Blue Dog Tavern — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

Great burgers, a passion for tater tots, and good dogs.

Stocking Street Burger: It is your average burger, but done right. Ordered medium with American Cheese. It was juicy good. The toppings were well balanced. It did not fall apart. The bun complimented well.

J-Dawg Burger: This was my favorite, but it had a minor flaw of falling apart. Ordered medium and it was medium.

The burger patty was stuffed with toppings and sauce, a new trend I am liking. I’ve always been concerned if they fell apart and this was an example of one that does. A third of the burger fell out the back about two to three bites in. I put it back, but bummer.

But that was the only flaw. They put a lot of thought into this burger and the taste was amazing and balanced just right. The burger patty was SUPER juicy good. The pretzel bun was a great decision on their part and really made it stand out well.

The Cooper: Basic chili cheese dog, but with really good cheese sauce. It was a little better quality beef dog and slightly bigger. The chili was a little above average. The cheese sauce, like with the J-Dawg Burger, is amazing!

If you like hot dogs, you’ll like this place. Get two dogs and tater tots or fries are free!

Curry Tots: A monthly special that is only available for this month (August 2024).

I believe they mainly added a curry spice to a mayo (don’t quote me on that, it might not be mayo). The grilled chicken was there, but the onion, red peppers, jalapeño, and cilantro were minor nuances, which were disappointing. A lot of the topping was on top only. The lower 80% didn’t have toppings except the left over.

It didn’t seem as well thought out as a concept. That said, it was still delicious because I do like a little kick.

Poutine Tots: A regular menu item and it was delicious! The ingredients were well mixed in and well balanced (better than the Curry Tots).

The egg was a great addition. The pork was a great addition. The cheese was stringy good. The gravy is the best part (it is made with flour, so gluten-free beware).

Tots (general): The bowl is small compared with the amount you get. It makes the dish look great, but it becomes a little difficult to manage if you want to mix in the toppings. The tots seemed fairly plain. Better than you’d get at the store, but not significantly enough to justify the price. Maybe ours were just a bit overcooked, but the inside should be a little fluffier and lighter. Again, I did enjoy the tots overall, but there’s still a bit of room for improvement.

Chips: Like most pubs. No one seems to make good house made chips. Maybe it’s me.

Fries: An extra $3 and worth it. Delicious. Nothing special. Just done right. Thin cut, warm to the end, fluffy center, good medium crunchy outside, but a bit salty (like many restaurants).

Service: Waitress was all business, but pleasant. We seated ourselves, were met with immediately, and she made sure we were taken care of and anticipated our needs.

The food came relatively quickly without delays and was spot on right. I need a lot of water and though I usually ask for two, having only one was not a problem since she always made sure it was full.

Atmosphere: A little more polished for the neighborhood, but not overly. You can walk in with jeans or a suit and fit in.

The emphasis on dogs is a little refreshing. I am not a dog person, but I can appreciate it to a degree. I think if you are a dog person, you’d LOVE this place.

Monthly tots special: I think this is what makes Blue Dog Tavern special and what really attracted me to this place. I watched them on Facebook for a few months and saw a couple of fun ones. I mentioned the Curry Tots a friend of mine who shares my appreciation for curry and he insisted we get there to try it. I thought the monthly tots were simpler and less thought out than I saw on Facebook, but I’ve only tried one. The regular tot options look more well thought out and fuller.

Visited Wednesday 4:15-5:45 PM. Their menu on the...

If I could put 0 stars if I would. I honestly really enjoyed blue dog the first time I dined in! The food was top tier, we got burgers, Brussels, Philly tots & the chicken wrap. I spoke about this place soooo greatly and talked about how bad I wanted to back and try different stuff! After working st Patrick’s day allllll day long, we jus wanted some gooood food so we decided to go to bluedog! Off bat the waitress had an attitude, I get it it’s 8 o’clock on st Patrick’s day everyone’s over it but come on at least mask it to your customers. Truthfully we think it was discrimination. Everyone in our group was minorities, but everyone else was getting treated with respect. About 10 mins later My coworker was explaining a situation that had happened earlier today and the manager proceeded to come up to my friend in the middle of serving someone’s food to yell “HEY, ZIP IT.” In a snappy angry tone, we were all so taken back by it we literally just sat there for a minute and looked at him like woah?? We then proceeded to ask him what the problem was and he just kept walking away saying he’s busy, as a manager that is a situation you are supposed to handle and it was handled terribly. Also didn’t want to provide the information of the staff member above him. Don’t go here if your African American, Hispanic,...

I have had multiple great times when I am sitting down at blue dog. So The stars that they have earned is from when I have been there. I will no longer be ordering take out from blue dog. The food has always been sloppy, cold or toppings have not been put on correctly. A couple times I made requests of additional sauces (and made sure I chose an option online that I was charged) and then continued to not get any of them. But the host working the front was too overwhelmed with working all of togo, dealing with delivery orders and dealing with seating that I did not want to bother him. In addition I arrived a little before my time frame and expected to wait for my food. I was not prepared to wait 10-15 minutes after the range on pick up time that I was given. And then for my food to not be correct I was very frustrated.

If you skipped the giant rant paragraph here is the conclusion, I do not enjoy dealing with their host, I will not be ordering takeout again, Still a good place to go and sit down and have drinks, food, fun night if you are able to get in. (Suggestion to go around 4-5 to get. table. Anytime after 6 the bar and all tables will be reserved or on a 45...