Café ’36

  4.7 – 148 reviews   • American restaurant

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✔️Dinner ✔️Dine in Café '36 49008

Hours

TuesdayClosed
Wednesday5–9 PM
Thursday5–9 PM
Friday5–9 PM
Saturday5–9 PM
SundayClosed
MondayClosed

Address and Contact Information

Address: 2965 Oakland Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49008

Phone: (269) 501-3399

Website: http://www.cafethirtysix.com/

Menu Photos

Order and Reservations

Reservations: toasttab.com

cafethirtysix.com

Photo Gallery

Related Web Results

Café ’36 -Kalamazoo, Best food in town

Café ’36 is located on. the 2nd floor of. Sawall Health Foods. 2965 Oakland Drive. Kalamazoo, MI. 49008. Wednesday-Saturday: 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. (Last Seating 9 …

Café ’36 | Kalamazoo MI – Facebook

Café ’36 is located inside Sawall Health Foods at 2965 Oakland Drive, Kalamazoo, MI. 49008 No Phone Calls!

Cafe’36 @ Sawall’s (@cafe36sawalls) – Instagram

Join us for dinner at Cafe’36 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Open Wednesdays thru Saturdays. Located inside Sawall Health Foods. #eatlocal #kalamazoomichigan # …

Reviews

Lun
5 stars for the staff! Everyone was very attentive and friendly! I gotta say these were probably the most uncomfortable chairs I’ve ever sat in! Unless you were very small, you couldn’t lean back on them because of the design. There was a very nice drink selection, including a good amount of mocktails, but I just don’t understand why a mocktail is $10? The food was ok, but pricey. I had the 3 cauliflower. The cauliflower steak was a bit tough and tasted like it had too much soy. The fried cauliflower and the cauliflower rice was just ok. I also had the buratta caprese which had tomato slices marinated in a dark balsamic. Soaking them in the vinegar was just too much and made them inedible IMO. The cheese was on top of a bed of arugula which was sitting in a puddle of a white balsamic reduction. I’m a big fan of balsamic but this was just too much. Overall I’d give it a 3.5 and not really sure if I would return.
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Anna Fisher
Eating here was an EXPERIENCE, I was in foodie heaven! The server knew just the right beer to suggest, for the appetizer I said “surprise me,” and I was happily surprised with the rice tots! As a vegetarian, I never have as many amazing choices as Café 36, it was hard to choose! The aubergine bolognese was fabulous, with a generous portion that will allow me to enjoy it for lunch tomorrow! My friend got the margarita pizza, and LOVED it! Usually not a fan of the dough, she loved how tasty and crunchy the pizza crust was! I got the mesculun greens salad as well, whoa, so tasty & fresh!! My friend had the baby spinach salad and was blissed out! To top it all off was an out-of-this-world dessert: raspberry fluff with baked meringue over stracciatella gelato. The service was perfect, (the waiter Adam was easy on the eyes, too.) It was a comfortable place to dine, the other patrons seemed to know each other (repeat guests!) like a best-kept neighborhood secret. This has to be in the top 2 of “best meals ever!” Hats off to the owner, the chef, sous chef, the manager, the server, Café 36, you rock the whole damn state!!!! Thank you for such a lovely experience! We’ll be back!
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Sarah Vacca
At first this place is hard to get to. It is part of a grocery store. The sign says “Market and Cafe”. Once you go in you make two quick lefts. You can either take the stairs or the elevator. It is a smaller cafe but there is indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating is only for parties of 2 because of the narrow patio. Everything was great at our visit. The food was delicious and high quality. The flavors were outstanding. My husband had the walleye and with corn and mushrooms. I never tasted a mushroom that good. I had a salad with chicken and that was delicious too. My husband also had the rhubarb cheesecake. He said it was the best cheesecake he ever had. Our waitress, Jeanie, who was excellent, said their chef makes it homemade from scratch. They also have items that are gluten free including dessert. The only thing that could be better was since the cafe is small their bathrooms are located in the grocery store below. The bathroom room was very clean and the market downstairs also has high quality and organic foods.
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Shiva Agarwal
Pizza was nice. One of the few places in Kalamzoo that serve brick oven pizza. It was light and not over the top.

I do feel the size was smaller than other pizza places for the price we paid. But the place looks more suitable for date or a sophisticated dinner with colleagues. The only other dinners I saw were nicely dressed and apparantly no student like me was in sight.
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Jen D
I attempted to dine in after driving an hour to visit this location. Unfortunately, I was never acknowledged by staff, and after waiting about 10 minutes, we decided to leave. I’ve always loved this store, which makes this experience especially disappointing. The lack of acknowledgment felt disrespectful, and it has made me hesitant to return.
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T
The hidden foodie gem of Kalamazoo. Stunning menu, detailed service, spectacular drink! Be sure to make a reservation here, and do not skip dessert.
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Cameron Bowman
Absolutely insulting portion sizes on the entree. Paid $22 for Aglio e Olio – and while it was delicious, it was half or less the size of the bowl it was served in.

I brought this up to the waitress who assured me this was normal for this specific plate.

I asked about similar pasta plates (one of which was $26) and was informed that they, too, were of the same serving size.

Great food, but not worth the almost “kid’s menu” portions.

Ordering an entree should not feel like getting a side – especially when it’s something like a pasta dish.
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Jane B
One thumb’s up, one thumb’s down. My partner had an Asian style dish he said was perfect. Pizza was very disappointing. Mostly crust (an extra 1.5 ” all around) with a bare smear of tomato and no mozzarella. I r
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C O
I visited this place for the first time. I was impressed and will definitely return. Katia our waitress was very pleasant. We’re coming back for pizza! Thanks for the great service!
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Rob Evory
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 and modern. 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 more quiet than other restaurants in Kalamazoo—you can interact with your dining partners without fear of losing your voice the next day.

But there is one potential downside to being above a grocery store and you experience can be different depending on your mood and where you sit. We sat over looking the grocery store which places you just above the commercial neon lighting. On a bad day this could easily give someone a migraine. Fortunately, our party of four adjusted quickly and we enjoyed overlooking the isles 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 the restaurant was easily pulled aside by a server to explain the intricacies shrimp sticks and their dipping sauce (which are fantastic btw).

The food we had at Café 36 was wonderful. I have a special for the week, a beef tenderloin with blue cheese sauce, garlic potatoes, and asparagus. The meat was cooked to a perfect pink medium rare and the blue cheese on top added a salty 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 the components, but I ate of their plates as much as I tried to keep them from eating mine. My father in-law had the hanger steak with fries. Again, the steak was cooked perfectly, and the Moroccan spices paired well with this flavorful cut of meat.

Overall, Café 36 is a great fine dining experience and one you can have while still being casual. The staff is dressed up, but I don’t think I say one customer with a jacket and only a few with a button up shirt. The food and the staff aren’t pretentious. They just seem to love what they do and that means I love what they do. And I will be back to share in the enthusiasm.
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