The Unicorn Tavern — Restaurant in Grand Haven

This was our first time eating at the Unicorn Tavern. I will start with what we liked:

The staff was awesome!! Our server was Evan and she was super nice.

The atmosphere was great too!! The restaurant was clean, and so were the restrooms.

The food came out quickly and (for the most part) was good, and the portions were large.

We got fries as a starter and they were good! They gave us two dipping sauces and they were tasty but very small (If I had to guess I would say 2oz?)

My husband got a pastry type stew and my kiddo got the chicken and waffles, both of which were great.

I got the Flemish Mac and Cheese with fried chicken. I was not expecting it to be bone-in, huge pieces. Unfortunately, I don't eat that but it didn't look hand-battered and tasty. The Mac n' Cheese however was bland. I had to ask for salt.

The could-use-some-improvement list: We asked what they had to drink and they said "Coke Products". We ordered two cherry cokes and a lemonade, and they arrived in small-ish glasses. We were never offered a refill for any of the drinks. When we got the bill, we were charged $6 for each coke plus $2 for added grenadine syrup. So $8 for a 16 oz glass of coke. We were not informed of this in advance, they said they had coke products, so we ordered cherry cokes.

The prices were a little on the high side. My Mac n' Cheese with chicken was $21 (the price on the menu was $15, again we were not informed of the upcharge - it is fine that there was one, we just were not told in advance what it was). My husband's dish was $18. We got the Unicorn Sundae dessert which was two small scoops of ice cream with Skittles and a hand-made cake cone. It was small... and it was $10. In total, we paid $78 for 3 people (1 appetizer, 3 mains, 3 drinks with no refills and 1 small dessert.)

I am actually from Europe and Antwerp and Amsterdam were my stomping grounds for many years, so I am very familiar with Belgian cuisine. This was kind of a mix of American and Belgian I guess. Not bad... except the Mac n' Cheese I guess. The flavor just was not there :(

We would like to visit again when their outside seating area opens and give them another whirl since my kiddo really...

The atmosphere here had a German Brewhouse feel to it. It had an open concept between inside eating and patio eating. This was accomplished with a large garage door to open the space up. They used old doors to give separation between their booths, which I though was really unique and I really liked it.

I ordered the Scourmont Schnitzel, which is a sandwich consisting of Breaded pork tenderloin cutlet, Raclette cheese fondue, house pickles & house sweet hot mustard on a Pretzel bun ($14). I got it Wiener Schnitzel style ($2), which adds a Fried egg on top. In addition, I got it with Pomme Frites ($2), aka fries. I also go a cup of Carbonnade Flamande ($5), which is a Traditional Flemish beef & beer stew. I started with the stew that had the consistency of a blended chili, it was excellent. A very unique taste that I had trouble labeling, except beefy. The sandwich was Outstandingly AMAZING. Wow! From my first bite I was in love. Everything blended perfectly, while at the same time individually comes out. The pork cutlet was perfectly cooked and very juicy. The cheese was gooey and a unique taste of it’s own. The sweet mustard was delicious. I normally don’t like pickles on sandwiches, but these belonged and were perfect in this case. The added fried egg definitely add it’s own essence to the sandwich. In summation this was the best thing I’ve eaten in at least the last 2 years. The fries were definitely above average and were a perfect side to any meal. The person I was with ordered the Mitraillette ($19), which is a sandwich consisting of House Belgian Forest ham, pomme frites, Trappist cheese sauce, hot pepper rings & Monk’s mustard on a Michigan Bread ciabatta hoagie bun. The sandwich was huge. It was stated to be Excellent!

The service was very good. The waitress was helpful and very friendly. Everything was timely and my drink was kept filled.

Overall an easy 5 stars. More if I could. Would I return? If it was closer I’d go weekly. Heck I was full after the meal and I still wanted another. So absolutely I’ll return. I high highly Recommend The Unicorn Tavern and suggest everyone to...

TLDR: I genuinely thought I’d left a review here in the past, but I guess not! This place is one of my favorites in Grand Haven for both brunch and dinner (I’ve not been here for lunch but I’m sure it’s fine 🤣). The atmosphere is lovely, the staff is great, and vibes are chill and accepting of everyone, and the food is good!

I got a coffee (endless refills) even though it was dinner time- I was a tired squirrel!! 🐿️ ☕️ and it was great, and our server was always just around the corner to give me a warm up 😊.

A friend of mine got the Belgian Onion Soup (You know it's cousin, French onion. Trappist ale broth, Chimay Havarti au gratin & French bread "crouton" make this "merveilleuse".) she really enjoyed it. Perfect for a fall day, which is when we visited.

I got the Flemish Mac & Cheese (Sea shells pasta, leeks, Chimay cheese, bechamel, Belgian Forest bacon & trappist cheese sauce) which I get whenever I get my braces adjusted (because my teeth hurt) but honestly the flavor of the dish is really quite good. I’d get it even if it weren’t one of the few things I can chew with my adult braces 🥹.

A couple people got burgers- De Base Dubbel (Smash burger patty, vine ripened tomato, red onion, house pickles, Dijon mustard & hela ketchup on a pretzel bun.) and really liked them.

One friend got the "Bunny Chow" (• South Africa • Curried ground beef, yukon gold, yucca, turnips, parsnips, carrots & onions, yellow curry chicken stock, hollowed out butter grilled French bread loaf.) It looked super interesting and she really enjoyed it.

I was the only one who got dessert 🐷 because I cannot resist a crème brûlée, especially when one is on special- I had a berry one, which was not actually on the menu, but I do see that they offer a lemon one regularly- at least at the time that I visited.

Overall the service is great- our server had no shortage of good jokes for us, was very attentive and accommodating, and really helped make our time...