I've been here a few times over the years, and I popped in recently for a date.
It's... kind of a townie bar that caters to everyone well. The food isn't amazing, but it isn't bad (and perhaps, most importantly, it's consistent).
The service has always been decent. The patio - two levels, always packed.
All in all, I feel like people feel the need to tout it because of its name, its age, and its location. It's a good spot! But it's not really "the place" I think of, or tell people about, in the area.
It's just another local bar, with okay food and beer selection. It's hard to go wrong, but there is so much better.
Not sure how I missed giving this place its review since Ive been going there for 40 years, AND all my high school reunions are held there, but lets go...
This place is an area landmark. While not in Grandview Heights proper, it is named for the avenue adjacent to it. It has stood the test of time, opened in 1925, my father first took me there to eat in the early '70s.
It has gone through many changes, and while it used to be a local watering hole, it is now over run with non-local wanna-be hipsters.
The ambiance: Loud and sometimes crowded. Dont look for this place for a romantic dinner with your significant other, however, the decor is nice.
Entertainment: Their infamous trivia night is the best around! It too can get crowed, but its always good stuff, every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. Karaoke every Sunday night, and live music Friday and Saturday nights...good stuff indeed!
Food: This place can be hit or miss. Some stuff is real good, like their Fish and Chips, Oriental salad, and Italian sub. Other stuff that is meh, is their wings and nachos. And stay completely away from their spaghetti and meatballs, yuck.
Drink: Full service bar, but just a decent beer and wine selection. I would like to see more exotics and craft beers, and better wines.
Price: Id say this place is a little on the pricey side, but thats expected for the area.
Ive never had "bad" service here, but as I said, it can get real busy, so be prepared to wait a minute on your refill.
Over all, Im a fan, and will be returning when ever in the area.
Not too much to like about this place. Beer selection isn't great and drinks and food are both overpriced. Collectively, the bartenders and waiters upstairs have to be the worst I've ever experience at a bar. They get low marks for bad service and just general douchiness.
Trivia is fun and Steve does a good job but it's often way too crowded to enjoy and the house team wins almost every week. (Come on, you're telling me that the two bartenders who are working while trivia is going on are just that much smarter than the other 20 teams every week??)
And parking is awful! It's nearly impossible. So basically, if you feel like driving around for an hour looking for a parking spot, waiting two hours to play trivia, overpaying for food and drinks, and having your waitress roll her eyes at you when you tell her she messed up your oder, Grandview Cafe is the place for you!
I really wanted to like this place. They don't serve pitchers. Limited drafts on tap. I do like the way the place is set up though - cozy bar/restaurant vibe.
The food is mediocre. We ordered Buffalo French Fries, which came out to be steak fries you find in your local supermarket smothered in bottled buffalo sauce. Our burgers came out to be bland, unseasoned - very inoffensive.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be coming back. 4 pints, 1 appetizer, and 2 burgers for $50? I'd rather spend that money elsewhere.
Ok. After going to trivia here about 4 times, I am addicted!! I've gotten over the average food and even more average service. Parking is still a nightmare, but at least I've never not been able to find a spot. I will probably only ever keep coming here for the trivia only. The waitresses are always in a hurry (understandably so), so it's kind of hard to get everything you want and need (like... silverware...) so make sure you cover your bases in the 0.02 seconds they are at your table.
If you're a trivia newbie, here are some tips:
1) Get there early. Like... 6:30-6:45pm (trivia starts at 8pm). They actually let you save a huge table if only a few people are there, so that's pretty nice.
2) Order all your drinks and food at the bar. It's so much faster and they just open a tab. Waitresses are there only for bringing your food and removing empty glasses.
3) Think of a clever team name. Use cheesy puns, current events, etc. Usually the more vulgar and inappropriate it is, the better... this took me some getting used to, but it's all in good fun.
Why 3-stars? Â I want to give Grandview Cafe' more yet I can't get out of the VIllage of A-OK for various reasons. Â I think it is due to; (a) Â tight quarters on the main floor for dining; (b) a lackluster outdoor patio downstairs with service that is just kinda "eh"; (c) the inconsiderate nature of music and trivia upstairs for the patrons downstairs; (d) parking is almost non-existent and finally; (e) that darned front step that I trip over walking in and fall off of when I'm walking out (petty but it peturbs me and you KNOW that step if you've been there).
So why Grandview Cafe? Â Location, location, location and better than average food. Â I've enjoyed at least 3 different cheeseburgers and they are good. Â The reuben sandwich is above par. Â I really like their chicken salad wrap with a side of onion rings. Â Onion Rings!!! Â They're darned good at Grandview Cafe in my humble opinion; always piping hot and variety (Big to small). Â And Fish 'n Chips is good... oh, and their steak & potato soup, too. Â So food wins out for me.
I'm not a trivia guy so that evening is a write-off for me. Â And as far as watching sports on TV, Grandview Cafe isn't all that conducive to it. Â Small place where friends meet for beers and burgers and conversation. Â Nice rectangular bar downstairs for the local patrons to hang out.
Grandview Cafe makes me a patron about once every two months... for the food. Â That's the Village of A-OK, isn't it?
Everything you could possibly need in the heart of Grandview: patio, beer selection, good eats, live music, trivia, karaoke, strong neighborhood vibe. This place is always popping, which might be a bit of a knock, and the menu is fairly basic and reasonable. Fun place to party, but a bit more crowded than your typical neighborhood bar.
Review Source:Another location (I forget which) has a motto..."good food, bad service". Grandview Cafe should take a page from them with this motto "good environment, bad service".
Every time I have been to Grandview Cafe, I have had a mediocre meal, at a relatively high price. Going directly to the bar for a beer is a little faster, but the bartenders are still quite slow compared to other places.
Despite this, the place looks great. It has a great patio, with excellent views of Grandview Ave.
We went here on a Thursday to check out their infamous trivia night. Â It was extremely loud and crowded with a number people whom I can most politely describe as meat heads.
The food was really not good. Â I ordered the "famous" tomato soup, grilled cheese and the steak fries. Â The fries were thick and potatoey, but they only have Hunt's ketchup! Â Why would anyone have anything other than Heinz? Â The tomato soup tasted strongly of vinegar and the grilled cheese wasn't cooked all the way through. Â Their beer selection was the best thing they have going for them, and they have lots of local beers on tap. Â
The trivia game itself was really fun, though, and I'm glad we went. Â The host was great and the game is well organized. Â Not sure we'll go back to trivia here even though its the best we've found in Columbus so far. Â Bodega on N. High St. has decent trivia too on Sunday nights.
In a nutshell: Â don't go here for the food; go here for the beer.
Good place to drink, NOT to eat.
Food is constistantly a disappointment. Â Overpriced, comes out cold, soggy, or gross, there is always something wrong with it.
I've had decent service here, but one time my friend and I sat at a table outside for 30 MINUTES without someone taking our drink order! Â We left. Â
It's a fun place to throw a few beers back, and sometimes they have good bands. Â That's about it though.
Horrible experience. Like so pathetic it was funny. First off, karaoke here just sucks. It's so crammed and most people are turned away from the "stage" so you feel like you're just sitting there singing and no one cares. I guess if you like hearing pop country songs all night you might like it a little better. Then there was the bartender. He flat out refused to get me a cup of ice water after having 3-4 drinks! He said something like "we're not an ice house". Not sure what his problem was. And to top it all off this guy across the bar kept throwing coasters at the girl next to me and they were hitting me, so I threw one or two back and the bartender flips out on me like it's all my fault. Will not be back. Horribly run place.
Review Source:Always understaffed - but the food used to be good, seems that they cut corners on this last leg of acceptable service the last time I was there (for the price). Great casual atmosphere - and I was there with two folks who love cas - a college prof and a just graduated student... but, the prof never got his lemon, and the student never got a replacement salad dressing after spilling the original - and they were dying to go there! (Not again!
Review Source:GC seems to have the most bipolar reputation out there. I know people that rave about the place. Then I know people that can't stand it and will never go.
For the time I lived near here, Grandview Cafe was OK, and I've gone back since. It's just very mediocre. I've gone here with friends, gone here for drinks after a date, and gone by myself to get drunk and drown sorrows. OK, I haven't done that--but I think it might be good for that if that's your thing.
A few times I went here I was annoyed because there was a cover to go upstairs (sorry GC, you will never merit a cover charge) and the downstairs was too crowded. But the patio is really good and large.
Literally the only constant is this one asshole bartender who is legitimately the worst bartender in Central Ohio. And he is ALWAYS THERE. I realize the good looking girl next to me will get served first, that's just common knowledge and an unfortunate bias that I can tolerate (because at least there's good looking girls around). Unfortunately, these are the ONLY people he serves. I've had him serve a girl then stand there and look around waiting for another one while multiple guys wait for the other bartender to come back. I'd be willing to bet this guy's "maybe if I serve her quick I'll get laid" attitude has actually never panned out as he'd hoped--cuz they don't like him either. Every bar has that one crappy worker--this guy beats em all.
I just had the absolute worst service out on the patio this evening. I sat there for 30 minutes just waiting to place my order with the waitress. She walked by the table several times but said nothing to us after grabbing our drinks. It was as if we disappeared and we saw a couple other tables receive similar service. We finally just left a couple bucks on the table to cover the sodas and left. we won't be back anytime soon. A real disappointment.
Review Source:Whatever you do, NEVER get take out from GC. Upon calling my boyfriend was put on hold for 30 minutes. After he finalIy hung up and tried again the phone was left off the hook for about an hour. This should have been our sign to give up. However, an hour later a lovely young lady took the call with all the enthusiasm of a wet mop. The staff was equally as unhelpful and simply unaware of anything going on around them when we arrived to pick up the order. Â For dinner that evening i enjoyed the most dry crab cakes on earth and sub-par Mac-n-cheese. How can you possibly screw up Mac-n-cheese?! My boyfriend enjoyed cold scalloped potatoes that tasted straight from the box. Then later I enjoyed half a bottle of tums. What a nightmare.
Review Source:Our server was super fast, super friendly, and super helpful. Super duper.
We started with the nachos with all the junk on them. Good chips, meh toppings. The Buffalo chicken wrap and balogna sandwich were just ok too. Nice location though. Parking in the area is what it is. It's Grandview Ave.
Also no need to complain about cover charges for live bands. I don't like working for free.
Grandview Cafe is kinda like that annoying friend you miss if you haven't seen him/her in awhile, but remember why you've not been so eager to set up a playdate about 20 minutes into hanging out.
I've had great times at Grandview Cafe, and I find myself there pretty often (considering I only give it 3 stars), and even sometimes suggesting it to out-of-towners (if I don't know their tastes that well). I find Grandview Cafe's appeal to be almost coercive, and for every high there is a low:
- The location is great if you're making "a night" of it out in Grandview (but parking blows)
- I always see someone I know (could be good or bad, amirite?!)
- The menu is broad, something for everyone (but waaay overpriced)
- decent patio drankin' (but always crowded and understaffed)
- bustling trivia crowd (but this "crowd" consists of a lot of brosephs, and you really have to get there early to poach a table).
When I think of my best memories here (of which there are many), it has often been due to the company-- Grandview Cafe just happens to be in the right place at the right time.
Grandview Cafe.... what are you on Sunday afternoons? A place where graduated frat bros come? Family friendly brunch dining? Casual 20-something hungover food? A Sunday sports bar? A divey-local joint? Quite honestly, I don't really know. What are you trying to be?!?!
I have only been here for their Sunday brunch - which is delicious in it's own right! The eggs benedict and huevos rancheros were both appetizing on my growling stomach. However, service can be hit or miss. On a busy brunch day, expect slow(er) service than normal. Even when sitting at the bar. On a normal brunch day, the service can be just right. Not too invasive, but still there if you need refills or anything.
About their bloody mary's....why do you put lemons in them? I'm just curious.
Also, to the drunk douchebags sitting at the bar......smh, it was only noon, and you're rambling on about the inappropriate things at the top of your lungs. Not the cafe's fault, but just know the environment you may be getting yourself in to! It can feel like 1AM on a Saturday night even at 1PM on a Sunday afternoon. Forewarned.
Good luck finding parking ;P
I have been going here for over a decade! Â Whenever I am in town, I always have to stop in to 'The Cafe'. Â
THE PROS:
-most of the bartenders
-atmosphere (generally busy, and that cheers kind of neighborhood bar feel)
-live music
-good food
-the owner (he is a riot)
-location
-lots of TVs for sports
-Sunday brunch
-SUNDAY FUNDAY
THE CONS:
-weekend evenings can be TOO packed
-food is not comparatively outstanding (hard to compete with some of the amazing bar food in Grandview/Short North)
-the service at the tables can REALLY suck! I now ALWAYS sit at the bar. Â (I should note, I know they have been working on this, but I gave up long ago). Â
-parking
I will always love this place along with the neighborhood. Â It is a staple of Grandview. Â No matter how long, I can walk in and someone always knows my name and wants to know where I have been (and I don't even live in this state anymore)...Also not in a nosy way, but a rather genuine way. Â That is what makes this place priceless!
See you next time! Â :)
We went to Grandview Cafe for trivia night on 12/27/11. Â It was a fun evening for our group but we ran into a very shady bartender when we were closing our tabs.
Brandy (the bartender) intentionally double-charged us for a round of shots by putting the full amount on two separate tabs. Â When we brought this to her attention, she did not even apologize.
What a shady bartender and shame on Grandview Cafe for allowing these practices to occur.
AVOID this establishment or at least carefully review your tabs.
I wanted to love Grandview Cafe - I really did. But I left feeling "meh..."
While the menu looks superficially delicious, I found the food mediocre at best. I've tried several of the soups, sides, and my group had a wrap, burger, and sandwich -- all just decent. Â I wouldn't say the menu is overpriced if the food had a *wow* factor, but because it was so average, I felt we overpaid.
They also do not have a great beer selection (beers you can get anywhere, only a few interesting ones on tap) and the happy hour doesn't make you feel all that happy because you barely save anything!
I gave this place three stars because I have had exceptional wait staff and want to give credit where credit is do. Â Both had very unique personalities and were very helpful and entertaining.
Will give trivia a try to see if this changes my review.
I recently discovered Grandview Cafe and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Columbus.
We've had awesome service every time I've been there, and the food I've tried has been delish. (Granted, it doesn't take much to please these taste buds.) The patio is obviously wonderful too and I love the location: perfect people-watching spot.
I'm assuming -- based on previous reviews -- that you'll probably have a better experience on a slow night. I say this based on the fact that I've only really been to GC on Sunday and/or Monday, and I've clearly had a much better experience than most. Maybe I'll test this theory then review again just to be sure.
Also looking forward to a trivia night in my future. Overall, fun place!
One of the most maddening bars in Columbus. I simply have yet to have a fantastic time in here. Fun, enjoyable times? Definitely. But nothing that ever blows my skirt up and sadly, I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that it ain't gonna happen in my lifetime.
The patio, for such an amazing location, sucks for some indiscernible reason. Maybe it's the volume level? It's like a library out here most of the time. Talk, people! Laugh! Have a good time, for chrissakes! You're getting drunk - this is supposed to be fun, remember? I've seen livelier patios next to the shuffleboard court on cruise ships.
Also, the servers always seem confused. There is always an issue when you walk in to the bar and want to sit on the patio. The hostess never seems sure of how to handle it. "Oh, ummmm, yeah, I guess you can sit out there....I'm pretty sure there's a server out there...." Fail. I always have to end up coming in and ordering at the bar and taking my drink out to the patio......which, again, confuses the young chick who ends up finally strolling out to make her rounds. "Oh, um, you have a drink already.....did someone help you already or do you have a tab at the bar?" We also got the "um, my shift ends in 5 minutes, so do you mind if I cash you guys out?" question on my last visit, which always rubs me the wrong way.
I don't usually eat food here because I was underwhelmed on too many trips in a row to make this a dining destination.
I recommend the Grandview Cafe for either a late night nightcap kind of place, or a "start the evening" joint - sit at the bar, have one beer or one shot, then you should probably go ahead and book - it won't improve much and you'll likely start to get annoyed at some point by either the clientele, the atmosphere, or the service.
There are so many things I would like to talk about when thinking about the Grandview Cafe. Firstly I will say one of the few complaints I have about the Cafe is that there is basically 0 parking for this restaurant. It is definitely a pain in the butt to find parking sometimes, but to counter, this restaurant is definitely worth the trouble.
The atmosphere is very casual and laid back, the people who go there seem to be locals. It's great for anyone really, the only people I wouldn't suggest would be kids. The service can be a bit hit and miss, I've been there during times where the service was absolutely wonderful, but then at other times the service has been so slow and awful. But I always keep an optimistic attitude.
One thing I will always get when going here in the hockey fries! It's probably the ONLY reason I go here lol I crave them every so often. It is like the perfect mixture of fries, mozz chess and gravy. I wish I knew their gravy secret so I could just make it myself.
On to other items though, their chicken tortilla soup is just about as good as Betty's (which still has the best IMO). The fish sandwich is gigantic! If you order the fish & chips or the fish sandwich I hope you come with an appetite. The fish is perfectly fried to perfection and it's just a nice happy marriage of flavors. The buffalo chicken sandwich I had was sub par. It's basically a grilled/fried chicken sandwich with buffalo sauce (nothing to truly write home about). The Turkey Club will always be a safe choice bc let's face it, how can you really mess up a turkey club.
All in all I always try to bring people here and suggest it to other people when ever I get the chance. It's a great restaurant with a very relaxed atmosphere and wonderful food. I have no issue putting the Grandview Cafe into my Top 10 Favorite restaurants!
This space has so much potential. I wish it was better! I've been to Grandview Cafe many times and perhaps 5 years ago, I would have given it 4 stars as it had great food and good service and was a fun place.
Now, GC is not a place I identify with good service, value, or yumminess. I had been going often with friends for trivia and the food was consistently bad and overpriced. Drink weren't cheap either. Not to mention their bar tender (Dane Cook look alike) only served you when he felt like it and made lude comments often.
Anyway, I haven't been back in a long time even though trivia there was always lots of fun. It's just that there's trivia elsewhere at places I can get better food and better service.
I wish someone would buy out Grandview Cafe and make it great! Anyone wanna loan me some money? I've got great ideas ;o)
OK some people liked it here, some people didn't, let me help you decide, this place blows.
Went here with a couple close friends to do a little drinking on a Friday night. Â We were all taking turns getting rounds, our usual MO. Â So when my turn comes, I tried to go buy a round of Irish car bombs (A boilermaker, half pint of Guinness, and a shot with Jameson's and Bailey's) and the bartender tells me "we don't serve those." Â I am confused by this, and reply, "Um, I see you have Guinness, Jameson's, and Bailey's, what's the problem?" Â He tells me, "People were getting too wasted." Â Huh, so since I am quick on my feet most of the time, I ask him, "Can I get 3 doubles of 151?" Â He says, "Sure."
Don't you see it? Â Yet another establishment concerned totally with their "image" and not at all with being the best bar/restaurant. Â On top of this utter stupidity outlined above, all of the staff I dealt with were stuck up and snotty, and the prices are high too.
You can do so much better for your money people.
Lita Ford once sang, "Uh huh, it ain't no big thing... but I know what I like..."
And what I like is not exactly embodied in Grandview Cafe. This place is pretty blasè.
I guess I just thought a local cafe wouldn't have a laminated, flip book menu, and overpriced, generic food options. I ended up ordering something so unremarkable I actually can't recall, except that it came with a side of unremarkable mac n cheese - the reason I am reviewing GC now is because I keep driving by it and becoming enraged that it's not more awesome.
My friends and I sat outside here on a blustery day last month, drinking seasonal microbrews and chatting. The service was weird. Our server inappropriately dressed (she was too old to have her ass literally hanging out of her short shorts - sorry to be catty but it was uncomfortable and daytime-inappropes! And if you know me, you know I usually have NO problems with a little sassy assy in my life, so...). Not only this, but she was inconsistent in attending to us, and sort of disengaged from the whole experience. Blerg.
And as much as I adore Ms. Cheryl H., I'm going to have to disagree and say that the atmosphere here sucked - and it was Saturday afternoon. Nothing was doing, there was no audible music, and no people living it up. Daydrinkers, my beloveds, where WERE you all?! Perhaps one day when I'm looking to get obliterated, I shall text Cheryl and my fellow Yelp drinking buddies and we can try again. But for now, I get all crumply-faced every time I drive Grandview Cafe. Â
Come on pretty bayyyyybeee kiss me deaaaaaaaadllllllly....!!!
This place has gone way downhill. Â I think the food is not even edible. Â The two times I have had lunch, I was so mentally scarred that I'm surprised I even gave this place a 3rd try for happy hour.
We sat at the bar and had cocktails. The worst in town. Â There was no liquor in the drinks, and they aren't cheap either.
I used to love their Karaoke night but now with all the other places that offer Karaoke, the Grandview Cafe is no longer a place I'm interested in going to.
Oy. What sort of place was this? Was it a diner? Was it a cafe? Was it a sports bar? I'm honestly a little confused and so is Grandview Cafe.
Jon R. and I went on a gorgeous, warm Saturday night and were hoping to sit outside. However, there was 15 minute wait for a patio table and being from the East Coast, 15 minutes is an outrageously long time to wait for the both of us. So we sat inside.
I am regretting not being patient and waiting the 15 minutes. There was an OSU game on and about 7 fans were packed around the bar. These fans made as much noise as 50 OSU fans packed around the bar. I mean, this was the game where we were winning 74 - 23. WHY ARE YOU ALL STILL SCREAMING?!
The food was alright. I had the spinach and artichoke dip, which was was different, but still good. The dip came in a casserole dish and I had to kind of punch through the hard shelling of seasoned salt and cheese to get to the warm gooeyness inside. I had thought it might be a little bit salty though Jon R. had the burger, which he said he liked. Honestly, it was pretty good, but it isn't anything I would ever crave. It's one of those places that if a friend brought me to I wouldn't mind, but it wouldn't be the place I would bring them.
I want to you to be more than A-OK Grandview Cafe, I really do. I dig your location and local bar vibe but I keep being disappointed.
This is an okay place to go during the week. I agree with other reviews, the food is really just average. Nothing has stood out for me. Last time I was there the service was really bad. It wasn't busy but we waited a long time to place our order and get our food. I'll probably wait for patio season before I return.
I'm not a huge fan of Grandview Cafe. My experience there last night solidified that.
Negatives:
The music is so loud inside that you can barely hear yourself think
The crowd = douchebags
The bartenders are a*holes
The food is crappy and expensive
The wine is barf-worthy
Positives:
The outside patio is pretty sweet in the summa' time
It's close to where I live
Ummmm....they serve alcohol
Grandview Cafe or GC is my beau's favorite bar in Grandview. Â I'm not sure totally why, but I can appreciate why and therefore, I'm giving it 4 stars.
First, location - this place is conveniently located in the heart of Grandview.
Second, great setup - this is the quintessential neighborhood bar, with live music, and local watering hole gathering scene. Â The feel is good. Â The bar is sturdy and strategically placed in the center of the bottom floor surrounded by decent bar stools, tables and booths. Â All around, there are big and small, HDTVs for good viewing. Â There is a couple electronic poker machines for the bar fly or for the loner looking to look busy. Â There is a great upstairs space and the patio is my personal favorite. Â Though I haven't been to the upstairs patio yet...
Third, food - bars need to have food and the menu here is extensive. Â Honestly, it is average but I think many men who like beer would find this menu to be pleasing... It is filled with bar staples like potato skins and cobb salads. Â
Lastly, the management here has done a fantastic job keeping this place going. Â A lot of the Grandview residents come here and make this their meeting place for launching into other activities. Â It is probably a neutral first date place, a good third date place, and a great 'we're a couple' type of hangout because it is so friendly in there with lots of familiar faces.
On an afternoon after a trip to the eye doctor, Jeff wanted to take me out to lunch. I wasn't having a good morning, after spending over $300 on contacts and suffering through a day of dilated pupils. I swear, every time I go to the eye doctor and they dilate my pupils it's a very sunny day without a cloud in the sky. And this day was no exception. If you haven't ever had your pupils dilated, all you need to know is light really hurts your eyes.
Anyway, enough about that. He drove us here because he had recently heard great things about it. At first glance I could tell why people liked it. The patio. Out in back, it's huge and lined with pretty plants and looks like such a peaceful and pleasant place to sit. But I wasn't doing that this afternoon. It was a little chilly, plus it would have killed my eyes.
We had to drive around a bit to find a place to park and finally found one behind Spagio. I guess they share that lot with a few other places in the area. The lot's not easy to find a spot in, so consider yourself lucky if you find one on your first try. It was even crowded on this Tuesday afternoon.
When we went in, I was relieved to see that it was sort of dark inside. Everything was wood-paneled and we got a booth that happened to be away from the windows lining the front and side of the building.
Our server brought us our drinks and gave us our menus. I had no idea what I wanted, but Jeff got the GC Hockey Fries to start. The menu had a typical cafe fare, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, steaks, desserts, etc. This place definitely had a neighborhood feel to it, being comfy and simple. It definitely had a small town feel. When our appetizer came out I didn't know what to think of it. It was a pile of fries (which were thick-cut steak fries) smothered in brown gravy and gobs of mozzarella cheese. I am not a big gravy fan, and I tried a bit and it wasn't my thing. It was thick and peppery. I went for the fries that didn't have much if any gravy on them and had them with ketchup. They weren't bad, but there weren't many that weren't soaked in gravy.
About the time we were finishing up with our fries, our lunches came out. I had the taco salad. It was the kind of the big crispy tortilla shell bowl. It had all the typical ingredients that you would expect in a taco salad, and there really wasn't anything special about it. It also wasn't all that big. I ate most of it, but there was no point in taking the rest home because everything had kind of run together and it was all mush. Jeff had the Club sandwich and really, it just looked like your typical club sliced into 4 triangles. He enjoyed it, but we both weren't a huge fan of the kettle chips that came with his sandwich. We'd both decided that we'd had better.
The service was good - our waitress was attentive and made sure that our drinks were refilled most of the time. We were thirsty so we were going through them quickly. Our bill wasn't too bad, I guess. $6 for the appetizer, $10 for my salad (I think that was too much) and $8 for Jeff's club. I think that for food that tastes this middle-of-the-line, it could be a little cheaper. I think that maybe I didn't try one of the better options on the menu, but nothing else looked as appealing to bring me back in for another visit. It was OK, but that's it. I'd rather go somewhere else.
Although I wouldn't mind trying Grandview Cafe out for happy hour sometime. I think I would enjoy coming out to sit on this patio and enjoy a few beers and maybe a different appetizer, like the Hummus and Grilled Pita. But I definitely won't come back here for an entire meal, especially if I can't sit out on the patio.
Eh... I like it. But I don't go out of my way to eat here. I usually end up at the Grandview Cafe when my friend's band is playing upstairs, but I won't complain because the food is pretty darn good. The menu is a mix of homestyle comfort food and the usual suspects,like burgers, sandwiches and salads. The portions are great, as are the prices.
I am not a fan of the ambiance. The massive island bar consumes most of the first floor, while a few booths and tables are shoved off along  the side walls. I find it a bit claustrophobic if you aren't actually sitting at the bar, but most of my friends don't mind it.
There's a few flatscreen TV's around the bar and a large one out back on the patio. I don't view the Grandview Cafe as a friendly "neighborhood bar", but when compared to the trendier, high-brow restaurants along Grandview Avenue, it seems more approachable.
The upper floor has a full bar, tables, another outdoor patio and a dance floor. I almost prefer this space, which is open primarily on weekends when bands are playing, The Grandview Cafe scores some fun local bands that draw a wide mix of people. Â While patrons can hear the music from the first floor, a $5 cover is charged to head upstairs and watch the band.
It's like a large "Cheers." Â Friendly, young, casual crowd. Â Moderate prices. Cozy for a date or a small group. Â Sometimes the bartenders get too busy to notice that you need a refill (hence I deduct a couple stars).
Not good for large groups because it can get loud and crowded.
Overall, I recommend.
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