Cottage Bar

My girlfriend and I were drawn to the Cottage Bar by its historical look and rather interesting artwork on the building connected street right. So we figured, «why not?»
Upon entering we immediately appreciated the look and feel. My girlfriend coined it a ‘Bavarian Feel’ from the get go. We appreciated the atmosphere as it reminded us of something from a movie. You don’t get that often as many other bars in GR tend to be homogenizing.
Our server was very sweet and attentive. The Cottage burger was a bit disappointing as it had received pretty good reviews from the U.S. News (?). However, the dipping sauce that came with the sweet potato fries, which was a berry yogurt with cinnamon, was not something you would expect from a Bar and actually won me over.
The great service and yogurt dipping sauce won me over, the burger – not so much. The decorative outside and «Bavarian feel» make it worthy of at least one visit. Give it a shot, you may be surprised!

I like the atmosphere of the Cottage Bar. It’s a cool little nook if you’re looking for a quiet place to have a burger and fries. They have local brews as well and the place seemed to have some history to it which was nice!
As for the burger, which I heard was one of the best in GR aka The Cottage Burger, it was okay. I had what they were known for along with fries… but not even close to Stella’s, Hop Cat, or even Z’s for burgers.
Would I go back again? I would for the atmosphere and the beer! But not for the food.

The place has a great atmosphere and reputation for a «good burger!». We ordered their «famous» burger… when it came out it was on a nice buttered bun with the toppings requested. However, the meat was nothing more than a food service frozen product that left much to be desired. I would definitely go there for drinks but there are a lot of other choices in walking distance that provide a better quality burger!

I wish we had an old school place like this in Austin! A trip to my midwestern past. Dark woods, comfortable in every way, busy bar where people gather on a cold day. You can tell most of the staff are veterans. Great service, good food, handy downtown location.

I love the Cottage, mostly for the atmosphere and the usually friendly service. It’s cozy and dark in the winter by the fireplace, and they have a little patio for the summer months.
The burgers and sandwiches are decent: the olive-​bacon Cottage burger, and the turkey Gouda sandwich are standouts.
The chili is not that great, in my opinion.
I’d recommend trying some of the extras with a beer or cocktail. Always good local beers on tap. The fried green beans, waffle cut fries, wings or the huge plate of nachos are great sides and fun to share with friends.

I’ve been going to the Cottage Bar for at least 15 years now, beginning when I was a kid. It is always a good choice for American food and always a side of cottage fries. The beer selection rotates and is good. All the menu items I’ve eaten have been great. The place holds on to its history and is always instantly visually recognizable. Since I’ve left Grand Rapids I love coming back to the Cottage Bar.

Very nice local establishment, relaxing atmosphere. Attentive service from Mary. Food is OK and plentiful.

Stopped in here with a group of six for a bite to eat and some drinks:
–The service was super friendly and attentive
–Decent beer list on tap & good drink specials
–Easy parking in the street if you’re driving
–The quesadilla I got was kind of slimy instead of crispy on the outside
–The chicken tenders plate was massive, probably the best item on the table
–The inside is starting to look a little dated/​run down
If I was just out for some drinks I’d definitely stop in, but if I was going out to dinner I think I’d personally head elsewhere.

The Cottage Bar is located on the east end of downtown. It’s not classy, but old and well lived in like a pair of favorite jeans. It’s the kind of place to go on a rainy day to relax with a couple of friends and a drink, some food and easy conversation. The food is a solid 3, not fancy but the Cottage Burger and their chili is the «go to» food. Service was great when we were there, and my Cosmo perfectly made.

So much hype, but folks in the know say it’s from years past and not deserved recently. I totally agree
When I typed «Best burgers in Grand Rapids» into my search engine, this place came up as one of the top 3. This is dead wrong, people. I went here with high expectations and left thinking «WTF?!?»
To be honest, the folks were very nice and the service very good. The food was sad, though. The Cottage Burger was a bit anemic and lacked for flavor. Sad little bun, old toppings, and I would bet the patties were pre-​made and mass produced.
I got the Cottage Fries as a side, and found them to be ok. Not great, not terrible.
«Best Burger in Grand Rapids»? Not even remotely close, and certainly not in the top 10.
Any food establishment branded as an «institution» must maintain quality and value in order to maintain that reputation, and this place is not doing that at all in my opinion.

Best burger for the price in town.

Great food, drinks, and service. Could use an update on the interior but that doesn’t change the quality of this place.

I don’t get it, this place seems to get mentioned for the «best burgers» in Grand Rapids. Really? I visited Cottage Bar a couple weeks ago and ordered the Cottage Burger assuming I was about to experience something fantastic. What a disappointment! I was served a small, pre-​made, pre-​seasoned beef patty on a not so fresh bun with vegetables that were not ripe. The fries were the standard crinkle cut variety that come in frozen from a food service supplier, and my ice tea was more like colored water. I will admit the service was friendly and prompt and I liked the homey, rustic feel of the place. Maybe I need to give it a second chance, but my first impression from eating the burger this restaurant is known for was quite unremarkable.

The Cottage — solid establishment and a well deserved solid four star review! Been here several times in my life and it is always a pleasure. In all those times, I’ve never had a terrible experience. At times the wait staff can be a bit ‘busy’ but other times it’s great attentive service. Fantastic cottage burger. so good. Fried mushrooms are excellent. Beer selections are very nice along with the pleasant laid back atmosphere. Wide selection in foods, sure to find something for everyone no matter what mood your in. Established in 1927, this place has one hell of a history behind it and I’m proud to have it in Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids food institution.
They are known for their burgers, and Cottage Fries, but have much more to offer. They also have a few choice selections of craft beer on tap at any given moment. This of this as a diner and a back country wood shack have a food baby and product the Cottage Bar.
They have Wifi, have a few tables for larger groups up to about 8, but most tables are 2 – 4 toppers. They do have some outside seating. Do note that some of the booth seats have lost thier cushion a while ago. Parking is easy and it super walkable from downtown! East here and you will have a good memory of Grand Rapids!

I really like the ambiance and some of the food here, especially the burgers. However the HORRIBLE service completely destroys any chance of having an enjoyable time here. Our waitress was unashamedly drinking behind the bar and managed to get completely wasted over the course of our appetizers, meal, and a couple drinks. Every time she came to the table she would slur her speech, stumble, and couldn’t remember a thing we said. We finally asked for our check and she took over an hour to bring it to us. I found her at the bar to ask again for our check, and she and the bartender took the opportunity to mock me and call me uptight for wanting to leave. They could hardly pay me to come back to this establishment.

I really want to like The Cottage Bar because of the history it has with downtown Grand Rapids, but sadly, their service and food just isn’t there and my recent trip didn’t do much to change that perception.
On Saturday night we sat in a booth near the bar area. Our table was technically clean but between the low lighting, dark wood, and the dated wall paneling, it felt dirty and a little skeevy.
My hubby and I ordered beers. My friend asked the server what types of wines they had. The server explained that they didn’t have many red wine options so she choose a sangria instead and her boyfriend got a bottled beer. When the server returned, my hubs ordered wings, which he had been craving all night.
Unfortunately, the wings didn’t satisfy him and the sangria didn’t satisfy my friend. Her drink was watery and lifeless. His wings were heavily battered but because the battered lacked spice or flavor, it was just a bunch of crispiness on the chicken. Not to mention, it looked like they sat in the fryer too long and were a touch burned.
Our server wasn’t exactly pleasant but I chalked it up to her being stressed out, having to manage the bar area and several other tables in the restaurant. Very little appeared to be done to keep the obviously intoxicated group at the bar under control or ask them to keep their conversation to a normal volume level for the other patrons. Eventually we all got sick of trying to talk over the drunk group and we just got our bill to leave.
The Cottage Bar is in such a great location, I hope they turn things around so that it can be an enjoyabe place for night time drinks and munchies.

I went to the Cottage Bar after having heard for years that it was a Grand Rapids institution of sorts. After having eaten there, I’m a little surprised at the overall high marks it is getting on Unilocal.
I found it to be pretty darn bad.
I’m kind of undecided on the ambience. On the one hand, what do you expect from a historic bar in an old building? It was dark and dingy. It was clean, just kind of nasty. I imagine there are some problems with the building, because there was wood paneling over everything. The ceiling had this sagging wood paneling that I imagine is holding back several bounds of asbestos, bugs, etc.
The food was not good at all. We had heard about how good the burgers were. They weren’t. Even the legendary cottage burger. The patty was this flavorless frozen meat patty that was overcooked, although it’s hard not to overcook something that thin I suppose. My wife and I got two different burgers, and found them both pretty bad. The cottage burger flavors just don’t work and was more bread than anything (which is probably to its benefit). Not sure how they get away charging $ 8 +/​-​for one of these things without any sides or anything. (No wonder they didn’t do well in the MLive burger challenge thing…)
We ordered potato wedges, and it came out as these greasy little flavorless little fried potato cubes. Blech.
Maybe if you’ve been sitting there all night drinking the food would be all right, maybe I got it on an off day, but I’m not going back to find out.

I like the location of this place and although it wasn’t really anywhere that I would rave about, everyone in our party of 6 had a good time here and enjoyed their food and drinks. Our server was very efficient and also she was kind enough to take several group photos for us. :)

I’m kinda torn. On the one hand, liked the vibe, the history, the waitress and the food. On the other hand it doesn’t have anything that would make me go back (i live 15 miles away).
The waitress was good– personable and good at her job. The 4 alarm chili was very good, but not at all hot for those who really like hot. The cheddar and broccoli stuffed appetizers and jalapeño stuffed appetizers were ok. The burger was good, very good maybe, but not fab. The beer selection was good. Over all enjoyable.