Gandy Dancer

Just ate their last night. Service was average. Food was ok but one of us had the pork chop and it was totally over cooked. We ordered desert and the carrot cake slice was huge but quite dry. The chocolate cake with molten center was also dry and not "molten". We were disappointed.

The Gandy Dancer is an iconic restaurant in Ann Arbor Mi. It is known for food and service. This review will talk about service. First - the food was fantastic. The service so far below standards. I had made a reservation for 16, weeks ahead. Our table waited for 30 minutes until the server took our drink orders. My niece and I ordered a Chard. We were presented with a Sauvignon Blanc. My Dad had to wait 30 Minutes for a coffee. What restaurant doesn't have coffee always available? I think I would like to know from the management what has gone wrong.

Thanksgiving dinner 2020 was provided by Gandy Dancer and was the best decision ever! The food was plentiful and the turkey was very moist and delicious. The sides included green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, squash, rolls, pecan pie and two pumpkin pies for 275. A great deal! We had leftovers for days.

My boyfriend and I went to Gandy Dancer on a date. Overall, we found the experience lacking.

The interior of the restaurant is very nice. The architecture is very interesting, and it's nice that there are multiple rooms. The room in the back has wall to wall windows, which is nice.

We ordered the lobster bisque, and butternut squash bisque to start (FYI, neither soup nor salad are included with your meal unless you do their twilight prefix menu which ends at 5:30). They were delicious - very flavorful, hot and well seasoned. The browned butter crouton on the butternut squash soup was the highlight, my boyfriend said he wished there were more.

For dinner we ordered the dynamite mahi mahi, and the lobster and shrimp stuffed salmon. The mahi mahi came with coconut ginger rice and asparagus. The salmon came with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Both of us really enjoyed the fish we ordered, but were highly disappointed in the sides. My mashed potatoes were lumpy, and had no flavor at all, and tasted like there wasn't cream, butter or salt in them. It was literally like a mashed baked potato. The rice on my boyfriends plate had very little flavor, and I have no idea why it is called coconut ginger rice. It didn't taste like coconut or ginger in the slightest, it tasted like it was cooked in chicken broth. It didn't have any coconut or ginger in it, but looked like there might have been bell peppers in it. The asparagus was cooked fine, but had zero salt, pepper, spices, butter or anything else on it. It was just plain asparagus. For the price we were paying for the dishes, I expected the sides to be good.

Lastly was our waiter. He was a nice guy, but very inattentive. There were 2 other tables in our area that were his, and he spent ample time with both of those tables, and checked on them fairly often. For us, he was missing for about 20- 25 minutes at a time, even though he was in the area with the other 2 tables. We wanted to order dessert but by the time he finally came back we didn't have time because we had somewhere to be so we skipped it. We think this is because we didn't order alcohol. Even so, our bill was over $100, so we should have had better service.

We might be back, we might not. It just wasn't impressive and I don't feel like I need to tell people how great it was.

Was better in times past. Boring menu, average tasting entrees, average service. Overpriced and overrated.
will not return.

Food is good but service is the worst. Last we were there, a waiter mocked my Dad for getting too much food and started snickering. Completely unprofessional and unfortunately an indictment of the poor staffing and sub-par management at this place. Go to a place that treats customers with respect.

This is one of my favorite places to visit every time I go home to visit family. My mom and I go for happy hour to get the amazing food and drink specials. Sitting in the bar is always so relaxing and a great place to unwind. You can't beat the atmosphere, service and food/drinks. Best happy hour in Ann Arbor!

Built into the old 19th century Romanesque train station, Gandy Dancer opened decades ago under the management of Chuck Muir restaurants. I first visited here in 1986 for seafood dinner and everything was absolutely delicious. Very nice sharp decor. Pricey. Hadn't been back in 35 years. I was here for a brunch recently and was very impressed. The choices ranged from salads, fruit, bagels, assorted cheeses, crackers, pastries and the like. The service was absolutely outstanding.

What a fantastic atmosphere!!!! Loved the food, the wine list was great, the wait staff awesome but the history and the interior of this beautiful historical building were awe inspiring. We were SO lucky to have three trains go by and loved the clapping (read to find out why you clap when the train goes by!!) while we enjoyed a delicious dinner. The desserts were wonderful as well. Walk around the interior and check out every room....it is one of the grandest places you'll ever be in. Ann Arbor is so lucky to have this gem.

Great food and great service! Thank you for your smiles and wonderful service Fred! Had the crab cakes and the coconut shrimp! Loved it! Cool place!