Westsider Cafe — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

For us, it's regrettable to give a poor review of what was once a reliable and fantastic institution in our neighborhood but the last several visits have been dismal.

On our last occasion two weeks ago, our party of four experienced unacceptable behavior and even worse, unacceptable food. Essentially, it was the last straw for us.

Let's start with the restaurant being closed for several days midweek without any noticed posted. When we inquired a few days after, our server Brenna made a sarcastic comment to our inquiry and further made insulting remarks about the owner - who was that morning's chef.

Fran was cooking because her kitchen help were MIA. A responsible and dedicated owner does not deserve such harsh criticism. Not publicly by her employee, anyway.

Brenna continued her profoundly unprofessional behavior in rolling her eyes and being even more facetious when it came to ordering and paying our respective checks. No need for elaboration since her offences would be too numerous to transcribe.

As for the food, Fran and her assistant tried. And for that they deserve credit for their efforts under such unfortunate conditions. But each of our dishes tasted of rancid fat; be it butter and/or oil used. Unpleasant tastes.

Neither of us finished our meals; it was that dreadful.

As stated, Fran and her one kitchen employee on a very busy Sunday morning made noticeable attempts. We cannot say the same for Brenna. She should not be working in a public service capacity regardless of the situation trusted upon her.

The meals can be forgiven but Brenna's behavior cannot be forgotten or dismissed. To that end, we will not...

I live on the West Side and do my best to promote West Side businesses. I recommended Westsider Cafe to my co-worker and her family because they like to go out to breakfast regularly and are always looking for new places to try. I always liked the food when I have dined at Westsider. I was saddened to hear back from my friend that her experience at the Westsider was AWFUL. The experience that was described to me was horrendous. My friend described terrible service from her waitress, she said when they asked for more coffee they were told very rudely after the waitresses other customers were taken care of she would come back with more coffee but the waitress never returned with more coffee, the waitress actually never returned to the table until other staff was bringing their food out. When my friends cousin reported that the omlette she ordered with green peppers didnt have green peppers the waitress responded..."I dont know what you want me to do about it" (I was appalled when I heard this) After the waitress gave the response listed above my friend's cousin finally spoke up and stated she wanted the omelette fixed and made to her request and then decided to eat the omelette the way it was prepared and they will not be returning to Westsider Cafe and will be sure to let everyone they know to avoid this restuarant since they provide such rude, terrible service. All that being said, this makes me sad! I really like the Westsider Cafe and I recommended this place and was so surprised about what I heard. My friend felt she and her family was treated this way based on their race. It doesnt cost...

Ordered takeout yesterday after I got out of my overnight shift. My huevos rancheros were amazing. Spot on flavor and the eggs were perfect. My husband always likes the Irish Skillet so I put it in the fridge for him for when he got up. Apparently the corned beef hash didn't make it into his dish, and being that I was asleep for the entire day, I wasn't able to call the restaurant until I got out of work this morning. The manager and staff were so friendly and apologetic over the mistake. They prepared a new Irish Skillet for free and I picked it up. It was delicious, according to my very happy husband. Lol. Very good service and great food.

UPDATE: I ordered another take-out yesterday, and some items were missing that are key components to the dish. I was definitely frustrated because I came home to give my family an amazing breakfast to find that there were essential items missing from two of three dishes.

I understand things happen, and I have been in the service industry. Often, the servers get the brunt of a lot of things that aren't their fault. I still stand by my five-star review because the staff and manager owned the mistake and made it right. At the end of the day, everyone had an amazing meal. The food is absolutely delicious, and I was very impressed with the professionalism...