I had one of the best meals in Kalamazoo that we’ve had in a while, all thanks to Café ‘36.

I hadn’t been back since before the pandemic, so I was excited to land here tonight.

We started with the Burrata.

I can’t even tell you. It was more than a simple burrata. It started with some leafy greens, topped with the burrata itself. Then some delicious prosciutto, some grilled peaches, oranges and almonds. When a dish has as much bright colors and flavors as this, I get excited.

We ordered this with a side of their flatbread so we could use it to scoop everything up on it. 10/10 recommend.

My husband ordered the Pesto Chicken Pizza. It had basil pesto sauce, Italian cheese blend, arugula, chicken and he asked for no artichoke (lame) but did add mushrooms. He loved it! This was large enough that he only ate about half and took the rest of it home.

For my entree, I ordered the Bolognese. This was DIVINE. At first it didn’t seem like a very large portion, but it was more than enough. It was plenty rich so it was very filling. It was a pappardelle pasta with the bolognese sauce and short rip topped with Parmigiano Reggiano. I only ate about half and had the rest to take home. I would absolutely get this again.

Lastly we listened to their desserts and didn’t even have to discuss with each other that we wanted their Death by Chocolate. It was a chocolate cheesecake with a brownie crust and topped with a chocolate ganache. We shared this and I was thankful we did. It was incredibly delicious but super rich so only a couple of bites was plenty. They did a really good job with this! The ganache was smooth and shiny, and almost looked like one of those fake desserts. Bravo, Café ‘36!

Like I said, this was one of the better meals we have had in awhile. The service was wonderful. You can tell that they are all really well trained to know the menu well and are incredibly professional and hospitable

While it IS inside a grocery store (Sawall Health Foods) it still has a very cozy vibe to it. They make it easy to forget where you actually are. They had a great ambiance and put on some lovely music that sets help set the vibe. It’s perfect for an upscale date night.

I highly recommend reservations as they fill up quickly!

Café ‘36 is open Wednesday-Saturday from 5pm-9pm with the last seating at 9pm.