Brewery Vivant

Brewery Vivant makes excellent food and beer. It’s a gourmet, rustic-​chic kind of place, in both the atmosphere and menu. Expect to find rich flavor and texture experiences from charcuterie, venison, or duck dishes.
If you’re feeling less French, the tried-​and-​true burgers or steaks will not disappoint, especially with the seasoned truffle frites.
I’m not a beer expert, but I haven’t had a bad beer yet. They specialize in Belgian style beers and seem to favor rich and malty flavors. Their rotating taps of firkin and barrel-​aged beers are always a win.
+LEED Certified, good service and a hip location. It can be expensive, depending, but you get what you pay for! One of the best restaurant destinations in the city.

Duck nachos are to die for! Something that I get every time for an appetizer.

Good food. Loved the bone marrow. It’s not gross, it’s just like flavored oil/​fat spread. Burgers are well made and taste good. Not a fan of the poutine. Friendly staff. A little pricey.
Recommended north French and cider. Very nice.

I was so looking forward to this brewery because everyone we talked to mentioned it. The ambiance is unique and worth the visit. The beer is pretty good too. The thing that didn’t wow us was the food. Ordered the bone marrow (very little marrow in the bones themselves makes it not worth it), the burger (ordered medium and got medium well… Over cooked and just overall meh), and the beet salad. The beet salad wasn’t bad but nothing to write home about. I was expecting so much more from the cuisine that it left me underwhelmed but oh well. Still worth checking out. I’ve heard duck nachos were great so would probably order that next time.

Brewery Vivant not only has great brew and food, their philosophy and activity in the community makes them a business worth supporting. Their Farm Hand brew is a family fave and even when we’re dining elsewhere, we seek that one out. Just this week we were dining at Grove and guess what beverage we ordered? BV Farm Hand.
Their staff are knowledgeable about the various beers and their preparations and take time to explain should you have any questions.
Visiting BV with their long table group seating reminds me a lot of the places I visited in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. But the beer is cold. Go enjoy it!

The interior is something I really appreciated. Stain glass window pieces, vaulted ceilings and communal picnic table seating. Renovated from the chapel of an early 20^th century funeral home, Brewery Vivant offers Belgian inspired dishes that compliment their beer selection.
I tried their beef country sausage dish. Two beef sausages served with potatoes, radicchio and a berry gastrique. The sausages were excellent, hearty and flavorful. I didn’t care for the radicchio, which was quite bitter plain.
Dessert was the highlight. Salted chocolate ice cream, amazing! A soft ice cream so smooth and rich that it reminds you of the homemade kind. And as I’ve come to find out, it is indeed made on premises.
Vander Mill cider is available as an alternative to their beer selection.

Anyone who enjoys great beer and phenomenal food will want to check this place out. You can create your own beer flights, which was a wonderful way my hubby and I could sample almost all the beers without getting stumble-​home drunk! The beers are great, obviously carefully crafted and the descriptions are accurate and informational! Although I love beer, I think the food was really what set this place apart for me. Everything is made fresh, in house. We ordered truffle fries which were crispy and oh so fragrant, and we ordered bone marrow. Now, I’ve had bone marrow in Osso Bucco, where you get a tiny bit of marrow in the small circular cut piece of bone and you get a tiny spoon to scrape it out. This was no such small item! This was a whole longitudinal cut bone so you can scrape out the entire canal of marrow. It was heavenly. We secretly wondered if it would be OK to pick it up and gnaw on the bone for any remaining morsels, but decided we didn’t want to get kicked out. I mean, really people, the absolute best part of the animal is hidden in the part that we normally cannot access without canine assistance! I’m forever changed, thanks to the chef at Vivant! We also had the risotto of the day, which was a lamb offering. It was savory and full of flavor. In the end, we opted to walk back to our hotel, given how many calories we had consumed both in liquid and food form. But I regret nothing!

A must try. I had a beer flight and loved each beer that was in it! My favorite was the brown sugar beer which was not sweet but rather super malty and smooth. I also had a cider that was on tap which was German style. It was great super dry. For a snack I had the venison tartar which was outstanding! The meat was super tender and had a great seasoning on it.
The service was outstanding Jeff was super nice and helpful. He was fast with the food and checked in on us to make sure everything was great.

I don’t get very excited about beer, and the beer flight I tried at Brewery Vivant was not an exception. However, I just tried the traditional flight and now that I’ve checked out suggestions from other Unilocalers, I plan to go back to try the CIDER which is probably more my speed. I happened to visit BV on the night of a major sporting event, so they were playing a football game on the wall with a projector. Since I avoid sports bars like the plague, this took the overall atmosphere down a few notches for me but everyone else was pretty enthusiastic about it.
This space is really nice, from the reclaimed wood tables to the stained glass windows to The Most Interesting Bathroom Sink I’ve Ever Seen. Don’t miss it! I will be visiting Brewery Vivant again soon to try the food and cider. And also to visit my favorite sink in Grand Rapids. :)

Loved this place!!! I love the fact that there’s an outdoor beer garden that is appropriately sheltered and heated when it’s cold! Service is great, quick to refill drinks, and friendly.
I really really enjoyed the duck nachos. They really are as delicious as everyone says they are, and a huge portion to boot! It was enough for two dinners.
Definitely adding this to my list of highly recommended Grand Rapids restaurants.

Such a quirky/​wonderful place! Not only are the beers delicious and interesting, but the food was out-​of-​this-​world. On the day we visited, Brewery Vivant has their smoker working overtime on some of the most delicious pulled pork I’d tasted in a long time.
Overall, this was a great experience and we left with a variety of cans to take home from their gift shop up front.

I made one HUGE mistake on my beercation to Grand Rapids and that was visiting here first, instead of last. I love Belgian style beers, and theirs are some of my favorites. Really wish I could get them here in Iowa, but until then I will just have to stock up next time I’m in Michigan.
Since I haven’t tried their food, I can only give them 4 stars instead of five. Like I said, first place I visited, wasn’t hungry, still had other places to go, live and learn. Their menu looked fantastic though. Sigh.
Anyway, loved the interior, loved the beer, hated that I had to leave and visit other places.
Sigh, I’ll be back someday.

A nice atmosphere, but I found the service and menu to be less than desirable. They were playing the Cubs game which was nice, but our server rarely touched base at the table and wasn’t too inviting.
This was our first visit to this brewery since recently moving to town, so we ordered several things hoping to find a few favorites. For starters we got the beer cheese dip and pretzel bread. The pretzel bread was fluffy and good, but the beer cheese dip was more of a pasty spread and didn’t have a great flavor.
We tried an order of their truffle fries and found them to be heavily oversalted, but served with a decent aoli for dipping.
For the main course we ordered the risotto and the burger. The burger wasn’t seasoned and the risotto was a bit too sticky and spicier than expected. Neither entrée would bring us back unfortunately. Their outdoor patio looked wonderful, I’d love to check it out when the weather is kinder.

Great dinner tonight! Had the duck nachos, a couple of the specials and the poutine, everything was delicious!

A really fantastic place overall. 4.5 stars!
Went again recently with a group of friends and we gathered in the outdoor seating area, which is a nice option while the weather is good. Our service was great and the beer excellent, as always. Tastes in beer vary, but there is something here for everyone, be it a hoppy IPA, rich stout, Belgian or a sour.
The business is run by folks that care about their community and the environment. They also take great pride in their craft, and if you’ve ever been fortunate enough to go on a tour of the facility here as we did, you can see that clearly.
The food is also above average for a brewery. The beer cheese is one of the best examples of this staple I’ve had. The Duck Confit nachos are also good, but a tad skimpier than they used to be, which is a bit of a bummer, but good nonetheless. The sandwiches are very good and I usually get the pastrami, but you won’t go wrong with any of them.
Stop here for some food and drink or to enjoy a night out with friends and you won’t be sorry!

When it comes to belgian beers, Brewery Vivant knows what it’s doing.
The founder was one of the original founders of New Holland Brewing, but it’s obvious this place is more about keeping that craft beer feel instead of distributing across the country. The pub is in an old funeral home and chapel, which escalates that monk and belgian feel. Pretty awesome. It is a little dark if you have problems reading.
The duck nachos are AMAZING! I had the monk’s salad with steak and sampled the beer. They cook the meat on the rare side (which is great for me) but keep that in mind while ordering. They do not have breakfast food on the brunch menu.
Definitely give this place a try. The waitstaff is wonderful and passionate about beer. Our waitress even recommended a few more breweries to try on the West-​Michigan beer tour my family was on.

Brewery Vivant should definitely not be skipped!
I had dinner here with a group on a Thursday night and was told that this was the best burger in town. I haven’t had THAT many burgers in GR, but I was certainly pleased with this one. I had mine pretty basic with no cheese or anything. I loved the beef and the roll. I also really liked the bernaise sauce that came with the truffle fries!
As far as the beer, I’m not a fan of Belgians, but liked each of the beers here that I tried. I really liked the seasonal (tropical saison)!
Food and atmosphere were great, server was hilarious, but not necessarily my favorite beer.

Hands down one of the best places to eat in Grand Rapids area.
Let’s get straight to the food. Their menu changes, so may not see some of these items on the menu. The best dishes, however, will always be on the menu like the truffle fries and duck nacho. These are the two dishes you MUST GET. You cannot leave this place without trying either one of them. Their poutine is also extremely good… so if you got a large party, you’ll need to work this dish in too.
We also got their risotto, which is creamy, rich, fatty, cheesy and delicious. You may think to yourself, really? A pub place like this can make good risotto? YES IT CAN. Their risotto is as good as the ones I had in Italy. Mussel was another dish that we got, which fresh and light. It’s a ‘light’ dish that brightens up all the other heavy dishes.
Beer is a definite must get here… that’s what this whole town is known for right? I got their blueberry cider, which is perfect for ladies who usually don’t gravitate towards beer. It a little sweet and a little sour, with alcohol in it. Try it out, you won’t regret it.

I can’t wait to come back on a non-​holiday, random, middle of the day dining experience. Came here not realizing it was St Patty’s day, but I was determined & waited an hour for a seat. The Duck Nachos were totally worth it. I would’ve waited for 2 hours for those bad boys. We decided to eat & run & try other restaurants, but should’ve stayed & tried more dishes.
All the staff was super nice, even on one of the most busy holidays for a bar. Even providing water for those waiting in the lobby area. The atmosphere was fun, but not chaotic.
Will definitely be making a trip just for those Nachos & more food & beer to try.

Brewery Vivant was our fifth stop on our Beercation.
Our visit was just okay. A beautiful location can only get you so far in the brewery business. The beers were mediocre and the service was lackluster. Two bartenders behind the bar but it was impossible to get their attention to order anything. Jacob ordered a flight but only drank two of his four samples; the others were just not good. You’ve gotta be a Belgian beer fan to enjoy this brewery’s offerings.
If you’re a non-​beer drinker, you’re out of luck… no liquor. There’s no cider here, either. Bummer.
That bathroom sink though? Five stars.