Melange

We decided to check out this bar after grabbing a bite to eat. It is located downstairs off the main street. The atmosphere is upbeat and classy. We sat down at the bar and had a few martinis. This spots clientele seems to be a 20s and 30s group. There is also a small dance floor that we decided to make use of and work up some sweat. Not sure if there is a DJ during this time but there was a great selection of music and is a great spot in the evening which is a nice touch.
Overall the spot is a nice nightspot to visit and made for a good time.

— Duck nachos were the best item we ordered. Listen to Unilocal and get these!
— Sushi rolls were average, tried the Rainbow roll and Red Dragon roll. Not the freshest cut fish and loosely rolled, but tasted decent since we were craving sushi.
— Thai pasta was really salty. Made with a sesame/​soy sauce, didn’t taste very Thai at all.
— Lobster bisque was also really salty. Dunno if mistake or not.
Overall love the seating and décor and menu concepts but food itself is so-​so. Mélange is fusion only in menu names not really flavors of each dish. Would recommend coming for the happy hour (Tues all day!) to justify prices and fully enjoy.

We decided to try this place as part of our mission to try all restaurants on Main Street and since this place is Asian fusion, one of my favorites, I had high hopes. We came here for their drinks our first time and decided to try some small appetizers along with them. We sat at the bar which only had a few people, and got the Skeleton Key and the Black Cactus because my date likes his whiskey and I like my tequila. The bartender was not particularly attentive and I felt that I had to wave my arms to get his attention for most of the time. However, service was still overall satisfactory. To eat, we ordered a half portion of the duck nachos after having read many good things about them on Unilocal and they did not disappoint! $ 7 for 4 nachos may seem a little steep but each nacho is pretty large and comes with a few pieces of duck confit and a wonderful sriracha sour cream and manchego cheese where all the flavors of Asian fusion seem to come together. I also got a banh mi slider just because it was $ 3 and I was feeling a little hungry still. This was pretty generic of any pork belly buns that you would find in other Asian fusion restaurants.
I’ve also came for dinner and tried their crab cakes and seabass entrée. While prices are generally on the higher end, the quality of the food does not seem to match up. That is not to say it isn’t good, it just isn’t worth the amount of money you have to spend. The crab cakes tasted pretty generic as well with the aoili smeared under it complementing it pretty well in flavor. The seabass was buttery and cooked just right. Portions of entrees are decent and can possibly be split between two people if you aren’t too hungry.
Overall, no complaints about the food itself — just steep prices and mediocre bar service.

I ate here about 10 years ago and remembered it being good. A decade ago, I had less money and probably ordered an appetizer. Recently (January 2016) ate here again and had the duck. It was divinely tender! I always expect to be let down when ordering something that would probably taste better at home or in NYC. This duck did not let me me down. Crispy skin too! The only thing I did not enjoy was the blueberry sauce. Sure it’s «different», like the ridiculous flavored crime brûlée fad of recent years that a few restaurants partook in, doing something to be trendy and different is immature, if the taste isn’t complementary. Blueberry sauce does not pair well with duck. Also the blueberry sauce ended up all over my delicious green been a in my doggy bag. Blueberry green beans is the stuff of nightmares! Still, I would ask for no sauce next time. They definitely know how to cook here!

Best sushi in Ann Arbor, with fresh ingredients, unique combinations, and artful creations. The High Roller, with its salmon and almond toppings, is probably one of my all time favorite rolls. This was my first time having almonds on sushi, and I definitely hope it won’t be the last. As an Asian fusion restaurant, Mélange does an incredible job of bringing together Western and Asian ingredients to create food that is truly one of a kind.
I also tried the duck nachos and loved them as well. The wonton chip that served as a base for the dish was the definition of crisp perfection. The duck and guacamole went together surprisingly well, and everything I ate left me craving more.
The one downside to my experience was the service. During happy hour, the bar side of the restaurant gets pretty busy, but they only had one waiter serving 6 or 7 tables. The poor guy was taking orders, serving food/​drinks, delivering checks, and I had to wait longer than usual to get his attention and order. Thankfully, the food still came out relatively quickly and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of my meal and the ambiance.

Great drinks and sushi! Duck nachos and the soups/​salads are a must. Great for a fun night out or birthday dinner.

The 3.5 stars is an accurate rating for Mélange. I went for the first time in May with a Travelzoo voucher and again a couple nights ago for a friend’s birthday dinner. I enjoy going for the ambiance, but the food leaves a lot to be desired, especially when factoring in cost.
When I visited Mélange with a Travelzoo voucher, my friend and I ordered duck nachos to share as an appetizer and cream puffs to share for dessert. I chose the braised short ribs as my entrée, and I think she had one of the seafood entrees. I enjoyed my dish and didn’t have any complaints, but I don’t think I’d pay the full price of $ 28 for it. We paid $ 39 together for the voucher, and I thought that was great value.
I did love the duck nachos, so I ordered it again when I went over the weekend. For $ 13, you get about six pieces of fried wontons topped with duck confit, cheese, guacamole, tomato, and Sriracha. I love the flavor combination, and I’d order this dish every time! Some of my friends tried it too, and it was a hit with everyone.
In addition to the duck nachos, I ordered a crunchy spicy tuna roll. For $ 9, I expected something better than what I got. I liked the crunchy texture, but it completely lacked flavor. A couple of my friends ordered sushi too, and they were also disappointed. Maybe I’ll give the sushi rolls another try during happy hour when they offer half off sushi, but I won’t be paying full price for their sushi rolls again.
Overall, Mélange is okay. The food is mediocre, and it seems like you’re paying for the lounge-​y, trendy atmosphere.

The restaurant was packed of parents and University of Michigan students. They were not taking any other reservations even 2 weeks before! The sushi I ordered was superb, I also shared two different t salads and my entrée was a risotto with fungi. It was really good and tasty. For desert we shared a crêpe brûlée and a coffee sorbet that was good, nothing impressive. The service was ok, considering how busy they were. I belive max capacity!

I don’t like high priced «Asian Fusion,» generally it’s what we called «leftovers,» at home. I’ve always found sushi to be better at Japanese restaurants, the best at Japanese restaurants that are trying to be authentically Japanese. But we didn’t choose the place, and half their menu isn’t fusion, it’s American nouveau cuisine. Sticking to that side of the menu, which light up by the way, a very nice touch for those of us who are middle aged in vision, the food was quite good. Parking was problematic on a home football game weekend, but our reservations were honored on time, the hostess and initial wait-​service was welcoming, polite, good. The service declines steeply towards the later side of the evening as the restaurant transitions to a night club. Considering the adjoining dance club, the noise level isn’t outrageous however.
The main negative is that the food and drinks are slightly overpriced, but the feeling is that the prices are very overpriced by the pricing schemes. I don’t use the word, schemes, lightly here. There are deceptive hidden up-​charges for drinks, even more insulting than the usual nefarious ice/​no-​ice up-​charge. I had a tack-​on «up» charge for getting a vodka martini (with the house featured name brand vodka) in a martini glass. That’s just so insulting. For dessert, our initially friendly and attentive waiter was both tardy as well as a little tricky. He offered us a short choice of featured after dinner drinks «on special,» so we went with cognacs. Although we did enjoy them, and they did pair up well with dessert, we were a little shocked to find out on the bill that they were $ 50 a snifter. I’m familiar with the cognac, it’s $ 50 a bottle if you catch it on sale, so I think a little warning was in order when we made the order, or better yet, when offering up the specials. We may still have ordered them, but we wouldn’t have been so unpleasantly surprised. For four of us, we racked up over $ 400, which given the high quality of the food, I might have been okay with, but the hidden drink up-​charges really gave me a feeling of having been deceived.
Add to this the decline in service quality towards the end of the meal. I do understand that there’s a declining amount of energy on a Saturday night, so I’m not going to say that the waiter was terrible, but there is a pattern for the whole staff. Ironically, we were talking about the new security measures for many credit cards, on the way up here we all had problems with our hotel check-​ins. Suddenly, in order to stay a step ahead of increasingly tech savvy thieves, the default for banks is to initially decline credit when the cards are billed out of state. The relatively simple solution is to whip out the smart phone and call up the toll free number to verify identity, but we haven’t established that habit yet, so when confronted with a hotel or car rental clerk, or a waiter who gives one’s card back saying sternly «your card was declined,» with a vaguely accusatory look, the initial reaction is puzzled shame. We were already a little taken aback by the amount of the bill, but tried to cover by quickly producing credit cards, and the waiter came back acting like this never happens because most of their customers are decent people who pay their bills. We quickly realized what we had forgotten to do, call up and tell our banks we were out of town, so eventually a card was produced that was accepted, the whole time the waiter acted as if this just never happens. And yet, the same thing happened at two neighboring tables at about the same time, with the same judgmental response from those waitresses. How hard would it be to see the pattern and helpfully suggest that customers from out of town call up the toll free number and get payment cleared for travel?

I love this place. Truly a very nice classy spot for dining, drinking, or even dancing!
When you make it down the stairs there is a long awesome lit bar to your left, and the dining section to your right.
Its a great place to come with a date for some late night drinks and fun!
you can enjoy premium spirit cocktails, choose from there selection of beers, or enjoy some of Napa Valley’s finest from their enormous wine collection!
After a drink, why not try your moves on their dance floor. Its a little small, but its set up very well.
Once you’re tired from dancing and maybe need some time to sit and relax and just chat, the dining section is always open and you can relax at a nice table (away from the loud music) and talk the night away.
This is my go to spot for a date that just wants to go to a bar, it should be yours too!

Went here on 10÷12÷15 and the food was incredible. It was appropriate for the price. The environment was downlit, romantic and tasteful. The duck nachos were savory and elegantly displayed. We had sushi and scallops and both were prepared expertly. The wine paired well, and was one of the more inexpensive at $ 40/​bottle. The chocolate mousse was a perfect blend of not too sweet cinnamon cake with a layer of mousse in between. It was, in short, a perfect dinner date. We were there on a Monday, which was very quiet, but I personally prefer quiet over too many people chatting or obtrusive music.

One of the hipster places in A2, particularly for a Tuesday night.
Food and service were excellent. I highly recommend the Barrimundi.
Nice ambience and a good selection of beers & liquors. I plan to visit as often as the wallet will allow.

I visited this place for drinks because they have a decent size bar area for a large group. There were 3 folks behind the bar and maybe 25 people around the bar the evening I visited. The place is in the basement of a building and had a decent décor.
Like the other reviews, the service here is poor. The bar staff could be friendlier and pay attention to customers looking to order a drink. They appeared to be working (getting drink, stocking the bar), but you can tell it was just a job to them. A smile goes a long way. The crafted cocktails were great; if you look past the service this place does have potential.

If you enjoy TGiRedRubyChiliBee’s, Mélange is way better. Don’t be put off by the names of the dishes, you’ll love it. Just order, drink, eat, repeat.
If you don’t frequent the TGiRedRubyChiliBee’s because you feel it beneath your culinary prowess, Mélange will not impress you.

Drinks are ok, nothing special. DO NOT eat here, however. I’ve been here for several drug company sponsored dinners and every time someone in our group gets violently ill. this most recent time I had the salad, which was actually pretty good… Until I spent the rest of the night vomiting and completely miserable. Have a friend who worked in the kitchens and he swore to never eat there. Now I know why.
So… Moral of the story — if you want to drink and dance, it’s a fun place. Just avoid the food. Trust me.

This place is horrible.
Service was horrible. Took one hour with an empty restaurant to get us a few rolls of sushi.
I feel sick to my stomach after eating their food.
I told the I was allergic to Tobiko and they still served us a rol with that on their.

Went on Tuesday night and was shocked to get our bill for two people had an 18% tip already added to it. When I took issue with this I was told «its normal» for restaurants to do this.
I’ve never been to a place that includes gratuity for a party of less than six.

Great imbalance and atmosphere. First time in the area and here. Our waiter was kinda grumpy but he did lighten up near the end when we talked but bars nearby the area. The menu was awesome it lit up so cool!!! I’ve never seen one like this menu by design. The food was good. Sushi rolls were kinda sloppy put together. We had the river rock what fun to cook the meat at the table. I would definitely try something else here the next time I’m in town.

Made reservations at 7pm for dinner. It was busy and we didn’t have a very private table but service, atmosphere, and food were all perfect. They didn’t stick us at a tiny two top so we had some room to be comfortable.
Skipped the alcohol, as the NYE party would have plenty. Enjoyed the crab stuffed lobster tail special. So good. You always take a chance with seafood being overcooked especially when they are busy, but this was done to perfection. Hubs had pork loin with parm polenta. He loved it. Also impressive was the potato bisque starter with bacon jam and chili oil drizzle.
This has always been my go to place for happy hour, but will be in our top five for dinner out from now on.

Mélange may pass as a decent restaurant to an innocent diner, but to people who have had authentic Chinese and French cuisine, Mélange offers what is an embarrassment to «Asian fusion.»
River Rock: for $ 11, you get six paper thin slices of meat. Perhaps ½ oz each slice. You are supposed to grill the meat to doneness of your liking on the rock. The ginger ponzu dipping sauce tasted neither like ginger nor ponzu. Adding soy sauce to a dish does not make it Asian fusion. For the same price, if you want more food, and a rock that is more functional, get a stone bowl bibimbap (somewhere else).
Also, those beet shavings — don’t put it on the plate if it’s not something I can eat. The flower (orchid?) is fine because I’m smart enough not to eat a flower.
Curry coconut: On paper, this is a great idea — you get the spiciness and saltiness of the curry, and the sweetness, depth, and solid body of coconut. On plate, however, I cannot get over how bad this tasted. Not sure what went wrong in the execution. Better yet, not sure what went right in the execution here.
Service and décor are great though.