Walldorff Brew Pub & Bistro
105 E. State StreetIt’s been a while since J and I have eaten out at a place that wasn’t fast food or pizza. She hasn’t been feeling good lately and I’ve just been craving a good pub burger. When she woke me up this morning, she said she was feeling good and wanted to go somewhere for lunch.
Since I could pick pretty much anything I wanted, I decided to take advantage of the nice day and go for a drive. The restaurant I picked was the Walldorff Brew Pub & Bistro in Hastings.
The pub sits right on the corner of State and Jefferson in downtown Hastings. Parking is along the street and on a Sunday afternoon, we didn’t have a problem finding a spot close to the building.
When you walk in, the fermentors for beer are immediately to your right. You come to a hostess station that sort of straddles the two distinct dining areas. The right side is the pub which includes a full bar that has not only Walldorff’s own brews, but a some national beers as well. The left side is the bistro which is more of a dining room setting.
There was no one as the host station when we walked in. After waiting a few minutes, a waiter came up and was going to see us, but the host came back and said he’d take care of it. First, he had to tell the waiter that was standing there that one of his tables moved to the bar so he lost a table. He then turned to us and asked if we’d like to sit in the bistro or the bar. It didn’t really matter to us. We just wanted to sit down. He then said he had a booth but it would be just a few minutes to clean. We really didn’t care, but he seemed pretty persistent to sit us in that booth. It was the table the waiter who was just up there lost, so he was trying to replace that right away. I finally just said that was fine. He took an order on the phone then showed us to a table…but he didn’t have any menus. He sat us then didn’t go looking for menus. I had grabbed a paper menu when we walked in, so we could at least look at drinks. When the waiter came over and saw we didn’t have menus, he went looking for a couple so we didn’t have to share a small paper menu to place our order.
While he was getting the menus, he also put in our drink orders. J went with a lemonade. I couldn’t decide between the IPA or the seasonal wheat. I ended up going with the Hopnoxxxious IPA. The beer had a nice bitter flavor with a hint of a citrus. I thought about downing it and going for the Sundancer Summer Wheat, but instead decided to enjoy it and enjoy it I did.
J found quite a few things on the “Munchies” menu that she really wanted to try including something called Guacahummus. That’s pretty much what you think it is. It’s a combination of Guacamole and Hummus served with wood grilled pita and tortilla chips. I don’t like Guacamole or Hummus, so she didn’t order it instead opting for the Gorgonzola Dried Cherry Pizzette. I don’t really like dried cherries, but she loves them. I just picked them off and gave them to her. The pizzette is a small wood-fired pizza. It’s topped with soft, melted Gorgonzola cheese. J loved the pizzette as it was served. She said the tangy gorgonzola and the tart dried cherries were a perfect fit for the wood-fired bread. Without the cherries, I found it delicious as well and really want to try a full pizza.
We both ordered sandwiches and as you can probably guess, I ordered the Pub Burger and added on wood fired bacon and bleu cheese. The sandwich is a wood-grilled seven ounce ground chuck patty served on a fresh grilled sourdough roll. This sandwich was delicious. It had a perfectly pink middle and the bacon added that salty, crunchy texture to the tangy mound of bleu cheese. The sourdough roll brought the whole sandwich together by holding on to the juices that the burger couldn’t hang on to itself. As a side, I went with the regular fries. They were fresh cut thin and crispy fries with a generous dusting of salt. I really liked them and J loved them. She could have eaten a whole meal of just fries.
Since she couldn’t eat just fries, she went with the Really Good Ham and Cheese Sandwich. A big reason she picked that sandwich is because it starts with a pretzel roll. She loves the pretzel roll’s. Between that pretzel roll was grilled Bavarian ham and muenster cheese. It’s served with an Amber Ale and mustard dipping sauce which she didn’t really like, but I loved. I ended up dipping my fries in it. J loved the sandwich. She polished off most of the fries and half the sandwich. She brought the other half home and ate it for dinner. A lot of times, the second half of sandwiches go to waste in our house, but not this one. She was looking forward to eating it and did before going to bed.
Our bill was just under $35 but that included an appetizer and a beer. It had been a while since we had eaten out so I wasn’t too worried about it. The food was fantastic. It is completely worth the drive from Kalamazoo. My in-laws have floated the idea of moving to Michigan when they retire and have been looking at Thornapple Lake due to the Muskie Fishing…..if they do, I will be drinking…and eating…at Walldorff a lot
A Hopnoxxxious IPA and a Lemonade
Gorgonzola and Dried Cherry Pizzette
Pub Burger w/Wood Fired Bacon and Bleu Cheese w/Fries
Really Good Ham and Cheese w/Amber Ale & Mustard Dipping Sauce and Fries
SW Michigan Dining 
I’ve eaten/drank there on a number of occasions as my parents still live in Hastings (where I grew up as well). The food and beer has always been well above par, although I will say about 20% of the time the service is a bit shaky.
Regardless, I continue to go back and will as long as the quality of the food and beer stays where it is.
I’d recommend picking up a growler next time you’re there. And while I can’t remember what day of the week it is, they have one day each week where the growlers are much cheaper.
Also, they have a Pub Club, and from what I’ve heard it’s worth it if you’re going to venture out there enough. Last I knew it was a Life Time Membership too, not yearly like a lot of other places I know have.
Glad you did a review on this place; it’s nice to see someone else’s opinion on the place!