Granite City Food & Brewery

Address » 12801 University Ave, Clive IA     (Map)
Phone » (515) 224-1300
Website » http://www.gcfb.net
Downtown » No
Type »Bar | Restaurant
Tags »Brewery | Brunch
Avg User Rating » 3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating  (based on 13 reviews)
Details »Granite City is a fast growing midwestern chain. But, since they brew their own beer it was welcomed by many.

Granite City's beer is great. They rarely brew any special beers but be sure to check out the Benny Mai-Bock - a really good brown beer that's always on tap. They also have great drink specials such as reverse happy hour from 9-midnight. During this time you can get beers at half price and $1 off of martinis! Only get the bloody mary if you like them as thick as ketchup... and with a pickle in it.

They serve a lot of really good american style food. One weird thing we noticed is that their rueben has coleslaw on it. To our surprise it's actually really good. Other sandwiches to check out are the Buffalo chicken sandwich (spicy) and the Buffalo burger... only this is made out of actual Buffalo meat and has only 4 greams of fat.
User Reviews

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User Reviews (13 reviews)

Apr 18, 2008 3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating chris07gtcs

I recently tried this place for the first time. I didn't think it was too bad all around. Our service was good other than the fact that my wife got her meal 5 minutes before I did. But she ordered a asian chicken salad, (Which was quite good) And I had the BBQ Chicken flatbread pizza. It aslo was pretty darned tasty. The french onion soup was so so. I thought the croutons were weak and perhaps slightly stale tasting. Bistro Montage knows how to serve a no frills french onion soup that kills. I will be coming back and look forward to it. I think my biggest complaint however is the table we sat at. EVERYONE coming or going walked by us creating a draft that I feel cooled my pizza faster than I could eat it. I will get a booth next time.

Apr 14, 2008 4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating cambohooker

This is a great brewery on the west side. The food is good (but pricey) and the brewed beer is pretty good. The bar area is great for chillin and watching sports. The patio is also great in the summer. This place does get packed early on Friday and Saturday night some come early or prepare to wait a while. Also, the Sunday brunch is excellent, great selection of food and $2.50 Bloody's.

Nov 16, 2007 4.5-star rating4.5-star rating4.5-star rating4.5-star rating4.5-star rating cutman260

I have eaten here maybe half a dozen times, and I really like this place.
The service is on and off, depending on the day.
But lets get down to the food.
Appetizers - My favorite has got to be the Idaho Nachos, there loaded up with onion, and bacon, and cheese, my wife and I get then served with there dipping sauce that they serve with there fries.

Main Course - I've had there Meatloaf, and it was ok, I personally would rather have had something else, but there was a lot of food there. I've also had there Blackened Chicken Linguini now that was excellent. My wife has ordered there Sausage Rigatoni with Sweet Peppers, and said that it was very good. She also has ordered The Overlake, as have I, and we both thought it was excellent!!

The Beer - I've had the Northern Light Lager, and really like that, but my favorite has got to be the Two Pull. I'm pretty sure that we'll be going there again, and I would suggest you try it.

Apr 02, 2007 2.5-star rating2.5-star rating2.5-star rating2.5-star rating2.5-star rating Heidi

I agree with the previous reviewer: the food at Granite City is pretty decent for a chain, but this restaurant really misses the mark when it comes to service. The beer selection is another disappointment, especially considering this is allegedly a microbrewery.

The good: The bruschetta salad makes the trip worthwhile (the bite of the vinaigrette pairs nicely with the bleu cheese and black olives – the mixed greens are usually crisp and no iceberg lettuce in sight). The beer cheese soup with rye croutons is also a very nice way to start a meal.

The bad: The service is slow and special requests are ignored. Pasta dishes often arrive at the table cold. Steaks have historically been overcooked. The worst offence, however, is that the beer selection is uninspired and unchanging (seasonal specialty beers sell out quickly and are not readily replaced).

Overall, I am addicted to Granite City’s salads and the beer cheese soup, but if you’re in the mood for a good microbrew, look no further than Raccoon River or Court Ave Brewing.

Apr 01, 2007 2-star rating2-star rating2-star rating2-star rating2-star rating kathleendsm

I like the food at Granite City, but the service hasn't been impressive. We've gotten takeout from there 3 times, and each time there's been a mistake, including getting the wrong entree. The last time I got takeout I was told it would be 15 minutes, and I ended up waiting for over 30 minutes. The hostess told me she hadn't entered it right away. I do, however, really like their beer cheese soup, and the burgers are very good.

Mar 29, 2007 4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating Amanda

I love this place for one thing only, the crab wonton appetizer. They are awesome! I've had them as a meal many times. The rest of the menu is boring except for the weekly specials. The prices are a little steep for what you get, also. Not bad, though.

Jan 13, 2007 5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating Darcie

I've eaten at Granite City twice and thought the food was delicious. Very large portions for a reasonable price and pretty good service. I'll keep going back.

Nov 28, 2006 5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating kerry anne

I have ate here many times, and while I usually always get the same thing I have never had over a 10 minute wait for food. Never had to wait to be seated and never had a problem with getting anything to drink. Not to mention the managers have come out and asked if things were okay. Sorry someone had bad service but honestly I have never had any complaints it is one of my favorite places to eat.

Nov 09, 2006 0.5-star rating0.5-star rating0.5-star rating0.5-star rating0.5-star rating Dan

Wow, Steve, are you sure you aren't the marketing person for Granite City, his comment reads more like and ad. Hoe in the heck do you remember all of htose prices and that stuff from just a visit!! And we found the experience to be nothing like he said. Long wait for overpriced bland salads and burgers. Drinks were good if we could get one, refills were out of the question, so if you like to drink with your meal forget about it. We even tried to look for a manager but one was "too busy" to come out. We realize service is getting pretty bad in most places in Des Moines becaues of the lack of employees but this was pretty bad. We think it was a busser that waited on us. our folks went to The Brunch, Steve was talking about, they said i the bright spot was the delicous Cinnimon rolls, but they were charged 5 star prices for a 2 star joint. They too coudl nto get a drink refill and the server was rude when they asked. Too many other good places around to waist time and money on this place

Sep 28, 2006 5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating steve

A great experience for the money. Mug club's a bargain with 25oz beers for $3.00 and 10% off food. With 2 beers each my wife and I can get out of there for $35 plus tip. We can't do that anywhere else. Portions are huge - a guarantee of leftovers. There's a pretty wide variety on the menu along with weekly special items not on the menu. My favorite is the Grilled Meatloaf. The Sunday Brunch is the best I've ever experienced anywhere and is about $15. There are some places out there with better steaks, but none that are even close to being comparable in value to Granite City.

Apr 02, 2006 5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating5-star rating Dude

Great food! I've had about 10 different items, and they are all excellent. The beer is about what you would expect at a micro, but if you join their lunch club every 7th lunch(I think) is free. It is not a limited lunch menu to get the free one either, you can get a steak as your free one if you choose. I think you have to sit at the bar also.

Apr 14, 2005 3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating3.5-star rating SloppyDog

This place is ok. The beer is nothing special. They have a Mug Clug kind of thing that get's you $3 big mugs of beer (don't quote me on this). It's not quite as cool of a program as the one over at Rock Bottom. To me, the food is hit or miss. I've ordered the same sandwich and it just isn't consistent. But, most the time it's good.

Apr 14, 2005 4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating4-star rating NicoleK

How I love this place. Food-wise that is. The Buffalo Chicken sandwich is grilled, not fried, the fries are waffle and served with a delicious sour-cream dip. The Cheese soup is yummy and the deserts are better than average. The atmosphere is cozy and warm. The bathrooms were clean and the hostess was friendly. I am not a beer drinker, but I hear it is pretty good.

The problem is the actual service has been non-attentive sometimes. I frequent Granite City and on maybe 3 occasions I had a server that was friendly, attentive and worthy of a decent tip, the others were rude and flaky. However, if you can tolerate that then my suggestion is enjoy the atmosphere and delicious food.