Bona Sera Cafe

Food and menu is great, highly recommended! They went through a rough patch with growing pains but now the service and menu is pretty solid. Thanks to Shana, Mari, and Britney, who have been awesome servers in our last three visits.

Super impressed and so happy to see this caliber of restaurant in Ypsi (especially on Michigan Ave — yo!)
Started with the goat cheese app — mild goat cheese covered in gourmet honey, a variety of toasted nuts, cranberries (or craisins?), and baguette slices — so simple yet delicious and I’m still dreaming about it. Also ordered a special tart app — like a really good caramelized onion quiche but with a thin pastry crust on bottom and top — I’m not a huge egg fan but this was also delicious.
Ordered the grilled portobello for my entrée and it is truly a veggie masterpiece Dr Fuhrman could endorse — great flavor and texture and loved the creamy cashew sauce too. Both sides were perfect — grilled zucchini that was still firm and whole slightly smashed redskin potatoes that were so much better than a redskin usually is. My dad loved the special filet with morel mushrooms in a cream sauce — totally worth the higher than other menu items price — filet was perfectly cooked to his temp. The only dish that we all were a bit disappointed with was the grits with shrimp — something about the various flavors was a bit off and it was a little greasy. By then we were all so wowed by everything else that it wasn’t a huge issue ;)
Highly recommend and can’t wait to revisit!

While I am relatively new to Ypsilanti I have been going to Bona Sera on a pretty regular basis (about 6 times in the past year). The food is extraordinary and consistently presented in a wonderful manner with fresh ingredients along with unique combinations. It is a culinary treat at reasonable prices.
Additionally, I can’t say enough about the staff. In particular I have had the pleasure of being waited on by two waitresses that are sincerely exceptional. I am greeted in a professional yet personable way and whether it is on the off hours or packed I can expect my meal within the same amount of time.
The owners are usually always there and accessible. They are eccentric in a genuine and playful way and make themselves available to anyone that enters. A real treasure for Ypsilanti!
Mari is an incredible waitress that is a wonderful addition to the dining experience. Thank you for your making Bona Sera the best!

If you’re into crowded, hipster, over-​priced organic foods then this is the place for you! Otherwise, I’d probably avoid it.
We had the scallop appetizer which was good, but the sauce tasted a little like a grass smoothie. We followed up by splitting a mushroom fladbread and crab mac-​n-​cheese. The flatbread was flat… definitely flat… and there was mushroom on it… but it tasted like cardboard. The crab mac had a VERY odd spice neither of us could identify, though both agreed should never be present in that dish (possibly in NO dish).
For the money, there are many better places to eat in the area, so I’d suggest branching out in a different direction.

As someone that lives locally and had been a repeat patron, I am regretful to say that I will not be returning. Their customer service is an absolute disgrace and I hope this reaches management/​ownership.
My fiancée was told in the morning (prior to opening) that despite it being Mother’s Day with reserved seating, we were still welcome to stop by and they would fit us in. I had my mother first arrive there a little after 2pm to put our name down, only to find out the hostess would not. My mother called me moments later to inform me that they were strictly not accepting anyone not already on the reservation list. To add further insult to injury, when I drove by to pick my mother up there was tons of open seating both outside on their patio, as well as visibly indoors. My mother even mentioned to me how she noticed quite a bit of food still available on the buffet, and was highly shocked they would not seat us as a party of only three.
I am deeply disappointed that they would not honor their word from hours earlier that same day, ESPECIALLY when it was not the slightest bit busy. Hopefully they can figure out their own policies across all employees and learn to properly communicate them. As for me, I won’t be returning nor recommending to anyone else.

Amazing food! Everything I’ve ever had has been delicious. Cannot find this kind of quality anywhere else in Ypsi. Great happy hour! Half off drinks and really great appetizer specials. So glad to have this gem in my neighborhood.

A great restaurant for lunch, dinner and brunch. I am particularly fond of their basement area which is increasingly used for concerts, fundraisers and more.

The food is good, and the atmosphere is interesting. The happy hour half off wine/​beer was a nice surprise. The Black and Bleu Mac and Cheese was delicious.

I met up here with a friend since I was on my way home to Milwaukee from Detroit. It is a cute little corner place with neat décor. I love the silly prayer candles… I’m not sure exactly what the goal is with the décor, it’s kind of all over in a funky, almost incredibly so religious way that it’s mocking it? That’s the way I took it and thought it was funny ;-)
We were there for brunch and I got the potato dish with hollaindaise sauce. It was a great recommendation from our server (who had cute dimple piercings)! The huge windows created an incredibly relaxing atmosphere on a Saturday morning! I would totally return if I were in the area again!

Dora Diaspora is bar tending… Best experience here by far. I love this restaurant and further more love that I met Dora because she made my time here a blast!

Great food, great service. I had a happy hour Pinot Noir for a mere $ 4, hubs had soft parade. We ordered the scallop with Pesto app. Scallops had great sear and were cooked perfect but we both agreed the pesto, while tasty, was overpowering and a mismatch. I would still order those scallops again though but perhaps just to add to a dish (which you can do for $ 8.)
Husband had Bi Bada Bing which was a neat take on bibimbop with porchetta. So yum.
I had shrimp and grits which were great.
We also had house gelato. Sea salt caramel and totally yum. We will definitely go back.

Everything I ordered was perfect! I highly recommend their Caprese salad…

I think I like the idea of Bona Sera Café more than the actuality of it.
Service in there is just spotty. At best it is poky, at worst it is slow as molasses and unfriendly to boot. The portions are also hit or miss, you can get smaller at times and as a lot of the items are meatless it can leave you peckish an hour later. Even items with meat are pretty sparse on meat. It can run expensive trying to fill up a man like my husband. I prefer more myself to be honest but hey I am no delicate flower. I figure we are not their target audience but still. If you are looking for hearty I would go elsewhere.
I do love things like the Orange salad, featuring orange wheels, red onion, white balsamic reduction, olive oil, salt & pepper. It is simple and just the right balance of flavors. I also am fond of the chilled beet soup with roasted beets, yogurt, cucumber and dill served with a slice of pickled egg. I am a sucker for beets and a chilled beet soup is just awesome in my book always. The macs all seem to be tasty.
The putanesca? Strangely flat. Just bland. How is putanesca bland? The tom yum shrimp and grits? Also underseasoned. Sad as I really love shrimp and grits and would have been all over the other varietals.
For the price and the wait, I just am not willing to settle for meh.

Last night my husband and I decided to try out the Bona Sera Café. From what I’ve read about them online it seems like they used to be an underground supper club and turned into a brick and mortar restaurant. Overall, the experience was really positive. They have a great, funky atmosphere, as evidenced by the Elvis lamp that greets you when you walk in the door. Incidentally, the electricity went out midway through our first course, and despite this huge setback, the kitchen and waitstaff rallied and were still able to provide patrons food service.
While my husband and I weren’t in love with our main entrees — he ordered the crab mac and cheese and I ordered something called the bi bada bing, which is an Italian riff on a traditional Korean dish — what I absolutely fell head over heels in love with was my salad and dessert.
I ordered the orange salad which obviously came with orange segments, it also had arugula, shaved onion, and a white balsamic vinaigrette. There’s something so poetic about a perfectly executed salad and that’s what this was. It was dressed to the point where you could taste the oil and vinegar but the salad wasn’t dripping in it. And it was salted! Never underestimate the power of salting a salad. And this tasted like a beautifully delicate, flaky sea salt. .
But let’s not forget dessert. I ordered the lime tres leches cake. I am someone who will order anything on a menu if it has lime or lemon in it. I am not usually a fan of rich, heavy chocolate desserts. But I will order something light and citrusy. And the tres leches cake was everything I love in a dessert: light, citrusy, and slightly sinful. You know a tres leches cake is good when the «leche» seeps out the bottom.
Since the Bona Sera Café has such a fun, funky vibe and chefs who are passionate about food, I look forward to trying it again to see what their menu is like in the fall/​winter. I think if they tweak a few things, they will be a hot spot in the Ann Arbor area.

The food here is delicious and cooked beautifully. I had the scallops and grits and it was tasty. My friend had the salmon (also good) and husband had crab mac n cheese (delish). The only thing that wasn’t awesome was the service. Can the server be a bit more friendly? courteous? attentive? Our server tried to take my friend’s plate away as she was still eating off of it. Rude.
We’ll return for the food but the service can use some extra TLC.

I have been putting off visiting this restaurant for no other reason than I thought it would be nothing special.
I couldn’t have been more mistaken! This place is nothing BUT special!
The dishes are very unique and fresh, as are the ingredients. My wife had Grits with Catfish and I had the Tuxedo Scallops. I have had scallops from some fantastic restaurants, even one in downtown Ann Arbor, and I must say these were the best I’ve ever had! Bursting with flavor and cooked to perfection.
They also have a good beer, wine and cocktail menu. My wife had a Ginger Margarita that was delicious and stiff… Just right. I had s unique beer that was infused with coffee beans that was surprisingly delicious.
Desert was incredible as well.
The atmosphere and décor was very warm and inviting and clean. The service was just right.
Can’t recommend this place enough!
Can’t recommend t

My husband and I decided to check out Bona Sera for dinner tonight after debating the usual Ypsi joints. For some reason, we’ve never been in here despite living in Ann Arbor for the past 6 years. We’ve been missing out! Prices are very reasonable, and the food is quite good.
I love the ambiance of Bona Sera — it’s a big place, tall ceilings, lots of whimsical décor, great bright colors, lots of tables. The menu is really well put-​together. A few well-​chosen apps and salads, and a nice selection of mains. They have a mac-​n-​cheese section of the menu, a protein-​and-​grits (you can get shrimp, porchetta, other things), and a nice selection of main plates, which includes a grilled salmon, flank steak, and an Italian-​bi-​bim-​bap creation. The main plates all come with the mash and the vegetable of the day.
My husband ordered the crab mac and cheese, which came with a little side salad. It was a nice size, with lots of nice panko bread crumbs on top. I had a special, which they called tuxedo scallops. Four seared scallops came atop black rice with a nice side of steamed broccoli and a delicious thai lime sauce on top.
I thought my dinner would come with a salad, but it didn’t and I never asked about it.
Bona Sera has a really nice and interesting selection of cocktails (all $ 8), craft beer and wine by the glass and bottle — all very reasonably priced.
Other reviews have complained of slow service. It seemed kind of slow to us too, but since they don’t bring out any bread, and the salad is served with the meal instead of before it, it can seem like a while for the food to come out. If I could suggest any change, it would be to do the salad as a separate course (making it a bit bigger) and offer some bread to go along with the drinks. That would round out the experience. I would also recommend adding one more app. The flat breads were a bit pricy ($ 11 for a small?) and I didn’t love the sound of the toppings, as I dislike both blue cheese and truffle. The honey-​sriracha wings sounded great, but I haven’t yet had them. I would love to come back for drinks and nibbles, and to have a couple more options in the nibbles category would be great.
I look forward to returning!

The food is amazing, the only reason I wouldn’t bump this up to a 5-​star is the slow service.
Our table ordered the Mac & Cheese flight to start. Three different types — bacon, truffle & 4 cheese. They all had a super good broiled crust on top. I didn’t get a big flavor change with each, except for the bacon that had nice bits of thick bacon, but the Mac & cheese itself was really good. For a meal I ordered the shrimp & grits. Definitely go with the large size. The shrimp was tender & there were really good bits of pancetta added and the balsamic reduction sauce went great with the grits, onions & green onions — delicious! The other meals at our table looked great too, but I didn’t try.
We had beer to drink and most were $ 4/​bottle, which for a restaurant I think was cheap — $ 4 soft parade, ok! The cocktails were $ 8 on the menu, but our table didn’t order any. Another thing we did not try but sounded good was their homemade gelato.
Our server was super friendly, but seemed overwhelmed and the restaurant was only maybe ½ full. We waited to get drinks when we first sat down, waited quite a while to order and waited to get refills on drinks. On the contrary, the atmosphere was really nice, so we didn’t mind waiting — but don’t go here if you have anywhere to be in an hour.

Update… a little late but…
After my last review the good folks at Bona Sera contacted me in an effort to massage my hurt feelings. Well they sure did! They treated me and Sandi like royalty! The folks here are awesome and have a world class staff! I’m sure as they grow the menu will evolve and hopefully include some more vegan offerings but I wanna give em a shout out as awesome ambassadors of the Ypsi community. If your in the area stop in and check them out, I’m sure you will like the experience. I look forward to a return trip in the very near future.
Thx Bona Sera!
Mark

I still can’t figure out why, after a couple years, I don’t put Bona Sera on my map of consistently dined-​at places. But here are some theories:
Even though the interior is rich with windows, lighting, and some warm decoration, the space still always feels empty to me — partly because I’ve never been here with more than one or two tables filled, and partly because the sound just echoes around and isn’t quite designed out.
The menu has good looking things on it, ranging from comfort food (I admit the chicken and grits are really luxurious and delicious) to health food (the kale salad has a tasty garlic dressing), the portions and prices fluctuate as does the food quality. As an example, the brownie with gelato will run you $ 10 and comes with two large scoops of gelato on a giant, very hard and dense ‘slice’ of brownie which is about the size of a giant pizza slice. Even for sharing it was totally overwhelming and the flavors/​textures were not pleasant.
I always get the impression that nothing is fixed. You would think that a big ol’ pomo like myself would love that (it’s all in flux, maaaaan), but I just can’t seem to set my roots down. I never know what the hours are and I never know what they have to offer (do they have fresh veggie/​fruit juices anymore? they do not. Do they have tea and coffee? Yes, but no one is trained as a barista. Do they have booze? Maybe?).
And I just can’t pin down the identity of the place.
Nothing is bad here, it just doesn’t grab me. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying to ‘get it.’