Let's talk about wine, baby!…read more Since an early age I've considered myself a wine snob. While my friends were still drinking sweet Moscatos I was drinking Cabs. Naturally, I have always been on the hunt for a local spot to satisfy my incessant need for a glass of wine in a moody bar. House of wine offers an insane collection of gorgeous hand selected wines, their staff is knowledgeable and I never ever leave empty handed thanks to the wine shop next door. My best friend and I popped in for happy hour, with house wine being $6 and the lucious savory crab dip (only $5 for happy hour - crazyyyy). I was absolutely satisfied. Be sure to check this place out for happy hour or Thursday night martinis. But personally, I will be back for a date night. It's always a blast to select cheeses for a charcuterie board...and honestly you might as well just share a bottle!

Went to House of Wine with a friend for the first time and it was such a great time! It wasn't…read moresuper busy on a Friday night which was nice. The staff were super friendly and helpful! We both ordered a flight of wine and a few appetizers (tomato bruschetta and garlic feta). Both the apps and the wine were delicious! I also really like that if you like any of the wines in your flight, you're able to buy a glass or a bottle of it in shop. I'll definitely have to come back to try their other flights and charcuterie boards!

Made afternoon reservations as I wasn't sure how busy it would be during Art Prize. At 4 p.m., it…read moredefinitely wasn't. The space was beautifully and intentionally decorated. The wine was delicious, including a selection of 0% for my friend. We had a lovely time and truly enjoyed the food, service, and vibe. The brussels are 5star quality. Don't miss out on them. Will definitely have to come back at night for a performance!

Really unique spot in GR! Great place for a date (which is exactly what we did). They've got live…read morejazz music going, plenty of wine options and some lite bites to go along. Honestly this was such a fun night out. I would recommend being picky about the table you want, the way this place is laid out makes certain tables much more desirable for watching the musicians. If you just want to listen and don't care about watching then it probably doesn't matter but if you want to view then you'll want to be on the far side of the entry. The bar sits in the middle of the place so it can block your view! Other than that, you're in for a GREAT night out and some fantastic music.

We tried a little bit of everything and it was all amazing! From the moment you walk in, the mood…read moreis elegant, sexy, and cozy. Each room features a different theme, like the game clue. We ate in the study--it was cozy and intimate complete with a fireplace. We were visiting friends and I wish we lived closer bc I'd definitely go back! Everything was 10/10. What we tried: Starters: Bar cheese Dates Mains: Bison short ribs Butterflied rainbow trout Lamb T-bones Roasted Amish chicken Wine: Domain de couron Merlot Drinks: NA phone Negroni NA sage in scarlet

We went to dinner at this fabulous restaurant in Grand Rapids. Scholar is such a beautiful space…read more It has three distinct levels. We sat in the Study on the lower level. The study was beautifully decorated, warm and inviting. Cameron took care of us. Nice guy and attentive. Hubby and I started with cocktails. He had an interesting bourbon drink with aperol and amaro. It was so good - and pretty! I had my usual bees knees. Missed the mark unfortunately. It had some fizz, which it should just be gin, lemon and honey. No soda. We ordered the deviled eggs as a starter. They were made with dijon and cornichons, topped with paprika, chives and lardon. Such a delicious bite. Hubby had the salmon tacos from the daily special menu. He loved the Spanish rice that came on the plate and the perfectly seasoned moist salmon. I had the seafood tagliatelle with shrimp, crab, salmon belly, fennel, and capers in a vodka sauce topped with toasted breadcrumbs. It was amazing! Thankfully, we had a refrigerator in our hotel room because I took half the tagliatelle to go. I highly recommend this restaurant if you're ever in the Grand Rapids area. The space is beautiful, the food is delicious and the service is spot on. Great find!

We always look for local restaurants instead of eating at the hotel when we are traveling. We…read morefound a gem this morning with Little Bird. The staff is friendly and enjoys small talk. If you want specialty coffee go to Starbucks, but the coffee was good and they have a variety of teas. The food was delicious. I had the French Toast with granola, lemon curd, and whipped cream (all made in house with bread from the bakery next door). The genius of the meal was the hint of mint in the whipped cream. Delicious! They also have a kids menu and are family friendly. It was a little pricey but the food and service were worth it. I highly recommend Little Bird for breakfast, but they also have a lunch and dinner menu plus a wide variety of cocktails, wine, and beer.

Hubby found a great place for brunch today in Grand Rapids. Littlebird is a small restaurant with…read morebar seating and tables inside, as well as an outdoor patio. The staff is so sweet especially our server Hope, as well Caleb who we had a great conversation with. Both were friendly and attentive. My husband ordered the duck confit hash, which was amazing. It was so flavorful and delicious. I had the Bousin & herb French omelette, which was melt-in-your mouth creamy deliciousness. This is not your typical breakfast place. The chef makes unique and creative dishes, definitely elevated. Two disappointments for me - 1) I wish they had sourdough without flax seeds. I had to get gluten-free bread instead since I can't do seeds. Meh. 2) I was looking forward to a cappuccino, but not offered here. Other than those two minor things, I loved it!!

Nice spot in the Grand Rapids market. Checked out the Christmas market. Ended up getting a…read morecharcuterie plate & splitting a bottle of wine.

4 stars (and not 5) because of a very rude server behind the bar who was very clearly trying to get…read moreus to leave so they could close. Which is disappointing because the server we had was wonderful. We dined her on a Monday night starting at 5:45p. The website still lists their hours as being opened until 8p, but the server shared with us that they recently changed their hours to closing at 7p. Had we known this, we would have gone some place else for happy hour/dinner together. We all order wine and their large cheese board and then all ordered sandwiches... which didn't come until quarter to 7p... so 15 mins to eat our meal? That's not enough time. They did also give us last call at 7p and that is why we hung out a bit longer. Closing in on 7:30p (still 30 mins before their website lists their hours ending) the male server (younger gentleman) loudly yells over the bar towards the now closed market to NO ONE, "Thanks for coming ladies, have a great night!!' in what we think was a solid effort to jolt us into 'also' leaving along with these pretend ladies who he just said goodbye to. Anywho, we had already paid our bill at that point and took the hit and left wine in glasses that weren't finished yet and food behind as well. Our experience would have been much different/positive had our server come over and politely asked us to relocate and thanked us for coming in.

FOOD Honestly so phenomenal. I don't like pesto so I didn't…read moretry that. But it was on the menu but the bolognese was SO GOOD. Catered food can go up in the air so you never know. This was a private event we had with Amway and it was so first class! Bistro Bella Vita-- amazing ! The desserts were SOOOOO good I wanted to eat like 10 carrot cake minis but stopped at two. The PEAR PIZZA was so good. Be adventurous and try!!!! SERVICE They were so kind and quickly got our drinks. They attended us while we pow-wowed. Ambiance Like I mentioned, different likely to what everyone was experiencing out there, but the private room was tucked in the back behind the kitchen, no food smells leaked in which was good to note

Our server was excellent, very attentive…read more Every food item was delicious. Cute outdoor seating space. Would definitely come back if I was in town!

Holy sh*t. It would…read moretake me the length of the book of Genesis to properly describe the transcendent experience I had while dining - no: truly living - at Reserve. I've had some crazy meals in Grand Rapids, but this establishment has to take the cake. Their menu seems to rotate pretty frequently so I won't delve too deep into the specifics of my three course meal, but let me tell you that it blew me away. Flavors, textures and aromas so complex, so perfectly balanced, SO delicious that my eyes were rolling in the back of my head with every bite. Everything is sourced as locally and as sustainably as possible, and by god it comes through in the dishes that, frankly, belong in a museum. A proper meal combined with a proper friend at Reserve is sure to cure ANY blight you may have come upon (except financial hardship, this place is not cheap). Treat yourself and/or others to this exquisite experience if you are able and willing.

Several of us had a lovely dinner at Reserve recently, although I felt it was not quite as good as…read morethe last time I ate here. I remember feeling really 'wowed', but not this time. Very pretty & stylish dining room. Portions are generally smaller & meals are pricey. Our server seemed to disappear for awhile. Not collecting drink orders for quite awhile. I had the scallops, which were good but not AMAZING. A friend had the beef, & she really enjoyed it. I didn't understand them being all spread out around the edges of the plate, like numbers on a clock. Seemed like they got cold fast. The other friend had the entree size pasta of the gnocchi, which looked great & she really enjoyed.

We came to Grand Rapids to see our daughter at GVSU, and we hadn't been here in a few years so we…read morestopped in for dinner and it didn't disappoint. It's very dimly lit, but I could still read the menu without any trouble. We were seated at a high top table next to the wine fridge. It was very pleasant, not loud at all. We were able to have a nice conversation without shouting! We each started out with a bowl of squash bisque. It was smooth and delicious. You must try it! For our mains, I ordered the mushroom risotto with filet and my wife the salmon. Both were excellent. The risotto was creamy with a lot butternut squash and oddly enough, not many mushrooms. But it was absolutely amazing. I added a piece of filet that was tender and flavorful. It complemented the dish beautifully. The salmon was as very good. The butter on top was simply amazing! We drank too much during the tailgate earlier, so we stuck to water. However, there a few flaming drinks leaving the bar that looked amazing! Divani is a great restaurant. Lovely ambiance and great food. Perfect spot for a date night. You won't be disappointed.

For overall food, I would give it 3.5 stars. Drinks 4 stars…read moreAmbience 3 stars Service 3.5 stars Overall - 3.5 My husband made a reservation via open table and had to put down his cc for a $70 charge if we didn't show. That was the first impression of the place. We got there for a reservation and were seated at a high top 2 seater. We asked if we could get a regular table seeing a couple tables open. After the hostess checked, she did seat us to a regular table. Thank goodness as it was much more comfortable for the date night we were hoping, plus the place has a nice ambience where you wouldn't expect the place to have high top tables. Drinks were good, and there was fun theatrics with the Smokey fashioned my husband ordered. We ordered the charcuterie plate that was pretty good. The prosciutto that was presented tasted more like a thinly sliced ham, but the cheese and other items were tasty. We order the hamburger that was average according to my husband. I ordered the duck 3 ways and I'd say the duck confit and duck legs were the star of the dish along with the sauce. The duck breast did not have crispy skin, and I think could have been prepared a bit longer. The espresso machine wasn't working, so order a French press coffee instead that was good. This place was ok, not bad at all but not noteworthy. I would come here again if others planned it, but I think there are other places I would look to first.

Both brunch and dinner tapas are great here! This inside is super festive and colorful, Spanish…read morethemed. They have an upstairs and down. It does get busy, I've gone a few times and had to wait a while for my food, but it's busy because it's good. The Breakfast Sandwich is always an easy go to if you don't know what to get. The garlic aioli is the best. The breakfast empanadas were pretty good, I'd recommend getting it with gravy. The side potatoes are the best, they are a must have here

We made our reservation for a group of six as we were meeting clients and they suggested to try…read morethis location. It's a beautiful building with lots of wood and decor that makes you feel like you've traveled somewhere far away from Grand Rapids for a tapas adventure. We were seated promptly, and our server was attentive, although I do believe overloaded with tables. It was surprisingly busy for a Wednesday night they said, and we had to ask for several things a couple of times. This isn't a big deal as we all understand being busy. It almost seems like we tried the whole menu, but some of the standouts were the charcuterie (jamon y queso), the empanadas, and the goat cheese (queso con herbias). The patatas bravas were a big hit with our group. Our least favorite dishes were the carne paella and the albondigas. We did not try any of the seafood options, but some were very intriguing. We had a non seafood lover at the table. All of our drinks were delicious, aside from a couple of mistakes with getting the wrong ones. Overall, it was a great visit and I would return if in the area.

MDRD did not disappoint. We shared a little of everything and every plate was a hit. Brandon took…read moregreat care of us attentive without hovering, and happy to walk us through the menu. The riverside view makes it, especially as the light shifts over the water. And the desserts are genuinely creative, not an afterthought like so many places. We'll absolutely be back

Having a good time together on the 27th floor at the Amway Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids. Caroline…read moreand her husband came from Arizona for the Board Meeting in Michigan. Meeting new people is always fun! Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and Madrid Tapas Bar had beautiful views and great ambiance. We had ceviche, octopus, pork belly and sangria together!