600 Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Kalamazoo

Restrooms were clean and our waitress was very polite, albeit so busy she was not able to tend her tables more than once while we were there. Those were the two best features. Music was extremely loud and somehow cardiB and Flo Rida wasn't the best thing to talk very loudly over during our meal. Would have been ok if it wasn't blasting. But preteen jock jams just didn't seem to fit the aesthetic. Maybe if it were a middle school dance and our parents were chaperoning with the principal.... ok so the food. I'm going to list it since I have a lot to say that isn't pleasant. The coffee was black, no creamer options, really honestly tasted like gas station coffee. It was very bad. The jack frost mimosa was a syrupy mix of blue curaco blended with a dash of country time lemonade and bottom shelf champagne? Maybe sparking wine, took me back to high-school party days mixing whateverwas in the liquor cabinet. It was very nasty. Did not drink more than a few sips. We Tried the vegan options for our meal.... The lemon bar desert (ordered first before food) was delightful. Pound cake was a bit dry and underflavored but the lemon curd and fresh berries were very nice. This was the best part of the meal food wise. The Brussel sprouts would have been good if the balsamic vinegar had been lighter. Bottom of bowl was swimming. No other seasonings but salt could be detected. One note- sour! Very Few bites of that. Vegan tamale was not seasoned. It did have fresh vegetables and a light drizzle of tomato sauce however it was very plain. The masa was light and fluffy but almost flavorless. Bean filling was plain as well. Cooked alright possibly not steamed? Or just steamed improperly The top was dry and hard, stuck to the corn husk. It was an appetizer fit for a hospital menu. Bland! Vegan chicken sandwich has a splash of heat with the hot pepper smear on the bun. Chicken patty had very soggy breading and somehow an equally dry and watery inside? Not seasoned. If this was tofu it wasn't frozen twice and pressed. If it wasn't then I am confused. Zero flavor. The French fries were alright. They were rather cold and very little salt. No flavor. The bun was fluffy and huge, cold and not toasted. Vegan meatloaf was a long block of impossible meat mixed with some minced vegetables, no notable spices or flavors. Very very plain. It was somewhat edible, the impossible meatloaf I make at home is more flavorful. Loaf was quite dry in places and wet in others. Not consistent. Mushroom gravy was so salty and slimy with only one discerning flavor besides salt - Musty. Not earthy like a fresh mushroom. Actually musty. The whole mushrooms were slimy and translucent. Rubbery and Disgusting. The gravy tasted like TV dinner Salisbury steak gravy. Roasted potatoes were cooked. No flavor but salt. The were warm though. ** I would like to add that our waitress was incredibly nice and she did her best to accommodate us however she let us know that she was new and she did seem very nervous I do not fault her for that she did a very good job with what she was given to work with. All in all our bill came to almost $100 and I would not have willingly paid 25 for this. It was not worth the money and I am very disappointed. My daughter was on leave from the Air Force and I wanted to treat her to a nice meal she has dietary restrictions due to allergy and they were very excited that there were vegan options at a nice fairly new restaurant in Kalamazoo . it was unfortunate that I chose this restaurant. Luckily I had a gift certificate for a millenium restaurant for $25 so without being taken off our bill we decided to tip the waitress the $25 that we saved on the gift certificate. I do hope she finds employment at a good restaurant someday she was a very...

What do I always say, folks? Don't judge a book by it's cover.

Let's get the basics out of the way - no shade to the server or to the ambiance and atmosphere. The service was on point and of course the dining room itself is beautiful.

But the food... Yes, it was edible, which is why they get 3 stars instead of 2, but it was very underwhelming and at times outright disappointing. At this price point, I'm looking for better than "well, at least it's edible".

The wings.. "lemon pepper and Jamaican jerk". On what planet? I tasted salt, a breath of pepper, and that's about it. Definitely confusing because they looked perfectly cooked with a golden brown crisp. But the flavor was incredibly minimal at best.

The brussel sprouts were nothing special. A bit overcooked and 'meh'. At least throw a light sauce ontop or on the side or something to give the dish some life.

The Michigan Steak Cut was the sole star of the show. Full of flavor, perfectly cooked, big hunk of butter on top, tasty little greens, delectable mashed potatoes. My one gripe was this - yo, give me a real steak knife. Come on now, you know this little butter knife with a slightly sharp edge ain't cutting it.

My fiancee had the swordfish and had no complaints, he enjoyed it. I had a bite as well and it was good. It wasn't really a standout dish though, and he said he wouldn't bother ordering it again.

We figured the experience would be salvaged by the dessert and we were only half right. The Crane's Pie was straight up awesome, great texture and flavors, no complaints.

The seasonal peach cheesecake? It's a pass. It had one little baby sized slice of peach on top, and barely a drizzle of any peach sauce on the bottom, either. The cheesecake itself was good - great soft texture. But the peach aspect was missing in action.

We agreed we wouldn't bother with coming here again. For the price points, it's like why bother? Principle is legions above this place in regards to the food and is about the same price point. Hell, at this rate we may as well just go to Roadhouse.

This place reminds me of the aforementioned Plop Fat and Fatitude - they spit a good game, have a beautiful location and dining room, but ultimately, the food is just bland and uninspired.

That being said, I don't think it would take much to turn the dishes around to something better. Flavor the wings, make the cheesecake actually have some peach on it, give the...

I don't normally take photos of my food before I eat it-- I've never been good at "aesthetic" stuff. But even our appetizers were so gorgeous I couldn't resist. (True to form, I failed to take pictures of our gorgeous entrees or desserts... oops.) ((Maybe that'll be a good excuse to go back? ;) ))

The service was amazing-- you can tell the people actually care about both the product and service they're offering. I, ever indecisive, was torn between a few options, and our waitress was so patient in not only understanding me and what I wanted, but also getting me the best opportunity I could.

It wasn't just our amazing waitress, though--- everyone who interacted with us was just amazing!

We were fortunate enough to have received a gift card from a family friend (father of our roommate) to celebrate our anniversary-- which we ended up having to postpone because we had a perfect storm of bad luck. When we ended up having another little spat of bad luck, I told my fiance that I was done waiting and we actually drove up an hour from where we were just to go, because we deserved something nice. (And we took our roommate because we knew this was going to be amazing and worth it-- especially since he gave the initial recommendation!)

I just wrote a whole bunch detailing each dish that I had to delete because honestly---??? My writing definitely cannot hold a candle to how good it was, haha. So you'll just have to experience it for yourself.

Long story short (tl;dr): if you want fresh food with natural and locally sourced ingredients, a restaurant with a good atmosphere and amazing staff, and you're not at 600 yet...? What are you doing?!

I'd say tell them I sent ya but I'm sure customers raving about their stuff is so common that I'm just one of...