diff --git a/src/exp/grpcroute.rs b/src/exp/grpcroute.rs
index 0fb9c55..75236d0 100644
--- a/src/exp/grpcroute.rs
+++ b/src/exp/grpcroute.rs
@@ -247,9 +247,7 @@ pub type GrpcHeaderMatch = crate::httproute::HttpHeaderMatch;
 
 /// Method specifies a gRPC request service/method matcher. If this field is
 /// not specified, all services and methods will match.
-#[derive(
-    Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq, serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize, schemars::JsonSchema,
-)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq, serde::Serialize, schemars::JsonSchema)]
 #[serde(tag = "type", rename_all = "PascalCase")]
 pub enum GrpcMethodMatch {
     #[serde(rename_all = "camelCase")]
@@ -285,6 +283,77 @@ pub enum GrpcMethodMatch {
     },
 }
 
+impl<'de> serde::Deserialize<'de> for GrpcMethodMatch {
+    // NOTE: This custom deserialization exists to ensure the deserialization
+    //       behavior matches the behavior prescribed by the gateway api docs
+    //       for how the "type" field on `GRPCRouteMatch` is expected to work.
+    //
+    //       ref: https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/reference/spec/#gateway.networking.k8s.io%2fv1alpha2.GRPCMethodMatch
+    fn deserialize<D: serde::Deserializer<'de>>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Self, D::Error> {
+        #[derive(serde::Deserialize)]
+        #[serde(field_identifier, rename_all = "lowercase")]
+        enum Field {
+            Type,
+            Method,
+            Service,
+        }
+
+        struct GrpcMethodMatchVisitor;
+
+        impl<'de> serde::de::Visitor<'de> for GrpcMethodMatchVisitor {
+            type Value = GrpcMethodMatch;
+
+            fn expecting(&self, formatter: &mut core::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> core::fmt::Result {
+                formatter.write_str("GrpcMethodMatch")
+            }
+
+            fn visit_map<V>(self, mut map: V) -> Result<GrpcMethodMatch, V::Error>
+            where
+                V: serde::de::MapAccess<'de>,
+            {
+                let (mut r#type, mut method, mut service) = (None, None, None);
+
+                while let Some(key) = map.next_key()? {
+                    match key {
+                        Field::Type => {
+                            if r#type.is_some() {
+                                return Err(serde::de::Error::duplicate_field("type"));
+                            }
+                            r#type = map.next_value::<Option<&str>>()?;
+                        }
+                        Field::Method => {
+                            if method.is_some() {
+                                return Err(serde::de::Error::duplicate_field("method"));
+                            }
+                            method = map.next_value::<Option<String>>()?;
+                        }
+                        Field::Service => {
+                            if service.is_some() {
+                                return Err(serde::de::Error::duplicate_field("service"));
+                            }
+                            service = map.next_value::<Option<String>>()?;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+
+                match r#type {
+                    None | Some("Exact") => Ok(GrpcMethodMatch::Exact { method, service }),
+                    Some("RegularExpression") => {
+                        Ok(GrpcMethodMatch::RegularExpression { method, service })
+                    }
+                    Some(value) => Err(serde::de::Error::invalid_value(
+                        serde::de::Unexpected::Str(value),
+                        &r#"one of: {"Exact", "RegularExpression"}"#,
+                    )),
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        const FIELDS: &[&str] = &["type", "method", "service"];
+        deserializer.deserialize_struct("GrpcMethodMatch", FIELDS, GrpcMethodMatchVisitor)
+    }
+}
+
 /// GrpcRouteFilter defines processing steps that must be completed during the
 /// request or response lifecycle. GrpcRouteFilters are meant as an extension
 /// point to express processing that may be done in Gateway implementations. Some
@@ -394,3 +463,88 @@ pub struct GrpcRouteBackendRef {
     #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub weight: Option<i32>,
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod test {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_grpc_route_deserialization() {
+        // Test deserialization against upstream example
+        // ref: https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/api-types/grpcroute/#backendrefs-optional
+        let data = r#"{
+          "apiVersion": "gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1alpha2",
+          "kind": "GRPCRoute",
+          "metadata": {
+            "name": "grpc-app-1"
+          },
+          "spec": {
+            "parentRefs": [
+              {
+                "name": "my-gateway"
+              }
+            ],
+            "hostnames": [
+              "example.com"
+            ],
+            "rules": [
+              {
+                "matches": [
+                  {
+                    "method": {
+                      "service": "com.example.User",
+                      "method": "Login"
+                    }
+                  },
+                  {
+                    "method": {
+                      "service": "com.example.User",
+                      "method": "Logout",
+                      "type": "Exact"
+                    }
+                  },
+                  {
+                    "method": {
+                      "service": "com.example.User",
+                      "method": "UpdateProfile",
+                      "type": "RegularExpression"
+                    }
+                  }
+                ],
+                "backendRefs": [
+                  {
+                    "name": "my-service1",
+                    "port": 50051
+                  }
+                ]
+              },
+              {
+                "matches": [
+                  {
+                    "headers": [
+                      {
+                        "type": "Exact",
+                        "name": "magic",
+                        "value": "foo"
+                      }
+                    ],
+                    "method": {
+                      "service": "com.example.Things",
+                      "method": "DoThing"
+                    }
+                  }
+                ],
+                "backendRefs": [
+                  {
+                    "name": "my-service2",
+                    "port": 50051
+                  }
+                ]
+              }
+            ]
+          }
+        }"#;
+        let route = serde_json::from_str::<GrpcRoute>(data);
+        assert!(route.is_ok());
+    }
+}