Rustica

The food and service were fantastic, my only issue was it was a bit cramped for space. I definitely plan on going back

So I ordered the chicken and dumplings. The chicken and dumplings were good All the vegetables were raw Potatoes and onions and Brussel sprouts were hard So the owner came to talk to me and said they like tender crisp veggies. I said they were raw and not cooked and he fought with me about it. We paid full price for a crappy meal. $ 25 for something I did not enjoy.

We went here for Chloe’s birthday almost two years ago and it was absolutely wonderful. We were in the area a few months ago again, but Rustica was closed for remodeling at the time. On numerous occasions we have talked about driving back to Kalamazoo just so we could dine here again — it was that great. This was definitely one of our top dining experiences. Stephen had the steak while Chloe had the Grilled Skuna Bay Salmon which was divine — it was served with roasted broccoli, kale, candied walnuts, and caramelized onions. We also shared the Artisan Cheese Plate which was likely one of, if not thee, best cheese platter we have had at a restaurant. It consisted of Gouda, Bleu, and a mystery cheese along with honey, figs, spiced/​candied nuts, and toasted bread. We also tasted a few different red wines here, none which we were disappointed by. If you ever find yourself in Kalamazoo, Rustica is an absolute MUST. But be willing to spend at least $ 100 to fully enjoy the experience.

The service was slow, small menu, bad tasting food, unsanitary, and many more things that made my experience at Rustica one that was terrible. I would not recommend going there.

Nice intimate restaurant. This is a nice «adult» place to go when you’re feeling above ramen and ice cream for dinner. Service was really nice, and our server was very active in ensuring our meal was paced. I love seasonal menus and love the open kitchen and ambiance. Would love to come here more often if I wasn’t a poor graduate student. My recommendation is to update the website with the actual menus; there were several items changed or removed from the actual menu when I arrived which was unfortunate. Also they have a nice dessert menu with several items, so make sure to save room for that!

Great Restaurant! Menu and wine list are both excellent. Very nice space that is very comfortable. I have eaten at Rustica on at least 6 different occasions, and it has always been excellent. If I had to say there was one «drawback» is that the bar area is very small and not very comfortable to sit at and wait for a table, while having a pre-​dinner (or post-​dinner) drink.
Other than that issue, this is a great dining option in downtown Kalamazoo.

Great dinner with the family tonight. The market fish was perfectly done to European perfection. And the sommelier provided the perfect wine selection. After all my world travels … This was a delight to find in Kalamazoo!

I’ve been going to Rustica every few months for the past couple of years and even after traveling all over the world for work, it still remains one of my favorite restaurants.
What I love about this place is a mixture of the ambiance, service, and incredible, high quality food you get every time. The restaurant is quiet and cozy, warm and inviting. It’s not too small you bump into other people on the way to the bathroom or overhear their conversations but it’s not too large it feels impersonal.
Like I said, I’ve traveled all over the world and even when I was in the south of France this past summer at a 3 star Michelin restaurant I was thinking about how Rustica was far better than the place I was at. No joke. And no, I don’t know the owners or anyone who works there, I truly love this place. Major props to the cooks here — when you’re at a 3 star restaurant in the south of France and you’re wishing you were at a place back in little Kalamazoo, Michigan that’s when you know you’ve found something really special.
My favorite things to get are the scallops, the bone marrow, the duck breast, and pan-​roasted Michigan chicken. I usually come here with my uncle when he comes to town, a total foodie, and he always suggests Rustica. We like to start with wine, the crusty bread, and an appetizer, followed by our meal and then we end the night with French-​press coffee and perhaps a dessert. With all of that the bill can get quite expensive but every once in awhile a meal like this feels totally worth it. The service is always impeccable and the food never disappoints.
Nowhere else in Kalamazoo can compare and I’ll be sad to not have it around when I move out of state soon. I highly recommend this place whether you’re planning a special night out for dinner or just want a cozy nook to sit and eat apps and drinks with someone.

Love this restaurant! Food is so fresh, and tasty! Straight from local farms and on your table… Trevor the bartender is AWESOME… Great food recommendation!

Delicious food, quaint environment, a great experience. The staffing and service was first rate.

Great find! I was traveling out of town so sat at the bar and it was a nice atmosphere. I tried the fish of the day which was cod with leeks, capers and potatoes in parchment. Flavorful and light, exactly what I wanted.

My favorite restaurant in Kalamazoo. This night we went with friends from out of town and had one of our best meals yet. I started off with the grilled romaine with anchovies, which was absolutely fantastic. For a main dish I tried the seafood cappellini, which is medley shellfish and pasta. For dessert the best choice was the Lemoncello tiramisu.
So in addition to my choices a wonderful meal.

Food was pretty good but the service was lacking for the price. You think if they were going for more upscale, they would hire some better trained servers. They weren’t busy, it was a Thursday night and we were on the priority waiting list or whatever, and there were better tables available but the hostess sat us in the back in a dark corner. The server did not seem friendly or happy, but disinterested and grumpy the whole time and looked a little disheveled. My mom told her it was my birthday dinner but they didn’t even do anything. No free dessert and she didn’t even put a candle in my dessert until my mom asked directly for a candle. She also didn’t bring extra spoons to share the dessert, which is usually always a given at most places. There was a stain on the tablecloth right by me as well.
Also when my relative called to make a reservation after 4pm the day-​of and they said something about how they don’t do reservations but have a waiting list, we were like umm what’s the difference… Just sounded pretentious to us, just tell us if we can have a table at that time or not, we don’t care what you call it.
Zazios has much better service.

Gluten free eaters in Kalamazoo need look no further than Rustica. I feasted here last night and it was fabulous. For starters, my group of three tried the grilled asparagus and the spring greens salad. The salad had a light vinaigrette that perfectly complemented the assorted baby greens and sliced press pods of the salad. The grilled asparagus was the only item we had that I thought was less successful; I was expecting a warm dish. Instead, the asparagus was pretty hard and cool and the soft-​boiled egg, broken to reveal its deliciously runny yolk, was ice cold. Maybe that was as it was intended, but I believe it would work better as a warm dish.
My entrée was the GF pasta carbonara. Although the menu does not say it, they do serve gluten free pasta. The owner delivered our dinners, which looked spectacular, but I did have to ask for confirmation that I was getting the GF pasta. The pasta was delicious and perfectly al dente, which is hard to do with GF pasta so kudos to the chef! The sauce itself was outstanding, light and full of flavor, but the star was the bacon: so many large chunks of cured smokiness that I could have a bite with each forkful of pasta.
Gluten-​free friends, there is more. In season, they have a gluten-​free strawberry cake that is simply AMAZING (for three people, we ordered two, which turned out to be just right.) It consists of a small, round, individually baked cake – I’m not sure if it was vanilla originally – that has been completely soaked in strawberry juice or purée. The edges of the cake are slightly crunchy due to the caramelization of sugar while baking, adding another layer of complexity and heavenly yumminess to this extraordinary dessert. I have never had anything like it.
I will definitely be eating here again the next time I am in Kalamazoo!

UPDATE. My wife went to this place a couple of night ago, wanting a table at 9:20. The kitchen closes at 10, ostensibly. But, SORRY! the kitchen closed already!
Don’t go to this rotten place. Overpriced, uninteresting food, and FAR too pretentious for their mediocre performance.

Outstanding food and service. Probably the best in Kalamazoo. I have been here several times now and have never been disappointed. I’m not really sure why I even bother looking at the menu because everything I ever have here is outstanding, including the deserts.
You get what what you pay for so meal are never cheep.

Me and my brother in law went here after he interviewed for a job in the city. It was really delicious. We started off our meal with a smoked salmon appetizer ($ 10) which was on special that night. It was amazing and a good portion in comparison to appetizers that I get to other similar restaurants. For lunch I had a poached fluke that was on special and my brother in law got a «seafood gumbo» dish. We were both really happy with our dishes and cleared every bite off our plates. It’s a bit pricy, but this is a great restaurant for a special occasion! My brother is from New York, and he said that this food was up to par with the big city restaurants he was used to. The kitchen is right in the main dining area which is a cool experience!
Also, a big perk was that the restaurant owner stopped by our table at the end of our meal to check to see how our experience was. Our waiter was very quick and really nice.
Only complaint about this restaurant was that it was REALLY warm inside. We were sitting right near the kitchen so that may have played a factor. Overall amazing experience!

My fiancée and I decided to have a «day-​after-​my-​birthday» dinner here based on a recommendation from my parents. After confirming the choice with Unilocal,of course, we came for a later dinner on a Wednesday night. I called ahead to get our names on their waiting list; I’m not sure if it was because of the holidays or if it’s usually packed, but we were told we’d be better off coming after 8.
The restaurant itself felt very cozy, warm and busy, perfect for a freezing cold winter night. The place was packed and we had to wait about 10 minutes for a table but the man seating guest was very prompt and worked quickly to get us a table. I had a glass of champers while we waited so I was a happy camper.
Once sat, we were greeted quickly and ordered the mussels as an appetizer. Very tasty, though my fiancée thought he had one that tasted a bit off. I thought they were great. For dinner, I ordered a seafood pasta. Delicious! I just wish there had been a gluttonous helping of the pasta, I love my carbs. The fiancée got the halibut, and though I didn’t try it, he seemed to love it. My only regret of the whole meal was not having room for dessert. I’d most definitely come back for a nice romantic dinner the next time we are in the area.

Mr. MVP and I decided to try Rustica tonight for our eleventh anniversary. As usual I had to research the menu and all the reviews before we even set foot into the place, so I sort of knew what we were getting into.
It is Friday and we arrived at 7:30 p.m., so we anticipated a wait. I had read about their call ahead policy, but I was more confused by this system and we decided not to use it. When we walked in, we were told the wait was over thirty minutes, but we could be seated at the bar immediately. We took it.
A tip — if you are a party of two and the place is packed, sit at the bar because it is much quieter. The only time we had trouble hearing was when there was a large group at the bar waiting to be seated at a table. Keep in mind however, I do have hearing troubles and noise sensitivities.
The service was excellent. Team VP does not drink alcohol and because we are of drinking age some establishments give us the side eye when we ask for club soda. Rustica handled our request with grace.
Mr. MVP had the Rustica salad for a starter, which he throughly enjoyed. He said the dressing was perfect. As a salad I did notice that it was simply large leaves of butter lettuce, dressed. Pretty, but simple.
I had the special, which was brussels sprouts, sweet potato mash and steak. I had my steak cooked well done, which most likely was an insult to the kitchen, but it was perfectly cooked for me and the entire meal was amazing. The sprouts were tender and the mash was sweet and tangy. There was also blue cheese on top of the steak that added an amazing flavor.
Mr. MVP had the bouillabaisse and he ate every drop. He said that the broth was perfect and said it reminded him of his favorite cioppino. The shrimps were huge and the artichoke was a tasty addition.
For dessert we shared the brownie and the walnut banana cake. The brownie was incredibly rich. It was so rich that between the two of us we could not finish half of it. It was almost a molten brownie lava cake. Good, but so ridiculously rich. The banana walnut cake was the favorite. Mr. MVP finished that off himself. With the combination of the gelato it was simply the best. It was not too sweet and the banana was not overpowering.
Rustica was a little loud at times, but it was good loud. There were people enjoying excellent food and company. Team VP had the best seats to watch the whole show and enjoy our meals.

This place is so good, I ate here three nights last week! I was in Kalamazoo on business and Rustica was recommended to me — the best recommendation of the trip.
The first night I had the salmon and couscous which was delicious and got me hooked. The second night, I had the heirloom salad, the baked wellington and finished it with a cup of coffee and possibly the greatest brownie I have ever eaten. One my third visit, I had the mussels to start followed by the lamb shank and a cup of coffee. Delicious.
The coffee is from the Water Street Coffee Joint, and I cannot describe how amazing it is — you have to try it!
There’s a great selection of craft beers and wine (extensive). You must visit Rustica if you’re in Kalamazoo.