Margaux — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

TLDR: We’ve been here multiple times and have never been disappointed with the cocktails, food or service! It’s a beautiful environment and atmosphere inside the JW Marriott hotel downtown Grand Rapids!

We’ve been visiting this bar/restaurant for over a year now, sometimes out of convenience due to the location and until last visit for The Emperor’s New Groove, my absolute favorite cocktail ever created, that I DON’T have a photo of and that they JUST took off the menu 😭😭😭

However, they have many other delicious options which I’m happy to try. This visit, I ordered the Strawberry Blonde (which I loved and ordered a second) and he ordered the Margaux Signature Old Fashioned - the first try with Makers 46 and second try with Buffalo Trace- he preferred the Makers and I preferred the Buffalo 😝

He ordered the full size Caesar salad (add blackened chicken breast and shrimp) and I ordered the accompaniment Macaroni Gratin- which he ended up ordering a second portion of for himself 🤤 because it was so satisfying!

I forgot to take a picture of the dessert menu, so I can’t exactly remember what we ordered for dessert but it was a fantastic chocolate cake/ mouse/ gelato with caramel sauce. All of it pieced together perfectly!

They have a large selection of top shelf liquors, a very friendly and attentive staff, and a beautiful view of the river.

UPDATE: We have visited a few more times since my review, so I thought I’d do a quick update!

We stopped in for Mother’s Day brunch (since both of our mothers were out of state) and it was lovely! The price was more than usual because the buffet included more than usual on account of the holiday. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT skip the omelette station! The chef (my sincerest compliments) made me the most delicious omelette I’ve ever had in my life, and was such a lovely gentleman! I’m rarely impressed with anything because I’m me 🤣😫, but he and the staff at Margaux never cease to impress.

The brunch pastries were absolutely delicious. Another highlight was the smoked salmon. The meats were supposedly scrumptious as well (I’ll take his word for it since I don’t eat meat 😅). Last highlight- the sherbet mimosa was super refreshing and not too sweet.

Our next visit was for birthday dinner with friends, and we sampled quite a few cocktails. We revisited the strawberry blonde (lovely and not too sweet), the Mr. Pink (one of my new faves), the Aurora Borealis (the visual reminds me of Halloween, and when it starts mixing, you can really see the appropriateness of the name), the What’s Up, Doc? (I would have never ordered, but after having a sip of it from my friend’s drink, I may have changed my mind 👀), a Dirty Martini (reported to me as “as expected”), and an East of Eden- I was hesitant to order this drink because I generally don’t love cucumber, but I’m all about trying new things, and it was very refreshing).

We ordered the Cheese Plate, as we usually do, and I can’t say enough how happy it made me to not see the duck pate on the board 😬. Being on the cheese! 😅

The birthday girl ordered the Filet Au Poivre (reported to be wonderful), two of us ordered the Crabe Royal (and, oh my, was it flavorful! Definitely a new favorite for me), and one of us ordered the special which was a 45 day aged 12 oz New York strip steak. He subbed the frites for Macaroni Gratin. He said that while the steak was good, it feels cold on the outside and he would have preferred it charred for flavor. He did admit that he generally prefers a filet mignon, and does not prefer this cut, so while the steak may actually be great, it wasn’t his favorite.

The staff brought my friend a surprise birthday treat, which I had a bite of and it was SO GOOD- a very rich flourless chocolate torte-type thing with perfectly fresh berries.

We’ll be back soon!

There is valet parking available, otherwise you can park on the street or in the...

A quick summary: This place has been on my list of places to experience. We finally came here for a date night. Upon walking in, the ambience is very nice and upscale as you would expect. Our waitress was fantastic and our waters were topped off before we could ever get down to half-empty, which we truly appreciate because dying of thirst before getting halfway through a meal and having to flag someone down never makes for a great experience so 10/10 on customer service and the wait staff taking great care of us! The food is delicious and overall well-presented too! I highly recommend giving this place a try.

For more detail of our experience and the food, continue reading..

The drinks: We love water. So we usually get that but I also ordered an espresso martini. The drink was made well. The alcohol didn’t overpower the espresso, which I appreciated. A well-made drink that was truly enjoyable.

The appetizers: We started out with the oysters and a potato dish. Wasn’t a huge fan of the potato dish but the oysters made up for it as they were DIVINE! I am usually an Oyster Rockefeller gal and I’m not a fan of raw oysters but when they’re served properly, it’s the best treat! It’s all about balance and I would order these oysters again and again! The acidity of the mignonette, the layout of the salt, the sweet tartness of the sauce and the playful texture of the gelée really elevated this dish. I hope they’ll keep this on the menu because I’ll be coming back for these oysters!

Now for the main course: I ordered from the “specials” menu. I had the lamb. I’ve never had a lamb before the way that it was prepared here. It was like a filet but a lamb. Perfect texture, great taste and we absolutely enjoyed eating this. The veg surrounding the lamb didn’t look the most appealing but it was extremely appetizing and I found myself eating most of it. I also ordered the side of fancy mushrooms and although it was not something you’d just eat on its own, when eaten with the lamb, it helped elevate that dish even more. A perfect pairing.

Mr. Sexy ordered a Luxe seafood platter. Once he saw a picture in other google reviews, he already knew what he was coming for, lol. The broth that the seafood sat in was extremely flavored and not watered down, which made every bit of seafood on the plate and every bite very flavorful. We also loved that they complimented that dish with a cheesy pasta afterwards because it really helps “hit the spot” and pasta is such a comfort food, plus, it’s always a great pairing with most seafood dishes. So at this point, we are soooo full and satiated but we don’t dare leave this place without trying dessert…

So now onto dessert: The cheesecake is phenomenal! I loved the fresh strawberry with it as well as the pistachio but wished there was more strawberry. We also had the passion fruit chocolate dessert. It was really good too but I would recommend asking for an extra scoop of gelato as the chocolate is a bit rich. We also got the creme brûlée which is just one of my favorites so I’ll always order it. It was garnished with fresh fruit on top and was delicious as expected.

Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner date here. A great experience with great service and the food was definitely top-notch. We would come here again....

My partner and I ate here Friday night on the Jdek at Margaux.

Our server was phenomenal. She had playful banter with us, checked in enough to be attentive without being overwhelming. She did an outstanding job.

The view of the river and Grand Rapids as the sunset I would argue is one of the best views in GR while dining out. We had zero bugs while we ate, the ambiance was warming and calm.

Lastly and most certainly not least; the food. My partner is a vegetarian and I am not. To start we got the Truffle Fries to split. They were crunchy and the right amount of truffle. This is a popular item nowadays but in my experience done usually rather poorly. These were a welcomed exception.

I also got the Onion Soup Au Gratin. It is made with veal stock and had a nice richness to the broth. I wasnt a big fan of the crouton in the soup. It had some herb I would get a bite of that I found unpleasant in contrast to the soup flavor

My partner got the Gnocchi Parisienne. The server recommended and my partner was blown away at the texture. They were exactly as gnocchi should be. So light and fluffy, yet strong enough to stand against the sauce and other ingredients.

-I got the Filer Au Poivre ( for anyone who doesnt speak french like myself: tenderloin medallions, cognac crème, caramelized onions, roasted maitake mushrooms)

-The steak was so tender and cooked to a perfect medium rare and a great peppercorn crust. The sauce was outstanding and the onion was a beautiful addition to the flavor profile of this dish. I asked for the mushrooms on the side so my partner could enjoy with me. But I loved them so much I ended up not sharing. Oops!

One final aspect, there Mocktails were very tasty. If sober, they have great alternatives. If not sober, even better options haha

Overall, a very enjoyable experience from start to end. Would recommend everyone come out and enjoy...