Reviews for Café '36 in Kalamazoo, MI
Absolutely amazing food at this restaurant. Some seating spots are a little poor with the florescent lights in the shopping... area, but the restaurant as a whole has wonderful ambiance. From the bar tender mixing drinks, to the chef creating the mealsit's an all around fantastic place to go for a special occasion. Prices could be a little better, but you are going to arestaurant where all ingredients stem mostly from the non GMO, pesticide free, hormone free, wild side of agriculture. Read more
Was totally surprised. My daughter from NYC was very impressed with the food quality. Fantastic.
The fries were really good. Pretty much all the food we ordered was delicious. Pricey, however they make it worth it!
Right now, this is the first restaurant I suggest to people in Kalamazoo. I believe Café 36 is the top restaurant when... considering service and food. The ambiance is wonderful. The mix of black booths and white chairs makes the room look clean andmodern. The place settings are white mats and black napkins. The ying yang of simple contesting colors is soothing and elegant.The neatness calms you has soon as you walk in. It might be the low ceiling or other insolation, but this restaurant is morequiet than other restaurants in Kalamazoo?you can interact with your dining partners without fear of losing your voice the nextday. But there is one potential downside to being above a grocery store and you experience can be different depending on yourmood and where you sit. We sat over looking the grocery store which places you just above the commercial neon lighting. On a badday this could easily give someone a migraine. Fortunately, our party of four adjusted quickly and we enjoyed overlooking theisles and making jokes about the isle marker for local honey and wondering which isle is stocked with honey from Vermont.Another note about the atmosphere The gently manner of the of the setting is mirror in the friendless and grace of its staff.Everyone we interacted with is welcoming and excited about what they do. On my first visit the chef walking through therestaurant was easily pulled aside by a server to explain the intricacies shrimp sticks and their dipping sauce (which arefantastic btw). The food we had at Café 36 was wonderful. I have a special for the week, a beef tenderloin with blue cheesesauce, garlic potatoes, and asparagus. The meat was cooked to a perfect pink medium rare and the blue cheese on top added asalty tang. The grilled asparagus gave the dish a smoky element and was cooked to the point where it still had an al dente snap.My wife and mother in-law had the other weekly special: beef cheeks with pasta and a cream sauce. I don?t remember all t Read more
Delicious food and great service! Menu changes seasonally. Wine, beer, and cocktails. My Mom has a number of food restrictions... and there are lots of options for her here. Read more
(Disclaimer) We happen to know the chef on a personal level and my wife and I decided to make the trip down from Grand Rapids to... check out his new digs. Somehow Sawall has successfully combined a gourmet grocery store with a great dining experience. Thestaff was professional and courteous, Chris was our waiter and Max delivered 3 wonderful courses to our table. We started withthe grilled asparagus w/ cauliflower puree, split the baby ice-berg salad , I had the short rib for my main course (allpictured), and my wife enjoyed the cauliflower steak. The food was fabulous and well worth the drive. Chef Jason Tilmann andhis creations are are a rare find in Michigan. Put this place on your list as a must try! Read more
Delicious vegan, gluten free pizza with veggie sausage, roasted red peppers, onions and fennel. Upstairs in Sawalls. Super nice... bartender. Read more
I've been excited to try the Cafe 36 for quite some time now and finally had my chance to dine here. I was in a group of 7... people. The restaurant is very interesting. It is perched above Sawall's Health food store and overlooks the aisles of goodswhile shoppers browse. It is not a huge area but a cozy area to dine and visit with friends. We started with drinks and thecharcuterie board. I highly recommend this as it was plentiful and varied with cheeses, fruits, meats, olives, etc. Verytasty. The bread was a rosemary seasoned pita-like bread that was warm and quite delicious. We also had shrimp sticks which arefried spring rolls with a sauce that is to die for! I ordered the short ribs. Large portion of meat atop mashed potatoesaccompanied by sauteed root vegetables and garnished with some type of sprouts. The flavor was magnificent and the meat was nottoo fatty as can often occur with short ribs. My colleague ordered the Chicken pot pie. This dish came out and its preparationwas finished table side. The server poured steaming gravy from a boat over the bowl and then added a large piece of puff pastryand then finished off the rest of the gravy over that. It looked amazing. Other guests ordered the Mussels, Wild caughtsockeye salmon, Atlantic Char and Filet mignon. All the entrees looked outstanding and not one complaint was heard from thiswriter as we dined. The dessert menu looked great and they also had a selection of Tawney Port wines to choose from as well. Wedid not order dessert as we were stuffed from the dinner. My only complaint is the noise level. The area is open and with highceilings, the floor is concrete and there is a lot of echos of other diners voices, chairs moving across the floor etc, etc. Itmade it hard for all of us to talk and hear each other during our visit. Read more