GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There is no shortage of incredible restaurants in Grand Rapids. But with so many options, how do you choose where to indulge? We — 13 ON YOUR SIDE digital producers Riley and Amy — have set out to find the tastiest spots in the area and are documenting our journey with a series called 13 Eats.
13 Eats is all about highlighting the best restaurants in the Grand Rapids area. This week, we’re trying some gastropub delicacies at The Old Goat, a classic Grand Rapids watering hole.
About The Old Goat
Since 2015, The Old Goat has called Alger Heights home. Located on the southeast side of Grand Rapids, the eatery is bold, classic and just about everything in between.
From scratch-made pizzas to delicious handhelds and gourmet deviled eggs, The Old Goat has a little something for picky eaters and foodies alike. Add on some live music, rustic decor, a projector screen and moody lighting, and, well, this place has it all.
The Food
We decided to order the restaurant’s namesake – The Old Goat Grilled Cheese ($14.00), which includes white cheddar and muenster cheeses, roasted tomato jam and basil leaves on rustic sourdough bread. The sandwich arrived with kettle-cooked chips and a tangy cream sauce for dipping.
We pulled apart the sandwich halves, and strings of delicious melted cheeses stretched across the plate. We were skeptical of a roasted tomato jam, expecting its sweetness to tarnish the savory flavor of the dish – but the jam enhanced it that much more, adding a soft texture to each bite of the crispy bread. With its buttery, salty goodness, we decided this is the most extravagant grilled cheese we’ve ever tried.
The Old Goat: Handheld
Next, we shared the I’m Not My Brothers Pizza ($15.00), which includes barbecue sauce, pineapple (YES, PINEAPPLE!), grilled chicken, chives and mozzarella mix. The thin crust pizza arrived straight from the wood-fire oven, steaming with melty cheese and brimming with barbecue sauce (we are both the extra-sauce-on-our-pizza type of gals, so this dish was perfect for us.) The pizza had an immaculate balance of flavors with the tangy sauce and sweet pineapple. The crust was cooked to perfection, making us want to come back for slice after slice.
The Old Goat: This Pizza
► See the full menu here.
The Vibe
The inside of The Old Goat is warm and cozy, filled with rustic and eccentric decor. Barreled lights fill the ceiling and industrial fixtures mix beautifully with the farmhouse chic furnishings. Walking into the place felt like walking into a warm hug with the high school bad boy — it’s cozy and cool all at once.
The Old Goat: The Vibe
We loved the overall atmosphere of the restaurant, which is huge, by the way. With a large, open dining room, a long bar, plus a private upstairs suite, there is space galore. The overall atmosphere is already aesthetically pleasing, but when a live band is playing, the place really shines. You can see live performances at The Old Goat each Friday and Saturday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.! That’s right. Good food, good drinks and good music all in one. What could be baaaah-tter?
The Verdict
The Old Goat is a restaurant for the times. You could go again and again, and always be happy that you went. We’ve decided it is delicious, unique and definitely reliable. The menu has a little something for every palate, and the ambiance is so casually cool that it calls you back again and again.
We loved our whole experience there, and know we will be going back for dinner, lunch and brunch. Yep, we said brunch. They have that on Sundays, too!
So what are the takeaways? This restaurant has an old soul with a modern flare. It’s perfect for date night, a guys night, a girls night or anything in between. We still have a lot of restaurants to hit in our bustling little city, so we can’t say just yet if it’s truly the G.O.A.T. We can say, though, that we loved every minute of being there and its G.O.A.T.-ness is now up for you to decide.
►The Old Goat is located at 2434 Eastern Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507
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