Roca — Restaurant in Kalamazoo

The space was inviting and the server was nice, but the experience was overall fairly poor. We got the guac and chips and an order of Escabeche to start and it was all pretty good. The price for the guacamole seemed excessive for what was provided. We were there for Downtown Restaurant Week and I ordered the beef empanada, mahi mahi, and flan for desert as a three course meal while my wife ordered shrimp tacos. We were asked if we would like the empanada, mahi, and tacos to come out together and we agreed to that. Instead the empanada, tacos, and the flan came out together and the mahi some 10 minutes later. I had never been served desert before my entrée before but there's a first time for everything I guess. The empanada was fairly bland, but the cabbage slaw it was served on was very flavorful, if a bit rough in how it was cut. The shrimp tacos were terrible, with a single soggy corn tortilla for each that fell apart and tiny shrimp that has no flavor at all. We are glad not to get too much salt in a restaurant, but the food was very under seasoned. The mahi finally arrived and it was cooked very well and was very succulent. Unfortunately it was served with an avocado puree on top that must have been made from very under ripe avocados as it was quite bitter. The fish was also placed upon what looked and tasted to be canned corn, though when I asked I was informed that they make it in house. It was indistinguishable from canned corn at least. The flan had a house made strawberry compote on top and was an excellent desert that I enjoyed very much after having had to work around it for the rest of the meal.

As we were getting ready to leave we heard a pianist doing a sound check and were informed that they have live music from 6-9 pm and it was about to start. Our reservation was for 6 pm and it was now close to 7. That seemed fitting overall.

We had been to Roca a couple of times previously and had good experiences but after this I don't expect we will...

I really enjoyed the atmosphere. It was very cute and the vibe was perfect. The menu is quite limited as well as the seating so I'd recommend making a reservation. The food was good but it wasn't great. I would definitely go again if I was downtown but it wouldn't be my top choice. Our table ordered the Queso Fundido and added chorizo. It came with bread which was warm and soft but I instantly wished I had ordered a side of House Tortilla Chips to give that nice crisp. As for the entrees, we ordered Braised Lamb tacos and Al Pastor tacos. The braised lamb was nothing special. Nothing stuck out with that dish. The al pastor tacos were slightly dry. I had avocado crema added when I ordered but still had to get a side of sour cream once I started eating. Overall, it was good. Would go back to try other menu items. The sevice was good, but again not great. I felt rushed to order in the beginning even after mentioning it was my first time there but once I did, the service lacked which is why I didn't get a chance to order chips for the appetizer. The waitress was very pleasant and the bathroom was clean. It was a tight aisle to get to the bathrooms where only one person could walk down at a time but that is just due to the restaurant being small in general. Not a layout issue. Modern design and...

Came here for dinner with my fiancé :) We started with the Taquitos de Papas. Those were really good, like way better than I thought! Great texture and even better flavor!

For my entree I got the sea bream Frito. Wow, what a presentation! It was my second time eating a whole fish, and the first time one was curled up like that, it was neat! It was delicious, and I thought black beans with it honestly sounded kind of weird at first, but it was a great combination!

Then for dessert I got the churro cheesecake. That was really good! It honestly tastes just like you'd expect! And there was an interesting effect, about 10 seconds after each bite your taste buds would experience an explosion of yummy, sweet flavors!

The service was great too 👍🏻 Emma was our waitress and was very attentive and even packed my fiancé's leftovers for her, that was very nice of her!

The interior is cool and modern, I like the ambient lighting that...