Havirmill Cafe — Restaurant in Kalamazoo

I was so excited to try Havirmill and I desperately want to be supportive of culinary students, but as a Yelper I have to be honest. It wasn't good and it wasn't cheap. You pay per pound of food, and at $7/lb, it's pricey. We stopped in for French cuisine and had beef bourguignon, mushroom bourguignon, rice Comte, French onion soup, and salad. The pros: the beef bourguignon and the salad dressings were really good. Cons: the rice was awful. It was both undercooked and gummy. The Presentation of the French onion soup was gorgeous! Oiled, seasoned, toasted slices of baguette were displayed next to a beautiful bowl of shredded gruyere. I mean, it was really gorgeous. Unfortunately, the soup was under-seasoned and lacked depth. Finally, the cost. We spent $13 on two less-than-half-full plates of food, a cup of soup, and a small salad of just lettuce and dressing. The salad bar is only $5/lb and the side salad was only a little over a $1 -so that was nice. But for the rest of the food, no way. Combined, we didn't even have a full plate and with the cup of soup it was about $12. My frugality typically won't let me waste food -but we couldn't eat a good portion and had to toss. Salt couldn’t fix it.

What I really did like: menus are posted on FB each day. There isn't much notice, but it's better than nothing. Also, the students create a variety of foods from different cultures. In addition, the atmosphere is wonderful! The building is gorgeous and the school’s eco-friendliness extends to dining materials such as plates, silverware, etc. Finally, the students running the cafe were sweet and incredibly friendly.

I'm leery about returning. I REALLY want to support the initiative -but I could spend the same amount of money or less to get food I know is consistent and good elsewhere. If the food was a great deal cheaper, the risk would be easier to swallow. But at those prices, I left feeling unsatisfied and...

Go for the atmosphere. Nice architecture, lovely dining areas.

The good is about what you would expect from culinary students. Sometimes amazing, sometimes a bit blah, but never bad... And the price is almost always excellent.

Sometimes items with a higher ingredient cost can be surprisingly more expensive than the very low cost average, but it's still a great deal. Assume that you'll pay about the same cost as making something at home and your guess will probably be close.

Today's food:

Salad with pecans and raisins: $2.49/lb Seafood soup (lots of seafood): $8.49/lb Large grilled veggies atop cheesy polenta:...

Good place for breakfasts in the student's cafeteria at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, although we prefer the selected menus offered in some evenings at very...