Devin C.
Yelp
I had the opportunity to visit a couple Michelin star restaurants in Chicago and absolutely loved the tasting menu experience, high quality food, and exceptional service. I did not think that I could get such an experience in Grand Rapids. I was wrong - Grove provides an immersion into fine dining that you can't find anywhere else in the city.
My date and I tried the tasting menu for 2 as part of their Valentines day promotion. It included bread, 5 main courses, and a dessert. I started off with an espresso martini. I'm not a drinker whatsoever but this was delicious. It was creamy, almost a melted ice cream mouthfeel, with a not bitter punch of coffee, finished by the liquor.
The first dish to come out was the bread and butter. I was not expecting to be thinking about bread days after I ate it but here I am. The flavor was incredibly complex from all the spices and herbs. Each bite I tasted something different - sometimes sweet sometimes savory. Crunchy and flaky on the outside and warm and fluffy on the inside. It came with a pad of house made butter which had a nice sweetness to it.
First course - beef carpaccio. This dish is thin slices of (mostly) raw beef on a bed of pickled radish and carrots, jalapenos, cilantro, with an aioli. As a fan of pickled foods, I loved this. It was bright, clean, acidic, and had a nice variety of flavors and textures.
Second course - bucatini. Bucatini pasta noodles, gouda, parmesan, topped with breadcrumbs. The noodles were cooked to perfection. I had forgotten how amazing pasta is when it's done right. This was heavy, creamy, and very savory. The gouda really showed its complex flavor in this dish. The portion size was also perfect - I think if you tried to eat more than one serving of this pasta you would get flavor fatigue pretty fast.
Third course - porchetta. Pork belly and sausage rolled together served over navy beans, topped with chard, fennel, and apple. This was perhaps the best pork belly I've ever tried. You can literally cut through it with ease like its soft butter. It really was the closest thing I've tried to "melt in your mouth". I didn't care much for the sausage's flavor and the beans seemed a bit bland. The toppings were pretty but didn't add much in terms of flavor or contrast. I think this dish would be perfect if they just slightly rework it.
Fourth course - smoked potato. Small fried potatoes, white cheddar fondue, pickled onions and peppers, topped with chive powder. The potatoes were crispy and the pickled peppers and onions were great complimentary flavors. The white cheddar fondue was extremely heavy and flavorful which I enjoyed. I thought this was an excellent dish but it just needed a touch of finishing salt to round it out.
Fifth course - lamb chops. Two lamb chops topped with blackberry and a side of mint yogurt sauce and dijon celery root slaw. The lamb was juicy, tender, and flavorful. I honestly could not tell it apart from a high-quality steak. It paired excellently with the blackberry and mint yogurt - I could still clearly taste all of the lamb's flavor with them. The celery root slaw was also excellent. It had a crunchy and refreshing texture and tasted only mildly of celery. It's very comparable to coleslaw. I think it's an excellent alternative to a side salad.
Finally, the desert. We opted for the vanilla cheesecake which was vanilla shortbread cookies with cheesecake filling and black currant. I think it's a bit of a stretch to call this cheesecake but I was delicious nonetheless. The crackers were crunchy, the cheesecake filling was a bit thin (almost like whipped cream) but sweet, and the black currant was tart and tasted similar to blackberries.
All the dishes were beautifully plated and had lots of thought put into them. Our server was simply incredible. They explained each dish before it was served (including all of the ingredients), what to expect, their recommendations, etc. I particularly enjoyed the bread and bucatini dishes, although everything I tried was outstanding. All in all, this was an excellent experience that was comparable to the 1 Michelin star restaurants I visited in Chicago. I know it can be a bit intimidating if you've never tried a restaurant of this sort, but I promise you it's an incredible experience and the staff knows every inch of the menu to help you out along the way.
There were a few minor pain points. We went for their Valentines Day promotion which they promoted with a special menu while still offering to order off their regular menu. This was true, but only for the drinks and desserts. I was looking forward to getting to try some of the dishes off the snack menu, but no big deal. The Valentines menu was also more expensive for the tasting for two at $150 (regularly $125) which was a surprise to me when I got there. Lastly, the website is a bit confusing on what dates you can do the tasting for two. Some parts say it's Tuesday-Saturday, other parts say it's Friday-Saturday.