Martell’s

11/​20/​15 – Although the restaurant is a bit dated in layout and design, the food is excellent and the bar offerings are very solid (i.e. beer, wine, and cocktail choices). The menus is varied and the daily specials are usually excellent. The setting and view from the dining area is very nice.
1/​20/​16 – Update since my first review: although the food, beer, and wine choices continue to range from good to excellent, I have downgraded my review based on some issues with the bar and specifically the cocktails. The bar must get lids for their martini shakers! Or, if they do have lids, then the bartender should use the lids, versus using the palm of her hand to hold the top of the shaker, while she is shaking a martini. Aside from the obvious issue of having whatever is on her hands, getting into your martini/​cocktail, it limits her ability to thoroughly shake a martini to get it extremely cold. It makes the experience «less».

While looking for a good restaurant we decided to try Martell’s.
In short it was just okay. As we left the group felt it was akin to an Applebee’s experience.
The appetizer of muscles was very good, getting our hopes up. The famous mushroom soup was good but a bit bland. The waitress had trouble opening the wine, and was not very adept with the corkscrew (broken cork).
The entrees of a pork-​chop special, walleye and a vegetarian mushroom burger were all slightly over cooked, dry and bland.
We will mark this one off the list.

We were in town for the NSRA Nationals North last weekend (9÷11−09÷13÷2015) and we called Martell’s for a party of 16 after another establishment decided after telling us they could handle us that it was going to be a 1 to 1.5 hour wait and we couldn’t all be seated together after we had arrived at 6pm on a Saturday evening.
So after a quick search on Unilocal we found Martell’s who told us to come on over and they could accommodate us immediately, which they did.
It is very rare these days to get service that even approached «perfect», however Martell’s staff came about as close as any one will ever get.
The service was on point, the restaurant is beautiful, the food exceptional (especially for the price) and staff were very accommodating, professional and friendly.
I had the Lobster Penne and Cheese which was as good as any i have ever had, and at about half the price of most, with a very generous portion and abundant lobster that was cooked perfectly.
My wife Gemilli Con Salsiccia Allo Veneto which she loved and is still talking about.
The rest of the group had items from all over the menu and not a single complaint was heard from anyone and this group tends to be hard to please.
many in this group have been coming here the the NSRA event for years and said that this was by far the best meal they have had in Kalamazoo. Martell’s is now the go to restaurant for us on our visits to Kzoo.

.just the best prime rib sandwich in Kalamazoo. Get the regular and the cream based horseradish with it. Order rare or med rare and get the wild mushroom soup instead of the fries. Slight up-​charge but well worth it !!!

3 – 3.5 stars. solid food, a bit on the pricier end but it could be a lot worse. steak was cooked to perfection, salad was average, burrata could be creamier.

Food is always consistently wonderful. Nice drink choices. Patio in good weather is an amazing spot to have a romantic dinner or fun with a group. Desserts are delicious… the cheesecakes especially. Inside is a bit stuffy but still cozy. Service is average.

Menu and food has suffered in the last year, great potential but very inconsistent.
used to be a favorite, hope they’re able to get their house in order.

The server was knowledgeable about the menu, and the food was great! I had the Atlantic Salmon entrée and the split pea soup.

Very hit and miss lately. The food is always good but the service has become less then desirable. They appear to be consistently understaffed thus causing long periods of sitting around to order and get drinks.
This was once a great place to go but something’s changed recently?

Stuck in Kalamazoo overnight with car trouble. Not happy. Found Martell’s on Unilocal.The restaurant and setting are beautiful … On a lake in the woods, nicely spaced tables, large windows yet comfortable in winter. Good food, nice selection of pasta, seafood, American. A very pleasant experience made even better by our professional and friendly server, Emily. A wonderful experience.

This place is our go-​to when my family is in town. The staff is friendly, attentive and able to inform about menu items (which has a great variety to choose from!) The atmosphere is pleasant with a beautiful view through large windows. I’ve eaten here many times and can say that the kitchen staff knows what they are doing. I have yet to be disappointed!

I enjoy going to Martell’s for the location (sit outside if you can!) and some of the menu choices (especially the seasonal ones). For example, their featured summer dessert was grilled peaches– yum! Always delicious are their sweet potato fries, which are drizzled with a balsamic reduction.
However, for a restaurant that thinks of itself as a more high-​end place, it is overpriced for what you get. Also, the service is slow and the waitstaff isn’t always knowledgable. The last time I was there, they were out of both Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.
I probably won’t choose this place again since it’s so mediocre, but I’m happy to go there if someone else I’m dining with chooses it.

Had enjoyed it when it was The Black Swan (and the Bar was known as Martell’s) and always enjoyed my meals there. Although more common good food, from hamburgers to Prime Rib, without the expensive and eloquent chef creations, Martell’s now provides reasonably priced food in an indoor or outdoor environment off a beautiful lake in Parkview Hills. The ambiance is excellent for a couple or a large party and it is good for good dining or light eating. Staff are excellent and enthusiastic and the food choices varied.
My son and daughter-​in-​law recently had their Wedding Reception there and it was perfect for our 55 guests. Every meal was outstanding with choices of a huge Prime Rib, Salmon, Chicken, or Ravioli! Servers kept out of the way but were professional, attentive and personable. It was a great evening with wonderful food and magnificent ambiance. All the staff involved were wonderful as well.
For casual dining, meeting friends, a fine meal or just drinks, this place is great and highly recommended!

Bland food, unenthusiastic service, and unjustified high prices. Made a reservation for a Thursday night for two, our 10^th anniversary. The hostess asked if it was a special occasion (it was). We arrived, she noted that our reservation was for an anniversary, and seated us on the deck. The «lake view» that she offered was more «pond view,» but, whatever. Our server was working a big group who clearly was drinking a lot, so her attention clearly wasn’t on us. Took her about 15 minutes to bring over water and she immediately asked if we’d decided what we’d like to eat. I LOATHE servers who do that. I ordered a glass of wine and was presented with about a two and a half ounce pour. For $ 9, that was pretty disappointing.
The rest of the meal was at least appropriately paced. The Brie appetizer was very good. House salads were fair – candied walnuts and dried apricots were good but the «house» dressing was sort of a generic, under seasoned vinaigrette. My chicken Marsala was dry, with a few shreds of dried out mushroom floating in the bitter marsala sauce over a depressingly small scoop of runny mashed potatoes. Kind of a bummer. My husband had the prime rib, which he describes as «all right.» Same runny, bland mashed potatoes on the side.
The server offered a dessert menu. Nothing on it looked very promising; we passed. Our check before tip was $ 75. Probably won’t go back.

Peaceful and beautiful in the winter. Great place for a late lunch. I can’t say enough about this place… I Love the owner, Food and Wine.

I was looking forward to trying this restaurant, but I was disappointed with my experience. The food was so sad. I had a salmon sandwich and the salmon smelled fishy. The sandwich was dry, no flavor whatsoever. I also tried the baked brie. I don’t see what the big deal is with that. It was so bland. They need to change some things in this restaurant.

I remember this place as The Black Swan. Same décor. Same feel. The bruschetta was ok but my husband really liked it. The bread was fresh. The meals were very good. I had the chicken Marsala. I would have preferred fresher mash. It was a bit stale. The dessert was flour less chocolate cake and seemed to be from a frozen pre purchase rather than fresh made. The house red was excellent.

I wish I could give this a 3.5, but I am comfortable rounding up a star. Food was solid, and the server was friendly. Given the atmosphere, I was okay waiting a few extra minutes until our server came over.
The sweet potato fries were excellent — definitely recommended. The burger was okay, though I am hard to please because I order with no bun or condiments.
Two things to fix: the booth seats are really uncomfortable, and the lights above the table made for an awkward server interaction. Take care of those two things, and this is a solid 4.

Really not impressed.
I ordered a pork tenderloin dish and it arrived barely warm. They brought a new one and it was warmer but not hot. The manager visited our table to see if I was happy.
After the entrée, I decided to have a gelato.
Oops, they brought me sorbet instead. Really quite unhappy by now and told waitress to forget the gelato and just bring me coffee.
I doubt I’ll have time to visit Martell’s again.

My Foodie Club chose Martell’s for our inaugural meeting. It’s not a restaurant you’re going to happen by one day — it’s tucked away… but it is actually a nice location on a pond with plenty of trees around. We went for an early dinner on a Sunday. They weren’t busy at all… so, we were seated right away. Our waitress was fantastic — very helpful and friendly.
All following number ratings are out of a possible 10.
We tried the the Polenta Fries (7) and Baked Brie (8) off the appetizer menu. The brie was dee-​lish… served on a yummy cherry compote! Mmmmm!
Four of us ordered the Stuffed Portobello with spinach, ricotta, and roasted garlic served on a 3-​cheese ravioli and topped with provolone and a sweet pepper basil sauce for our entrée (7.5). Our foodie club president had the beet salad (6) and crab cakes (6.5).
Then came dessert, of course! I had the Classic Crème Brulee (8) and Madame President had the Raspberry Ricotta Cheesecake (9). Two other members order the Bread Pudding and Apple Strudel, but I’m not sure how they rated those dishes.
The 5 of us also split a bottle of 2010 Italian Mezzacorona Moscato (8).
Overall impression: We found the staff of Martell’s to be exceptionally friendly, especially our server — Cathy — who was great and also wearing a fabulous hat! (Service Rating: 8) The dining area was nice and had a great view overlooking a pond and trees — and a very nice outside patio to dine on when the weather warms up! The waitress split our bottle of wine 5 ways on our bills, which was very nice. The prices were good considering the quality of the food. We went on a Sunday evening, so it was not very busy and we did not have to wait to be seated. The manager even came over to take our picture to put on Martell’s Facebook page because they loved that we were having so much fun! (This picture has yet to actually show up on Facebook, though. Come on, Martell’s! ;-P)
Overall Ratings: 7.5