Café Mamo — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

Cafe Mamo, 1601 Plainfield Quaint and clean place, limited parking. We were seated quickly. Hostess was also our server and not at all friendly, no thank you or smiles at all but was sufficiently attentive for our table. Limited menu with 4 entree choices.Three of us decided to order 3 of them and share. None came with bread or any sides at all and all were extremely small portions and overall prices suggest world class cuisine which was not the case! Bison meatballs in horseradish sauce: 3 meatballs in a thick yellow bland sauce, a bit dry and covered with some kind if greens, no sides. 1/2 chicken (can't remember what the menu said about sauce but it was pretty good) wasn't 1/2 chicken but 2 small thigh-legs, that's it. Spinach pasta: green fettuccine noodles in a cream sauce with what looked like spinach flakes, not that great and portion was very small. Approx. 3/4 cup on a small plate.(size of a tennis ball cut in half)

Meatballs-$20 Pasta-$25 Chicken-$27 Glass of house pino-$12 Small margarita-$13 Homemade chips and goat cheese appetizer-$14

Great location though, might be better served as a small bistro. Coffee shop that locals can afford and commuters can get a cup of coffee on the way downtown. Sorry guys! I was hoping the owner/ chef would come to our table and ask about the meal but it's two thumbs down for all three of us. I hesitated to post such a damaging review but 18 other reviews were all good! Something...

Good god. This place. We went in last weekend for Sunday brunch and I’ll preface my review by saying it was a gamble because it was my husbands birthday and in principal Cafe Mamo is everything he vehemently opposes in a restaurant. Tight parking, tiny dining room with communal banquette seating so close you can hear strangers chew, a curated menu with 5 things, the possibility of a gaping disparity in the price to portion ratio, and vibes. But alas, I trusted the reviews and my friends and we went and from the moment we walked in I knew it was the right choice. So cozy, intimate, yet comfortable, and everything from the napkins to the dinner plates is just understated and charming. Like a cliche conventional married couple we ordered the same gdamn thing - biscuits and gravy and eggs over medium and they were ridiculous. The dish was heaping and plentiful and the biscuits had these little flavor pockets of pepper and salt. I was literally destroying my fresh mani tips running my fingers in the gravy when it was all over and DID NOT CARE who saw. Our server was so friendly and warm, and we had such a good time that after the bill came we stayed so I could tack on a child-free day buzz and ordered the aculpoco (sp). Even the ice cubes are beautiful and memorable here. Anyways, highly recommend. This is the best place we’ve been to in awhile, and we can’t wait to be back to check out...

My husband and I went to Café Mamo for my birthday. I’ve passed it so many times and had to try it. Staff was kind and attentive. Loved all the books and atmosphere. The French 75 cocktail was very pleasant and strong. The rolls and butter were tasty. My husband got the pork tenderloin and I the chicken. Both were fantastic, seriously the best chicken I’ve ever had. One note would be the use of salt. Present as a garnish (even on the pie) and in the meals. I love salt so it really wasn’t a big deterrent for me. I did think it was lacking in some components of a dish but a touch heavy in others. The carrot purée could have used a sprinkle to match the sweetness and the greens also. The gravy with the chicken had maybe a tiny bit too much salt, but again, I like salt. The prices were a little high, we knew coming in they would be. But with the quality of the food and ingredients coming from local farms, I found it to be appropriate. We’ve spent more money at just okay restaurants up and down Plainfield. Overall 10/10 would recommend. It will probably be a special occasion place for us in the future. I’ll be dreaming of that chicken until I...