Destination Grille — Restaurant in Grimes

04/05/2025 4.8* (out of 5) Food: 5* Atmosphere: 5* Value: 4* Service: 5* Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely) Total check/person: $45

As one of my wife's favorite restaurants, we have actually been back here a number of times since my last review but finally taking the time to post some more pictures about our latest visit.

We started with drinks - an Absolute Peach for my wife and a Dulce Rosa (see picture) for myself based on a recommendation from the waitress when I mentioned liking tequila. The Dulce Rosa was quite good, but like all martini drinks was a bit pricey and wasn't that large.

For our dinner, my wife ordered Prime Rib (see picture) and I opted for the Braised Beef Bao Buns (see picture). As is our custom, we each sampled each others dishes and found both to be delicious. I've become a bit of a fan of Bao Buns the last few years and both the buns themselves as well as the tender and flavorful beef inside of them were fantastic!

Lastly, since we had a table of 6, we couldn't help ourselves but to share a dessert after our great meal! We opted for the Molten Chocolate Lava cake and ice cream (see picture) and it definitely did not disappoint. Fortunately a couple of the people at the table opted out of tasting it...which meant more for me!

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4.5* (out of 5) Food: 5* Atmosphere: 5* Value: 4* Service: 4*

10/07/2023 Destination Grille Another stop for our Birthday dinners with our son and daughter-in-law and another great experience. This time we started with a Mango Margarita (see picture) and a Manhattan (see picture) - both delicious.

For our meal, my wife ordered the Prime Rib (see picture) and I opted for the Poke Bowl (see picture). As is our standard, we each shared bites and both enjoyed each others dishes. The prime rib was flavorful and prepared perfectly and the Poke Bowl was fresh and delicious.

02/13/2023 Yet another great stop at Destination Grille tonight, with a call out to our great server, Lauren! I have a meeting tomorrow for Valentine's so my wife and I decided to go out tonight instead. Just before leaving the house at 7, we were able to call ahead for a 7:15 reservation and were seated immediately upon arrival.

My wife ordered a Cinn-Sation drink (see picture) and loved the cinnamon spiciness along with the other flavors. I ordered the Confluence Camp Fire Black Lager and also enjoyed its smokey flavor (as did my wife, who ordered one after her drink).

We started by sharing a Poke Bowl (sorry, no picture) and we both loved it - we highly recommend trying this fresh, delicious entree. Following that, my wife ordered the Mushroom Swiss Burger (see picture) and I ordered the Pastrami Rueben (see picture) with Brussel Sprouts as a side. As always, we shared our meals and would put them both on the 'definitely order again' list.

I'm bumping up my Value rating to a 4 this time given the pricing seems to be in line with other comparable restaurants, bringing the overall rating to a 4.5*. This is definitely one of our top choices in the area that we both highly recommend for dinner and / or drinks.

07/08/2022 My wife stopped here after golf one day and liked it enough that we went back for dinner.  It is a very large, modern and open venue with numerous seating options inside and out.

The food and drinks seemed a little pricy, so we ordered the Prime Rib special (see picture) and Salmon BLT (see picture).  Both were very good and I would recommend them both. The Prime Rib special was cooked as ordered, very juicy and flavorful - and the same can be said for the Salmon in the BLT (cooked perfectly and flavorful). Maybe best of all were the Brussel Sprouts on the side - make sure you try those!

Lastly, don't leave without trying one of the dessert options - we ordered the Tres Leches (see picture) to share and found it to be one of the best we've ever had.

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Having a (mostly) gluten free restaurant as an option is a welcome option. I can provide some feedback though.

First, I thought that since 90% of the menu was gluten free that you should just pull off the bandaid and make it 100% gluten free. I think most dining is niche enough that it wouldn't hurt the restaurant on balance.

Second, the menu is currently too complicated. It takes too long to order, you have too much ingredient complexity in the kitchen and no uniform mastery of your current menu. When we visited we ordered 7 menu items and 3 came out poorly executed. You need to have a look in the mirror and realize that if you took out half of the menu you could spend less on ingredient cost & labor and give yourself a chance at consistency.

Third, I thought it was disrespectful to have to pay up charges for gluten free pizza and for a gluten free bun. I paid $7 in up charges for the two when I visited. As celiacs, we are accustomed to being nickel and dimed for the things we eat. If I make the trek to go to a mostly gluten free restaurant it's like having sand thrown in your eyes to still have to pay an upcharge. Remove those today.

Fourth, your menu prices need work. The price paid for a small pizza was absurd. Pizza is one of the most profitable things you can sell at a restaurant and I got charged for a small gluten free one like it has steak inside 27$. Also, for parents, paying 9$ for a kids meal shows a lack of knowledge in menu pricing. You need to find someone who can help you with that.

Finally, the staffing had issues the night we visited. Our waiter was incredibly nice and a good representative for you, but he was doing too much. He was waiting almost half the tables in the restaurant and tending bar alone. It wasn't that you didn't have enough staff, you probably had too much overall, but this one individual was trying to do everything. It was a strange thing to watch.

I liked going to your restaurant. I want you to succeed, but going to your restaurant was like visiting a loved one in the hospital. You aren't going to make it if something major doesn't change. You spent crazy money on the atmosphere, lots of blood sweat and tears went into making it beautiful. Don't fail because you can't get the value...

Went to Destination Grille for dinner with my husband. We didn’t have reservations but were seated immediately. Cool atmosphere and rooftop bar looks sweet.

Service was not great, food took a long time and prices are higher than comparable places ($80 before tip - app, 2 beer, burger, small pizza) but food is unique and we enjoyed most. DG fries are amazing, DG pizza also great (but $20 for thick crust mini pizza ?), mushroom Swiss burger was ok - not cooked as ordered and not up to value. Lobster corn chowder - ok but very small cup. Apps and drinks were fast, but food took forever and server never checked back for refills, drink orders, or to explain delay as others after us were in and out. It was just a small pizza and burger and shouldn’t have taken over 45 minutes (after we finished our apps) with no server contact.

Overall, the service was not great but the server was friendly when we interacted. He didn’t check back often when we were out of water, had no carafe offered or left until we asked, didn’t check more frequently or follow up when the food was taking quite awhile until the soup came out a second time and he noticed this was an error. He interacted with us a total of 5 times throughout the hour and a half to two hours we were there - to take our order, bring the fries & soup, stop the second cup of soup and get us the carafe we asked for, deliver our food and bring the bill. From what we had read the quality of food, ambiance and service were top priorities. The ambiance is very casual and warm and we enjoyed it. The prices are higher but the quality and uniqueness of the food go along with this although the burger was a disappointment. The service was the area most lacking for us that evening. The restaurant was not busy, just consistent with people in and out, so this was not a reason; and although he was friendly when he did engage with us, he fell into the category of an OK server for me on that night because he only came around when absolutely necessary for something. And honestly $80 (pre-tip) for a few beers, a burger and cup of soup, individual pizza and order of fries (although they were my favorite!) is more of a lunch meal and seems high for...