Grand River Brewery

I eat lunch often with business associates and friends at the Grand River Brewery. The food is AMAZING. The service (at lunch) is always top notch — very, very friendly. I especially enjoy that they have recently started serving (almost) the entire menu at lunch. The Falafel is scrumptious and the Fish Sammy is a delight — especially during Lent. I have been a few times after work and the wine is divine! My favorite is the Hourglass Corset. The only drawback for me is the acoustics. It’s quite a challenge to hear group conversations when you have more than 4 people.

I really want to like this place, so I’ll drop by every 6 months or so to see if the beers have improved. To their credit, the few that I’ve had in a flight tonight are a lot better. However, as I’m sitting here at the bar, I just witnessed a bartender get confused about which beers had already been poured for pickup at the server station. His answer? Take a big swig out of one, then put it back down with the correct ticket for the server. I’m done with this place.
By the way, after 3 years, you’d think these guys would figure out how to put up some sound baffling.

What an amazing place. We came in here thinking that we would just grab a beer and bounce. Not the case! We came in and realized that they also have wine and spirits. The wine they make was great! They had 2 dry reds that I enjoyed. Their cab was full bodied with lots of vanilla and currant flavors. They have a super buttery Chardonay that I had to take home with me.
The beer was also great my husband got the IPA which was nice and hoppy. He also got the maple belgan called sappy days, it was great had a roasted maple flavor to it.
We got their loaded frys which are a must try. The frys have garlic, basalmic drizzle, parmesan cheese and parsley. You must try. The prices are great and the pours are large.

I love the Amber Ale, the Monkey Mouth IPA is great and we took home some of the canned cherry cider which was delicious as well. The tap room is well designed with big windows into the brewery, and brew master Dave is a super cool dude.
I can’t wait to try the food and return with a five star review.

The place is at a great location. They have a stage where I once witnessed great live music but that is on annual occasions as I was told. The beer is good, the appetizers are tasty but full of calories. The food is meh… not a place I would want to try again.

Walked in to find the place extremely inviting and expansive. Found a seat at the bar wo any problem and snached a menu from someone two down from me, the only person to acknowledge me after 10 mins was to my surprisement the manager who was washing glasses and swatting bees. She took my order and got me a pint super quick. Didn’t see her leave but thank you, after that service went down hill.
After placing my empty glass near the edge of the bar «signifying that I would like another beer» it was hurried away into the washer wo acknowledgement of needing another beer after another 5 mins I finally flagged down a bar tender (who seemed more prompt to fill orders of the regular mug club members than the wide eyed stanger) and got another pint.
Didn’t stay much longer and promptly cashed out and left.
The food and beer are excellent just random shitty service.

I love the outdoor seating area and the appetizers are delicious!

Went for a beer. Neat place but the service was bland.

Ordered the rainbow trout. The apples pretending to be potatoes were a surprise. Guess I should have read the menu better. But the crunchy apples were a great complement to the savory sauces. Beer was above average, but the food really surprised me here.

Food and service has gone down hill since our first visit, will more than likely not be returning. If I’m gonna pay $ 14 for a burger, I’m going to go somewhere that at least uses good meat. I can get a grass fed burger with all organic condiments for the same price in Ann Arbor…

A very large space that would be perfect for events or parties except for the fact that they have the worst parking situation! This place is pretty popular and it even has multiple billboards on 94, yet they have no actual parking lot. Be careful where you park when visiting here there is a 3 hour max parking lot on one side and the other sides belong to other businesses. So far I’ve enjoyed the brew but I’m worried about my car so I didn’t stay long.

Have been here a few times now. Really cool steampunk vibe, a stage for bands, outdoor seating. Had the grilled cheese with onion jam last Friday and it was probably the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Good soups, too. But most importantly I’ve liked their beers! Had a really interesting cucumber-​lime wheat (Pepino Loco) the other day. Monkey Mouth was delicious. They had an amazing saison this spring that I highly recommend but can’t remember the name, something about a nun maybe. The Heidi Spice was fun, not too gingery, which is good. Will definitely be trying their spirits ASAP.

We’ve been here a few times in the past and weren’t ever bowled over by an amazing experience, but a few nights ago we had a great time! The beer list seems to have expanded, and all the beers we tried (7 in all) were very tasty and full-​flavored. The pretzel sticks were delish as well as the lamb wrap, spinach salad (lots of blue cheese!) and reuben. Our waitress Katie was very pleasant and helpful — props to her. We will definitely be returning! :)

Drove about 45 minutes to come check this place out and it was absolutely worth it! We tried a few flights of beers and we’re really impressed. We’re big craft beer drinkers and have gotten a little picky about our beers, but these were fantastic. Especially loved the Pepino Loco… a cucumber lime wheat beer. We would definitely recommend checking this place out!

Excellent food and atmosphere! Waiters and waitresses are always friendly and inviting. Chef Corey has been making some great dishes! Monkey Mouth IPA is clean and refreshing. I enjoy going with the entire family!

Just came back from a fantastic late lunch at Grand River Brewing. We arrived just after 3 and were able to take fuull advantage of half priced beer happy hour. By ordering halves, I wad able to sample several of their creative and expertly brewed draughts.
My favorite was the smoked pig’s head porter. Many brewpubs offer a thin and bitter porter that tastes overwhemingly of burnt grain. Not so here. The beer was creamy and smooth with smoky overtones that paired perfectly with the pastrami sandwich I ordered. Our server. Ashley, steered me away from the standard Jewish rye on which it’s normally served to a whole grain bread made locally that incorporates a hefty portion of spent grains — a byproduct of the brewing process. SCORE! Really superior pastrami to start with but the taste and texture of the bread elevated the sandwich to an ethereal experience. Not too be missed.
My wife ordered the Reuben on the aforementioned Jewish rye paired with the gold medal winning Monkey Mouth IPA. Another out of body pairing — sublimely good. We shared sandwich halves and neither of us was disappointed. If you’re ever within striking distance of this place give it a try. With the recent explosion in craft brewing, there are about a zillion brewpubs out there. But rarely will you find one where the people running both the brewery and the kitchen know what they’re doing. These folks do and are well worth the trip.
The only reason for the 4 instead of 5 is that the website and current hardcopy menu list a cherry version of the porter and a hard cherry cider, both of which were not available when I tried to order them.

Loved this place! They set a carafe of water on the table so you’re never waiting for the waiter. Our table ordered the Bavarian pretzels with ale cheese dip (delicious!), pulled pork sandwich, veggie burger, and panzanella salad. The panzanella salad was great; the lettuce was perfectly grilled. The carafe of water was convenient but never cold so I had to ask for s glass of ice. Great laid-​back atmosphere. My boyfriend ordered the cherry porter and really enjoyed it. It was a bit too fruity for my taste. If you’re in Jackson, this is a great lunch spot. Good food, great beer selection, and a casual culture.

Very hipster, steampunk place with good locally sourced food and new menus for each season. Good selection of house made beer and wine, that they are happy to let you taste a few before you order.
Most nights they have live music.

What a cool place! It’s so different than anything else in downtown Jackson! I met a friend who was staying in Battle Creek at the Marketplace yesterday for dinner.
The ambiance is open and has a cool industrial/​renovated warehouse vibe to it. There is a lot of seating and they look to have a seperate room within the dining room for parties/​events.
I would say the food is upscale bar food. They had fish and chips, a variety of sandwiches and burgers, salads, pizzas and appetizers. The young lady sitting at the table next to us said her burger was the best she had ever had. I am guessing that for a 15 year old to say that, it is quite a compliment! :)
For our entrée, we split their massive pepperoni pizzas. The crust was thin and very good. The sauce was good as well. It was a little too greasy for me, but it is to be expceted from pepperoni pizza!
My friend and I split the fried green bean appetizer, which was oustanding! The beans were plentiful and nicely fried with a delicious sauce. We also split the pretzel appetizer which was also good. The mustard that came with the sauce was stone ground and excellent (but use sparingly, it was strong)!
Grand River makes their own beers, wines, and vodkas. I had two glasses of one of their red wines, which was nice and smooth as well as having a nice body to it. My friend tried the Michigan Mule drink, which consisted of their vodka, ginger ale and muddled lime. She said it was excellent!
Overall, Grand River is a great place to come for lunch or dinner. They also have a Sunday brunch I would like to check out! It’s worth a trip!

For Jackson, this is a fancy option. For someone from Tampa that is use to good gastropubs, the food and beer here were average.
The place is an open area and was lacking any kind of personality.
We ordered a couple of their microbrew beers and although good, nothing spectacular.
For apps we ordered the fried calamari and the pretzels with dipping mustard. Meh… the calamari came with more banana peppers than it did calamari.
For dinner I had the falafel wrap. I didn’t taste any of the cucumber yogurt sauce and the falafel was undercooked. It was a big pile of mushed garbanzo beans. My husband ordered the fish and chips and they were pretty tasty. Lightly battered and served with homemade French fries. Someone at our table ordered the Mac n cheese and it was lacking any real flavor.
Like I said, for Jackson this isn’t a bad option, but if you’re from out of town, don’t expect to be wowed.