runyuan Chen
Overly expensive trashy cocktails. The rooftop setup is also not great at all..would not go back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
Danielle Buchanan
Loved the atmosphere but it was easy to see how understaffed they were. This is something I am willing to forgive and honestly the server kept up great but the charcuterie board was pathetic. I could have bought 5 lunchables for $25 and been more satisfied.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 2
Melissa Brott
I absolutely love this place! From the moment you walk in, the hosts are always extremely friendly and inviting. I love the view of the city. Friendly servers and pretty attentive as well!
This is THE place to be in the summer months! They have really tasty and unique house cocktails,and some interesting spritzers. This is the best spot for a beautiful sunset in the sky too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Camembert
Nathan Ver Beek
We've visited Mertens Rooftop before, but had the unique privilege of visiting today with no other patrons. The views and summer breeze are second to none in GR, an excellent experience.We have not tried the food, so we cannot comment on that yet. If Mertens proper is any indication though, it's likely awesome.While a bit on the pricey side, the spritzers are unique around here, so it's fun to try the different flavors.The service was good, even with a trainee on her first day, we were impressed by the speed and attention.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Melissa Bouwman
Chloe took such good care of us on our BFF date! The drinks were so tasty, the ratatouille was delish, and Chloe added a little extra raspberry goodness to our salad! We'll be back again. Next time Mac n Cheese!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Samantha Scofield
Planned my bachelorette to be in Grand Rapids to go here. Was told they don’t take reservations. They had a private event that took up rooftop but is not on website or notified when trying to reserve.
Rachelea Cruz
I got food poisoning from here . Not sure what it was but I assumed maybe the
Great atmosphere great service beautiful view of the city good appetizers recommend you try them out
My husband and I ate at Mertens Prime for my birthday. We had a 5pm reservation and when we arrived had to wait 15 minutes to be seated. The food was wonderful but the service was slow. Until almost 6:30pm we were the only people seated at a table. Only 2 people came in to the bar prior to that time as well. The biggest issue was the wait time for cocktails. Each time we ordered a drink it took 15-20 minutes for our drinks. The second time we ordered drinks and our waiter came to check on us after it had been 15 minutes past ordering, I asked about them. He checked and found out one was done but was told the bartender did not have the ingredients to make the other. So we had to order a different one and the bartender had not told anyone about the issue. With being the only people in the restaurant I do not feel that we should have had to wait that long for drinks. I watched the bartender wander away from the bar several times, sometimes in the middle of making drinks for a couple of minutes, once with what looked like her phone. Our waiter did not seem to follow through with making sure the drinks were made within a decent amount of time. He, as well as other staff, were often in back so this did not help with following through with the checking in on her performance. We ended up being at the restaurant for over 2 hours, a significant amount of that time sitting and waiting for our drinks.
AVOID!!! The food had potential, but it was all cold. From the escargot, to the steak, to the coffee…literally everything was room temp at best. My cassoulet came out still partially frozen. The manager said “maybe too much food was under the warmer” and that “maybe the packet didn’t thaw out completely.” I’m sorry, but for this price, the food should be fresh and not just thawed out. It was extremely slow service as well, took 3.5 hours to eat. Will NEVER be back. They claim a staffing shortage, but maybe they should just close if they can’t keep up.
Came her for a pre-dinner drink. The place is smaller than what I was expecting but the view was lovely, and we did end up getting 2 barstools by the edge. The drinks were good, and we ordered their cheese platter. It's open seating but heard you can get on the list if you have dinner at Mertens prime.
Drinks were good, view was beautiful. Service was decent. Only problem was that the shade was limited on the patio. Not the worst problem.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4
Really just kind of meh.$17 cocktails are a sham for what you get, you're essentially paying a premium for the view. It's worth one visit, but not worth a 2nd visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Super disappointed. Drinks were very expensive, unusually small and bad tasting. $43 for a low pour wine and a half glass of a terrible coffee booze drink that had coffee grounds in it. We skipped dinner and left because the drinks were so bad. The bar tender was very nice though. Drinks on the ground floor are much better.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Overly expensive trashy cocktails. The rooftop setup is also not great at all..would not go back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
Loved the atmosphere but it was easy to see how understaffed they were. This is something I am willing to forgive and honestly the server kept up great but the charcuterie board was pathetic. I could have bought 5 lunchables for $25 and been more satisfied.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 2
I absolutely love this place! From the moment you walk in, the hosts are always extremely friendly and inviting. I love the view of the city. Friendly servers and pretty attentive as well!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
This is THE place to be in the summer months! They have really tasty and unique house cocktails,and some interesting spritzers. This is the best spot for a beautiful sunset in the sky too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Camembert
We've visited Mertens Rooftop before, but had the unique privilege of visiting today with no other patrons. The views and summer breeze are second to none in GR, an excellent experience.We have not tried the food, so we cannot comment on that yet. If Mertens proper is any indication though, it's likely awesome.While a bit on the pricey side, the spritzers are unique around here, so it's fun to try the different flavors.The service was good, even with a trainee on her first day, we were impressed by the speed and attention.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Chloe took such good care of us on our BFF date! The drinks were so tasty, the ratatouille was delish, and Chloe added a little extra raspberry goodness to our salad! We'll be back again. Next time Mac n Cheese!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Planned my bachelorette to be in Grand Rapids to go here. Was told they don’t take reservations. They had a private event that took up rooftop but is not on website or notified when trying to reserve.
I got food poisoning from here . Not sure what it was but I assumed maybe the
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5