Littlebird — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

I want to preface this by saying that the service was pretty good. However, the food is another story. I booked a dinner reservation for my family and my father that came from Texas to visit. We were so excited the whole week and then , totally let down. Our table wasn’t ready for my RESERVATION when we arrived and we waited too long for our drink order (10+ mins). It was deafeningly loud in that tiny space and it really took away from the experience. We decided to try and enjoy our night. The waitress was nice and attentive. The food, however, was terrible and pretty much ruined our night. My scallops were undercooked and the sauce they were in was extremely basic and cost $37 [THIRTY-SEVEN ]. My Father’s meal was a pasta dish that was served cold. When my father asked if the dish was supposed to be cold, the waitress’s answer really made me angry. She said, “No”, and my dad said it was cold and her reply was, I sh*t you not, “sorry we don’t have a microwave”. My dad just looked at her like ‘ok well my food is still cold’. My dad ate cold $30 pasta for the special dinner that I planned. Neither me, my father or my husband were able to enjoy their food. I’m just sad this happened and it was very embarrassing. Never going back. Do not recommend.

Edit: here is my response to this restaurant attempting to blame my elderly father:

“Sir, of course there was no offer to re-fire the dish. I would have gladly accepted to save the night’s dinner!! I said in the review exactly the words the waitress said. She said, “Sorry we don’t have a microwave”. I There was no offer to re-fire, re-heat or otherwise bring the dish to an edible temp. After what the waitress said about my father’s meal why would I then ask to replace the scallops? I already knew what the answer was.

You feel bad? Imagine how I feel having spent $$$ on a fancy dinner for my visiting father that was inedible and ruined our night? We left hungry but were so turned off we didn’t eat dinner anywhere else either 🤷‍♀️. You tell me, would you be angry? I have no reason to lie to you. I am embarrassed this happened! Little Bird was specifically recommended to me.

Y'all should refund me the amount I was billed. I know you won’t. I’d keep an eye on that waitress that just lied to you AFTER ruining my family’s evening.

I appreciate that you’re a small business which is exactly why I made the reservation. None of this is my fault.

Sincerely,”.

—addendum— minus 2 more service stars for lying staff and blaming...

When in town you just have to try this place. A great friend recommended this amazing spot for lunch while I was visiting Grand Rapids very recently from Charleston, SC. Needless to say, my buddy was on point. First thing I noticed aside from the quaint nature of the bar area was no televisions. And I’m mentioning this as a positive. You rarely, if ever, see this anymore yet it practically guarantees patrons will at some point engage others. Meeting good folks can be the spice of life. But onto the essentials: the service and food were incredible. Littlebird has many options for basically every taste and diet, but their smashburger garners major accolades. I was going in that direction when I spotted what I was told was an upgrade to an old favorite… the twice-fried Korean chicken sandwich. Mind was blown, and I rarely speak in hyperbole. For starters, they bake their own bread for sandwiches. And I mean this wholeheartedly when I say this was the best bread I’ve ever consumed. It’s perfection. Don’t take my word for it… go experience it for yourself. It melts in your mouth and was the perfect accompaniment and complement to this sandwich. The slaw and sauce just take it to the next level. As a side I chose the house oven-roasted potatoes. Or that’s how they appeared and tasted. Phenomenal. Washed down with a Mexican Coke. It all works. Cannot go wrong.

I felt compelled to come here and write this because I was that singularly impressed with this establishment from top to bottom. And I live in one of the best food cities in America in Charleston. Also, a big shout out to day manager Caleb. We got to talking and he was just an awesome dude and a great representative of his employer. He also took time to help with walking directions to the other side of town. Looking forward to our next visit to GR and Littlebird will be the first stop on the restaurant tour....

I'm not a person who writes reviews ever, but this experience necessitated it. My wife and I visited Littlebird to celebrate our anniversary this evening (which we stated in the reservation) and had the worst restaurant experience we have ever had in our lives.

After being seated, we waited roughly 10 minutes until anyone attempted to take a drink order and once we were actually able to order it took another 15 minutes to receive them. Once the drinks arrived, we placed both our appetizer and meal orders, hoping that the experience would turn around. Unfortunately, it did not, and we waited another 20-25 minutes for the appetizer. We then sat with our empty drinks for another 20 minutes until, thankfully, a bartender who was running food for another table had mercy on us and asked if we needed anything else. After that we watched table after table get their food and wrap up their meals despite arriving well after we did with still no contact from our actual waiter, which at this point had been around an hour since our order was placed. By the time we received our meals it had been about an hour and a half since we ordered and other members of the staff could sense our frustration, but never made a real attempt to salvage the experience.

The food was average (at best) compared to many other restaurants in this price point in the Grand Rapids area that we have dined at and the service was exceptionally terrible. Their website says that they "focus on supporting small, & warm, thoughtful hospitality", but you wouldn't know it if you were there this evening. We will definitely not recommend them to any of our friends or family in the area and do not plan on returning to this...