Grand Army of the Republic Building

G.A.R. BUILDING 1901 1931 1941

Meh. No real complaints about the food or service but no highlights either. Suburban crowd in a generically hip space. Could try harder to create a unique experience. Fine by all means.

The Grand Army of the Republic Building has a façade that appears to be made out of sandstone.  The building has aged nicely.  At one point, apparently, it was becoming just another derelict structure in downtown Detroit but the city is building once again.  This building is well situated, was well made and is historically important as it was only built as a tribute to members of the Grand Army of the Republic (the victorious Union forces in the American Civil War) but was built and used by them. At this time there are a couple of clubs and restaurants on the first floor.  It looks like office space is available upstairs so if you or someone you know is looking for a great place to run their business from – come a runnin’! In the lobby there is a very nice, though sparse, tribute to the Grand Army of the Republic.  You can’t miss the tile floor with the GAR symbol on it.  While cruising past check out the first floor staircase and the classic carved wooden pineapple on the top of the stairway post.  What art!

Easy access to I-75.

Decent food... a bit overpriced. Good atmosphere. Location is great, limited food choices, menu tends to change. Good drinks.

Our reservations worked and the menu was most interesting: Farm-to-Table!

Excellent food and service. Eclectic Thank you

Apparently reservations don't mean anything at the Republic Tavern. Wouldn't recommend.

The Grand Army of the Republic Building has a façade that appears to be made out of sandstone.  The building has aged nicely.  At one point, apparently, it was becoming just another derelict structure in downtown Detroit but the city is building once again.  This building is well situated, was well made and is historically important as it was only built as a tribute to members of the Grand Army of the Republic (the victorious Union forces in the American Civil War) but was built and used by them. At this time there are a couple of clubs and restaurants on the first floor.  It looks like office space is available upstairs so if you or someone you know is looking for a great place to run their business from - come a runnin'! In the lobby there is a very nice, though sparse, tribute to the Grand Army of the Republic.  You can't miss the tile floor with the GAR symbol on it.  While cruising past check out the first floor staircase and the classic carved wooden pineapple on the top of the stairway post.  What art!

This historic building is amazing. Now that Parks& Rec and Republic have opened, we can finally see what this building's insides are like. The owner of Republic took me and some friends on a tour, it was great. He and his team found lots of historic stuff after they started working on the building. This place is one of the most beautiful and interesting buildings in the city. There is also a lot of stuff going on on the upper floors of the GAR. This is just another reminder of the city's growth over the years.

It's a problem when kitchen service is so poor that you give up midway through dinner and leave the restaurant to go find something to eat. I came here alone, sat at the bar, and ordered three tapas-sized items. The first came; it was very tasty. The second came a few minutes after I was done with the first; it was tasty too. I wasn't too troubled when, after 10 minutes, the third hadn't arrived - it was a busy Friday night. I grew concerned though when a few more minutes later, the bartender began to clear my setting, asking if I was thinking about dessert. I reminded her about the third dish. She apologized (there had been no misunderstanding about there being 3) and, while she gave me encouraging updates and eventually offered to comp it, when after 30 (more!) minutes it still hadn't arrived, I quit. My third course was a spicy hot dog from a street vendor two blocks away. It wasn't as satisfying as my meatballs probably would have been, but it was ready in 30 seconds. I haven't figured out dessert yet. The bartender was very friendly, she made me a very nice drink, and the two items that I did receive were interesting and tasty. However at the moment I'm so annoyed that two stars is the best that I can muster.

I'm struggling to understand the 5-star reviews of Republic. I'm not sure if I caught the Chef on an off night - but the food was far from great. We had a small group & ordered several items from the menu: Tallow Onion Rings, the Pig Heart Carpaccio, Rabbit, Carrots, Ploughman's Plate, Fried Green Tomatoes, & the Potatoes. We also ordered a few of their craft cocktails - here is my lengthy summary. First off when we arrived our 2 partners were already at our table. The first thing we were told by our friend was that he had so far ordered (3) beers off of the menu and they were out of all three. *sigh*. The more frustrating part of this experience is that when the waitress returned for another try - she ONLY took his drink order. This means the three other people at the table had not even ordered drinks, while she tried to find our friend's beer. (Note: I do not hold the waitress accountable for the out of stock beer.) Finally - about 20 minutes after arriving - we have received drinks. This is probably due to the fact that only one bartender was working on a Friday night. Service was SLOW. I ordered their Devil Wears Prado, which is a spicy, margarita type drink. My partner ordered a dirty martini with a vermouth rinse. My drink was okay. The kick of the spice was nice, but the other flavors weren't noticeable. It also came in a tiny NYE style champagne glass - which I HATED. I don't understand why either -since tequila is not served like this. My partner's martini came in the same glass - which was laughable. The martini was not made to order, and was terrible. Moving along - we started with the Ploughman which is the meat & cheese board. I was a little underwhelmed. There were only two (2) types of cheese to the 5 types of meat. Boring. The bacon loaf was snackalicious though. The dill spread was divine, the spicy mustard was average and the rest was unmemorable. The Pig Heart Carpaccio was not exciting at all. It was relatively flavorless and sliced into tiny little pieces (no wonder there was not flavor). The Tallow Onion Rings were served at the same time and they were great! Deeply fried and flavorful....but they're onion rings.... The Rabbit and the Carrots got the highest of praise, although the rabbit definitely was not the start of his dish (the pistachios were). The carrots were cooked well and had a nice braise to them and I would recommend this dish. The Fried Green tomatoes and the Tallow fries were bad. The tomatoes were over cooked & the breading was far too crunchy. The poached egg was slightly overdone with this dish as well. This made me sad. I love fried green tomatoes, and really wanted this dish to be excellent. The Tallow Fries were terrible! Overdone fries that were (get this) somehow too salty AND bland at that same time. We spent about 10 minutes trying to wrap our heads around it. The dipping sauce they were served with was runny and also seemed bland. We skipped dessert. Overall - it is not worthy of the price or the wait. Again - maybe we got them on an off night - but when you are claiming to be the place that Republic wants to be, you cannot have "off nights". On the other hand our server was great. I believe her name was Ashley.

Such beautiful and ornate details on this renovated castle. I can't wait to see it when it's completed

SO glad to see that after all of these years, someone is doing something good with this Landmark building. Looking forward to seeing the finished results!

Great Time. Great ambiance & great feel. Place looks great and the buildout is awesome!! I used to play table tennis upstairs many moons ago and glad to see the place has life. Great job!! The food was spectacular- fritters, duck wings, roasted carrots, tar tar (great job Abbey), s'more dessert - all awesome. Will be here a lot!! When time permits! Cheers

Loved it. Unique menu with amazing cocktails.

If I could give 10 stars, I would! A large group of us went last night & my mind is still blown. We tried just about everything on the menu & it was all top notch. Republic will definitely become the #1 restaurant in Detroit. Get there now & be sure to top off your dinner with the Brown Bread Ice Cream! Chef Kate, you're amazing!!