Riverdog Tavern — Restaurant in Thornapple Township

First and last time trying this restaurant. We are relatively new to the area and we’re exploring food options.They had a sign explaining they were short staffed and to be patient. We are certainly patient people, but 35 minutes to receive an initial drink order is a bit much. Especially when there were only two other tables with guest at the time. That said, had delays been the only issue it would not have been a big deal. Everyone is struggling with staff and we get it. We were dining in and had ordered 3 of the ribeye steaks that we’re posted as their special, an order of pulled pork Tater tots. Also ordered an appetizer or potstickers. Unfortunately, the potstickers never made it to the table. To say the steak was a disappointment is an understatement. It was very thin 1/4” -3/8” thick. Inconsistently cooked and very……very salty. Almost inedible. If prime rib is the special, at least know how to prepare it. We were never asked how the food was or attended to at all the remainder of the meal. Again, most likely due to the staffing issue. Which I do not feel is an excuse in taking a brief moment to check on your customers. There definitely seems to be some potential with the atmosphere they established with decor at this place. As I looked up and down the main road (We had plenty of time to) I did notice quite a few other establishments close by. They did not have signage of staffing issues posted and seemed to have a busier crowd. Best of luck to the owner. Hopefully things get straightened up. We love to support local business! It’s unfortunate this one...

Our second visit here for dinner in the last few months and OMG are we glad we went again. We have never been disappointed with the food, the service, and we love the atmosphere of this place. It was 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday night but we still were able to get a table right away. When you think of a restaurant in a small town such as middleville you would never expect their menu to be very diverse, but this place surprises you with the variety on their menu. This time we had to try one of the fantastic tater tot appetizers/entries and man was it delicious.. loaded with barbecued meat and coleslaw and onions and cheese, could have easily made a meal out of just this. For our entrees I had the chicken with waffles and would order it again in a heartbeat and my girlfriend had the chicken curry dish with coconut rice and we thought it was one of the best we've ever had. Even though our server was somewhat busy she was attentive enough to make us feel welcomed but not overbearing and she kept our drinks filled appropriately. A gentleman came by to check on us and asked us how things were and we told him how amazing we think the place is and he reminded us that there is another location called the Blue dog located in downtown Grand rapids which we were not aware of, so we will have to check that out someday.

Very much looking forward to going back here and trying something else off of the...

I used to love this place. However, I don’t know what has changed recently, but I’ve been so underwhelmed with the quality of food. I ordered the ahi tuna dinner and when I asked for soy sauce (a traditional and expected condiment for this dish, I was told there was no soy sauce. Also, the whole plate was COVERED in sriracha and I mean covered. It was as if they were trying to take up the empty space on the plate by painting it red. The platter was very plain and had a salsa on the side which was odd.

A couple weeks later, I tried again (I SO wanted to give them another try!). This time I ordered the garlic parm beef tips. The flavor was decent, but the portion was small, and the “seasonal vegetable” was obviously frozen broccoli. It was baby food mash-quality in texture and pale color. The plate looked like it was a microwave dinner re plated. I don’t mean to be unfair or mean. I LOVED this restaurant. But I have noticed a major decline in quality. I paid $21 for the tuna and $18 for the beef tips, and it was a rip off for the quality received. Please, reassess your menu or at least address the presentation- you’re better than this! Was there a chef change?? It was a drastically...