Grattan Irish Pub, 11817 Old Belding Rd NE, Belding MI ~ 4/23/24

The township of Grattan was formed in 1846 and became an Irish Catholic settlement. It was named after Henry Grattan, an Irish politician (1746-1820). This charming pub was established in 1937 and has since catered to the local population.
The menu may not be strictly Irish but they do have Guinness on tap and the decor definitely says Irish.
We rounded off the Guinness with an Oberon, an Arnold Palmer and an Old Fashioned. It's best to stick with the beer here and avoid cocktails.
Our starters were lightly battered fried mushrooms seasoned with garlic, and onion rings, thick slices of onion dipped in homemade batter. They were both pretty good bar food appetizers with the onion rings being exceptional!
Tonight was burrito night and for the first time ever we all ordered the same thing.
It was an excellent choice. Spicy seasoned ground beef and refried beans were served up in a flour tortilla and topped with lettuce, chopped tomatoes and onions, melted cheddar cheese and a housemade special sauce.
We last visited in August of 2019, before Covid shut down the world, and it was burger night that time. Two burgers, a perch platter, and broiled whitefish were ordered.
The whitefish was excellent, the burgers came on a brioche style bun with fresh lettuce and tomato and held together well. The perch platter was supposed to come with a side of vegetables that were put with the whitefish instead. Our server told me to take them off the other person's plate and put them on mine 😳  Ah, I don't think so. So she brought me the side separately.
On tonight's visit, we bumped into Trivia Night and the trivia guy asked us if we were the far-out team, haha. It was a case of mistaken identity 😀 
Our server, Kim, was much more competent than the server on our 2019 visit. We liked our food and appreciated the atmosphere and great service. Visit Grattan Irish Pub when you can!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mill Creek Tavern, 3874 West River Dr NE, Comstock Park MI ~ 7/9/24

Image
  Back in 1890, this building opened as the North Star Saloon and Hotel which closed sometime in the early 1900s. It became Mill Creek Tavern in 1999, and no one we talked to was definite about the time in between. But to be fair, our servers were all fairly new. The current owner, Scott Ingersoll, bought the business in December of 2021. From comments in some facebook history groups (thanks, Jamie Wasilchenko & Nan Schichtel), the following information came to light. Joseph Thiel was an immigrant from Germany who owned the hotel at the time of his death in 1913. And courtesy of Travis Brown:  When the Soldier's Home (Veterans Facility) was built along the Grand River near North park, there was a federal law that prohibited alcohol sales within one mile of the Soldiers Home. Comstock Park was just beyond that one mile threshold and as a result numerous bars sprung up there. Betty's BBQ was somewhere near Mill Creek Tavern, and  Louie's may have been at this location o...
Read more

Conklin Bar, 19683 Main St, Conklin MI ~ 9/17/24

Image
This bar is well-known, not only in Conklin but state-wide, due to its very short but well-attended St. Patrick's Day parade. That is also the only day that Irish food is served. Back in the 1970s, this was Stub's Pub, owned by Bernie "Stub" Fritz, and a few reminders of that time are still here. From 1987-2015 it was Fenian's Irish Pub and owned by Terry and Mary Ann Reagan. In 2015, Mark Schneider, who was Stub's nephew, bought the place and called it the Conklin Bar.  Kathy Vandoeselaar purchased the place in March of 2024 and we not only met her, but also her sister, Mary, and her husband, Phil. It's definitely a family affair here 😊 Although the menu may not be Irish, they do have Guinness on tap so cheers for that! We had one Guinness, a Sam Adams Octoberfest, Arnold Palmer and a Chocolate Covered Cherry (Guinness with Sam Adams Cherry Wheat). We shared the Macho Nachos, which were superb: house-seasoned beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, blac...
Read more

Nick Fink's, 3965 W. River Dr, Comstock Park MI ~ 11/14/24

Image
Established in 1888, Nick Fink's has always claimed to be the oldest bar in the Grand Rapids area. Its competitor for the title was The Cottage Bar, whose claim as the oldest continuously operating bar in Grand Rapids can now be put to rest. They opened in 1927 and closed in October 2024. It's currently for sale. So back to Nick's. It closed in 2021 due to the pandemic and re-opened September 2024. The first Nick Fink was a Prussian immigrant and opened the bar inside a hotel. These are old photos from the bar's website and they are awesome. Three generations of Finks owned the bar but in 2008 they sold it to the Gilmore Group. Gilmore put on some additions but kept the vintage wallpaper and patent leather booths. They have an old safe near the entrance and say they've been unable to open it. Here are a few more interior photos. Self-serve free popcorn is available. We paired our popcorn with a White Pine Pilsner, Brew Detroit Campin' and a Shorts Local Light. ...
Read more