HopCat

TL;DR - I don't know if it's a place I'd recommend to people that have never been there before, but since my wife and I knew what it used to be, we find ourselves still coming back to be slightly let down each time. Closer to a 3.5 than a 4. HopCat seems to be a shell of what it once was almost 20 years ago. I was in college at GVSU when the first one opened in Grand Rapids and knew a couple original employees at that location. Fast forward almost a decade later and I introduced my now-wife to HopCat and she fell in love with it as well; we visited the AA location several times before work has moved us all over the Midwest. Now, whenever we find ourselves in the area, HopCat is near the top of our "you wanna try and make time for that?" list. Our food was just a notch above mediocre: the cosmik fries have a substantially different texture than when they went by another name, and don't taste as great because of it. The accompanying cheese sauce also doesn't pack the flavor and texture it used to; the sauce used to be extremely thin, yet still thoroughly coat the fry with just a quick dip. I ordered the steak frites cooked to medium and I received a true rare; not a big deal for me, but I know plenty of people that would be an absolute no-no for. The Caesar salad was decent, but would have been better if it wasn't swimming in dressing. The brussel sprouts were somehow the best part of the dish: cooked to the correct doneness and the balsamic drizzle was the right amount to add flavor without overpowering it. Our server did an acceptable job; she was pleasant and checked on us twice, right after our food came out and then several minutes later to offer refills.

Decided to try this place because of the amount of reviews. It was recommended to have reservations but not sure if because it was a Sunday they were not needed. It was nice they weren't very busy not exactly sure why. Food was good, maybe not great. Appetizer sampler was good, nice variety for a table. Both burgers were GREAT, the ruban was OK not the best, little salty. The fries are really good, seasoned well.

2nd time here at Hopcat Ann Arbor for me! Fantastic service & food... Haley was amazing (!!!) Fair prices & great atmosphere - even when we were there at 3pm on a Saturday!

My husband raved about the hot honey chicken sandwich, Delicious! The reuben sandwich was very good too.

I have never been happier with a restaurant experience. I spent most of my adult life traveling and trying different restaurants, seeing the different services provided in each given place. After my time spent at HopCat nothing will ever compare. Em truly exceeded every expectation I had walking into the restaurant. As I consider myself a restaurant connoisseur I will 100% be returning for the lovely food and service provided be Em.

***UPDATE: Manger reached out to us and provided $50 in food vouchers and requested us to come back and speak with her. Kind of her and not necessary but will give this place another go.*** Very convenient in DT A2 however the food is subpar. The app sampler is not great and no real highlights from that. The food is basically Applebees+. The signature burger was good but nothing to write home about. I’d come here again for a beer but the food is a pass from me. Bartender was kind and always kept our drinks full.

My granddaughter brought me here in Ann Arbor. She loves the whole package with the food at center stage. She ordered the appetizer tray which was delicious . Battered fried cheese cubes, boneless wings, pretzel bites, mini corn dogs, chips and 4 dipping sauces. The cheese dip was great. She ordered the Veg burger with fries that were excellent. She loved it. I got the Prime Rib sandwich with fries. Outstanding. I noticed college age groups as well as family with grade school children. Very nice selection of Draft Crafts. I believe during a game, that place rocks. The decor is wood themed with the iconic mural that I have seen images of this year. Enjoy your visit. Seriously.

I absolutely loved my experience at HopCat especially because of our server Em. She created a restaurant environment I had never felt before.The best word I would use to describe my experience is spiritual. Each bite of my impossible burger felt like a breath of fresh air knowing Em was the one who handed it to me. You can tell she truly cares about the service she provides and wants you to enjoy your experience to the fullest extent. If Em’s your server, do not fear, your experience will be above and beyond every time emotionally and physically. The only person who has ever made Hopcat feel like home. This woman deserves a raise!

The food was amazing! I loved the atmosphere of the place too. I ordered the hangover burger and it was one of the best breakfast burgers I've eaten.

This is a typical bar with bar food, it's great for a drink and a quick bite. The service was great- our server was super sweet! The Cesar salad was good but it had too much dressing. The fries were good and I asked for a side of fire sauce, which has a weird fragrant aftertaste. Overall pretty decent!

I was really excited to get HopCat for carry out during my visit home. I got the double burger with Cosmik fries. The portion for fries was actually the smallest thing I've ever seen. I normally dine in. But this was half the size that I'd get if I dined in. I also had to ask for ketchup when I picked it up.

Well to say the least I'll start with I commute to this location about 2-3x a year for special occasions.. last April & May being 2 great experiences so great I tried the Grand Rapids location in June. But as for Jan 2025 I AM NOT IMPRESSED- If you want an abundance of beer sure - or fries.. they changed meat / burger providers and it shows the quality of beef is not like the pictures I took a year ago of my food. Very disappointed in the service on a Friday night and Pace of food. I'll show pictures - I will compliment one thing to this completely awful experience, the Lobster app was great. Honestly spend your time and money else where I'm sure there's a better burger joint.

This is the second HopCat location I've been to and so far, we're 2/2. We got here around 6 on a weekday; just missing happy hour. Wasn't too busy but more people started to trickle in as the night went on. We sat at the bar but wouldn't have had any issue getting a table/booth. Didn't seem short staffed at all; which was a nice change of pace since we're still post covid. Our drinks and food came out quickly. Highly recommend the Buffalo chicken dip!! They have mocktail options too! The BBQ chicken Cobb salad was delicious and my husband chose to get poutine as his entree. Great choice. However, When it came time to get our check, it took them a bit. Our drinks and plates sat empty for about 15 minutes. Many bartenders were deep in conversation with customers; which was great to see how friendly everyone was. But, it also showed they forgot about others at times. We had to intervene on a conversation and ask if we could get our check. The bartender was a good spirit about it & acknowledged the issue. Way to take ownership! Parking is available on the street but also across the way in the garage. Super easy and convenient. I do think this place needs an update. The downtown Detroit location is a little more renovated and airy; while you feel like you're in a darker setting when you come into this one. Older decor. Kind of the same feel as other downtown Ann Arbor restaurants. That won't stop us from coming back!

A classic! Ann Arbor has many options for great beer, all with their own unique personality. HopCar is a bit electic, with a large beer menu focusing on highlighting Michigan beers. Largely on tap! Also the hype around their Cosmik Fries is deserved - it really is that good, especially dipped in the cheese sauce. I don't come here specifically for the food, but burgers are good! Would pick this place over others specifically if I'm craving the fries.

I hosted my daughter's graduation party here and we had an absolutely delightful time. The event staff was super easy to work with; everyone just loved the food; and the servers took excellent care of all of us. I swear we considered just about every venue in the city, and this was by far the option with the best cost and flexibility. Rave reviews all around.

Our group of co-workers came here for dinner during our business trip to Ann Arbor. We noted on the way in, there is an $8 special for a burger, fries, and happy hour drink before 6 on Thursdays. We were seated at 5:45, and we asked our server about it who went to check if it was still available. By the time she returned and we were able to place our order, she told us it was too late, and we would not be able to order the special since it was now 6:05. We did end up ordering the elote queso with warm tortilla chips, which was pretty yummy and warm tortilla chips, but it does have a good heat kick. The burgers that we ended up getting were also pretty yummy. They were the $8 special burger at regular menu price which included an extra patty. You get to select your cheese, and the Havarti was delicious. The fries are well seasoned. The beer selection is pretty great! I didn't get to try the Ayinger Oktoberfest since they were out, but the Rabbit lager was good. All in all, great brewery type atmosphere and food. It just left us a little sour with the server not taking responsibility and making the situation right regarding the special. She should have taken ownership and had a manager address the situation rather than provide poor customer service. I would recommend it for the food and beer.

the good food and service and our server kaylee was very nice!! my boyfriend thinks the booths are very comfy.

Average food but not bad too. Burgers are good. There are a lot of options for beer. Friendly staff.

Update: We had another good experience. During the Art Fair they got us a table quickly (we were just lucky, no magic). The crack fries (I know, I know) were great as aways. I had the Stella Bleu Cheese burger, which was so good. Service was very good. The waitress brought water when she greeted the table. The beer and food came quickly.

This was FANTASTIC. I wanted to take a pic to add to the review but we devoured the food too fast. I don't know why the average stars are so low; I felt like the ambiance was sweet and the food was soooo good. Service was reasonably quick. We ordered the BYO Burger, the Pickled Chicken Sandwich, and the loaded fries. The Pickled Chicken Sandwich was the best sandwich my dad had ever had and the BYO Burger was delicious and juicy. Loaded fries were definitely the highlight of the meal though. Perfect amount of toppings to make every fry tasty without being excessive, and we found ourselves shocked by how much the jalapeños added to the taste :) Overall I'd give this 6 stars if I could!! 100% recommend!

Can't go wrong with hop cat. Huge beer selection. Good burgers. And the crack- I mean cosmik, fries are a must. The crown gem? The pretzel nuggs. Why are they so good?! Romos pro tip? Get extra spicy mustard, it's bomb.com

Came for their happy hour which runs from 3-5 pm, and it was a good time! Their cosmik fries are absolutely delicious and super addicting. I think the seasoning powder they put on top is what makes it so good, because it has a bit of sweetness to it. The fries also come with a delicious cheese dipping sauce. It was $3.50 with their happy hour deal! Service was super friendly and there is plenty of seating inside.

I booked a large event for my office and it was a huge success! I needed food accommodations (vegan) and management was happy to accomodate. The day of the event the wait staff, Emily, was friendly and kept in constant contact with the guests asking if she could help in any way. We took up a large portion of the restaurant and were free to walk about and chat with each other. AND did I mention the food was fabulous? Everyone gave it rave reviews!

Did a Saturday afternoon lunch while visiting our kid at the university. Fries and the chicken sandwich was good. The service was kind of slow and we had to keep asking for refills. It wasn't busy.

Highly recommend coming here for dinner, as I have had many excellent experiences. However, DO NOT hold an event here. We were excited to come for our "drinks in Ann Arbor" event the night before our wedding. The restaurant reserves an area for you, which is nice, but they use that to constrict you. If you are bringing a group just for drinks, you will not come anywhere near the minimum. If you do not have as many people show up as you expect, they will not adjust the minimum to account for that. When checking in as to how much we had spent toward the minimum throughout the night, we were given inconsistent numbers. We were allowed to count HopCat shirt purchases toward the minimum. To be fair, the shirts have a great design and are really soft. However, we were not allowed to count gift card purchases toward the minimum, which was incredibly frustrating. We ended up supplementing the shirts with roughly 50 ciders to go, which they "seal," and about 20 cocktails to go. What they don't tell you is that the ciders will only keep for about two days. We of course found this out when we called to inquire several weeks later, having consumed none of the ciders. After negotiating and trying to solve the problem for half an hour, I had to step away because they were causing me too much stress and I was about to start crying. This was the night before my wedding. Some of the staff seemed empathetic, while others were much more distant. If you are having a significant life event, you cannot entrust HopCat to handle it. They will not be flexible, they will not work with you to find mutually agreeable solutions to problems, and they will cause you undue stress. If you're looking for a fun night at a bar with some great food with a couple friends (highly recommend their burgers), then this is the place to go. I had many great memories here, but I can assure you that we will not be stepping through those doors anytime soon. A profound disappointment, and a disheartening end to my relationship with the establishment.

Food was good we got the burgers and they were great and the fries were also cooked well. I did not like the sampler app the apps were not that good

If you're in Ann Arbor, looking for a great hamburger, give this restaurant/bar a try! I took my daughter here for lunch and it was really great! We were the first ones there to have lunch, it was on a Wednesday. The bartender took our order. I asked her to make a fruity drink without pineapple, mango, or coconut in it. She made me this very tasty drink, however I forgot what she called it! It was amazing and I drank it down pretty quickly. lol I ordered one of original hamburger without cheese. The burgers they have here all come with two smashed hamburger patties. With their own thousand island on it. I got fries with it which were soooooo good! It was like they had ranch seasoning on them. My daughter got chicken wings which were very good as well. The place is so huge inside! I love all of art on the walls and how the tables have famous people on them. They must have the longest wrap around bar in Ann Arbor. We sat in a booth. I am definitely coming back here again with my husband.

HopCat hosted a large luncheon for 50 of our faculty members. Food and service was great! Highly recommend!

Horrible, horrible horrible overpriced dirty place poor service. I will never be back.

Went before the Michigan game and sat at bar. We got our food super quick . Finished our great burgers had a few high moons and was out the door in record time.

The food was great as always, and Kaylee was always two steps away to refill a drink or check up. Five Stars -Jasper, girl in the purple shirt

Our server Kaylee was fantastic! food and drinks are good as always- we love Hopcat and we'll be back soon! :)

The location isn't the worse place, it's a cool little bar that feels like a cool university hangout. It had its own thing going on for sure. The service wasn't bad either, our waitress was polite and it seemed like a relaxed place to work. It's just the food was honestly a bit gross. Overpriced for the quality and a bit off tasting I guess. It just wasn't a place I'd really look forward to returning, but this was just based off of me and my partners taste.

The place to go in DT Ann Arbor to fulfill your craving of a juicy burger and a nice side of fries. The cosmik fries are worth it! Seasoned extremely well and I just keep eating it because they're so addicting... and they also give you this delicious and creamy cheese sauce... I'll happy munch on these fries any day. Super delicious! Service can definitely be a hit or miss here, but it is an AA favorite!

The food was really good. The atmosphere was awesome. It was fun The service was really friendly. The service was very fast. I had the cowboy burger the flavor was good. The fries were crispy I love their seasoning on the fries. I would go back there again. Ps It was super delicious.

Located two blocks from UM campus, so students make up a good portion of the clientele. However, on both of my visits it was fairly subdued. A large streetside patio. I've stopped in for beer and wings. The later has a variety of sauce options. I think the wings were frozen with a slight stale taste.

Despite seating patrons at half capacity, and staff all (appropriately) wearing masks, our late evening date-night dinner at HopCat felt like a return to normalcy. We enjoyed people watching out of our window right on Maynard street. Our waitress was very friendly and spent a lot of time with us making recommendations and walking us through the menu. My Cobb salad was jam-packed with fresh ingredients; blue cheese, chicken breast, eggs, cherry tomatoes, and more. The ranch dressing, which I confirmed was made in house, was excellent and well proportioned to the salad. My wife's veggie burger was great too. She got it with a brioche bun instead of pretzel. We both loved the pickled red onions. We would definitely come back to HopCat for some good quality pub food at affordable prices. I feel like they are underrated at their current 3.5 stars.

I don't like to leave poor reviews unless there is a serious moral reason to. I will NEVER go back to HopCat. THIS ESTABLISHMENT FAILS TO TREAT CUSTOMERS WITH BASIC RESPECT AND TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THEM, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT. They know that despite treating customers inappropriately, they'll continue to thrive, because this is a university town with high demand and low supply. We had a party of 10, but they only gave us 9 chairs. When we asked if we could snag an empty bar stool, which another customer even kindly offered to us since they weren't using their stool at the bar, the waitstaff (named Sydnee) scolded us and said we weren't allowed to move the chairs, because they were too busy and needed to seat folks on the waitlist. Mind you, these seats never ended up getting filled while we were there. The staff takes advantage of customers who already place their orders, giving them improper treatment, while prioritizing customers who have yet to be "seated" (who knows if they'll get a chair). The most egregious part of the experience is that the staff treated us as a party of 9 for some unexplainable reason when it came to chair allocation, but they decided to treat us as a party of 10 when we paid the bill. They charged us an automatic 20% gratuity for service, which only applies to parties of 10+. Furthermore, they charged 20% gratuity for a separate carry out order that I made... Again, this establishment is predatory towards their customers and I will never go back!

Delicious food, great ambiance to the place, service is good, not much to complain about and plenty to praise

I live nearby so I come in here every once in a while as I love the great interior decor, the huge wooden bar and best of all, their expansive draft beer selection. The food is mostly salty, greasy, meh but ok. The service is often weird to rude and negligent.

Great fresh food and a wide variety of beers and cocktails. The food is made fresh and super tasty! The fries are, of course, a knockout. They are truly addicting and served with warm beer cheese. My salad was made with fresh fruit! That is rare. My husbands boneless wings were made with chicken breasts and homemade hot sauce. We will return!

When I came in with my uncle this place had no tables available besides a few spots at the bar. When we sat down to eat a burger and chicken wings the bartender told me that I couldn't sit at the bar. This is because I'm 20 yrs old not 21. The only option the bartender gave me was to stand next to my uncle while eating my food. I was never interested in purchasing any alcoholic beverages and neither did I try to! I just wanted to sit with him and eat my food because there were no other tables available! But to have a customer stand while eating due to the fact that I'm underage and can't sit at the bar is not the right way to treat your customers. There are many bars here in Michigan that allow underage customers to eat at the bar without ordering any alcoholic beverages! I was very disappointed with my visit here and did not enjoy the service provided. Our family will never come back to this place to order food. If you have a family I would suggest eating somewhere else.

We brought a group of 30 in for a conference dinner. It worked out very well. Good food and great service. The planning manager was very responsive and easy to work with. They had appetizers waiting when we arrived.

My partner and I went Friday for dinner and the food was pretty good. I never leave reviews however our server Charlie was awful. She had an attitude and looked at us like she was annoyed we were even there. She didn't even ask my partner what he wanted to drink before immediately walking away. After we got our food she didn't check on us once and was nowhere to be found when we needed anything. We should have left when we sat down.

Hopcat is one of my favorite restaurants in Ann Arbor. Good food and beer selection. I almost always get the grilled cheese with soup and cosmic fries. So delicious. Friendly, bar ambiance, range of seating options including outdoor. If you like apps and beer, this is the place. ESPECIALLY if you're about to go see a movie at the State or Michigan Theater - they're just around the block. Also parking garage right across from the restaurant, so an easy stop on a night out.

Stopped here for lunch on our way to Frakenmuth. Happened to be Happy Hour and had some great deals on Cosmic Fries. Food was nothing special,l. Typical bar food

We were here on a Tuesday at 4:00, there were two other people here. The Service might be slower than a fat person on a moped...

Awful service. Very crowded. I would rather take my family to a different restaurant next time

I'm back in my hometown so I had to go downtown and get something to eat, I went to hop cat and the atmosphere was really good lots of people enjoying the games going on, the chicken sandwich I had was really good not the best I've had but I definitely recommend since I love chicken sandwiches. The service was also really good food came out nice and hot and our waitress was really nice.

I'm a door dasher and the employees that were handling the to-go orders, not only took their sweet time, but also lost and gave away the order I was picking up. The employees here are not helpful at all, very snippy and very negligent. I lost an hour of pay because they refused to do anything about the stolen order because the "kitchen was closed". Thanks hopcat :/

Hop cat is a bar staple in Ann Arbor. If you go, you must get the cosmic fries the burgers are also decent and if you get them on happy hour, they are a great price. The beers are also plentiful. We have ordered takeout multiple times, because the fries. However, it has not always been a pleasant experience. We have often had our food given to us, cold, despite coming, not 20 minutes after ordering. But I think this is a common problem with their prices, as we've had them delivered to our table cold when we ate it. They happily, or at least, without a fuss, replaced the fries with hot ones. The staff are usually kinder, but keep in mind. This is a bar in a college town so set your expectations appropriately. Overall good food options and solid beer.

I'm normally not the type to leave reviews, but the last 2 times i've went to Hop Cat i've had terrible service. Last month when I went, we did not receive service for at least 15 minutes, so we switched over to the bar. Thankfully, the bartender was super sweet. Tonight 2 of my girlfriends and myself decided to come to celebrate her birthday and had arguably the worst service I have ever received. Our waitress had an extremely bad attitude and was very snippy with us. She basically ripped the ID out of my friends hand... She did apologize, but it was not sincere whatsoever. It really stinks because Hop Cat has wonderful food and has always been my family's favorite spot to get dinner while in Ann Arbor.

After a day of exploring Ann Arbor my girlfriend decided to take a breather and relax with some Happy Hour at Hopcat. It is super closed to campus and we have heard of some of the other locations that they have in Michigan. It was pretty empty at the time we arrive so we were seated right away. The staff was extremely kind and helpful throughout that whole stay. We both decided to get some cosmic fries to nibble on and drinks. The drinks were solid as expected and we just ordered as we went along. I was really hoping the cosmic fries would be better but I got a little sick of it halfway through the bowel. The cheese isn't too bad and the seasoning they use was alright as well. If wasn't having a beer I would not be eating as many fries. Overall still a solid experience and shout out to our server Eric for being extremely helpful and friendly to us.

Exploring Ann Arbor the night before a M game and found this place on Yelp. I am a cat lady so naturally had to try it! Seems like a cool location right by campus and Slate St. I had a beer flight with all Michigan beers which were pretty good! Also had the loaded cosmic fries which were bomb, and the Buffalo chicken rolls also very good. Would definitely be interested in trying more of their food!

What do you do after a long day of walking & exploring A2 and campus (to the tune of 24,000+ steps!)? You chill at Hop Cat for some well-earned craft beer and food to go with it. We love HopCat for its extensive selection of craft beer. There was plenty to enjoy last night and we even got lucky when one of my favorites was pulled off the "on-deck" list! Our server, Emily, was fantastic - friendly, knowledgeable about the beer list and checked in with us all night. (We stayed a while....) Got the Buddha bowl which was really good. Made me feel like a was being healthy! :)

Our waitress gave us no attention throughout our entire dining service and sat at a table reading a book or going on her phone instead of getting us water after not checking on us for 45 minute. Felt very neglected and food was lukewarm when we received it.

This was my first time going to HopCat and it was okay. Honestly, it's your typical bar with a good selection of drinks and food, but there's nothing special about it. The Cosmik Fries were good and tasted a lot like onion rings. The Meat Head Pizza Roll was not that great. There was too much pepperoni and once it got cold it did not taste good at all. Disappointing seeing that it's one of their "signature dishes". Order: - Meat Head Pizza Roll (2.5/5) - Cosmik Fries (3/5) Pros: - Great location on campus - Wide variety of drinks to choose from - Great service Cons: - Food was nothing special - Can get crowded and very loud Overall: - HopCat is a good bar to hit up after class or work. If your into beers, they have a great selection.