HighDive Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Kalamazoo

We really wanted and hoped this place would be amazing. We were seated immediately and we're really comfortable. The menu was limited to a soft opening so we were surprised that the menu didn't cover a range of what should have been the chef's best options to encourage repeat customers and build excitement. Instead it had a lot of burgers and a lot of salmon.

We were both burger'd out and this type of place was not one that we typically trust to have amazing seafood. We ordered the Reuben sandwich and Chattanooga chicken sandwich. We both were excited to get something with spice and richness.

I was excited to try the Reuben as it looked great. Less like deli meat, and more like real brisket. However it really didn't have any flavor. It typically takes a week or more to marinade the brisket to give it a unique and savory flavor, but this felt like it was given just a day or two. The dressings on the sandwich also lacked that sweet and sour flavor you can only hope for from a great Reuben. The pumpernickel is a great choice, but that too misses the rye flavor you really want.

The chicken sandwich was really the thorn in our experience. (As someone from Nashville, I really need to stop ordering this sandwich outside of TN.) The chicken was more of a small patty. Like you would get from fast food chains except, once again, it had no flavor. (Less flavor than fast food.) It was just a wet patty soaked in your sauce with the texture that just was so disappointing. It should be a real chicken breast or thigh that hangs off the bun. Marinaded in pickling brine and dry seasoned with herbs and spices. Once fried crispy, it then should be drenched in a spicy hot sauce.

Neither one of us finished our food. The atmosphere was also pretty basic. The whole experience was just barely ok from the service to the food. With enough attention, it could be a great place to get bar food and a drink after work, but for now, it's not something that could stand out enough to be a...

The drinks were amazing, however the food left me more than a little disappointed. I ordered the ribeye rare and was brought a medium well. I didn't want to wait for a replacement because the server took so long to check on our table after the food arrived that everyone else was almost finished eating. I had eaten the green beans off the dish and a little of the potatoes but only one bite of the steak, when they brought the bill. It was only a few minutes after the server checked on the table, and they collected the plate and said they would take that my order off the bill. But this was the only consideration made. They took off the dish that I had bearly touched, and took it back to the kitchen. this is the very least they could have done as I wouldn't expect to pay for something that I did not order but I feel there was no compensation for the fact that I left unfeed because I didn't want the rest of the people to have to wait for me to get the dish I had ordered. I would not recommend this place to anyone because I feel that they don't take responsibility for...

First visit here, lunch on Sunday with 3 friends. We were, at first, the only patrons (sadly), but a few more small groups arrived subsequently. Attentive service by at least 3 staff throughout.

Perhaps more attended in these early times in the evening (still not many working downtown).

Lovely, historic building on the main street downtown. Long, narrow space with an intimate connected room which will serve as a bar without dining. Exposed brick walls, high ceilings. Some TV screens mounted about (not a fan in an intimate space).

Limited but varied menu, appropriate for a small venue. Generous portions, mostly well prepared. However, my pesto ravioli, unfortunately, was swimming in broken olive oil -- nonetheless tasty.

I enjoyed a glass of wine, the only one of our group ordering alcohol. Lovely bar area, cannot comment on bartending staff. Wine menu quite limited & suggest some professional attention here.

Wishing success to this locally...