SpeakEZ Lounge

Good food and creative drinks! The Lounge has a Roaring 20s theme (indicated by their name) and is a fun, lesser known restaurant in town. They carry a number of delicious vegetarian options, including the best bruschetta I’ve ever had! They also carry an extensive range of beers and cocktails. The coolest drink so far is served with dry ice frothing inside the glass. I also stopped in for a Science Thursday evening, which was so fun! They’re held once a month, and if you’re a science whiz, there are chances to answer trivia questions and win a free drink!

WOW… what a place to stumble into… One night my girlfriend and our roommates had hankering for some good food – of course we took it to the internet. Not knowing anyone who had been before, we decided to go out on a limb and give SpeakEZ a shot based on the recommendations online. When we found ourselves at the door we entered a wall of jazz hit us like a freight.
Was were seated at a booth in the corner, and despite the volume of the band we, surprisingly, found it easy to speak with one another. Every Sunday the house band cranks out a few sets of unknown bliss. Personally, I love free flowing Jazz and boy had I hit the jackpot.
After being seated we were greeted by an equally mellow server who seemed at complete ease despite the energy of the Jazz. There are a few specials that kind of hit everyone, but they are more of a subtle reward for choosing them as opposed to a ploy to drag you in. I love comfort food so I had to try one of their sandwiches – that is why this review started with ‘WOW’.
I ordered the Irish Pirate and words could not describe my excitement (why I’m not a food journalist) as it found a home in front of me. This leviathan of a sandwich hit just about all of the luncheon meat, with unorthodox additions such as potato chips and even gold fish – yes the cracker! This double decker sandwich was more than enough to fill me to the brim twice, but the wonderful flavor made it an enjoyable pain. They didn’t have house chips at the time so I tried the Yukon potatoes. A subtle side as opposed to a show stealing side, it juxtaposed the sandwiches flavor explosion.
If you are out of town it may be difficult to find as it hides itself within one of many furniture factory-​converted apartment buildings, but it is definitely worth the voyage.

I walked into this place with the expectation that it would be some boring downtown steakhouse. So, when my friends picked it, I had pretty low expectations and figured I’d look for the obligatory veggie burger.
I completely misjudged the place. They had enough vegan options, that I was actually torn between three things. I ended up getting the mushroom risotto and it was fantastic.
Also, the service was great! Our group sort of arrived piecemeal and the server was very accommodating.
I’ll be going back here… if for no other reason than to try the mushroom flatbread!

Great place for a Bloody Mary!
This place was a mainstay and one of my favorite spots in downtown GR back when it was the Cambridge House. We all were regulars and it was basically the place to go and meet up each night. Back then the food was OK but nothing that great. The bar at the time, was much better than what other area bars offered. They had good bartenders making very good drinks, tall craft-​draft beers and cheap prices. They also had spectacular Bloody Marys. The garnishes were fresh, plentiful and they always came with the proper amount of spice vs alcohol. They included a proper pilsner chaser beer as well. Bold, thick, strong, and spicy to your liking. I’m not even a Bloody Mary fanatic but these where so darn good!
Now with the place re-​named SpeakEZ (Lounge), I’ve been back a few times since. The interior looks mostly the same inside. Still a large dark open area with heavy black wooden tables and a vast welcoming bar. Present still is that same calming temperature drop inside where no matter what time of year no matter what it’s like outside — a calming chill inside that does not leave you cold, just relaxed.
The menu has been cleaned up a lot and provides a more healthy selection, severely less greasy that its predecessor. This is a great improvement and the food looks much better as well.
I’m pleased to say that the Bloody Marys are still made very good and served in the same fashion. The SpeakEZ still remains a good place to go and have a nice relaxing engagement with friends or a quick drink by yourself.

Great food, a lot of fresh and moderately healthy options. A lot of indulgent options-​if that’s your bag. I loved the «Painted Lady» cocktail, very tasty and refreshing. I really liked this bar when it was Cambridge House, and it’s equally enjoyable as Speak EZ. Very relaxed, old school feel. You also avoid the downtown traffic and parking. This is one of my «go to» GR restaurants, I haven’t been disappointed yet.

I had the mushroom menage a trois and it was very good. I would have rated it higher but there wasn’t a large selection.

food was amazing!!! Always love finding a place with a unique menu and this one did not disappoint. Everything about this space was great, food quality and ingredients were took notch.

Service was horrible and I was slightly disappointed with menu. Ordered soup and they do not have crackers. Cream soups need crackers! Wanted a turkey Reuben, they have the turkey but don’t have coleslaw. I don’t drink and wanted hot chocolate, but they don’t even have that! No one even came to check on us after we received our soup. I would rather go somewhere where they have more a variety and good service.

Food was very good, bordering great. Service was another story — we waited an exorbitant amount of time for drinks. Manager handled the situation very well. Will give it another try

A nice breakfast option especially for soccer lovers.
With a name like SpeakEZ, you may expect a closet– sized jazz bar, or a dark, moody, specialty cocktail lounge. SpeakEZ, sometimes referred to as «the old Cambridge House» by locals, is neither. Rather, It’s a large, well lit, bustling full service restaurant on the first floor of an old factory, with what I learned was a temping breakfast/​brunch menu.
My friend and I scooped up a seat on Saturday morning and split an impressive sized plate of their monte cristo french toast and their crème brûlée French toast. The two options gave us both the sweet and savory we were looking for. We both had their $ 5 bloody Mary’s to wash it down with. Being a bit of a drink snob, I was bummed that they did not offer any infused vodkas for the Bloody, nor was it a Bloody bar that they were doing this Saturday. But my spicy bloody came out nicely with an impressive tomato, olive, pickle, pepper garnish. With a pool table in the back, sports décor sprinkled through the restaurant, and a soccer match playing on the tv’s, a spirited crowd cheered throughout the morning. I’m not a big soccer fan but I know some people who are, and I plan on suggesting this place to them.
In short, the restaurant doesn’t exactly match what you might expect it to be based on its name, but it’s worth the trip out for breakfast!

Great place for jazz on Sunday night. Wine and chickpea mash great. Shout out to Emma our server

SpeakEz is not an actual speak easy. It’s a dive bar on the edge of downtown Grand Rapids. It’s dark and dingy and offers a good beer list (with several hard ciders) and average American bar food. I went on a Saturday morning with a buddy to watch a European soccer game and the service was not friendly and slow. It took almost an hour to bring us our basic breakfast we ordered!

Friday night *catch up hour* to enjoy happy hour, I brought 3 first timers to experience a truly memorable cocktail .- Great bar service and the cocktails were discounted $ 3.00 which made them quite reasonable in addition to skillfully prepared. This is not an every day mojito but something quite special with real freshly made simple syrup ! .Appetizers enjoyed were the tomato bruschetta and risotto both delicious .We also ordered a couple sandwiches the Reuben and Cuban which provided plenty of left overs to pack up to enjoy later. Parking is on the street at the meters during the day time or free across the street after 5 in a lot that has a free parking sign. Great place to meet up with friends for happy hour/​dinner and a lunch special as well. .
Tip, I do not consider Speak EZ a traditional sports bar but we have found it sometimes hard to have a conversation due to the noise level especially later at night and during matches,

My boyfriend and I came here for dinner on Sunday night and I cannot express how wonderful everything was. They had a jazz band playing, the drinks were great, the food was delicious! I had the risotto with feta and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Great place for food and drinks! They’re in an area that’s close enough to downtown without being right downtown, so parking isn’t a problem. They offer a good selection of sandwiches, but not too much variety of entrees. What i have had tried though is very good. Their drink selection is fun. My husband ordered doom of valyrie, a drink with a smoke effect, very cool!

Dinner before Art Prize tonight! First time here and so good. We had the goat cheese appetizer and the Jerk Cuban sandwich with risotto cakes (woah on both!). Everything was super flavorful, can’t wait to go back and try more! Sidenote: They were super cool about us splitting the sandwich and split everything for us, right down to the pickle

We wanted a place with good food. Not simply, «oh it’s Friday throw our money somewhere and call it a date,» but actual food you would stop talking and enjoy conversationover. We also wanted a nice place to talk. Naturally I asked my third wheel best friend should we go to SpeakEZ and he was thinking the same thing; and not just because we watch our English Premier League soccer here.
Naturally our entrees arrived as we were finishing our appetizer, which helps.
The food didn’t disappoint either. We found ourselves discussing the food and regaling at why the chef did this and why the chef did that… we just finished sharing our food with each other.
Oh what a wonderful time we had at the SpeakEZ.

Nice little place with a very, very cool history! My girlfriend and I ventured on over for a quick dinner before hitting a show and were pretty pleased with the outcome.
First off, there is a tonnnnnn of parking available — which isn’t something you usually get in GR. They have a huge parking lot across the street from their location with no cost to park. Score!
Second, the place looks pretty nice on the inside! We talked in and were immediately greeted with a smile from the hostess. She asked about seating and told us about the wait, but offered us seats at the bar if they were available. We sat at the bar.
I ordered some pretty dang flavorful mac & cheese and threw a little extra chicken in there for good measure (I stress ‘little’ tho…). My cute date got herself a fresh salad concoction with some more chickadee on top to even the keel.
She tried to gulp down one of their signature drinks, but was wayyyy overcome with the strength of said drink and had to send it back. I agreed. It was crazy strong. My beer, on the other hand, had no surprises and was quite good!
A complaint I had was with the inside temperature. It was about 80 degrees outside and humid, and the inside wasn’t much better. I’m guessing the preceding week wasn’t too harsh, so they didn’t want to up the A/​C? I’m not sure… But that kind of spoiled it a bit.
All in all, I’d come back again for some tasty bar bites.

We went here for cocktails before dinner on a Saturday afternoon. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable and helped introduce our 21 year old daughter to the world of cocktails with a Pimm’s Cup, which she enjoyed thoroughly.
I ordered the Doom of Valyria despite the GOT inspired name. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly gimmicky presentation in a stopped, smoke filled bottle — the smoke and bourbon combine for a truly unique taste.

We came here for dinner on a Sunday. The place wasn’t too busy, but there were plenty of TVs on soccer. I thought this was weird, given the name «SpeakEZ Lounge»… but hey. I don’t mind soccer, just thought it was kind of odd.
Our waitress was pretty laid back and it took about ten minutes for her to bring us water. She had said she didn’t see us. Sorry, but there were only about four other tables and the bar with people so this was odd to me.
Anyway, I ordered a glass of Kava and we were with another couple and we both ordered risotto cakes and my husband added on calamari.
The risotto cakes with the aioli sauce were good… I would totally get them again. delicious.
The calamari… well, it was in a chili sauce with veggies and walnuts… but the calamari was a little chewy… won’t get those again.
For our main meal, I got the Cuban sandwich, which was delicious and on the spicy side. I liked it! My side, I got the brussels sprouts which were. kinda flavorless. I needed salt and pepper to eat it, because they were bland. Plus, there are no salt or pepper shakers on the table, so another wait for no reason.
My husband had the crispy mister and he said it was alright… but nothing super special.
Our friends thought really highly of the macaroni and cheese and mushroom risotta. Both were very large portions and did look large.
I am not quire sure about the menu. It seems pretty big but a lot of the items contain alcohol… I don’t mind that, but we were with someone who doesn’t drink and a lot of the meals had some sort of alcohol, so that was kind of odd.
I like this place, but maybe I haven’t ordered the right things. I’ll try it again in the future.