Good breakfast - get there early to get a table. The restaurant is small but cozy. Good place for 2 to eat breakfast. Wouldn't try to get seating for more than 3 or 4. Haven't tried their lunch options. And haven't eaten at the Westsider since BC - before covid. read more

Welp... I was really enjoying myself until I found hair in my pancake. I immediately threw up in their restroom, but at least they knocked $2.50 off my bill. I wouldn't say not to eat here. Just be cautious. read more

We are from Lansing and after a Dr appointment at the hospital we decided to try this place for breakfast. Very pleasant atmosphere with a mom and pop feel. Staff was very nice and the food was wonderful and there was plenty of it. I told my son that we will have to come back next time we're in Grand Rapids. Restaurant and restrooms were clean. I use a walker and there's a nice ramp it's very handicap friendly. read more

Cuban skillet- awesome great price and sent me away with a coffee to go will be back tomorrow to try the polish combo read more

The Westsider Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Fantastic breakfast and authentic Polish food. Everything is homemade and you can tell. Plus Fran, the owner, is a real sweetheart!

Today was my first time coming in for lunch at Westsider! After years of being a Westsider breakfast enthusiast, I finally had the opportunity to grab lunch! Got there around 11:55 and was able to get a seat right away- next to the window. Servers were prompt in getting us drinks. I had the Dill Pickle Soup - came out quickly and was AMAZING. Delicious, creamy broth with just the right amount of chunks.. pickle, onion, carrots, etc. SO GOOD. I also got a single golumpki- perfect size for lunch (i did not get the bread) As soon as my fork hit the roll.. it fell apart. The cabbage was perfectly cooked and not hard to eat at all. Meat was crumbly, moist, and good flavor. The sauce.. the sauce was the real star. Perfect balance of tomato and spices.. almost a hint of roasted tomato!? SO GOOD. In and out within an hour for lunch- so good timing! Only complain was that the restaurant was SO HOT. Not sure they had their air on yet.. but it was close to 80 degrees outside. Just another reason i love the Westsider.. and their amazing food! read more

To start off, they all seemed extremely unhappy about seeing non-YT people at the establishment. From the owner down to the wait staff. We waited for a table and when 2 booths opened up we asked for the smaller booth that was more on the inside. We were turned down and seated near the door despite one of us feeling cold. The service started off condescending and quickly descended into sarcasm. The waitress was overbearing loud and treated us like we were a bother. She couldn't bother to remember the soup of the day. Made us repeat any question we had, made us repeat our order. It was like she couldn't believe we were speaking English.Served the food and immediately asked, "Is everything tasting delicious, as always?" I said, "No, not yet." A rude comment followed about how we'd eat all the food. Halfway through my plate i'd had quite enough of the food. The food seemed to have been barely warmed up. Greasy and salty. The food is as mediocre as the racial prejudice is strong. At least some things in this joint are primo, old school stuff. Not going back and will do my best to convince all my colleagues about the nastiness of this place. read more

Hey! I eat here every week. I do my business breakfast meetings here. It is a good atmosphere and full of genuine people eating here also. The food speaks for itself, it is great. I order the "2nd street" every week. The kielbasa is local, fresh and cooked properly. As a Lithuanian, I am always looking for Kapusta, Kielbasa or something ethnic. I feel like I found a good place to eat here. One suggest is if they would make Kugellis. read more

I am a true "Westsider. I lived down the street from the cafe about 40 years ago. They served Frank's kielbasa in the 9th Street breakfast and it was great. read more

Gave this place a second chance and the meal was much better. Have been there many times since. The amount of food received for the price is great, it's almost too much food. The Polish food is very good. Always good service. read more

The Westsider Cafe is my new go-to brunch place in Grand Rapids. I'd give it 5 stars, but they don't serve alcohol and sometimes I like a boozy brunch. Another downside is that The Westsider is always packed on the weekends. I've had the shortest waits before 10 a.m. and after noon. They don't take call ahead and they don't take reservations. It is what it is, so just be prepared to wait 20-45 minutes+. When the weather is nice, there are benches outside. But during the winter, it gets very cramped in the waiting areas. The food is worth the wait. The westside neighborhood of Grand Rapids was historically known for its butchers and The Westsider sources its meat from nearby shops. They serve the best Canadian bacon I've ever had and fantastic kielbasa. Their baked goods--biscuits, pancakes, french toast--are delicious, too. In my view, the true test of a breakfast place is poached eggs. It's my favorite style and The Westsider delivers perfectly poached eggs every time. The Westsider is a classic diner-style breakfast joint. Prices are reasonable and you won't leave hungry! read more

This is my favorite lunch place in town! Their polish food is excellent. On par with Chicago or Warrendale of years past. The polish plate is the perfect dish for sharing with my wife-- or not! "My my po poh lish plate, my po poh lish plate!" read more

Great small place. Get there early on the weekend. Usually packed after 10am both Saturday and Sunday. I've had a couple different breakfast dishes here. My wife loved the salmon Benedict! I'll definitely be coming back soon! read more

The Westsider Cafe - Poppin at 930 on a sunday - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Very much a let down. After a few positive review from friends and also here on Yelp, I thought I'd actually enjoy The Westsider but said enjoyment was completely absent. First off: Molly, our server was fantastic. She was warm and genuine and just the right amount of attentive. Actually, the waitstaff and hostess in general were all very pleasant. Unfortunately the food was not. We each had the "Second Street" breakfast-- very standard combination of eggs/meat/potato/choice of pancake or french toast, etc. I could go into detail about each item but the best way to review the food I think is to say you could easily make better tasting, better quality fare at home. Reminiscent of cafeteria style, bland, unimpressive preparation. Including lack of flavor. Sysco and GFS products abound. There are other places in GR that use such products and can elevate them/make them taste delicious, really-- but it seemed to me that there was no passion behind the kitchen here, or intention to do anything but cook up the low quality products and simply mound them on a plate together. Perhaps the Polish dishes and other specialties provide a better experience here- but breakfast was not delicious and I cannot see a reason to return. read more

I'm a Westsider fan although I don't go there that often. When I do I always look forward to it as it has been a good experience. But this one was a bit of a downer. I normally order the Polish combo. On my most recent visit however, because I had not visited for some time, I mistakenly ordered the Polish Griddle which I never had before. I had expressed to the wait staff that I wanted the dish with the polish sausage and kielbasa in which she pointed to an item in the menu and I said yes. When the griddle came and I realized I was not getting the Polish Combo, I commented to the wait staff my error although was not looking to change the order. However, no one showed any interest in correcting the situation. The griddle was fine but was no where near what the combo would have been. I was reflecting later that in 'good' restaurants I have been to, the staff would have offered to replace the order accordingly. Also, although I am partly at fault with the incorrect order, it would have been nice if the wait staff who took the order clarified that there were 2 polish dishes in the menu especially since I described the dish to her. As it was, she and another wait staff who I mentioned it to did not want to have anything to do with it. Overall, its a great restaurant but not sure if I'd go back again. I left a bit put off by the lack of consideration on the matter. Their yelp dial was just turned a few notches down for me. read more

They have great prices and excellent service. You get a lot for your money and food is alway delicious! read more

The Westsider Cafe - Philly ribeye - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

The Westsider Cafe is my favorite place to go for breakfast!!! They always have so many specials to chose from and their homemade hollandaise sauce is to die for. I put it all over my entire plate! Yum! Whenever family or friends are visiting they are always wanting/demanding my husband and I take them back here and we are happy to do so! read more

Great atmosphere and great food. Just passing through the area and happened upon this gem...what a treat!

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I worked at a top notch breakfast restaurant for 5 years. That being said, the Westsider is the best breakfast in Grand Rapids. What a value! a ton of hot delicious food for an unbeatable price. The cuban and polish fare is exceptional. Some of the platters are sure to be going home with you. They have a few tables outdoors which is nice in the summer, especially if you're a smoker. With the recently established drug policy in Grand Rapids, there are few greater pleasures than a spliff with your morning coffee and breakfast. Service is always friendly, all be it a bit slow at times. Who cares! Don't come to a restaurant in a hurry in the first place, or prepare to be dissappointed. The owner has always taken care of me. As with any restaurant, ask for suggestions from your server, they almost always know better then you do. read more

We just moved to GR from Seattle and the first place we wanted to check out was the Westsider. It was well worth the 45 minute wait once we arrived! I grew up visiting GR and eating traditional polish food, and this place takes the cake. I ordered the polish skillet and my husband got the breakfast burrito. We drank countless cups of the house blend coffee and left awake with full bellies, and pretty full wallets too. The whole meal was around $20! I'm excited to make this a weekly brunch spot! read more

The Westsider Cafe - Polish skillet. Rye bread not shown. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

The Westsider Cafe doesn't look like much from the outside but don't let that fool you. That changes once you are inside. The inside has kind of the feeling of greasy diner but that is far from the case. Having a weakness for Polish food, my party stuck with a trio of Polish dishes and shared them. The golabki, kielbasa, and pierogi plates. Impressive to see them on the menu! And while they didn't quite compare to what my grandmother or even my mom make, they were pretty darn good! And for the price of each dish we got a ton of food! Good food. Great Deal! Happiness! The Dill Pickle soup and the Tomato Soup although both good were not quite up to par with the rest of the meal. And the side salad that I ordered was good too but way overpriced. Skip this unless you feel you need your vegetables. I would not hesitate to come back here again. For Polish food or to try other dishes. This was a gem that Yelp helped me find and I left feeling like we had won! read more

Large portions, cheap price, decent grub. They do run a wait for breakfast on the weekends, so be prepared for that. The service was overall pretty bad - but they run a packed house with just a few servers. Now for the service issues - put in our name with the waitress, quoted 20 minutes. Waited 25 minutes and after seeing guests seated that had arrived after us, we checked on our name. Somehow they had lost us in the list. Frustrating. Once we were seated we just had continuously slow service. The server was friendly, but just not timely with refills or the check/payment. Probably won't be back any time soon, but it's not a bad place. read more

Great food, great service, what more can you ask for? Their dill pickle soup was amazing! The breakfast food was tasty, sides were awesome, I have absolutely no complaints! The wait wasn't bad and we all had an enjoyable experience. I can't wait to go back. read more

I had the Polish combo plate, which I am comparing to what is served at the two Polish restaurant icons in Hamtramck, Polonia and Polish Village. It was decent, but not in the same league. Here's why: 1) The pierogis were doughy and slightly undercooked. The ones in Hamtramck have a little browning on the outside with a slight carmelized flavor and a slight crispness. 2) The sausage was cooked through, but again it should be cooked through more. It was too pink for my liking. It was almost like it was boiled or microwaved. 3) The dill soup was bland and not served hot enough compared to the Hamtramck restaurants. 4) The coffee was so weak that the only people that I could imagine would savor it either grew up during the Great Depression or are currently in a North Korean prison. Big Boy has far better coffee. Weak coffee is hard to forgive for those of us raised on Starbucks strength java. 5) The bread had no butter with it. I shouldn't have to ask. "Oh, you want a spoon to eat your chili? You sure are high maintenance." Still, with how hard it is to find Polish food in GR, I'll probably return. Just don't fool yourself into believing that this place's Polish offerings compete with Hamtramck's best. I think I need to return here and try some of their breakfast fare because even at lunchtime, a disproportionate number of patrons were having omelets and scrambles, so maybe my judgement of their Polish food isn't fair. Maybe this is primarily a breakfast destination that merely dabbles in Slavic food. read more

We took our grandchildren here (ages 8 and 2) for breakfast. The 2 year old was throwing a fit and wouldn't stop crying. The waitress quickly brought him raisin toast to see if that would help. The hostess brought him fruit. They were all so very kind about the whole embarrassing episode. My husband and I both had eggs, toast, potatoes and sausage. The kids had French toast and sausage. Our eggs were cooked perfectly, the fried red skin potatoes were nice and crispy, but best of all were the delicious spicy link sausages. They were the best any of us ever tasted. Our 2 year old ate 3 of them! He also ate all of his French toast, a good testimonial to it's deliciousness! Our 8 year old grandson raved at his French toast and sausage. This place cannot be missed! Excellent food, and great service - also spotlessly clean. read more

Like the other reviews say, cheap with good portions and delicious food so it is worth the wait at the door! BUT .. It will be a very long wait if you get Julia , not a people person ...she has an eye brow piercing and never smiles , all the other servers looked like they were doing a great job but ours made us wait 20 before we even placed an order, cleaning tables and running around instead of taking a minute to tend to us and only came back once to drop off the check. I will be back for sure because the food and rest of the staff are awesome ! read more

So slow. We've been here for an hour seated. I would like to rate their food, but we have yet to receive it. Had to change our order to togo. Hope it tastes ok. read more

The Westsider Cafe - Wish this was a picture of food. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

One of my absolute all time favorite restaurants in GR. Great for breakfast, brunch or lunch. Try the kielbasa Reuben and dill pickle soup.

Woo-eee! This was one eggcellent breakfast! (hah see what I did there?) I had the 8th Street, which is poached eggs, ham, pulled pork, black beans, verde sauce, and salsa on top of English muffins. It was absolutely divine! I normally load my breakfast up with hot sauce, but this didn't need a thing, it was perfect as-is. I was so starstruck from my dish, I don't even remember what my wife ordered, but I do remember her saying it was equally good. I also liked how much care they put into plating the food. I don't normally think of presentation when talking about breakfast foods, but they did a great job with it. We were lucky enough to sit down without a wait, the waitress was very pleasant, the coffee was good, and the prices were pretty reasonable for the quality and quantity. Best breakfast I've had in a while! read more

Awesome breakfast in the belly of the West Side. The menu's been recently expanded, and they consistently have a great choice of platters, scrambles, and a smattering of Polish dishes (it's the west side). Bigger on the inside than it looks, with an almost-diner feel to it. Probably starts getting busy at nine, especially on the weekends. Recommendation: the irish skillet. read more

It's always hard when a place tries to serve lots of different styles. The Westsider attempts to reflect that part of the city by offering not only standard diner but also Mexican & Polish breakfasts. Their fun menu even names the offerings by neighborhood streets. My guest had a "healthy" breakfast of some sort that appeared to me to be goo & cardboard. HE LOVED IT! (I feel if you are no carb, no fat, no gluten, no salt, no sugar....anything tastes good. I reached back to my roots and opted for the Polish breakfast. (Not hung up on my health I guess) Loved it as well. My only criticism is on the potato pancake. They should not be just a patty of hash browns. Our servers were super nice and when they learned that my friend was a visitor from out of State they went out of their way to joke and visit with us. I'll be going back and may even consider that "healthy" breakfast. read more

I was visiting Grand Rapids, and I wanted to try some authentic Polish food. Several people recommended the Westsider Café. It is worth the visit. We arrived about 1:30PM on a Saturday and the place was packed. We had to wait 20-30 minutes, and there wasn't really space for all those waiting people in the restaurant. Servers had to walk in between standing people, etc. The outside door was opening constantly, making it chilly at the front of the restaurant. When we were finally seated, the service was good. We were able to order immediately, the server checked up on us, the server refilled coffee, etc. She was friendly. The food came within an reasonable amount of time Although somewhat loud, we could carry on a nice conversation, and the atmosphere was lively and positive. I'm a vegetarian, and there are very few Polishes dishes I could eat. We ordered three different dishes: pierogies, baked pierogies, and eggs benedict. All were excellent. The pierogies came with a side of sauerkraut, and the baked pierogies came with some sort of sweet sauerkraut on the side, which was quite tasty. The baked pierogies were especially good. Some of the meals came with red potatoes, which were fine. I tried but didn't eat the eggs benedict. Seemed fine. I was impressed by my pierogies and recommend this restaurant. read more

Absolute worst scam of a plate of food I've ever had. I got a spoonful of gravy on top of an old biscuit with the rest of the plate filled with potatoes. My wife got a piece of quiche sized for a toddler with the rest of the plate filled with fruit. read more

Definitely one of my favorite breakfast spots in town! I used to live about 3 miles from this place, and have since moved to Grandville. I'll still make the drive to get a very good breakfast from this spot. My favorite menu items have to be the skillets - especially the Philly Skillet - lots of food for a ridiculously good price. The coffee is much better than 80% of the places I have been to in the Grand Rapids area, as well, which is a nice plus. The only downside is that the restaurant itself is very small and wait times can be up to 30 mins or more depending on what time you go, ESPECIALLY on the weekends. SO, plan ahead and plan to leave full. read more

Alot of food for a good price 2 eggs, ton of red potatoes, 2 slices of ham and 2 pieces of large pieces of french toast the potatoes were my favorite all this for $8.50. read more

The Westsider Cafe - The potatoes are fantastic! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

You must have the pierogis. On my TOP5 places to visit when I come home from Seattle. I miss my Westsider breakfast like you would not believe! read more

The Westsider Cafe - Eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast. They have great cuts of meat and a lot of food for the price! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Bro. I thought my mom worked In the back! Food was good. Great portions. I had the skillets. Bang for your buck. U get a lot. And most of the time I can't finish it. The other person I came with had two egg toast and hash. She thought it was alright. She wishes the hash brown were krispy. She never gets them. Over alll good experience. We would go back again read more

I went in before 830 for breakfast, just myself and asked to sit in a booth. The owner who is not nice, said NO that i could not sit there because i was dining solo. I have never heard of something like that before. I will never go there again. So rude!!!!!!! read more

Worth the stop on every road trip past GR. Hearty, filling, always well prepared quality breakfast food. Everyone else agrees so you may have to wait a bit for it, but by the time you leave you will be so full it'll be the last thing on your mind. read more

good morning #weekendwarrior here's a recommendation for you in the #grandrapids area right #downtown Dana and I wanted to try something new, which is how most of our #foodie #adventures begin naturally. We have a restaurant we call "our place" so anything that isn't there is adventurous. We ended up trying the #westsidercafe with a primarily polish menu they serve up some truly unique combinations and throw in a couple curve balls like the dish I landed on. I ordered the Special that day and although it was too much food for me to eat, I enjoyed every single bite. #strongcoffee #bacon hard to explain and the name slipped my mind as it's not even on the menu on #yelp but it was scrambled eggs on top of a bed of pulled park and chorizo topped with cheese, salsa and bacon. #garnished with #cilantro and my favorite part was the fried blue corn tortilla. Dana got something super healthy and I indulged. The building itself is very cool and the prices are crazy low!!! If your a #westsider go check them out! This was a review we also posted on our Instagram devoted to restaurants, breweries and everything foodie... go check us out on @beerbelliedtravelers read more

The Westsider Cafe - The special of the day!!!! So unique and packed full of flavor until the last bite! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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