Giving 4 stars instead of 5 due to pricey beers and the long wait - both of which is to be expected at a unique place like this. Most of the wait-staff seems very knowledgeable of the beers. If you're not too particular about your beer, I would suggest doing that. Can't recall the names of the beer's we had, just asked our waitress to pick based on what we said we like and she provided well. Shoot ya straight, they are crispy fries with seasoning and pepper on them, but they are very delicious. My fiancé tried the fish taco's and was very satisfied. The burger was a monster - onion rings, bbq sauce and all. Service was pretty good, slower than most due to it being a Friday evening and it was packed! I had the cowboy burger and unlike a few of the bad reviews, it was not a pre-frozen small patty.
There was a bit of a wait (as should be expected) - but they take your number and text you when your table is ready. We stopped in for a meal on our way back to the east side of the state. Our dinner and beers came to $60.00 including a generous tip. She was still smiling even though she was running her butt off - handling at least two too many tables. We had a tough time getting the check from our over-loaded waitress. They are lightly battered, seasoned with black pepper and garlic, and worthy of the name.
NEW HOPCAT GRAND RAPIDS CRACK
They serve typical pub foods - with their Crack Fries being what everyone seems to order. Hubby had a couple of IPA's one house brew and one local. I tasted a fruity lager, and a ginger pear pale ale, both were very good. We had several 'baby beers' which are their 5oz taster size. Good for us and thank you to her! our new seating was much improved in space and quiet enough for conversation. Our waitress overheard us wishing to be outside, even though it was a cool evening, and made the effort to get us moved, even though we had already been told there was a wait list for outside, and we had already decided to take what we could get. At first, we were shoe-horned into a corner on a high-top and were happy just to have a seat. The local hipsters, college kids and after work crowd was out in force the night we visited. They have too many beers on tap to count, and a bottled list that doubles or triples that. Louis location - ".Hop Cat came highly recommended to us by locals, and it is easy to see why. ^ "Hopcat Permanently Closes Royal Oak Restaurant - Eater Detroit"."HopCat in Royal Oak to open in early 2017". ^ Baetens, Melody (September 23, 2016).^ "The Sunshine State is getting their own HopCat in late 2017 | Bites".^ "Craft beer galore: HopCat coming to downtown Minneapolis - Minneapolis / St.Its focus is craft beers and it will keep 100 of them on tap. "Restaurant News: HopCat Giving Away Fries to Those who Take First Crack". HopCat is an eclectic craft beer bar/restaurant chain founded in Grand Rapids in January of 2008 by Mark Sellers. "Chain Restaurant, Craft Beer Bar Coming to Haymarket". ^ "HopCat craft beer bar to open in Highlands"."LexGo Eat: HopCat Opens Saturday BrewGrass Trail Tavern Opens Monday". ^ "HopCat is coming to downtown Kalamazoo"."130 Hoosier Beers on Tap for HopCat Opening". "HopCat to open its doors in downtown Holland". "HopCat East Lansing to Open with Attempted World-Record Tap Takeover of 100 Short's Beers". "HopCat Ann Arbor to Open on Valentine's Day". ^ "Magazine toasts Founders Brewer, HopCat as best in the nation".
^ " 'HopCat restaurant parent company files for bankruptcy protection' "." 'It's a Big Deal,' 30 New HopCat Bars to Open up Across Midwest". "HopCat Owners Secure $25 Million to Fund Expansion". " 'Craft Beer Chain' HopCat to Open Saturday off State Street". "Uber: Detroit's Top 10 Nightlife Rides in 2015". "Five Years and $13.5 Million in Sales Later, HopCat Has Become a 'Well Respected' Grand Rapids Brand". ^ a b "HopCat Detroit Opening to Include World-Record Tap Takeover".^ Robenault, Steve Hop Cat Michigan Journal.Minneapolis, Minnesota - Downtown - CLOSED.Louisville, Kentucky - Bardstown Road - CLOSED.Kansas City, Missouri - Westport - CLOSED.Grand Rapids, Michigan - Knapp's Corner.Grand Rapids, Michigan (original location, opened in 2008) - Heartside.The fries were renamed "Cosmik Fries" in reference to Frank Zappa's song "Cosmik Debris". On December 15, 2018, Barfly Ventures CEO Mark Gray announced that Hopcat would be renaming its famous “Crack Fries” in order to avoid making light of the drug the name refers to as well as addiction to said drug. 3 on BeerAdvocate's list of "Best Beer Bars on Planet Earth." Controversy The Grand Rapids location was recognized as one of the best brewpubs in the United States by from 2013 to 2015. The original HopCat in Grand Rapids is a brewpub with its own small brewery, which typically supplies 4-6 house-made beers alongside craft beers from around the country.