The Green Well Gastro Pub

Reviews 4

HE

He Fed, She Fed

A hostess promptly greets and seats us, followed by our server who shuttles over menus and printouts for the specials of the day. I start off with a Shorts Pineapple Pilsner while we peruse the offerings and talk about the movie. After some leisurely discussion, we opt to try the Breads & Spreads, along with Vegetable Pot Stickers, to start. The hearty, grain-laden slices of bread from Tribeca Oven arrive with dips of bean, brocolli cheese, and quinoa, all of which are creamy and delicious (not to mention vegetarian friendly). However, the pot stickers are out of this world. Spicy with crisp carrot shreds, soft and pliable, not at all like the usual snappy, pan-seared dumplings you get at Chinese restaurants, but still deeply satisfying. Im torn between a couple different dishes. Should I maintain the vegetarian theme? The bacon-wrapped meatloaf sandwich sounds amazing, though. The Veggie Hash, with smoky spatzle, creeps up on my to-do list. I am also strangely craving fish, and the Southern Clam Bake calls my name. Could I be that brave? In the end, I veer toward the Barbequed Braised Pork at the last minute. Snap decision. Or, as it turns out, Fate. After our apps, Im not terribly hungry but I can eat. The pork comes in a monstrous bowl, however. Thats a lot of food! It is very pretty, too, with the brown pork drizzled with red barbeque sauce, topped with braised greens, all swimming in a virtual lake of polenta. Its almost too beautiful to disrupt but everyone else is digging into their dinners, so I take a forkful. Wow. The spicy sauce and meat mixes with the sharp tang of the greens, and all of it is soothed by the creamy, cheesy polenta with sweet corn sprinkled in to lighten the mood. There is another surprise, though. Zing! Chunks of andouille sausage punch up the dish with spicy, juicy, greasy goodness. My mouth is on fire, but craving more. The chunks of pork are done perfectly, each large chunk surrendering to my fork, flaking away to reveal succulent flesh. My head is spinning. This is beyond good. This is one of the best dishes Ive ever had. There, I said it. What began as a fluke (Fate!) turns out to be the best choice Ive made in a while. I beg everyone else to try some; I cant keep a good thing like this to myself, can I? (Even now, as I write this, my mouth is watering at the memory.) T seems to enjoy the Brazilian Black Bean Stew (with an egg on top!), and Merry really likes her Pork Tenderloin (with sweet potato fries!). Sadly, I dont have any room for a bite of Juliets bacon-wrapped meatloaf sandwich. In the final analysis, The Green Well delivers and delivers well. Ive had slightly "off" service in past, and food that didnt seem fully conceived, but all of that is behind me now. As long as it is on the menu, I will have a very tough time ordering anything other than the Barbequed Braised Pork. Highly recommended.

A

A Private User

Desperate to prove calling a restaurant a "gastro pub" bears any weight against a common restaurant, Green Well fails its mission with poorly prepared dishes and missed details. More glorified than gourmet, I completely lost the message of fresh and local betwixt the oily ravioli and the dry, uninteresting Cuban sandwich. Despite the kitchens best effort, no amount of Old Bay would mask the previously-frozen fries, and my fiancees mac and cheese tasted muddied and lifeless - the culinary equivalent of mixing all your Play-Doh colors together. The decor is modern and eclectic with details laid out to appear irreverent and casual. Unsure whether it wants to lean toward the "gastro" side or the "pub" side, Green Wells ambiance mashes elements together and hopes it works. The United States rendered in used license plates is a nod to the lowbrow while the curtain divider offers a sense of the sophisticated to this mullet of restaurant decor. Beyond ambiance, lack of identity in "gastro" versus "pub" continues, to Green Wells detriment, in small details. My flatware was not changed out between appetizer and entree - I expect a place touting quality to offer a clean fork. The ketchup was Syscos house brand. While cost control is a major restaurant challenge, maintaining an image is a cost worth spending. Green Well has obviously spent money on image already - why stop at the ketchup bottle? I found no mention of local ingredients, or attempt to convey the local story. I have no reason to think anything served to me came off a different truck than the ketchup. Ultimately, I feel the Green Well, being born of buzzwords, imitation and poor execution, has failed to rise above mediocrity and, despite what it struggles to proclaim, is little more than a common, disappointing restaurant.

A

A Private User

Having moved from out of town a few months ago, we have been disappointed by food options in GR, and underwhelmed by some of the more acclaimed restaurants in the area: Mangiamos, Tres Cugini, San Chez Bistro . . . but Green Well really stands out and will definitely be our new go-to place when we are looking for a nice place to eat. We went as a group of 12 on a Saturday night (we called an hour ahead for a table) and were immediately seated when we arrived. The server was friendly, attentive and knowledgeable about the beer and wine list. Everyone in our group was thoroughly impressed by each and every dish, from the Breads and Spreads and the Calamari appetizers, to the duck vindaloo, the crab canneloni special, the pot roast, the chicken and dumplings, and the shredded pork. At least one person in our group had almost every dish on the menu, and everyone was pleased. Its pricier than your average pub, but the food is worth the extra money (I think the prices are quite reasonable for the quality that you get). The food portions vary in size depending on what you order: the chicken and dumplings is half a chicken, while the canneloni special tended on the smaller side, but in all the portions were quite adequate. I read from reviews that the space feels tight, but I did not find that to be the case. It is a smaller space, but there was plenty of room between tables. It is not a "fancy" white-table restaurant like some of the others I mentioned--its more casual, but the food is more interesting, in my opinion. Definitely the best restaurant experience I have had in Grand Rapids, and probably the best that I have had in some time. Nothing negative to say about this place. Our friends from out of town are telling us that we have to take them back when they return.

JO

Joel Fedell

When visiting Grand Rapids we have tried to make it a new custom that we find places to eat that we cannot get down in Indianapolis. So we check Yelp to get some ideas of places to try. We came across the Green Well which had some good reviews. We checked out the online menu and decided that this was the place to try. We arrived around 6pm on a Wednesday night. The place is pretty small, but we were able to get a table for 3 very quickly. Our server came over and took our drink order. He returned quickly and gave us plenty of time to figure out what we wanted to eat. I ended up being all brave I suppose and took the servers selection to get the $20 mac & cheese. The lights are kept low to provide more of an intimate atmosphere. The noise level is a little louder than most places but that would be because of how small the place is. But it isnt so loud that you cant have a conversation with someone across the table with any difficulty. I also noticed that appeared to be local artwork on the walls...which I always love to see. Our food came out in a reasonable amount of time and was absolutely amazing. The mac & cheese was worth the $20 it cost...which sounds crazy but it was true. Our server was attentive to our needs and we never went without a drink refill. The dining area as well as the restroom are very clean. This was just an overall awesome place and a great little place in the new up and coming area.