Big Grove Brewery & Taproom — Restaurant in Cedar Rapids

We've been to Big Grove 4 times now on various days of the week for lunch and dinner with the hope it will be better if we give them another chance, each time we leave disappointed.

Today we went for dinner as a party of 5, arrived around 5pm and got on the list. Was told it would be about a 60 min wait, which was spot on, before being seated.

We watched as our waiter split a check for a large party on their small Toast devices, handed it to the customer, let the customer review the ticket, process the payment, stand over the customer's shoulder while they select a tip amount, and then take the device back and do it all over again.

We waited over 15 min before our waiter finished with the large party and was able to take our drink order. Luckily we ordered our meals at the same time because after getting our drinks we didn't see our waiter for another 20 min.

Seemed like he was being run ragged with too large of a section/ having too many tables being seated all at once.

We got our Togo order almost 25 min BEFORE we got our actual dine in food.

Each time the waiter stopped by we were out of beverages and one of the beer glasses used was cracked.

The food arrived 45 minutes after we ordered, warm at best, the chicken sandwich tasted burnt/over cooked like they threw it in the fryer once and then a second time because they forgot about it, let it sit out and get to room temperature before bringing it to the table. Sadly our entire table order was like it had been sitting under the heat lamp for too long that it was barely warm in the middle.

Regardless of if they are busy or not, the food quality shouldn't suffer. I'd rather wait for a good meal versus be served food like...

This was my first time at the Cedar Rapids location. Its very impressive looking and there is plenty of seating. We came on a nice day so the 2 of us wanted to sit outside. Right off the bat I could tell the hostess was in a bad mood. When we saw her getting the food menus and silverware we let her know we were only there to hang out for drinks. She looked very annoyed with us and threw the silverware back in the basket. We asked to sit outside so we followed her. As we were walking I noticed a HUGE group of little kids running around screaming and playing with the bags setup they have out there. We passed 2 empty tables and she walked us to a table right in the middle of the madness. I smiled and walked next to her and in a polite manner under my breath so I wouldn't cause a scene I asked "Excuse me, but could we possibly have a table not surrounded by kids? Sorry." There was even someone's phone at the table she wanted to seat us at. She stepped back and gave me a look of "how dare you" and threw her hands up and yelled at me "TAKE YOUR PICK!" I thought she was joking. She was NOT. So I just turned around and walked 2 tables back to an empty one and we sat down. She SLAMMED the menus on the table and stormed off. If it weren't for the AWESOME server we had, I would have given a 1 star review and never returned. She even came outside later and I saw her glaring at me. What did I do? Not a good idea to have someone like that as your first line of defense in a business. Bad...

(Gluten free lens) I’ve been multiple times, and as someone with celiac disease, it’s not the most gluten free option. The times I’ve been, the servers are not the most knowledgeable on gluten. We were there on a super busy day today (Mother’s Day), and they seemed to be overwhelmed and not very available. They forgot to bring our sauces until we hunted them down and never brought us refills. They came by when we were done eating to check on us.

As far as gluten free options go, the only side that’s safe is a side salad without croutons. The fries are battered and from a shared fryer. Even a baked potato as an option would be nice. They do have a gluten free bun, but they were out when I was there. I only have ever felt good about ordering the Poke Bowl with GF modifications—and let me say it is phenomenal—but I’d love to be able to branch out a bit from that. A bunless burger just always feels like a bit of bummer, especially for the price. The outside seating is so fun, and there’s a play area just outside the outdoor seating so the kiddos can play while we wait for our food, which is great. The vibes are there, which is why we come back, even if the menu isn’t the best for me and the service has been a...