Tuesday 17th of October 2017 03:26:20 PM

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Very good food but a bit overhyped in my opinion. Billed as the brewery to go to for the city of Grand Rapids and it�s not quite that. I had the highly regarded duck nachos that were decent, but not incredible. They also tired having award winning burgers, and mine was good but not outstanding. The beer also touted as the best, was good, but not good to take the trip there over some others. Above average and a neat experience, but don�t go out of your way. The service was impeccable. Best part of the visit. Extremely accommodating and very helpful.

Sunday 16th of September 2012 12:44:26 PM

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Favorite Beers: Zaison, Big Red Coq, Tripmphe IPA, Mother's Milk Stout

Grand Rapids has a lot of old churches, but none with a better use than Brewery Vivant. It's an old mortuary converted into a brewpub. The high ceilings and feel make it one of the coolest looking places to drink beer in Michigan, and that alone would be enough. But all the beers are really good, too. In addition, my wife says the food is really good. Not that I'd know, because I always stick to the burger and truffle fries.

Thursday 26th of July 2012 03:20:24 PM

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As I read through the reviews, either this place is extremely inconsistent or many of the reviewers work for Brewery Vivant. I agree with the cool church-like atmosphere with good service and worthy beer, however the almost fraudulent description of the “share” plate that I ordered is the motivation behind this review. The Vivant Charcuterie, described as 3 chef-selected sausages, potato salad lyonnaise, spicy mustard, actually did not come with sausages at all, rather a few paper thin slices of 3 different meats. The complete meat serving could fit in a sardine can with room to spare. The potato salad was less than one half of a small potato cubed. An unbelievably miniscule and disappointing portion for a shocking $14.00. Deceptive misleading false description and extremely overpriced are words that come to mind.

I agree with the sentiment of many others –
Our most disappointing point of this evening was the Rack of Lamb. It was LITERALLY only 4 small bites of lamb for $26 on a bed of rice. All four bites were delicious, but not worth the money at all. A "rack of lamb" should be just that, we expected a whole lot more.
$10-$15 for entrees is wrong. All of the "Entrees" are $15-$25 save for the $12 burger.
Skip the cheese plate. $14.00 for 6 small slices of cheese and teeny dollops of chutney.
It was a bit pricey at $10 for four 4 oz samples.
The only thing that keeps it from 5 stars are the prices. Vivant is mainly reserved for yuppies and hipsters with daddy's credit card. You do get what you pay for... But you'll pay quite a lot.
Food is very pricey... $15 minimum for a plate.
The Duck Confit Nachos were excellent but expensive at $16 for the plate.
The food a BV is awesome but a little pricey,
Go for the beer, which is top shelf and fairly priced. Food is eclectic & pricey, and consistent with the neighborhood.
And food is very expensive (though very good!!)
Food was pretty good, but pretty expensive, especially for lunch. Cheapest option was around 11 bucks.
I can only imagine that the rest of the menu tastes as good as this burger did, but I'll have to wait until my next tax refund to afford it.
The food was a little pricier than I expected.
Food seems unduly expensive, so I haven’t tried it, though I’m told it’s excellent.
Nice place with an overpriced menu. The food is delicious, but super fancy. The fries were like six bucks for a small serving.
This place is pricey.
Food can be pricey.
Food a little expensive.
We didn't have any food while there but the prices are definitely on the high side for the area
The prices also seemed a little on the high side.
The menu prices are expensive.
The food prices are high.
It can be a little pricey.
Amazing Beer, food is pricey.

Sunday 13th of November 2011 10:48:40 PM

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A Belgian-style brewery in an church/funeral home; such a cool reuse of a property. Rustic long tables inside the "chapel" with a bar towards the front with the stainded glass set behind a wall of glassware. We arrived on a Friday night when the brewery taps a fresh firkin. This beer, called Solitude, was fantastic. It was a special spiced version of the beer for the season. We didn't sample much of the food, but the beer cheese was quite good and food that we saw looked fabulous. A foodie would approve of the menu: sweet breads, bone marrow, local ingredients...you get the idea. The beer is good, maybe not great, but good. I had the Farmhand, a simple, very quaffable saison (think: Spotted Cow from New Glarus in Wisconsin) and a Contemplation which was an amber abbey-style ale. The range of beers focused on Belgian-styles, in some cases with an American twist (ales with generous amounts of American hops.) Service was attentive and you can't beat the ambiance of drinking Belgian-style ales in an old church with stained glass. Beer is available to go in the lobby and three of the beers are in four packs of cans. Not sure about growlers.

Wednesday 13th of July 2011 09:05:12 PM

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Awesome food, we had salmon rillette and split a big beautiful burger with bacon-onion marmalade. The frites with bernaise sauce for dipping, the beers, the atmosphere - it takes me right to Belgium! We tried the Solitude, the Farm House Ale, the Zaison (nicely full bodied, rounder mouth feel than most saisons, warming, tart but not sour), Triomphe IPA (well balanced, not over the top with bitterness), and a dessert glass of Barrel-aged rye porter aged on Michigan cherries. Not like cherry anything, coffee, wood, the faintest aroma of fruit but big bourbon. This place is awesome!

Wednesday 22nd of June 2011 01:32:30 PM

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Brewery Vivant is a fantastic brewery that focuses on Belgian Style beers. Great atmosphere set in an old church complete with stained glass windows and rough hewn tables and benches that remind you of pews. The food is very good too. Not necessarily what you'd expect at a brewpub. A little "high-end" but it's worth it.

This spring they released three of their year-round beers in cans to distributors. This is great since I don't get to go down there nearly as often as I'd like.

Love this place! Only complaint is that the monk club filled up before I could join :(