Wheelhouse Kitchen & Cocktails

Wheelhouse is another hidden gem in Grand Rapids. It has such great ambience and is perfect for date night.

PROS:
Lovely ambience!! Dressed up to go on a date with a friend and I didn't feel out of place.
Great Service! Our server was friendly and took his time to explain the options on the menu.
Delicious food! Everything we ordered was really savory and delicious.

CONS:
I think it's somewhat pricey. Also there isn't a lot of options in the menu. I was definitely hoping for more variety.

Great restaurant overall, would 8/10 recommend.

This was a great stop for lunch in Grand Rapids!

I loved the interior of Wheelhouse, the ceilings are high and it feels very open, with lots of natural material and glass walls looking out over downtown. I'm not sure if this was just part of the holiday decor- but there were white string lights strung everywhere- and it added so much!

Our server (I believe his name was Frank) was great. He was friendly and came to check on us frequently. We started out with a few appetizers- I tried the pita with hummus which was very tasty. For my lunch I had the kale salad which was also great. I had a hard time choosing what to order, because everything on the menu looked good and there were several vegetarian options. We split a dessert- and I didn't regret having a bite of the creme brûlée with a berry topping- so delicious.

Our party of 8 ate around 12:30 and there were plenty of free tables- even on New Years Eve! I'm sure it was more packed later on.

I had to take a star off for the parking situation- there is a garage nearby, but it was $$$- even for a short period of time!

All things considered, I would definitely go back to Wheelhouse if I was in the area, and would recommend it to anyone else.

First of all, I'm visiting on business so i'm choosing all my restaurants based on other yelp reviews. This place is absolutely the best place I could have chosen.

AMAZING. INCREDIBLE. DELICIOUS.

I started with french onion soup - best I've had in a long time. Then I had the chicken dish, which had Brussels sprouts and I HATE Brussel sprouts. It was amazing and I ate it all.

To top it off our server (Parker?) was amazing!

We had a large party of 13 for. Birthday and had no problem securing a 7pm Saturday reservation. Our waitress was excellent and allowed us to split a bill which is often a no no for a party this large.
Tempura green beans were a divine accompaniment to the ribeye which was cooked to perfection.
Several in the party had the chicken Marsala dish which was a combo of styles not a true Marsala but tasty nonetheless. The short ribs and salads all looked great.
The Creme Brûlée a great twist on a traditional dessert and the warm chocolate chip cookies takes you back to your child hood when you ate a gooey warm cookie right off the cookie sheet in mom or grandmas kitchen.
Great cocktails with all the current trends as well as standard fare.
Can't wait to come back at Christmas time when they decorate the place like a Christmas postcard!

Starting off with the ambiance- the atmosphere is causal yet intimate at the same time. They have a wide selection of cocktails and wine. The Wheelhouse is one of those restaurants where any occasion is perfect for here.

As an app, the deviled eggs are the best I've had. Must try.

The braised short ribs came with a delicious potato purée, perfectly cooked broccolini, and mouth watering mushrooms. The short ribs fell apart, they were SO tender. The ribeye was just as good. This kitchen staff must know what they're doing. There was not one complaint. The ribeye also came with tempura green beans which I haven't had in so long. They were not over cooked whatsoever, and paired very well with the verde and fingerling potatoes.

Our server was Izzy. He was very personable, yet professional. Also very attentive. Not overbearing. Everything you would want with service.

The icing on the cake... was dessert! The s'mores dessert was anything more I've ever imagined of. The meringues look like mushrooms, in a forest. It was such a great end to the night. Can't wait to come back!!!!!

I've been wanting to check out Wheelhouse ever since they opened downtown almost two years ago so my boyfriend and I finally made plans to get dinner there before a show on a Tuesday evening.

They take reservations through OpenTable - bonus! When we arrived a little before 5:30 pm the place was pretty empty though so it wasn't needed. The space is huge with really nice lighting everywhere - not sure if all the twinkle lights are just for the holiday season but it was lovely. The interior is modern but still cozy somehow. We were seated right away and our server was great. Their happy hour is awesome - 50% off all drinks and select appetizers, 3-6 pm, Monday through Friday! I ordered a glass of wine and my boyfriend got an Old Fashioned. We also ordered the crispy (deep fried) deviled eggs to start. The drinks were great - the Old Fashioned is a little smokey with a lot of orange flavor. The deviled eggs were fantastic! I usually don't like deviled eggs (they're so squishy!), but the crispy deep fried coating make these wonderful and add needed texture. The addition of a little bacon and sriracha aioli made these very rich but delicious! I'd order them again for sure.

I'd heard great things about the French onion soup, which is one of my favorites. I did notice that they've changed the original menu item as it used to be made with veal stock, but now it's just chicken (for purists who care about these things). I ordered the soup and the mini ribeye pasties, and my boyfriend got the Cobb salad.

The Cobb was huge! It was definitely enough to share without even getting anything else, honestly. The bacon was a little weird as it had a bit of sweetness to it which didn't jive with the rest of the components, but everything else was great and all the ingredients were really fresh. The soup was hot, salty, cheesy, and delicious. The mini pasties were okay - the pastry was very flaky and tender, and the dipping gravy sauce was pretty flavorful but the filling barely had any meat and had a bit of a weird sweetness to it. I liked them, but probably not enough to get again.

Grand Rapids has plenty of restaurants like Wheelhouse - trying to be a little fancy but still accessible "new American" which I find to be a little boring, but everything was good if not mind-blowing. Plus that happy hour is amazing, I would go there every day for that if I could! Wheelhouse isn't my new favorite restaurant but I'm glad I went. I'd probably check them out for lunch but wouldn't put it in my regular rotation for dining out.

A solid choice for dining in the downtown area. This place has a modern, upscale vibe in a comfortable setting. The drink list is eclectic and the food list has varied quite a bit since opening, but has always contained interesting and tasty offerings. My service has always been good. I enjoy coming here for lunch or dinner and I have yet to have a bad experience.

The salads are quite good, and my favorites have been the Wheelhouse and the Kale salad. The appetizers are generally good, but I find myself going for the Deviled Eggs with 'green goddess' and piri piri, although I wouldn't mind a bit more heat with the piri piri. The lunch menu is definitely pared down, but if you don't mind a burger or a decent sandwich, then you'll be fine. The dinner menu is definitely more extensive with significantly better options. The salmon, chicken and braised short rib cassoulet are my current favorites. Desserts are good, I hear, but since there aren't many lactose-free options, I typically abstain - but my kids really like whatever they get.

The only thing I've noticed is that there does seem to be an issue with consistency. Sometimes the food is really great and other times it is just good. All in all, however, I do recommend trying this place out.

We've been here three times now and have really liked it each times. Twice for dinner and this time lunch.

My wife and I had shishito peppers and mussels for appetizers. Both were very good and very generous portions. We probably would have been fine sharing them or making them our meal. I had the trout for my main and my wife had the Kale salad. My mother had the shishito peppers and crab cakes. My wife liked her salad but found it a little over dressed. I really enjoyed the trout although for some reason I was expecting the whole fish but you only get two seared fillets. It was still really good but I think cooking trout that way dries it out a little. My mother liked the crab cakes.

The signature cocktails were delicious and the wine was good too.

I would recommend making reservations if you're planning on having dinner here on a weekend.

Just visited this week for the 2nd time. Initially we came in December and loved everything from the decorations to the food and drinks. Service was great then and also this week when my sister and I stopped in just for drinks. The bartender was friendly but not overly and recommended excellent drinks that were delicious. Will continue to frequent this awesome place

This place was awesome, had reservations for 7 and good thing we did because the walk in wait time was an hour. The food was really good and the atmosphere of the place was eclectic. Our waitress was super nice and attentive the whole night and so was the hostess. The dress says casual and I would say jeans and a button up would be fine. Great place, I'll definitely be back.