I found the Black River Billiards & Side Pocket restaurant by using yelp to search for new restaurants in the Holland Michigan area, and it quickly pointed out several, including Black River Billiards.
Chris & Jaime had their grand opening the day prior to Thanksgiving last year and we went in on the one year plus a day anniversary, unbeknownst to us. Billiards is one huge section with tables and chairs down the center for the billiard players plus seating at the back of the building by the bar. They also own an equal size area with a restaurant/sports bar theme. This is called." The Side Pocket", which insulates the restaurant from the billiards conversations and playing pool sounds.
Upon walking in, we were greeted by a smiling Chris and we told him that Yelp pointed us to his restaurant. He was definitely warm and friendly, and you could tell he was passionate about presenting good food, good service and happy customers.
Jennifer was our waitress for the evening and greeted us quickly and took our drink order. She allowed us to peruse the menus, which is very varied. You can make a meal out of some of the appetizers, wraps, steaks, burgers & sandwiches. Enjoy. Caveat warning: what Sandy & I learned upon receiving our orders, that Jennifer would need to bring two large "to-go" containers when we were stuffed. Once we were finally able to commit to ordering food, we ordered the prime rib, sliced thin Prime rib meat& Swiss with three choices: plain with Swiss cheese, onions & peppers, or onions & mushrooms. The side choices were kettle fries,, french fries, onion rings, homemade mac & cheese, or tater tots.
The portions are huge. Sandy ordered her side as mac & cheese and I opted for onion rings. Ahh, the 1st bite of my French dip was a bit of heaven with wonderful flavors. My onion rings were cooked perfectly and delicious and probably three times the size of other rings that I have ordered at different restaurants. Sandy tried a bite of her mac & cheese and she offered me to taste. I took a large forkful & it was delicious. Cavatappi ribbed pasta with a very tasty cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan on top.
Meanwhile, Chris entered our dining area and sat down with a group of 6-7 people; very friendly & customer oriented owner.
Sandy and I surrendered our forks and asked Jennifer for "to-go" packaging. Just before we arose from the table Chris stop by and ask us how how the meal was and we said fantastic! I asked Jennifer how many cooks remaining the kitchen area and she said generally four or five.
This may have been our first meal, but there will be others and we will tell everyone we know about this restaurant! I read many of the reviews that they enjoyed receiving in the last year and they had many happy customers with great reviews!
Kudos to Chris & Jamie and his entire staff. read more