136 Center & Grill — Restaurant in Birch Run Township

Enjoyed dinner here tonight for the first time. We started out with the shrimp cocktail that was impressive with a generous helping of jumbo sized shrimp. The cocktail sauce seemed to be home made with the perfect blend of ingredients. I continued with the garlic shrimp pasta and was delighted with my selection. Someone definitely knew what they were doing in preparing the shrimp. The shrimp had a tantalizing flavor like that in which you would get from a cast iron skillet, crunchies and all. The pasta was well seasoned with it's own flavor and definitely not out of some box sort of flavor. I am a fan of alfredo but they take the cake not having a generic base that the shrimp has to carry the weight for flavor with an adequate amount allowing me to enjoy with my soft bread stick as well. My husband enjoyed the porterhouse steak with baked potato that was proportionate to the size of the platter and brussel sprouts. Next time I go there, I'm definitely ordering a side of the brussel sprouts no matter what I order. The one down side, I'll say, the first steak he ordered came to us cold which means it was beginning to toughen up and was cooked more than he requested. It was quickly replaced and made to, as he stated, "to perfection".

The remodel to the interior was very impressive. It was very well lit and modern. I loved all the wood when you first walk in which leads you to an elegant dinning area where we enjoyed live music. The music was tasteful and not overpowering. Plenty of seating for parties large and small with what seemed to be a dance floor as well. Even the restroom has been upgraded. Far from being a truck stop and deserves all the recognition they can get being a new establishment. Whether you're looking for a quick bite to eat traveling through or you're trying to impress someone including a business meal, I highly recommend stopping in. True, it might be a little on the pricier side but as a whole, it's more than worth it. As for the wait staff, give them a break as you should everywhere with customer service positions. Most of what I saw is to be expected to a new staff trying to match their surroundings which is a high standard. Give them a break as they are working the kinks out just as they have improved their menu since opening as we were informed. The manager was just as attentive as the whole...

Though it was not busy when we got there it took about 45 min for our meal to come n our server, who was very sweet, forgot to out in our appetizer order. My husband ordered a Miller tall boy beer, guy came back. Didn't have, went to get the bottle version, came back, didn't have. He ended up with something that was ok. When our dinner came I had walleye dinner, comes with Cole slaw, which was soupy n just put on the plate, so all the juices were in the fries n fish. The slaw was...different. i wouldnt get that again.The fries were hot, but was not offered ketchup nor tartersauce for the fish. The fish were cooked excellent but were so salty I couldn't finish them n I tend to like alot of salt. My husband is the kinda guy who will eat pretty much anything, "it fills the hole" he didn't eat half of his meatloaf, mashed potatoes n Brussel sprouts. There was stringy things in the meat loaf, like little sprigs of some kind of herb, it had a lot of salt also n some strangestrong herbal taste. I was pretty surprised when he stopped at half way. So 5 things if they want a chance of making it. Improve the wait time for the food, have common beers available, season food better ( it was all cooked perfect, just didn't taste great), n it was like 24 for my walleye 2 piece dinner with fries n coleslaw. My husband's meatloaf was about 18 or 20.. the steaks were in the 40 n $50.00 range. Burgers 18.00. Atmosphere was very nice they have put some effort into remodeling, but if ur food n service isn't great...it doesn't matter. We were there at about 530 pm n with only about 5 or 6 other tables it was a long wait for our food n sadly it wasn't worth the wait. Sad thing it was my birthday celebration, ..pretty big bust 😞 I hope the owners see this n take these thing into consideration, you spent alot putting this place...

To start, it is so refreashing to finally have quality dining like this in Birch Run. No giant portion gimmicks, or "Chicago style" anything. The menu selection was unique and thought out. Definitely not some corporate list of approved meals like the tripe they microwave accross the street.

This evening, we started with truffel parm french fries. They were delicious! I had the southern shrimp and grits. I haven't had this dish anywhere except in florida. Not overly cheesy, shrimp cooked perfectly. It really took me back down south.

My mother had the smoked barbecue meat loaf. This meal was served on mashed potatoes with a side Brussel sprouts. She loved the meat loaf. I stole a Brussel sprout, and we agreed they were delicious.

My son had the grilled shrimp pasta. He ate every bite! ( If only you knew what a big deal that is for this kid) I sampled a bit myself. It was very good. Again, shrimp cooked perfectly, noodles and sauce were awesome.

We shared a desert after our meal called pure heaven, and it totally was! Vanilla ice cream, (not ice cold but cold and still firm... blew my mind) a chocolate volcano cake, whipped cream, raspberry sauce, and chocolate drizzel. All three of us were very impressed.

Give this place a chance, the atmosphere is warm, welcoming, and you aren't elbow to elbow like the "steak...