HopCat — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

Love the food here. However, the decline in service in my last 5 visits or so has been atrocious. My girlfriend and I usually get HopCat once a week. Over the last year the service has been pretty good for the most part. But again, the last few visits were awful. Every single time I go in for a pickup order, I have to wait 5-20 minutes for it to be ready. Every single time. And that’s even when I show up 5 minutes after the pickup time.

Other than that, I’ve been told multiple times that my orders not ready, because the hostess doesn’t actually want to check. On top of it all, the fries are usually stale, and more often than not cold by the time we get home. And I live 7 minutes away.

Tonight did it for me. Placed a pickup order for my birthday, had to wait 25 mins AFTER the pickup time for it to be ready. My girlfriend went in, was waiting along with 4 other people for pickup orders, with no hostess in sight (which also tends to happen a lot). She had to go to the waiter/waitresses stand and ask a waitress what was going on. The waitress walked up to the stand and said “NONE OF THE ORDERS ARE READY, THEY’RE MAKING IT IN THE KITCHEN.” No apology for the wait, no apology for the hostess not being at the stand, no apology for anything. Funny part is, our order WAS ready. When my girlfriend said she could literally see our bag with our name on it, the waitress just went “oh” and handed it to her. Again, no apology.

I also leave a tip, every single time. For PICKUP ORDERS. Something that really doesn’t deserve a tip, but covid changed everything and now everybody thinks they deserve a tip for doing their job, not extra, just their job. And the fact that they always try to automatically add a tip on pickup order is also insane, when you factor in that we have this same level of service every single time.

I have no issue tipping on a pickup order if my foods at least warm, if it’s ready within 5 minutes of the estimated time, etc.

The waitresses and hostesses don’t care, I’ve had maybe one positive experience here in the last 6 months. But the food is good and the new menu is great. It’s the only reason we’ve continued to eat here. But tonight changed things. I understand being busy, though they’re not usually that busy when we order. I understand that sometimes the kitchen can be behind. But I’m done and honestly wouldn’t recommend HopCat like I used to. The great food doesn’t outweigh the terrible service, employees who aren’t interested in doing their jobs, and overall disrespect shown to customers.

I gave 2 stars only because I hope they can turn things around, but it will be a while before I even give that a shot. The food is 5 stars. The service is 0 stars. The “atmosphere” is cool, but the workers in it make it so bad you can’t even enjoy it. I hate leaving a bad review for a place I loved so much, but I couldn’t take it anymore when I’m coming in almost...

I had went here the other day with my son. We have been here several other times also. But this last time wasn't the ideal visit. Having a budget in mind as usual I ordered the Cowboy Smash burger combo and wings for my son. The total bill was $37.10 with drinks. The burger in the menu was priced at $12.50. Upon receiving the bill I was charged $14.50. I asked why the extra $2 and she didn't really know but suspected the raw onions I asked for on the burger, (which I didn't get on it,) and the cheese sauce plus ranch. I'm pretty sure the cheese sauce with the frys comes with it. But apparently not. She told me they were 50 cents each. Well if you add that to the total it isn't 2$ more. So I just said forget it I'll pay for it but some people have to stick to a budget. My sons wings also were the wrong flavor. They did realize that and brought him the right ones. But I was just disappointed overall in the service. The greeters at the door didn't seem to friendly and our bartender/waitress either. I might go back again but spending that much money on luke warm food, the wrong order and being over charged isn't what I had in mind. I thought the food was made fresh or the burgers for sure but it was barely warm and the fries not even hot. Just watch your bill when you check out. Usually in the past I've had a great experience here but the people that helped us didn't seem to care that we were even there. #disappointedforsure

Update: I was contacted by the company via email and did finally get a gift card to return for a $25 value. It took over 2 weeks due to whoever had addressed it sent it to the wrong address entirely. Guess they one didn't care to make sure it was addressed properly and two they response time was a few weeks of going back and forth and waiting. I think I'll try another Hop Cat location to see the difference in the two places. Ty for at least giving me a gift card for part of my...

2-4 I had 2 bonus cards from their christmas gift card special to use so came in for lunch. And today is another disappointment. Service was meh what to drink, bring drink take order bring check but he was polite. Today went with a BYO. The burger was fine cooked medium. They cut WAY back on the fry portion. Normally you don't see the tray but today was a lot of empty space. The burger was bigger around than the fries. And its always a gamble on the fries if they'll be over seasoned. Today was an over seasoned day. Even trying to eat them in a bite with the burger didn't help. HopCat has slid down the scale. Think I'll use my last bonus card at the E. Beltline location and get something other than a burger.

Came to pick up an order again at the time I was told. She immediately handed me the drink and went to check the kitchen. When she returned she told me that the kitchen had just received the ticket and again it would be another 7-10 minutes. It's like all the staff go Why it's a to-go order I'm not getting tipped for it so F*ck em. But at least the gift card is almost gone.

Okay this new policy is just ridiculous. I expected to pay for the side of mayo for my fries. But because I don't want the garlic aioli and wanted mayonnaise instead I get charged EXTRA????? Definitely disappointed with my Christmas gift card for here now. Not to mention that the Hangover Helper burger which is my favorite burger was honestly a disappointment. At least my gift card is good at Stella's as well. Maybe they won't rip me off for a sauce substitution. We'll see.

Update 10-16: Had to drop to 3* today. My last three times ordering carry out I've arrived when quoted. Then I had to wait 10 to 15 minutes because they were just waiting for Fries. So starting to wonder if they only have one fryer and they only do one order of fries and time.

Burger was good. Fries were so-so....