Nice atmosphere, this was previously a brewery and all of the large stainless and copper are unused but still in place. The restaurant/tavern is directly on the channel that runs between the Grand River and Spring Lake. There is also a lot of outdoor seating. BBQ menu with lots of choices. My wife is gluten free and had the brisket tots. I went for the mac and cheese + brisket in egg rolls. This was a new one for me, and I liked it! Will be back to try something different on the menu. read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Brisket tots (GF) - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

See all

My fiancé and I really enjoyed our food, and the ambiance of the former distillery was great with tall ceilings and windows. If you're staying at The Holiday Inn in Spring Lake, this spot is super easy to walk to via the path that runs under the bridge. read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Meat platters both with 2 meats & 2 sides. Comes with cornbread waffle. - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

We love this place! Fantastic food!! The meats are all so well done!!. I am addicted to their smoked chicken breast. Burnt ends are epic as well. Nice side selections too. Collard greens and cole slaw are so good. We have tried the brisket burrito and beet & blue cheese salad. Both amazing. Great beer selections as well as a pretty nice stocked bar. The best part is dogs can join you on the deck. They are closing the deck November 1st, but open back up in the spring. read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Dog friendly deck!! - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

See all

The food was great! I loved the fried apples and the sweet mash potatoes. Prices are a little steep so be prepared (It's a BBQ place so I get it). The interior is super nice and I docked my boat outside so that worked out perfectly. The service was quick and our server was super nice and even gave use free extra corn bread! Lemonade was excellent as well! It's got the good ice cubes :) read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Pulled pork, Chicken Breast Fried Apples Mash potatoes - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

I had never been to Dr Rolf's and then ended up there twice in 48 hours - once for a closed event and once for dinner with my kids. The location and view are unbearable. Both the patio and indoor seating offer great water views. The service was as good as you'll see anywhere in Spring Lake and the drinks were tasty and cold. Now, for the food. If you like BBQ, both the buffet style event and the table seated meals were FANTASTIC. None of the meat was dry, the veggies were fresh, the red chili was to die for. The only disappointment was they were out of burnt ends, but it's also understandable. If you want great food, gorgeous water views, and excellent service, definitely stop in. read more

Kind of a waste of time...first it was NO RIBS AVAILABLE! What kind of BBQ joint has no ribs available?? Especially on Father's Day? Next, no dark meat for chicken? Never been to a BBQ place that doesn't at least have thighs! So they do have something called "chicken things" but our waitress couldn't tell us what it actually is??? Maybe it's because they are a new location but for now, don't waste your time at this place. read more

Best brisket I've ever had (and trust me, I've had a lot). Best sweet potato mash (casserole) I've ever had. Excellent butter beans. Great service but was I a Tuesday night so not sure how they will handle packed Friday nights. Only negative is my grandchild ordered macarons and cheese and would eat it. I thought it can't be that bad so I tried a taste. It was worse than cardboard. Need to work on that one. But the rest was so good I still vi w them a solid 5 star. read more

The atmosphere is wonderful and the food delicious . The staff is very friendly and helpful read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

I've eaten here a few times with pretty good experiences. Some good food and some not so much. Today, the waitress rang up my order wrong and then argued about it when I brought it up. My date received a different order of tacos than she requested. Taking a break from Dr. Rolf's and I recommend others do the same. One mistake is understandable, but multiple with attitude? Pass. read more

All the food was amazing! The cornbread with honey butter was terrific. Some of the best lemonade I've had as well. Our waitress provided great service and our food came out quick. I would highly recommend Dr. Rolf's BBQ to everyone! read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Pulled pork, butter beans, mac and cheese, cornbread waffle, fresh squeezed peach lemonade - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

Food was good, service not so much. Placed a pickup order for 6 people at 4:45 for a 6pm pickup time and received confirmation. When I arrived at 6, the food wasn't even started. The order was finally ready at 6:35 and when i arrived home, two of the meals were missing and the sauces for their brisket burrito were missing. This was my first time going to this location and disappointed. read more

The crust on the brisket is incredible! The meat itself was flavorful and tender. I dearly loved the available sauces -- in fact, I bought a couple bottle extra to take home with me. read more

Very small portion for the price. Ordered takeout, food wasn't ready at promised time which was fine. Received food and it was cold, like it was removed from the refrigerator. Had two meat combo which was a single sausage and a single slice of Brisket and side of coleslaw and sweet potato for $26. Won't be back. read more

My husband and I came here on our bikes and they had a bike rack where we could still see them -thank you!!- the service was very friendly and the BBQ was quite good! We are natives to Texas and have a lot of bbq there, this stacked up to what we were used to and will definitely be coming back when we visit this area again. Highly recommend the sweet potato casserole and Cole slaw as your side for the burnt ends and ribs. read more

The only thing that they can improve on is the Mac & Cheese. It's grainy. The rest of our food was delicious.

HFC! This is the best BBQ I've ever had! I've had Great and Amazing, but this was Spectacular! The Grand Haven location is a little unique. It's located inside the Grand Armory Brewery. It's a nice atmosphere with high ceilings making it feel more open than it is. You can sit inside or out or get Takeout. Your drinks and food come from different locations. The ordering is different than most places too. You can either go up to the food counter to order your food and tell them your table number and they will deliver it. Then you go to bar to order your drinks and ditto. Also the only soda on tap is Draft Root Beer. The other way to order is to use your phone and 2 separate QR's. This brings you to toasttab. Here you order your food, and pay on your phone and they deliver it to your table. Then you have the drink one which also uses toasttab, but this time you open a tab. Select your drinks and they are delivered. When your all done you close tab and your all done. I ordered the 3 meats and 2 sides ($25). I chose Pulled Pork, Brisket, and Beef Polish Sausage for my meats. For my sides I got Butter Beads and Fried Apples! It also came with Cornbread Waffle. For a drink I got the Draft Root Beer ($2 each). Everything was Outstanding. My taste buds threw a rager! Everything was tender, everything had it own unique and wonderful taste.  I don't really know what makes them butter beans, but where have you been my whole life. The Root Beer was top notch, easily worth the price. Also the sauces I tried were Original, Peach Apricot, and Blueberry or Blackberry. The were all very liquid, aka not thick at all. I really liked them all. Sauce isn't needed, but it really does enhance the meats. The cornbread Waffle was the best cornbread I've ever had also, and the Honey butter just plain is heaven on top. The service for what it is was very good. Drinks came out very quick and food was delivered promptly when it was finished cooking. Overall am easy 10. I mean 5 star review. Would I return? Lol! Duh! Can we please get a location in Grand Rapids, preferably south side! read more

See all

A great addition to GH/Spring Lake area. Highlights include the outside dining along the water, the service, and ample parking. The food was quite good and will be back to try other items on the menu. Great variety of BBQ sauces. Loved the cole slaw. read more

Very nice atmosphere, food very good and the staff were polite and professional. It is a hoping place BBQ is quality, and the drinks are good, but I would like to see local breweries featured on the beer list and a few more cocktails. Overall, it's worth a visit. read more

Went for an early dinner. Was seated outside, so far so good. Ordered some IPA s good price so far so good. Ordered ribs and chicken parts. Wheels came off the cart. The rib portion was two small dried out ribs that had to be from a day or two ago. I smoke meat a lot, and this was pathetic. The chicken parts were meh, the slaw way too much jalapeño. I asked the manager about the rib situation and she snapped "what do you want". Thats our serving. No solution offered not even sorry I did not like it. We won't be back, not that it appears to matter read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

See all

Food was great. Server was good. Hostesses (4 of them) were confused, argued with each other and could not figure out how the seating chart worked...a bit of a comedy. It took them 15 minutes to seat us at a table that was available the entire time we waited. Hmmm?? read more

We have loved going to Dr. Rolf's in downtown Muskegon for several years now. The barbecue and sides are fantastic. We were thrilled that they opened a second location closer to our house in Spring Lake. We went to the new location tonight for the second or third time since they opened. We were quickly seated and then proceeded to wait as tables seated after us were served. I decided to wait to see how long it would take. They weren't particularly busy but when a couple next to us got seated and two minutes later they were being served, we got up and walked out--15 minutes in total. I wanted to speak to the manager but there were several parties in line at the hostess stand and we were starving at that point. Hugely disappointing! We go out of our way to support local restaurants and understand the restaurant business is hard but this was a big miss on Dr. Rolf's part. We ended up at Culver's because it was close and dependable service. Not the barbecue I hoped for, but good burgers and excellent service for fast food. read more

Brisket sliders a nice balance of quality meat and freshness without too much bun. Nice fit with my Blood Orange IPA from The Armory here in Grand Haven read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Looking down on Dr Rolf's and patrons of The Armory - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

The ribs were genuinely inedible. They were so so dry and rough, entire table had them and we all agreed. Have no idea how they can get away with serving food like that. Where is their quality control? read more

Despite the positive reviews this is not good barbecue. Dried out ribs and minimally acceptable brisket.

We have visited their other location in Muskegon and were pleased with the service and food. That was not the case today at the Grand Haven restaurant. We waited nearly an hour for our food and it was mediocre at best when we finally received it. We asked to speak with the manager who was not helpful at all. He only offered excuses about them being busy and understaffed. read more

Had the rib and the brisket and it was amazing. I love pretty close by and it's nice to have a bbq joint that's legit. I'll be back for sure. read more

Great atmosphere, I had the ribs and 2 sides everything was amazing! The service was very good, our waitress was very nice, and the food came out fast! Highly recommend! read more

Amazing food! The atmosphere is awesome and they obviously keep good care of their restaurant. Everything was clean and looked good. The service was fast and friendly! read more

Been twice, super slow service both times. Restaurant not busy either time. I'm talking 45 minutes after ordering food. Unacceptable. Food is pretty good but with wait times that long it's too stressful to eat here. read more

The first time we went it was delicious. This past Saturday we were there and order chicken roll up again and it was burnt to a crisp. We pulled out pieces of burnt chicken. That was not some place I would go for food so soon again. Service was good. read more

We stopped by to check out the new barbecue joint in Grand Haven today where Old Boys used to be. The interior had a newer look but kinda plain. My wife had the pulled pork platter with 2 sides and I had the Brisket platter with 2 sides. 1st thing we noticed were the small portions, my wife enjoyed hers as the pork and sides were to her liking. Mine on the other hand.......well there were very small pieces of very fatty brisket and the sides were very small (the cup of chili and the Mac n cheese). I guess at 15 dollars for each platter I was expecting abit better cuts of meat. It was a disappointment in comparison to other barbecue restaurants in the south. I wish them luck but I can't recommend. read more

Came for the beer at Grand Amory Brewing but loved the food! I had the southwestern salad, very fresh greens and a nice dressing. My husband had the chili flight with a corn bread waffle. Oh my goodness, they were all incredible. Hard to choose which was our favorite. If you like chili, come here! read more

Fabulous barbecue, we ordered the wings and dirty 'tots and it was perfect. Great pairing with Grand Armory Brewing. We will definitely return here. Also, regarding previous reviews... ITS A BARBECUE JOINT. It's probably not going to be as sensitive to food allergies as other food genres and THATS OK. as consumers we need to use common sense when choosing our food. . read more

probably the best bbq i've had in michigan. the brisket was super moist. the nacho ingredients were so fresh- the combo of melted cheese + cotija is read more

Dr. Rolf's Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Spring Lake, Michigan

We walked into the place looking for a late dinner. There were about four families sitting down eating, and when we asked to get seated we were decline? Why? I am not sure I understand the reason, but this place is ill prepared to be open. Boxes and trash flood this restaurant. I would advise any and all to choose a different restaurant. read more

We had a large group. Everyone liked there meal. We had the sweet potato Quesadilla. Great idea and even better taste. The pulled pork was great. The chicken taco was fresh and very tasty. The sides were also great! Definitely would recommend this place! read more

The best BBQ I've had in Michigan. The Blackberry barbecue has a hint of spice, so good. The coleslaw has great quality to it.

food was almost universally amazing. the only disappointment was the Cole slaw, not creamy, not sweet, not vinegary, not spicy, just bland. you have to try their blackberry bbq sauce - very tasty. we had the egg too w Mac and cheese and pork(?) as a starter with a nice herb laden sauce. we each had two meat plates consisting of chicken things, two kinds of sausage and beef brisket- all great. read more

If I could give this place negative stars I would. Absolute worst place to go if you have food allergies. The servers know nothing in regards to ingredients, nor do they have any allergy friendly food options. read more

Bottom line: In a small town with no shortage of excellent BBQ places, Dr Rolf's makes its mark with a unique array of BBQ sauces, Chili 4-ways, and their corn bread waffle. First, know that Dr. Rolf's shares a space in the Armory with a pub, so its not the usual restaurant 'ambiance.' No problem taking kiddos though, as the setting is chatty, warm, and inviting. Not Smokey and loud. Second, not sure if it's a CoVid thing, but you order entirely online. There is a window I think you can walk up and order from, but the person that seated us was not our waitstaff. Third, not a huge menu selection, but you'll still be hard pressed to make a quick decision. Ok, so onto the food... We ordered the pulled pork on brioche and a cup of red chili to share (saving room for dessert). Let's start with the pulled pork. The pork itself was plentiful, and good. It was juicy, really juicy, good flavor, but the 'smokiness' was faint. So if you're looking for a distinct smoked flavor, it fell short for me. BUT, that's ok 'cause the BBQ sauce is what you're coming for. They have an array of interesting sauces. Soooo hard to just choose one. However, the restauranteurs were thoughtful enough to have each kind in small solo containers. We tried the blackberry bbq, mango bbq, and hot mustard sauce. Each were distinct and fantastic. Not gonna try to describe them, other than saying the mustard sauce was hot, like wasabi-kinda-hot. The chips served with them were warm (are they homemade there?), crisp, and tasty. And coleslaw was spicy and very flavorful, though the 'slaw portion seemed small. The brioche bun didn't stick out, but then again, whose thinking about the brioche bun when eating bbq? We also shared a bowl of the red chili (smoked brisket and black bean chili). This was one of four Award winning choices of chili. It was a really fine bowl of chili, with a smoky flavor. But what made the meal was the corn bread waffle. Love me some cornbread with chili, but in crisp, buttery waffle form? (Mic drop). Sharing the sandwich, and chili was not an issue, but in hind sight, we should have ordered a second corn bread waffle. Given that there are three more types of chili to try, 'sharing' a waffle is a mistake I won't make again. read more