Grand River Brewery - Brighton — Restaurant in Brighton

I’m a local and really want this place to succeed. The last time I visited, service was slow, but our waitress kindly explained they were short-staffed and apologized. I appreciated the honesty, and it wasn’t a big deal.

However, this recent visit was extremely disappointing. We came with out-of-town family, 10 people total (6 adults, 4 kids), and arrived at 4:30 p.m. to avoid the dinner rush. The restaurant was nearly empty, and we were seated on the patio.

We asked about happy hour cocktails, and our waitress told us they were no longer half off. I double-checked and found a sign at the entrance with top line stating 1/2 off cocktails for happy hour. When I pointed this out to the bartender, she just said, “Fair enough.” The waitress then told us the sign couldn’t be changed because “it’s not chalk” and that it wasn’t on the sidewalk, so it didn’t count. We asked if we could speak with the Manager. She said she'd send the right over.

We placed our order, asking for kids’ meals to come out first. Service was slow, but we were patient. Still no manager. We asked again and were told they’d be by shortly. Eventually, two meals came out, then two more about 10–15 minutes later. We watched other tables, seated after us, get their food, including the same dishes we’d ordered. The kids’ meal came out dead last.

One entrée never arrived at all.

We had to fetch our own condiments. Our server never checked in, asking about refills, or acknowledging the issues. When I mentioned the missing entrée, she casually said, “Oh, I can take it off the bill,” with no apology.

We asked several times for boxes and the check. When we got the bills, drinks were still full price. Again, we asked to speak to a manager. The server said they were downstairs and would come by. Another long wait. Still no manager.

After two hours, we were ready to leave. I left a low tip with a note, something I never do. I usually tip 20–30% and understand how tough serving can be, but this experience was truly miserable. Not once did the waitress take responsibility, apologize, or make any effort to improve our visit.

Just as we were leaving, the “Director of Operations” showed up. I explained everything—the ignored requests for a manager, the slow service, the missing food, the poor communication. He apologized and said it was “too much of a hassle” to comp anything since we’d already paid, but gave me a $100 gift card as a gesture. While appreciated, it doesn’t undo the fact that the evening was a disappointment and left a bad impression on our guests.

I want to support this business, but unless serious improvements are made in service and communication, I’m not sure...

I was not going to post a review, but I would hope this helps them improve so they can succeed. I’ve been twice once for dinner and for lunch. Dinner we sat at the bar on a Saturday around 3:30. Ordered the peachy keen to drink. Very good. Bartender was slllllooowww and lacked a bartender personality. We ordered a Caesar salad to start and the jaegerschnitzel for our entree. Salad comes with entree and has chicken on it. I wanted to make sure we weren’t charged for the chicken since we didn’t order it. Bartender takes salad away to correct the issue. Our entree was sooooo good. Caesar salad was returned no chicken but so much cheese it was inedible. Bar manager was on top of the situation and comped our salad. Lunch Sat at a table ordered drinks and the spin dip with fried pickles. Took forever for the food to come and when it did it was spinach dip that sat way too long under the broiler and the Parmesan cheese was burned, brought sweet potato fries, not fried pickles. Took them back, no big deal it happens. Fried pickles come out and we ordered half a Reuben and fries, with the pretzels. Fried pickles were so heavily battered they were all stuck together, pretzels were greasy and tasted stale. We sent the spin dip back and it was taken off the bill. The Reuben was really good, the bacon sauerkraut is some of the best I’ve had. The table enjoyed their beers. I wanted another peachy keen, but it wasn’t frozen for some reason. I just had it in a glass with ice. It was ok but not as good as the frozen. Also there were no soups, only chili. I am hoping this place tightens up and works out the kinks. I’ll give it awhile and give them...

Ive been here before and didnt think of reviewing it but this most recent time changed my mind!!! Service was solid compared to last time i showed up. It was kind of slow and i still waited a decent minute before someone coming to take my order. I sat down ordered my drink and shortly after was ordering my meal. And OMG!!! Let me tell you I was skeptical of ordering the nacho. The first time I got it I was like yes it's good but I feel bad sending back almost a whole plate of chips but there was nowhere near enough ingredients for each chip to be eaten. But this last time I went... O M G!!! They had the chips spread out enough for every chip to have each ingredient on it. I don't know whose making the changes but keep it coming!!! There's definitely some improvement going on with the food and price to portion ratio that they need to keep up on. I was so impressed with my nacho I hope they keep up on it and improve other menu items the way they improved my nacho. I mean an ingredient for EVERY BITE!!! That's what a company should run on. I get a nacho with chicken and for probably 30 chips I had chicken on EACH BITE!!! Last time I ordered a nacho with chicken I felt ripped off with the little bits of chicken I had on like 5 little bits of my ENTIRE NACHO. I think they should keep up on this method. My first time compared to my second time was almost like they read my mind that there wasn't enough chicken. Keep the good food coming!!! An ingredient for every bite!!! After this last visit I'm curious to other items on...