Jolly Pumpkin is a brewery that specializes in hand crafted brews and a variety of tasty food especially pizza. As a Traverse city native, I have known about the Jolly Pumpkin on the Peninsula for quite some time but had never really made the drive out. This week I visited BOTH locations to test who caught my heart, and my stomach.
Jolly Pumpkin Grand Rapids: This Jolly Pumpkin opened fairly recently but is located on 428 Bridge St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504. The overall set up when looking at reviews online have been up and down. Overall the atmosphere is open and everyone is very helpful but the one negative I noticed was that there is no one that is a waitress. By this I mean that you order your food at the bar/as well as drinks and a server will deliver it to you. This means that you pay right then and there but I think the major turn off is that people think they aren't getting the finest experience. If you sit at the bar though you have full service for being waited on. The bar tenders are very eager to help you and who can say no to free taste tests? Recommendation: Cherry Cider.
Overall Rating 8/10Jolly Pumpkin in Traverse City:Located on 13512 Peninsula Dr, Traverse City, MI 49686 this location is HARD to beat. Not only is the food great but the overall look and feel is a rustic higher end lodging feel. The decorations from the hundreds of cups on the ceiling to the moose head are all of the little touches that stand out. With a killer view of the water as its backyard and an actual winery right on the heart of the property its hard to say much better about this location. The food selection is a bit larger than the GR location but both have similar menus and brew choices.
Overall Rating 8.5/10
Both Jolly Pumpkin's are a great staple restaurant to visit and have great food and good drinks to boot. Make sure to stop on by! Jolly Pumpkin is also located in Ann Arbor and Detroit. So there's no excuse not to try it today!
