1873 — Restaurant in Grand Haven

Went in on a Saturday night. Downtown was packed the restaurant was completely empty besides one couple at the bar. We were curious as to why this place would be empty on a Saturday. We soon figured out the answer. My wife and I came to get the full experience but decided not to waste our money or time after the appetizers. The food was awful, we started with two appetizers the lobster deviled eggs and lobster cakes. The lobster deviled eggs were super salty and had that fishy taste you don’t want your seafood to have. Also had cheap caviar on top which wasn’t listed in the description. The lobster cake was lukewarm and only had one when advertised as cakes. The service matched the quality of the food. The server was slow and never asked us if we wanted to put in entrees, spent most her time chatting with the couple at the bar. With a place completely empty besides two other people you would think the service would be good. Any fine dining establishment should have excellent service regardless of the amount of people being served regardless. Atmosphere was awful, stuff looked old, crusty, and dated. Just cause the names 1873 doesn’t mean that it needed to be furnished from that year. The Kirby next door was playing loud music which drowned out whatever was playing in 1873. So you’d hear the two different songs just overlapping. When your spending 50+ dollars a person at a restaurant you expect things to be of a certain level, this place does not scale. Shares space with the Kirby and honestly I left feeling like it was a worse version of the Kirby. This place was empty and I now know why. I would say it’ll be closed...

Had a fantastic experience at 1873. Taylor who waited on us at the bar was attentive, friendly, great to talk to and made amazing cocktails. Enjoyed a few appetizers, drinks and dessert - unlike any other food currently available in Grand Haven. Most restaurants might satisfy a craving or just “do the job” with their meals, but you can tell 1873 has poured into making sure their food has depth in its flavor and wows in presentation. Everything we ate was fantastic. We did however give some constructive feedback about the crostini bread served with our mushrooms and Taylor made note that others had the same feedback. Other than that, every item we ordered was phenomenal. We also were offered bread service (this bread was amazing and we shared it should’ve been served with the mushrooms) which was delicious & served with an olive oil dipping sauce and roasted garlic, along with some kind of garlic butter. Highly recommend the Brussels sprouts - probably the best I’ve had. The toffee coffee torte for dessert? Heavenly. Overall, the revamp of the former Grill Room to 1873 is a success. Top notch service, great food, atmosphere. Can’t wait to come back and try the steaks and more menu items. Bravo to the team who have worked hard to bring this space...

Went for Dinner date with my Husband. Dont waste your money... Firstly... space is dark, boring, and forgettable. Painted dark brick walls with some wierd framed art and allover black and burgundy. Didnt make me feel like it was anywhere special. For an appetizer We chose the Lobster Deviled eggs and they were terrible. The egg mixture was so salty in a very wierd way, no not from the caviar...that tasted like nothing and there was a tiny amount of lobster that topped the wierd salted yolk mixture. They sat in a thick pool of mustard that also was gross. Serving size was 4 halves or 2 full eggs, very disappointed in this overpriced muck. I mentioned this all to the server and hopefully she passed the info along. Dinner was mediocre, I had the New York Strip, it had hardly any flavor and wasnt tender, no "hotel butter" was on my plate to coat the tough steak, it actually got put on my husb ribeye which was fatty and didnt need any butter!! We ended with the cheesecake which was good. Our server Melissa was great but that was about it, wont return....please taste your food and lower the prices to match the quality that is sent out...