diff --git a/servicetalk-grpc-api/src/main/java/io/servicetalk/grpc/api/GrpcUtils.java b/servicetalk-grpc-api/src/main/java/io/servicetalk/grpc/api/GrpcUtils.java
index eaefdb3ee2..97f30c5c5f 100644
--- a/servicetalk-grpc-api/src/main/java/io/servicetalk/grpc/api/GrpcUtils.java
+++ b/servicetalk-grpc-api/src/main/java/io/servicetalk/grpc/api/GrpcUtils.java
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ private static void validateStatusCode(HttpResponseStatus status) {
             grpcStatusCode = UNKNOWN;
         }
         throw GrpcStatusException.of(Status.newBuilder().setCode(grpcStatusCode.value())
-                .setMessage("HTTP status code: " + grpcStatusCode).build());
+                .setMessage("HTTP status code: " + status).build());
     }
 
     static <Resp> Publisher<Resp> validateResponseAndGetPayload(final StreamingHttpResponse response,