Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Dig into the seafood boils at Beacon Corner Bar in Grand Rapids

Try the lobster roll from Beacon Corner Bar (pictured here) in Grand Rapids. The restaurant also offers seafood boils and a full cocktail menu. (Photo provided by Beacon Corner Bar)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Hankering for a New Orleans style seafood boil or a Maine lobster roll? Head over to Beacon Corner Bar in Grand Rapids for all your seafood needs.

Beacon Corner Bar, which opened at the end of 2021, is located at 38 Fulton St. W and owned by Cindy and Dan Schneider, the owners of San Chez Bistro and Roam.

"The main focus is casual but really good food," said Beacon Corner Bar General Manager Ana Padilla. "The space is very light so we open the doors and it's great. It's like a New Orleans feeling, it's very fun. If you want to wear sandals, go ahead."

Padilla said one of the restaurant's best sellers are the oysters, served on the half-shell with mignonette and lemon for market price.

"We’re known for oysters," she said. "When somebody comes in and they’ve never tried oysters, this is the perfect spot. They’re fresh and it's hard to keep up with all the orders."

The Beacon Corner Bar menu includes appetizers, soups and salads, handheld sandwiches, entrees and desserts. But the star of the menu is the build-your-own seafood boil.

Each boil comes with potatoes, onions and corn in a homemade broil broth with biscuits. Choose from crab, shrimp, clams, mussels, sausage, artichoke hearts and mini lobster, along with seasonal specialties.

"We start off with our own homemade vegetable broth and then the spices are things like Old Bay seasoning, smoked paprika, Spanish paprika, lemon pepper and garlic and onion," said Sous Chef Susan Dorsey. "I think the most popular choice is the shrimp and the andouille sausage."

Dorsey said other popular seafood boil options are the crab legs and specialties like Argentina red shrimp and crawfish. A half-pound of shrimp in the seafood boil runs $18 and a half-pound of sausage is $15. All seafood boils are served with a bib and gloves and boils are 15% off on Tuesdays.

If you’re not in the mood to get messy with a seafood boil, try the lobster roll sandwich, served either Maine style or Connecticut style for $30.

The Maine style lobster roll is served on a toasted New England bun with lightly dressed butter-poached lobster, celery and fresh lemon. A Connecticut sytle lobster roll is served on a toasted New England bun with warm butter-poached lobster and fries.

"We’ve even had guests from Maine come in and give us the seal of approval on our lobster roll," Padilla said. "It's the real deal."

Or, try the scallop linguine for $25, made with seared scallops, roasted artichokes, capers and a lemon cream sauce on top of linguine noodles.

Related: New seafood restaurant opens in downtown Grand Rapids

For folks not fond of seafood, Beacon Corner Bar offers fried chicken and pastrami sandwiches, along with a smash burger and chicken tender basket. The restaurant also offers a walleye basket ($16) or a coconut shrimp basket ($12), both served with fries and your choice of sauce.

The bar at Beacon is fully stocked, with specialty cocktails, mocktails, beer and wine. Try the "Sea is for Cucumber" cocktail, made with house-infused cucumber hibiscus tequila and agave sour with a salt and pepper rim for $12.

Padilla said the restaurant just fired up its slushie machine for frozen margaritas and other summertime signature cocktails. One of the most popular cocktails is the "Freakbeat for the Beet Freak," made with a beet and sage-infused tequila, triple sec, sour and a salt rim for $12.

Make sure to save room for the Key Lime pie, one of Padilla's personal favorite menu items for $12 a slice. The citrus Key Lime pie is topped with fresh whipped cream and candied lime.

"It's really delicious," Padilla said. "It has a good balance of tartness and the candied lime on top is great."

Beacon Corner Bar is open 2-9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday. A full menu is available online at beaconcornerbar.com/menu and the restaurant can be reached at 616-383-3800.

Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free "3@3 Grand Rapids" daily newsletter.

Blog

Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Dig into the seafood boils at Beacon Corner Bar in Grand Rapids