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Mertens Prime, Grand Rapids, MI

Mertens Prime

3.2
3.2
1532 Reviews
$31 to $50
Contemporary American

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 4 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Fancy
  • Romantic
  • Good for business meals
Mertens Prime, located in the historic 1914 New Hotel Mertens lobby in Grand Rapids, offers locally sourced, in-house hand-cut steaks, chops, and unique takes on classics. Scratch made kitchen where we make all the pastas and desserts. We have a large selection for vegan & vegetarian.

Prime features a full-service espresso machine and classic pastries like beignets. Guests can enjoy tableside presentations like filet dinner for two, a weekly curated rolling cheese cart, and bananas fosters and creme brulee.

The kitchen is scratch made and we feature many locally sourced products.

The bar top is one of the largest in Grand Rapids and seats 18 guests along with lounge tables. Our bar features a daily happy hour from 4pm-6pm 7 days a week for both food and beverage! Seasonal mocktails available along with many other non-alcoholic offerings.

Mertens Rooftop offers a full bar and a menu of appetizers. To book a reservation at Mertens Rooftop, select "Outdoor Seating", if available.

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, Steak, Cocktail Bar
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 4:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 4:00 pm–10:00 pm Happy Hour Daily 4:00 pm–6:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (616) 551-1713
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Catering
    Catering is available for pick up.
  • Private party facilities
    We offer a beautiful private room on our main floor that have all of the turn-of-the-century charm as our main dining room. Mertens Rooftop is also available for private events. See mertensgr.com for details, including complete event guides with menu and pricing options.
  • Neighborhood
    Grand Rapids
  • Cross street
    Oakes St SW, between Ionia Ave and Commerce Ave
  • Parking details
    Mertens Prime diners receive 100% 2-hours credit parking validation for either the Weston or Cherry city parking garages. A loading zone is located directly in front of the restaurant. Street parking is free on Saturday and Sunday and after 6PM on weekdays.
  • Public transit
    Oakes & Ionia bust stop
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Delivery, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Outdoor Firepit, Outdoor Smoking Area, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Experiences

  • Bubbles for 2

    $36.00 per party

    Prepaid

    Multiple dates available
    Indulge in a beautiful sparkling selection that is just enough for 2 people. This half bottle of wine is great for anniversaries or date nights. Girls night out maybe?

What 1,532 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

3.2
3.2 based on recent ratings
  • 3.4Food
  • 3.2Service
  • 3.9Ambience
  • 3Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Mertens Prime offers a charming old-world ambiance with standout French dishes and a delightful rooftop view of Grand Rapids. Guests rave about the "outstanding" ribeye and "amazing" whipped potatoes. While service has been inconsistent, the cocktails and diverse wine list make it a unique venue. For an unforgettable experience, enjoy the rooftop setting.

1,532 Reviews
  1. Kelly

    Chicago

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    Maybe because it was Thanksgiving but EVERYTHING was bad. Took FOREVER to get initial drinks. Couldn’t make a a Martini correctly TWICE!!! 2 entrees came out cold, taken back to fix but took another 30 minutes to get replaced. Soooo wanted this cool space to be good but it sucked…the worst ever.

    1 person found this helpful

  2. Doug

    Grand Rapids

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    I don't normally write reviews but this experience was so bad I had to. I took family out for a Thanksgiving treat. Arby's would have been a better choice. The service was awful, I ate half of my soup with a fork waiting on getting someone's attention to get a spoon. Our rolls came with no butter and we finally just ate them without, again getting no attention. Reviews said the fillet was the best ever, we ordered 2 and mine was the worst I had ever had and the other was barely cooked, again getting attention was so bad everyone had almost finished before we even got it so we just took it home to cook it at another time since it was so raw. For their prices you should be able to expect excellent food and service, we got neither. The most I have ever spent for a Thanksgiving dinner and the absolute worst (at 77) I have ever had.

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  3. Teanna

    Detroit

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 21, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    it took us a long time to get our food and we didn’t get checked on much but it was beautiful in there and delicious !

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  4. Susan

    Orange County

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 19, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    Best Filet Mignon I have ever had!🥰 Really good service. Nice atmosphere, historical old building very cool!

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  5. Chiquita

    Grand Rapids

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 17, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Hailey was an excellent servant she checked on me quite frequently

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  6. Keith

    Chicago

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 16, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    Drinks were horrible and we couldn’t drink them. Steak was very chewy and fatty especially for a filet. Spinach dip had no flavor and wasn’t even hot. Overall experience was very disappointing especially for a $200 meal

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  7. Rosemary

    Greater Boston

    3 reviews

    3.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on November 15, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    It has been a couple years since we came to this restaurant, and we were really disappointed at the decline in the quality of the service, the availability of the items on the menu, and the quality of the food. Our servers really didn’t know anything about the drinks or the wine menu, and had very limited input on the food items. Several of the things that we wanted to order, we’re out of stock, and it was a Friday night. The price is pretty extreme for the drop in quality. Our servers really didn’t know anything about the drinks or the wine menu, and had very limited and put on the food items. Several of the things that we wanted to order were out of stock, and it was a Friday night.

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  8. Cole

    Seattle

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 10, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was good but service was extremely poor and uninviting. Attempted to take my partner for her birthday and was severely disappointed in the lake of care considering how much it cost

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  9. Shelly

    Grand Rapids

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 9, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    Not impressed. My husband and I felt rushed through our dinner. We were asked 3 times if we were ready to order within the first 15 minutes. As our waitress was setting our first drink down, we were asked if we wanted to order. We said not yet but did order an appetizer. When the appetizer came we were asked again to order. We asked for time to enjoy our appetizer and drinks. She came back in a couple of minutes and asked again, we asked for time to finish our appetizer. When she cleared the appetizer we then ordered. We received all of our order at once. I was expecting to have our salad and be able to enjoy that before we received our entree.' But we received everything at once. We weren't impressed with presentation at all. The house salad looked like it came out of a bag and couldn't really taste the dressing. It was just chopped lettuce and carrots and served in a deep soup bowl. We ordered the "steak fries" which looked like they came out of a bag also. Nothing special and also served in the same deep bowl. And our filet when served was warm like it had been sitting for a while. For the amount of $$ spent - $8 for fries and $8 for the salad, I would not bother going back.

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  10. Joshua

    Chicago

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 9, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 4
    I really wanted to like this place. I really did. I will never go back here. We’ve been to Bowdies, Chop House, and Ruth Chris and this restaurant doesn’t hold water to the others. We went tonight for a date night. We had a reservation and got right in. I love the atmosphere of it, it’s very cool and old school. Reminds me of a speakeasy or an old bank. The service though was awful. The hostess wasn’t friendly to us, the person who poured our water didn’t say a word, even after we thanked him. When you go to Chop House or Bowdies the service staff are friendly and ask how you are doing. Our waitress was not personable at all. There were no recommendations, no asking if we were celebrating anything, or no explanation about the menu. I ordered a steak and she didn’t even ask me how I wanted it cooked. Our food was just ok. For the price, it’s not even close to where it needs to be. The worst part is that my wife ordered pasta and it came 10 minutes before my steak. They told me it was because the kitchen was “backed up” because it was busy. There were a ton of empty tables. And on a date night, who wants to get their food 10 minutes before your date and just be sitting there. Plus it came out just luke warm! Finally when I got my steak it came out and it wasn’t hot and my “jumbo” shrimp was small. When you pay $65 for a steak I would expect it to be nice and hot. This steak did not come out cooked medium either, it was rare. I really wanted to like this place. The atmosphere is fantastic. But for a $200+ date night you would expect great service and great food. We didn’t get either of that. It’s not even close to the other steakhouses around Grand Rapids. Go to Bowdies and spend a little more but be way more satisfied and taken care of.

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FAQs

Mertens Prime offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (616) 551-1713.

Mertens Prime is rated 3.2 stars by 1532 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 4 times today
Experiences are available.

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Mertens Prime

35 Oakes St SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Oakes St SW, between Ionia Ave and Commerce Ave
  • Neighborhood
    Grand Rapids
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 4:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 4:00 pm–10:00 pm Happy Hour Daily 4:00 pm–6:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, Steak, Cocktail Bar
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Mertens Prime diners receive 100% 2-hours credit parking validation for either the Weston or Cherry city parking garages. A loading zone is located directly in front of the restaurant. Street parking is free on Saturday and Sunday and after 6PM on weekdays.
  • Public transit
    Oakes & Ionia bust stop
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Delivery, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Outdoor Firepit, Outdoor Smoking Area, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Vegan, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Phone number
    (616) 551-1713
  • Catering
    Catering is available for pick up.
  • Private party facilities
    We offer a beautiful private room on our main floor that have all of the turn-of-the-century charm as our main dining room. Mertens Rooftop is also available for private events. See mertensgr.com for details, including complete event guides with menu and pricing options.
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