Shakespeare's Pub — Restaurant in Kalamazoo

Nice historic building and location in downtown Kalamazoo. The inside is fading and dull with deteriorating furniture. The bar is large and accommodating and the table selection is quite vast with a lot of room. Many many TVs and, usually, there is no problem getting almost any game one would like to see. It can get loud but usually only during weekend evenings, particularly when the academic year is in full swing at the local universities. A nice touch is the table shuffleboard games they have. Though they are not well maintained it is an interesting inclusion.

Nice beer selection, many draft beers. Tends toward sweeter and heavier microbrews which might not be for everyone. That doesn't mean there are no IPAs, lagers, etc of course. There are always multiple beers from Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo but one would like to see more of an emphasis on local/Michigan beers perhaps. Though one can see the benefits of a wider geographic selection.

The food is very passable. The hamburgers are what one would expect from a good bar kitchen: messy, juicy, (you can choose your temp of doneness) good. They have the typical bar menu selection. Also there is free popcorn to snack on and their specials are good. Saturday hotdog and fries for $3 is a nice gameday "mop up the alcohol" sort of thing that won't break the bank. Not healthy but, hell, it's a bar!

The staff are hit and miss. My experience is that the newer bartenders are more attentive and pleasant (also effective) than those that have been there for a longer period. More on that below. The waitstaff are invariably female and, though there are some females, bartenders are 90%+ male. My numbers may be off because I'm not there day in and day out during all open hours. The waitstaff is good in my experience, particularly one young lady I often see during the day if I go there to have a rueben, beer, and use their free wifi (spotty). However I sit at the bar for the most part when there to watch games. The gender delineation is obvious but whether it's a conscious choice or not I do not know. It can give one pause if paying attention to such things.

So far not bad. But at the end of the day the management both in style and substance is problematic. I'll start with a small thing that is a microcosm of the management staff. The two managers (names unknown) are always unkempt. This includes slovenly dress (uniform of the place but wrinkled or not tucked in etc) and faces that seem to be an attempt at a "cool Don Johnson look" but in actuality just look like they haven't bothered to shave (or possibly shower) for a few days. It is a personal choice, of course. But it can be a turn off. PARTICULARLY when their effete machismo is in evidence. They are the kind of managers who want (and believe that) their customers, especially their regulars, LOVE them. So much so that they emphasize this over customer service. Changing TVs with no warning, lame justifications and an odd possessive attitude toward TV channel changes, no functional communication with customers aside from raucous anecdotes, condescending interaction with staff (especially female staff) which is a HUGE turn off, poor facilitation by the managers between the kitchen, bartenders, and the bar customers. This observer speculates that this rubs off on the long-time employed staff, especially the male bartenders, hence our preference for newly minted bartenders. At least for the first few weeks or months of their employment.

Bottom line: Shakespeare's has been a solid spot for gameday activities with many TVs, good food, beer, and specials. The staff has been hit or miss but a generally negative perception of management has been the straw that broke the camel's back. It is a shame when that sort of thing drives people from a nice unfranchised local place within a historic building to Buffalo Wild Wings...

As a West Mi/WMU family, I have been visiting Shakespeare’s Pub with my family for many years, it was always a great place to watch a game with good pub food but after my experience on this last Sat 12/23, I will never return or recommend them. At 4pm, it was freezing cold inside to the point that people were moving from the window tables to an area of four tops next to the fireplace, which was not on, so I requested it be turned on. Although it was dead business wise, an hour later, I had to ask for the 3rd time. We ordered a Turkey Reuben and Fried Cauliflower appetizer. The appetizer, at $10, came on a small side plate with only three semi 1/4 size pieces of cauliflower, the rest just fried crumbs. Upon trying those pieces, they were all breading so I sent it back. When the bill arrived, they had adjusted the appetizer price by $2 but not removed it from the bill. I asked for the Mgr, and she told me that they buy it from a supplier, so the portion and quality was not their responsibility. She said she did not remove it from the bill because we had eaten several pieces. And I asked her how would a customer know to send it back without trying TWO pieces and seeing the poor quality of what remained? Or that it was not made in-house or a kitchen mgr would not inspect the quality before leaving the kitchen? She still refused to remove the sent back appetizer. I have spent thousands there over the years and they lost me over poor customer service, a terrible mgrs attitude and $10 appetizer that should have not been on the menu at that...

We (9 people, ages 50s-60s) arrived at 6:50 and took the remaining tables. Place was busy; adjoining room was not yet open. After 15 minutes, we good-naturedly went up and got beer menus. We were told there were no food menus; we could look them up online. At 7:15, the cheery young waitress took our drink order. Over half an hour later (7:40), our drinks came; we ordered food then. At 8:15, we were told "food is coming." At 8:45, we were told our food "was not yet started." In the meantime, at least three other groups had left without getting their food. We spoke with the manager, asking that he comp our beers (one each). He refused to have any accountability, saying "look how busy it is" (the adjacent room had been opened for trivia well after we arrived and was very busy -- and eating meals), we don't have much kitchen help, etc. He never apologized for the 2-hour wait. The waitress was pleasant and trying hard. We left her large tips. In our combined many years of dining out, none of us had ever experienced anything so dismally unprofessional as the manager's lack of interest or ability. As the sole local person in our group, I had suggested Shakespeare's. ...