This review is for goodnight Gracie... I have yet to try the food at D'Amotos..
I guess I'll start with the good. Â The decor is cool or whatever. I thought the disco ball was sort of funky and cool.
Drinks were okay.
Okay the bad... The service literally from the second we tried to walk in. Â The bouncers were incredibly condescending and rude. Â Yes, I look young, I get it. Â But please don't try and say things like, "you could be my daughter" or " you're so young you haven't even lived". Seriously rude, just look at my ID and move on.
The server. Â What the hell. Â To make her life easier we indicated that we would like separate checks to avoid the confusion at the end. Â She was super unhappy with this and was insistent that they were on the same check. Â Eventually she agreed and said separate checks would be better.
All of our martinis came out on rocks glasses. It doesn't really matter but it was sort of weird.
THE WORST
Okay so at the end of the night we were ready to pay. Â So we asked for our checks. Â In response to this she said, " you guys can just leave your cards on the table and ill take care of it". Â First of all, the specialty drink menu doesn't even have prices on it and second of all, no." Â So she finally brings them over, being super rude about everything. Â The worst part was she kept calling us sexy and babe and baby. Â It was just super awkward.
The disco ball. Â It was cool at first but the way the mirrors are positioned in the place I felt like I was literally going to have a seizure.
I don't know if ill be back. After dinner drinks just turned into being super annoyed the whole time. Â
The menu is super creative and they do use a lot of top shelf liquors which I like. Â Except they were not fully stocked for a Friday night and the one drink my friend wanted they were out of.
The 2 star rating was determined by adding my friend's rating with my own. Â In other words, neither of us are a fan.
My friend said that she has been here several times and each time, she wonders why she even bothered coming. Once, she wanted to try a new drink, so she asked if there were any house specialties. Â The server's response: "well, I would recommend a grey goose and red bull!" Yes, that's super unique. She passed on it and instead ordered a martini and what do you know... The server still brought her a grey goose/red bull and said "oh you'll like this much better!" She was not impressed.
When I stopped by, I was hoping to have a better experience. Nope.
As my friends and I were getting our IDs checked, a waitress shouted "Ooh! Someone dropped 10 bucks!" and then nudged the bouncer and said "that's all yours!" Umm... Seriously? I was mortified that they just took the money. Â Sure, whoever lost that $10 was probably never coming back for it, but really? In front of customers?
We stayed maybe 10 minutes and decided that we'd rather spend our money elsewhere. Â I really wanted to like this place, but the whole staff/money issue has turned me off for good probably!
LOVE this place. bartenders/servers excellent, food exquisite (best mushroom pizza EVAH. delish crab cakes, calamari isnt rubber-band-y at all. yum), ambiance excellent, friendly, professional employees. matt the bartender is a true gentleman w/ a great memory. fabina happy hour deals. GO.
Review Source:If I'm in Royal Oak and looking for a great martini or a proper cocktail this is usually my go to. Service from the floor staff is hit or miss but the bartenders are usually on the mark if you're not being taken care of in a timely manner by your server.
Seating can be a total drag given the galley style setup but on off hours it shouldn't be an issue.
Musical guests can be pretty eclectic and are generally talented raising the vibe in this spot. Drinks are pricey as you'd expect, as are most any other martini lounges in the vicinity. I'm not a fan of D'amato's at all so if I'm eating too, I'll head to Oak City...their drinks are as good and their food is outstanding.
Pretty sweet. Friendly bartenders are always a plus. It's not that kind of place to dance and try to find somebody to hookup with. It's more of a place to meet up with a friend and have a few drinks just to talk.
Since they're the samezies with D'mato's, you can order their delicious food as well. who wants that crab cake?
Come here for happy hour all the time. Â LOVE their martini's...best around. Â Favorites are the vixen, key lime, and cosmo. Â Bartenders are friendly. Â Food is great, love the happy hour specials (although prices have gone up to $7 for apps and martinis). Â Pizzas (abbacatto and bianca) and cheese plate are both yummy and worthwhile. Â Great place to hang out with friends and catch up. Â I prefer this place more "low key", I've been there on a saturday night and it's much more crowded and clubby. Â Bar area does get crowded, so if you are going on a weekend better to get there early.
Review Source:Love this place, but it's so small that it's hard to get a table (or even a barstool) if you don't go early and hold onto it. They often have bands play there which is pretty cool. You can order food from D'Amato's from within Goodnite Gracies as they are next door to each other and owned by the same people.
Review Source:Gracies is one of the few bars I actually can enjoy myself at in Royal Oak. The happy hour menu is nuts, their calamari is amazing, and the bar staff knows how to make a pretty mean dirty martini. If you like low-key I would recommend hanging out there early in the evening. Fridays it gets kind of crowded. But it is my favorite RO bar by far! Prettiest wait staff ever!
Review Source:The atmosphere tends to vary from night to night. Sometimes it's a good place to get a drink early in the evening and at other times it has a very club-like feel.
 I tend to favor it when it's low-key, because you can't really appreciate the place when it's overly crowded and super loud and it actually has a pretty decent decor, comfortable seating and a good selection at the bar.
If it's Friday, put your shoes on and go dancing here right now. If it's not Friday, plan on going next Friday. The DJ plays a little bit of everything and it's always been a guaranteed good time if John Arnold is playing music for you to dance to. One tip: go next door to the bar in D'Amato's and get your drinks, it's usually faster. Then just bring your drink back over to Gracie's and shake it.
Review Source:Interesting crowd and playlist. Both more eclectic than I would have given the Royal Oak area credit for...being used to Chicago. I would recommend the Vixen, one of a few "designated" selections on their martini menu.
The atmosphere is definitely a more cosmopolitan vibe, so one would expect a higher caliber of service. However, my table was dirty when I sat down and when the waitress came over for my order she ignored the mess. So, I had to ask for a rag (she was initially busy talking with a friend at the next table). Things got better after moving to the bar. Their bartender's are efficient and "on point".
The free standing art isn't anything different, but it does cry lawsuit. I would suggest that it be secured to the wall for the patrons' protection. All it takes is for one or two to get knocked on the head for someone to file a lawsuit.
All things said...the DJ was good. Really good...Chi-town or NY good. The venue is too small for a full fledge dance floor, but the mix was almost too much to resist. He is well worth the cost of admission. Oh yeah, the music guru's name is John Arnold.
I am a big fan of Goodnite Gracie and spend a lot of time there. Â The happy hour menu is amazing and very affordable. Â I also really like the entertainment, as it is diverse and often very good. Â The clientele is just as diverse which makes for a very interesting mix. Â The staff is top notch as well. Â I also spend a lot of time next door, in there restaurant D'amatos. Â It's rare to find a good hang where just about anybody in the Detroit area will pop up and mix over a wide range of drinks, food and great entertainment!
Review Source:Tonight a painting fell on my head.
We were enjoying our happy hour martinis (the vixen is amazing!) when I leaned against the wall and the painting fell on my head. I know they are for sale, but can you guys please hang them? Leaning them against the wall doesn't seem to work. Â Every patron of the bar seemed to have noticed but not a single bartender. Â Moving on...
The 5 or 6 dollar martinis (before 7 pm) are fabulous. Â I like this place when it's not crowded but it usually is. Â Years ago I had ordered the Vixen martini and it was so good I emailed them afterwards for the recipe. Â They weren't going to lose too much business from me anyway since I live in CA and they were happy to provide.
Nice atmosphere, good service, great drinks. Â Hang your paintings.
Alright, well, I don't know if this is biased. Scratch that. I know this is biased 'cause I'm writing it immediately upon returning from the bar, but I'll tell y'all, I'ma tell you that I had a great time at GG's tonight for the Martini and Mistletoe event  supporting Lighthouse (which is a great nonprofit, btw). I didn't meet a damn one of you (fuckers) but it was fun all the same. You might have seen me in the back corner getting friendly with a martini and a beer or two, but probably you didn't. I hope you didn't anyway, 'cause if you had, I'dve expected a "hello" at the very least. But enough of that. More of the scene.
So the scene is very "sceney" and I'm not really a sceney type of guy but I liked it anyway. I definitely fell into the lower age bracket, patron-wise, but I didn't feel at all out of place, except when I got my bill, which was rather steep, but seemed worth it since, as I mentioned, I had a blast ($22 for a very full martini and 2 beers). Please note that the beers they have in bottles pretty much suck. For such a classy looking establishment, I'd like to see some local beers, or at least a few good, drinkable beers. On the D'Amato's side, the only semi-drinkable beer was Guinness, and no offense to those who are sure to take offense (prepare yourselves for some offense here, but don't worry--I have a great great aunt who's Irish and I have two friends in Dublin, so I can say this), Guinness just isn't that great a beer--kind of bland and, IMO, totally overrated. There. It's been said.
BUT, the music was really fun, the crowd was totally into it, and the martini I got (the smokey martini) was reallllly good and potent. The fact that they were giving away free shots didn't hurt either. Good marketing, GG's. Better still that this unnecessary consumption went toward supporting a worthy cause.
What I liked most about the place was that there was a pretty diverse crowd, generationally speaking, and everybody ended up busting moves on the dance floor (and perhaps throwing out a hip or two). The music ranged from folk, to rock, to some pretty sick blues, and then, in the D'Amato's side, they had some killer jazz. All in all, a very solid aural accompaniment to the general bacchanalian atmosphere. I'll go back some time, but probably make sure I get there in time for the specials as the drinks are pretty steep. Next time there's a Yelp event, we should make name tags. Can I get a second on that?
Yes, it can be crowded and some of the clientele can be douchey but the Holy Trinity keeps me coming back (Paul, Rob &John). Gracie's can be nutty but Paul is always there to accommodate any special requests while orchestrating the evening ensuring the staff can do what they do. Rob is the greatest bartender in Michigan, hands down. His creativity behind the bar in light of the chaos he's confronts on Fridays is more than admirable, it is SAINTLY. Tying everything together is my favourite DJ in Michigan, Mr. John Arnold. You wanna know why it is packed nearly every Friday, it's John's fault. I can't find the words to describe how he does what he does, you just have to go and listen for yourself...
Review Source:Do you like delicious martinis? Â Then you will love Goodnight Gracies as much as I do. Â The pomegranate martini is the best martini I've ever had in my life. Â Could I drink 10 of them? Â No. Â Have I tried because they were so delicious that I couldn't stop myself and then was way too drunk to be around people, let alone coworkers? Â Yes. Â
The atmosphere is great here as it's a little more expensive and smaller so it keeps out anyone wearing an Ed Hardy tee shirt. Â Yes, it is small and can be really crowded at times, which is exactly why I only gave it 4 stars. Â You can go over to D'Amatos through the door between the two restaurants, but I've always found Gracie's to be a little more fun. Â Can't really rate on the food as I've only had a few of the apps here. Â But I do have to say that the bruschetta is pretty amazing.
First off, I've only been here for happy hour time. Â The other times I've tried to go here, it's been too crowded or closed for a private event. Â But for happy hour, I really enjoy this place. Â in fact, it reminds me of two of my favorite bars that i've reviewed on yelp (one in chicago and one in lawrence, ks).
i highly recommend happy hour here for the following:
1. you're not going to deal with the inattentive staff when there's only eight people in the bar.
2. they have awesome food specials! $8 lamb chops? yes, please! Â i actually got a crab cake and calamari though, and both were delish.
3. lefko of blue stem martini in chicago would dig some of these martinis...great selection, and the decisions are tough.
4. good beer specials. if you're not into martinis, they have half-priced beer on thurs. and half-priced wine on wednesdays. awesome!
of course, there is some truth to the lack of staff...notice i said lack of staff and not lack of effort. Â also, don't be one of those people who sees delicate stemware and decides it's pretentious. this place is not pretentious. they don't sit there and pronounce bruschetta like brusketta (yes, i know it's technically correct, but come on...do you say cwrassaint, too?). Â they're nice!
relax and come have a martini here! just not on the weekend.
Expensive. Crowded. Poor service. Not my style, but apparently its Royal Oak's style.
I went here as part of my friends going away party, met up with some other friends too. As my unemployed ass usually does, I walked up to the bar and asked "Do you have any specials?" The bartender responded and I couldn't hear him, so I said "Whats your cheapest beer?" The dude scoffed at me. He didn't answer the question and I had to ask "High Life?". Also, $3.50 for a High Life? Really Royal Oak? I know its trendy and the DJ was pretty good, but I could buy three High Lifes here for the same about it'd cost me to get a 12 pack.
The place is crowded. Its always crowded. Sure, its trendy, but your bar is the size of my bathroom and you're trying to cram more tables and booths in there than should be physically possible. The crowd was a more upscale type, so navigating through the place wasn't easy.
Goodnite Gracie's is not my scene. I don't like expensive bars where you pay for the atmosphere or whatever their excuse is. I don't like tiny, overcrowded bars. I don't like bartenders that don't answer simple questions that will net them a tip. I did like the beats the DJ was throwin' down, and for that, Goodnite Gracie's, you get a gold star. Just one though.
I love it here ! It caters to the older crowd and has martinis that I am far too lazy to duplicate on my own. The only con is that when it gets really busy there is nowhere to sit ! They have a Chicago style bar jazz atmosphere, its just a bummer that its so small. Get here early and you wont be disappointed.
Review Source:Came here on Saturday night... This place is small. They have booths and tables along the right side of the wall. Â The bar is on the left side. Â In the middle is the small dance floor where the DJ is at. Â Great music but just not enough room to mingle or to dance. We didn't get any service from the waitress but the drinks were good. I'm not sure how much it is because I didn't pay. But if I get a chance, I might go again...
Review Source:i really don't like it here. Â goodnite gracies is everything i hate about the wrong bars. Â pretentious and boring are two good words to describe this place. Â the waitstaff ignores you. Â it is way too small. Â the clientele is hideous (both in attitude and to look at). the cigar smoke is disgusting. (but, i can handle cigar smoke if i like a place). Â everything is overpriced and the music is terrible. Â
hmmm i wonder if i'll ever go back? probably not. Â not like they'll miss the likes of me anyway.
love, juston
Visited Goodnight Gracie in Royal Oak for my friend Gracie's going away party... oh the coincidences!
A few things you should know about me before reading this review... I'm a bourbon snob, I've been getting into Rye and I don't really dig smoke anymore.
The positives. Goodnight Gracie has a nice selection of bourbon and my bartender for the evening (Rob) had some generous rocks pours. He spent a lot of time helping me find a new Rye to try after my first drink was emptied. But aside from the stellar service from Rob, I didn't really experience anything  at this Gracie's that would make me go out of my way to come back.
We were there on a Thursday night and the place is pretty small. It also got reasonably crowded, with lots of people that seemed to think it was important for them to be seen. There was a DJ and a band that I can't remember. It was all o.k.
What bugged me was the smoke and a lack of any kind of attention from any waitress. I don't know if it's their policy for everyone to walk up to the bar, but it would have been great to have someone ask me at least once if I needed another drink. I can't tell you a single time that I was visited by any server, though Rob made the effort to yell over the bar to make sure I was doing o.k.
Kudos to Rob, Kudos to Gracie's for having Rye. Wish it was a bit bigger and really wish it was no smoking.
I went here on Friday to meet up with friends after not having been there in a long time. I'm"m glad I went. I had usually avoided this place because it's small and really crowded on the weekends. My friends had a table in the back right by the DJ's and we had a nice space to ourselves. The drinks are good, good martinis, but on the expensive side like most martini bars. The music on Friday's is awesome. John Arnold and K-Fresh were playing the best party music that kept us dancing the whole night. I was only going to stay for one drink but the music was so good I couldn't leave. I'm pretty sure they are there every Friday and I will definitely be back.
Review Source:This is a fun little place to go to when you want to lounge around for the night, or before heading to a club. Â The problem is that it gets way crowded, so I recommend it for an off night, like a weeknight, when you want to go out and have a few martinis with friends. Â I am definitely a bigger fan of the Ann Arbor location's set up, though. Â I've also noticed that some of the martinis are made differently at the two locations, so don't assume because you liked (disliked) it at one, you will for sure like (dislike) it at the other.
Review Source:I've been here on a pub crawl when it was packed wall to wall with really drunk medical students, and then just the other day chilling with friends. The martinis are good, but you pay for the quality liquor they use at about $10 a pop. They don't list prices on the menu so I'm just going to assume all were $10.
I've had the flirtini, chocolatini, Italian martini, and key lime martini (not all at one sitting...). The chocolatini isn't bad, but not the best I've had. The key lime martini is not to be missed! It's really tasty, a mixture of lime and pineapple juice (their "secret" ingredient). The flirtini was also tasty, from what I remember of that night... Not an extensive 'tini menu, but it will suffice. A great place to start off your night before hitting the other bars in town, at least here you can have good tasting booze!
You can buy cigars to go along with the martinis. I don't get it, but whatever. The wait staff isn't the friendliest or most attentive, and the space is definitely cramped with some areas in the back that are just shitty to be in. Go for the front of the house during summer nights, no other place to be.
For RO, this place is good, but it has nothing on the vibe and atmosphere of a far superior 'tini bar -- and that is Proof in Detroit.
In short:
- Good 'tinis
- OK waitstaff
- cramped dark bar without a lot of "good" areas to be in
I was back home for Thanksgiving and ended up here one night meeting one of my friends and it is a nice place. Â They had a DJ the night I was there and he was good and provided a good vibe for the place. Â The only thing that really is rough about any of these bars is the fact that you can still smoke in them... Â I hate going home and waking up the next day still smelling like cigars and cigarettes. Â But they had a good martini menu and the bartenders were really quick and nice.
Review Source:
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