The first time I went to Gramercy Tap, I thought it was way to pricey and the staff was a little out of it! This was about week after they opened! Now that they have been open over a year, I thought we would give it another go! Things have improved greatly! The staff was excellent! We thought we would sit outside, so the bartender went out, open the outside area for us, cleaned off the tables and chairs and made it cozy for us! Just then the nats (bugs) started in on us, so even after all the clean up by the bartender we decided to spend the rest of the time inside, we thanked her and ended up sitting at the bar! Tried a few beer I had never had and then went back to the local Confluence IPA which you can never go wrong with! The staff was great, place looked spotless, and it was not really busy for 5:30 on a Friday night! We didn't get food this time, but I remember the food being really good from here, just a bit on the pricey side! But if you want a low lit, trendy vibe for a date, I think this place my do you just fine!
(4)
Aaron P.
Mediocre service. Above average food. I will not be returning. Not sure if they are still in business.
(3)
Aaron C.
I believe it is now closed and no longer in business. They had great food but service was lacking and almost always void of guests. The last time we ate there the salmon was not fresh and we had concerns with their food turnover due to the little business they had.
(1)
Nick J.
The Gramercy Tap surprised me tonight. I went to this place for a beer with a few friends around 6-8 months ago, and it was just not good. It seemed to still be having some opening "growing pains" back then, and I'm glad to report things were much better tonight. I arrived a bit earlier than my dining partner so I swung by the bar for a drink while I was waiting. I was quickly greeted by what appeared to be bartender/hostess for the evening, and was served up a draught. I took a few minutes to review their beer list while enjoying my beverage. Overall, the selection was nice, however the pricing seemed to be a bit strange to me. I am okay paying $4 for a Fat Tire, but charging $5 for a bottle of Sam Adams seemed a bit high, especially since it's priced comparatively to the big Miller-Coors/Anheuser-Busch products by the six pack at the store. Once my dining partner arrived, we told them we had reservations and were seated at one of the half-moon shaped booths mentioned in another post. These are odd to me, especially if you aren't dating the person you are dining with. Sitting on opposite ends of the booth seems too far apart for conversation, but sitting closer makes it seem quite intimate. Maybe that's just me. Their menu seemed to be the perfect size to me; not an enormous number of options, but enough that the menu required some scrutiny before making a decision. I really liked that that there obvious price breaks from the sandwiches & burgers, to the entrees, to the signature "chef's choice" specials. This allowed selection to be narrowed down by how much you were feeling like spending. I had the lamb burger, cooked medium rare, served with feta and cucumber and tomato relish. It was delicious! I really liked the variety of sides offered at the Gramercy Tap. You aren't limited to just fries, or up-charged for something slightly more premium. I had a half Caesar salad, but risotto, green beans, squash and creamed spinach were all also options. Fries were an option, along with a few others. Price-wise, I was surprised the lamb burger meal rang in at only $9. Overall, this restaurant seems to be picking up steam and falling into place. Some improvements have been made to the outside including some signage and also the addition of an outdoor patio. I would definitely come back again, and recommend the same to anyone who may have had a less-than-ideal experience at the Gramercy Tap previously, to give it another shot.
(4)
Kay S.
The food is wonderful. I had the best burger in my LIFE there,.... and I'm 58! I have eaten many burgers. Also, the service was beyond excellent. I love the atmopsphere, and it is a favorite place to go with friends and my husband.
(5)
Courtney L.
I was a little annoyed by our experience here. Trying to find a place without a wait at 7pm on a Saturday was proving to be a bit difficult. We had been day drinking, so we were borderline hANGRY when we stumbled upon The Gramercy Tap. The place was dead compared to the 1 hour wait at Fong's. We were the only ones in the dining room for half of the meal (with a couple other tables filling as we were finishing up), but the service was still pretty slow. They were also out of a few items (namely the Crisp Berkshire Pork belly and Asian Rice Noodles), so the husband and I ended up splitting a couple appetizers: The Smoked salmon mac 'n' cheese was our first choice, but I wouldn't order it again. The salmon was really good, but that is really all I could taste. The rest of the flavor wasn't very cheesy and the salmon overpowered the sauce. It was a decent portion for an appetizer though... but an extremely odd appetizer if you are intending to share with someone you aren't okay sharing a bowl with. Our 2nd choice was the Smoked Deviled Eggs. This definitely was not worth the $5. It was 2 small eggs (4 halves) and tasted exactly as a deviled egg typically tastes. Good, but not unique in any way. Our final selection was asparagus that was wrapped in prosciutto and topped with an over-easy egg. This was excellent. The asparagus was cooked perfectly and if you haven't tried eggs and asparagus to begin with you need to make it at home stat. Great flavor combination (though I prefer it with Parmesan on top too). Anyway, the food was all good/decent, but nothing stood out to me. I should have riskier on my choices, perhaps (granted, I tried to, but they were out) because asking anything awesome from deviled eggs is probably a stretch in the beginning. I'd probably be more enthused to give The Gramercy Tap another shot if the service had been worth it. We waited a long time for our food and refills and our to-go order for someone at home (that we placed when we ordered our own food) was completely forgotten. So, I'm still torn, but they do, however, have a separate late night menu from 9:30 - midnight and a bar area which is a nice perk and a good alternative to all fried bar food.
(3)
lttlod i.
So after my first experience at Gramercy which was just OK, the owner, Kevin, emailed me about coming back in to give it another try. First, I was stoked that an owner took time to email me. Secondly, he offered me a giftcard to come back in with a friend and try out Gramercy again! How's that for some sweet customer service! I've never had that happen before. I went back in last night and brought a couple of friends. We had a really good experience this time around. Here's what we ordered: Apps: Salt/Vinegar fries. Had them the first time too and we all loved them the second go around as well. Spinach artichoke dip. We loved the creamy spinach dip but the pita chips were not crunchy or soft. I think maybe they were supposed to be toasted but it didn't work for those. We didn't care for the pita chips. Dinner: Me: Pasta carbonara. This was very good! I was so glad I ordered it. Very creamy with yummy large bits of smoked bacon and peas. Very tasty! I would come back again for that meal. I could only eat half of it because it was rich and there was so much. The rest is in my fridge and I'm excited for my lunch leftovers. Friend 1: ordered tomato bisque, since she had a big lunch. Loved the soup and it looked creamy. She kept saying it was good. She tasted our meals as well. Friend 2: ordered the asian noodles with chicken and shrimp. The menu said the dish was supposed to be spicy but my friend said it had little to no spice. I tasted it and agreed it was good and flavorful but didn't taste any spice. Desert: We all shared a tiramisu and chocolate walnut cake. The Tiramisu was really very good. Spongy with yummy sauce on the bottom and a light creamy topping. I love tiramisu and this was a very good one. The chocolate walnut cake was very rich and good. It was served with a plate drizzle of raspberry sauce that was a nice complement. Service was also very good on this night. Our waitress was on the ball and friendly. No complaints. This place got busy quickly too, which was good to see. Overall, I will come back for sure after this experience. We all agreed that 4 stars would be the consensus. We all want to come again to test out some more apps, that was also the consensus. No, the giftcard did not sway me! We spent beyond that anyway and left a nice tip. I spent more than I typically do with the giftcard than without ha! I'm glad the owner contacted me and offered me a chance to come back in. It was great customer service and I appreciated it.
(4)
Jeff S.
First time to try gramercy. Was excited as the chef has a good reputation in Des Moines. Our party of 4 were all disappointed in our meal. We started with the appetizers of the crispy Berkshire pork Belly with roasted radishes,potato and egg on top. The pork was a piece of soft congealed fat - NOT crispy. Our other appetizer of bacon wrapped dates with blue cheese was eaten by 3 of the 4 in our party. Just ok. 2 of us ordered the Reuben sandwich which had the thick layer of fat as the meat - no corned beef! Another dinner ordered the chopped salad but disliked the dressing so left half. The fourth dinner had the house burger and said it was ok. The dining room is large with a high ceiling. It seemed very noisy making it difficult to talk and hear the person at the end of the booth. Our waitress was very pleasant and offered good service.
(1)
Matthew P.
Great food and drinks. Very loud atmosphere, so don't expect to hear the other people at the table. This place has all the right elements to be a great downtown restaurant. The bacon wrapped dates and scallops are a must order.
Sorry, Store hours have not been updated. If you are the owner of this restaurants. Please update the store hours.
Specialities
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner, Late Night Parking : Garage, Street Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Trendy Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Dogs Allowed : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Patrick T.
The first time I went to Gramercy Tap, I thought it was way to pricey and the staff was a little out of it! This was about week after they opened! Now that they have been open over a year, I thought we would give it another go! Things have improved greatly! The staff was excellent! We thought we would sit outside, so the bartender went out, open the outside area for us, cleaned off the tables and chairs and made it cozy for us! Just then the nats (bugs) started in on us, so even after all the clean up by the bartender we decided to spend the rest of the time inside, we thanked her and ended up sitting at the bar! Tried a few beer I had never had and then went back to the local Confluence IPA which you can never go wrong with! The staff was great, place looked spotless, and it was not really busy for 5:30 on a Friday night! We didn't get food this time, but I remember the food being really good from here, just a bit on the pricey side! But if you want a low lit, trendy vibe for a date, I think this place my do you just fine!
(4)Aaron P.
Mediocre service. Above average food. I will not be returning. Not sure if they are still in business.
(3)Aaron C.
I believe it is now closed and no longer in business. They had great food but service was lacking and almost always void of guests. The last time we ate there the salmon was not fresh and we had concerns with their food turnover due to the little business they had.
(1)Nick J.
The Gramercy Tap surprised me tonight. I went to this place for a beer with a few friends around 6-8 months ago, and it was just not good. It seemed to still be having some opening "growing pains" back then, and I'm glad to report things were much better tonight. I arrived a bit earlier than my dining partner so I swung by the bar for a drink while I was waiting. I was quickly greeted by what appeared to be bartender/hostess for the evening, and was served up a draught. I took a few minutes to review their beer list while enjoying my beverage. Overall, the selection was nice, however the pricing seemed to be a bit strange to me. I am okay paying $4 for a Fat Tire, but charging $5 for a bottle of Sam Adams seemed a bit high, especially since it's priced comparatively to the big Miller-Coors/Anheuser-Busch products by the six pack at the store. Once my dining partner arrived, we told them we had reservations and were seated at one of the half-moon shaped booths mentioned in another post. These are odd to me, especially if you aren't dating the person you are dining with. Sitting on opposite ends of the booth seems too far apart for conversation, but sitting closer makes it seem quite intimate. Maybe that's just me. Their menu seemed to be the perfect size to me; not an enormous number of options, but enough that the menu required some scrutiny before making a decision. I really liked that that there obvious price breaks from the sandwiches & burgers, to the entrees, to the signature "chef's choice" specials. This allowed selection to be narrowed down by how much you were feeling like spending. I had the lamb burger, cooked medium rare, served with feta and cucumber and tomato relish. It was delicious! I really liked the variety of sides offered at the Gramercy Tap. You aren't limited to just fries, or up-charged for something slightly more premium. I had a half Caesar salad, but risotto, green beans, squash and creamed spinach were all also options. Fries were an option, along with a few others. Price-wise, I was surprised the lamb burger meal rang in at only $9. Overall, this restaurant seems to be picking up steam and falling into place. Some improvements have been made to the outside including some signage and also the addition of an outdoor patio. I would definitely come back again, and recommend the same to anyone who may have had a less-than-ideal experience at the Gramercy Tap previously, to give it another shot.
(4)Kay S.
The food is wonderful. I had the best burger in my LIFE there,.... and I'm 58! I have eaten many burgers. Also, the service was beyond excellent. I love the atmopsphere, and it is a favorite place to go with friends and my husband.
(5)Courtney L.
I was a little annoyed by our experience here. Trying to find a place without a wait at 7pm on a Saturday was proving to be a bit difficult. We had been day drinking, so we were borderline hANGRY when we stumbled upon The Gramercy Tap. The place was dead compared to the 1 hour wait at Fong's. We were the only ones in the dining room for half of the meal (with a couple other tables filling as we were finishing up), but the service was still pretty slow. They were also out of a few items (namely the Crisp Berkshire Pork belly and Asian Rice Noodles), so the husband and I ended up splitting a couple appetizers: The Smoked salmon mac 'n' cheese was our first choice, but I wouldn't order it again. The salmon was really good, but that is really all I could taste. The rest of the flavor wasn't very cheesy and the salmon overpowered the sauce. It was a decent portion for an appetizer though... but an extremely odd appetizer if you are intending to share with someone you aren't okay sharing a bowl with. Our 2nd choice was the Smoked Deviled Eggs. This definitely was not worth the $5. It was 2 small eggs (4 halves) and tasted exactly as a deviled egg typically tastes. Good, but not unique in any way. Our final selection was asparagus that was wrapped in prosciutto and topped with an over-easy egg. This was excellent. The asparagus was cooked perfectly and if you haven't tried eggs and asparagus to begin with you need to make it at home stat. Great flavor combination (though I prefer it with Parmesan on top too). Anyway, the food was all good/decent, but nothing stood out to me. I should have riskier on my choices, perhaps (granted, I tried to, but they were out) because asking anything awesome from deviled eggs is probably a stretch in the beginning. I'd probably be more enthused to give The Gramercy Tap another shot if the service had been worth it. We waited a long time for our food and refills and our to-go order for someone at home (that we placed when we ordered our own food) was completely forgotten. So, I'm still torn, but they do, however, have a separate late night menu from 9:30 - midnight and a bar area which is a nice perk and a good alternative to all fried bar food.
(3)lttlod i.
So after my first experience at Gramercy which was just OK, the owner, Kevin, emailed me about coming back in to give it another try. First, I was stoked that an owner took time to email me. Secondly, he offered me a giftcard to come back in with a friend and try out Gramercy again! How's that for some sweet customer service! I've never had that happen before. I went back in last night and brought a couple of friends. We had a really good experience this time around. Here's what we ordered: Apps: Salt/Vinegar fries. Had them the first time too and we all loved them the second go around as well. Spinach artichoke dip. We loved the creamy spinach dip but the pita chips were not crunchy or soft. I think maybe they were supposed to be toasted but it didn't work for those. We didn't care for the pita chips. Dinner: Me: Pasta carbonara. This was very good! I was so glad I ordered it. Very creamy with yummy large bits of smoked bacon and peas. Very tasty! I would come back again for that meal. I could only eat half of it because it was rich and there was so much. The rest is in my fridge and I'm excited for my lunch leftovers. Friend 1: ordered tomato bisque, since she had a big lunch. Loved the soup and it looked creamy. She kept saying it was good. She tasted our meals as well. Friend 2: ordered the asian noodles with chicken and shrimp. The menu said the dish was supposed to be spicy but my friend said it had little to no spice. I tasted it and agreed it was good and flavorful but didn't taste any spice. Desert: We all shared a tiramisu and chocolate walnut cake. The Tiramisu was really very good. Spongy with yummy sauce on the bottom and a light creamy topping. I love tiramisu and this was a very good one. The chocolate walnut cake was very rich and good. It was served with a plate drizzle of raspberry sauce that was a nice complement. Service was also very good on this night. Our waitress was on the ball and friendly. No complaints. This place got busy quickly too, which was good to see. Overall, I will come back for sure after this experience. We all agreed that 4 stars would be the consensus. We all want to come again to test out some more apps, that was also the consensus. No, the giftcard did not sway me! We spent beyond that anyway and left a nice tip. I spent more than I typically do with the giftcard than without ha! I'm glad the owner contacted me and offered me a chance to come back in. It was great customer service and I appreciated it.
(4)Jeff S.
First time to try gramercy. Was excited as the chef has a good reputation in Des Moines. Our party of 4 were all disappointed in our meal. We started with the appetizers of the crispy Berkshire pork Belly with roasted radishes,potato and egg on top. The pork was a piece of soft congealed fat - NOT crispy. Our other appetizer of bacon wrapped dates with blue cheese was eaten by 3 of the 4 in our party. Just ok. 2 of us ordered the Reuben sandwich which had the thick layer of fat as the meat - no corned beef! Another dinner ordered the chopped salad but disliked the dressing so left half. The fourth dinner had the house burger and said it was ok. The dining room is large with a high ceiling. It seemed very noisy making it difficult to talk and hear the person at the end of the booth. Our waitress was very pleasant and offered good service.
(1)Matthew P.
Great food and drinks. Very loud atmosphere, so don't expect to hear the other people at the table. This place has all the right elements to be a great downtown restaurant. The bacon wrapped dates and scallops are a must order.
(4)