HopCat — Restaurant in Ann Arbor

Superb. I spoke with the manager Maya telling her about my experience and I found her absolutely delightful and engaging in our conversation. I truly believe I had the best service I've had in the last 5 years and I eat out a lot as I travel a lot. My server was the ever professional yet down to earth awesome Monica. There was one thing she did other than her magnetic personality that threw me for a loop. I ordered a special sandwich that was absolutely delicious and it's contents were sloppy joe on a brioche bun with the most awesome cheese sauce that I told Maya I wanted to go in the kitchen and just confiscate it all up and take it home. Lol. Evidently this sandwich comes with the fries stacked upon the sandwich inside the bun and I had requested my fries to be on the side. The food was delivered to my table by a food runner who was very kind and cordial. I sat there a little astonished at how little meat was on the sandwich but I did not want to say anything because I figured it would take too long to make another so I would just keep this a little bit of information to myself. However when Monica approached the table to see if everything was okay, she on her own initiative without my saying anything, so oh my gosh they were skimpy on the sloppy joe let me get you some more and then she came back with a cup full of the awesome awesome mix. This was so wonderful and honest of her as many servers and many restaurants would never have gone the extra mile or have cared. And it was her caring that truly stood out in a day and age where there are so many people who do not have a good work ethic anymore as a unfortunate side effect of the pandemic. The energy of this establishment was absolutely contagious. I will say one thing as a word for improvement yet I don't mean this is a criticism. I had ordered my sandwich without jalapenos as they usually accompany this particular food special. Being from Vermont I grew up on and live for Maple syrup. When I bit into my sandwich sure enough the jalapenos were there unless you say I drink a lot of water. The problem lies in the fact, although I understand this, kitchen cooks and sheriff's are so used to habitually preparing foods a particular way that sometimes without intention they neglect the special instructions. I don't fault them. But I highly encourage them to acknowledge special instructions without forgetting. Oh well my doctors want me to drink a lot of water in a house so it's...

A delightful bar and restaurant with the perfect location, vibe, menu, and price point for a casual meal, happy hour, or night out. Located just a few blocks away from the University of Michigan's campus, HopCat is an incredibly convenient stop for students, but don't let the swarm of college students intimidate you from stepping in if you're just visiting town! HopCat has an incredibly inviting and upbeat atmosphere -- it's a bit on the louder side, with the sounds of pop music and vibrant conversations filling the air, but that makes the entire restaurant feel lively and energetic. The decor is also all quite eclectic and fun, and even the tables are decorated with miniature music posters, adding to the cheery vibes. I came in expecting the usual casual bar fare -- burgers, fries, nachos, tacos, etc -- but I was pleasantly surprised to find a few solid plant-based options on their menu. I opted for their crunchy buddha bowl, but they also had a few vegetarian salads and soups, as well as a beyond burger and vegan chorizo tacos! I certainly wasn't expecting to find an amazing plant-based bowl in a bar in the middle of Michigan, but, wow, the crunchy buddha bowl blew me away -- the vegan chorizo and roasted chickpeas were delightfully spicy and crunchy, contrasting wonderfully with the rich, soft avocado, creamy vegan jalapeno aioli, juicy tomatoes, and crisp pickled onions. All in all, it was a beautiful balance of different flavors and textures, all coming together in an incredible symphony. Of course, their non-vegetarian options are incredible as well -- I came here for lunch with a friend that I was visiting at Ann Arbor, and she had their iconic cowboy double smash burger with cosmic fries, which were both, of course, absolutely amazing. All of this amazing food was served by the kindest, warmest, and most hospitable server. From service to ambiance to food, HopCat was definitely a wonderful spot to visit, and I can't wait to come back to Ann Arbor to try out their other...

We arrived at HopCat at 3:38pm on a Saturday. It was busy in Downtown Ann Arbor, so it stood to reason that HopCat would be busy as well. We checked in at the hostess stand and were told 25 to 30 minutes for a wait, which was very reasonable. The actual wait was closer to 40 minutes which was still not a problem. We were seated and our waitress was over right away to take our food and drink order. She was very friendly and quick to bring out drinks out. That is where quick ended for us.

After a considerable time passed, and no food had arrived, she stopped over and apologized and told us she would go check with the kitchen. About 15 minutes later, she returned and apologized again, stating that she thinks the kitchen lost our order, but she resubmitted it, and offered us a free dessert for the excessive wait. We refused the dessert and just wanted our dinner. The table next to us was seated 20 minutes after us and received their food 20 minutes before ours finally arrived. I know mistakes happen and they were busy, but even in the mean time, our drinks sat empty, waiting for a refill as we waited for food. We also had to flag our server down to get our bill, even though she was working near us and could see we were done and had our coats on to leave. We did not get a discount for our wait, nor did we ask for one.

Enough about the bad things. Once our food finally arrived, it was hot, fresh and delicious! HopCat doesn't have the biggest menu, but their food is amazing. The restaurant was clean, and even with the issues our waitress was always very friendly and apologetic.

Hopefully this was just a one-off visit. We will return to HopCat again and hopefully have a...