Can’t “Bear” to Keep This Place a Secret: O Grizzly's Bar & Bistro
Posted on: March 17, 2025
Back in October 2024, O Grizzly’s Bar & Bistro celebrated its grand opening at 3375 University Drive, across the street from the city’s main municipal campus. I was not available that day and couldn’t attend but had been hearing some pretty good things about the place. So, last Thursday, I had a lunch meeting with the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and our Assistant City Manager, and the Mayor suggested O Grizzly’s. I didn’t know what to expect but walked in and was pleasantly surprised at the nice furnishings and decor, the big screen televisions, and that it was very neat and clean. We were greeted by our server, Dominique, who was proudly wearing an Oakland University shirt. She was polite and attentive to our table. Good job, Dominique!
For those who know me, I’m a bit frugal. Call me cheap if you want. I don’t like spending more than $15.00 for lunch. Come on, it’s lunch. So much to my surprise the menu items were very reasonably priced compared to many places. At first, I assumed that the soup and salad that I ordered was likely to be a small portion since it was only $10.00. But when both items were delivered to the table, I was surprised at the portion size. I can eat quite a bit, but after finishing my white chili, I couldn’t finish my entire salad. The flavor of the soup was excellent, and the salad was very fresh and didn’t taste like it was laced with the food additive MSG, which to me has a taste and smell that is less than desirable.
O Grizzly’s has a nice vibe to it. Music was playing but not so loud that you couldn’t hear across the table. It was a business lunch for us. In fact, I liked it so much that I went there again on Friday evening with a buddy of mine. We had wings and nachos and both were excellent. And I didn’t have to take out a bank loan to eat there. Alright, I’m exaggerating a bit. But the food and beverage bill on Friday evening was very reasonable. While I can’t recall the name of the young woman who was our server that night (we sat at the bar), she too was friendly and attentive and told me how much she liked working for the owners of the place. That’s always a good thing to hear. It’s nice to support business people who are good to their employees. O Grizzly’s can be easy to miss. It’s in a small retail center on the north side of University Drive, just west of North Squirrel Road and behind the Starbucks. If you want some good food, good drinks, good service, and all at a reasonable price, I’d recommend that you give them a try. Tell them that you read about them in this blog. If you enjoy your experience at O Grizzly’s, I’ll be glad that I recommended it to you. If your experience is not good (I hope that’s not the case), don’t blame me. ENJOY!
Thomas A. Tanghe, City Manager