Cool place with a mixed crowd, and I love their food.. it's actually not what you would expect from a dark, kinda' run-down place. The vegetarian options are appreciated. Good prices on beer and I know they always have specials going on. Often there will be people studying here on week nights, which I think is pretty cool. Locals also frequent this place. Nice service. Good hang out place. I think the interior could use some remodeling since things feel and look dirty. And I wish they were open earlier if they serve coffee and brunch... it's not really a cafe. This is a bar! read more

Good service, nice bartenders, lots of room to spread out into with large groups. Sometimes they're out of certain liquors, but the bartenders don't hesitate to cook me up custom concoctions based on what I tell them I like. And that makes for amazing service! read more

This is the best venue in Lansing! Looooove this place! I've attended fund raisers for local non-profits and hosted events here. The owner, Colleen, is AMAZING! She seems to know everyone & when I forgot our projector, she had one there within 10 minutes. I've hosted two events that reached near capacity & everyone LOVED the location, venue, drink & food prices, and ALWAYS FRIENDLY & smiling faces! I can't say enough good things about this place! read more

I moved to Lansing from the Detroit area for the year to complete an internship in the area. Searching from Okemos to downtown Lansing for a place where I could write and work comfortable with no real luck until the Avenue Cafe saved me. I try to support independently run businesses as it is the the Avenue Cafe makes it easy by having great atmosphere, local beer, and coffee. I am thankful I've had this place to hang out until I can move back to my more usual haunts. The one thing I wish is that when they have food, that they focused on including slightly higher quality ingredients, but I figure, that is easy enough to fix, eh? Oh, and if you enjoy jazz, be sure to stop up Thursday nights. read more

Honestly I crave their food daily. The bartenders are amazing and will you treat you like they've known you forever. Very welcoming, very good food, exceptional people. No complaints. Events daily and student specials on Thursday's! read more

I'm a huge fan of The Avenue Cafe. Not only do they offer a great venue for local talent and community events -- and often opens their doors to them for free -- but they have ample room to accommodate more than one type of group: There's a room off to the side for a more private party, a bar with seating for folks that prefer to be close to the action, and an upper tier of booths (and bookshelves!) for those like me who are more introverted. There is another huge bonus in that they collaborated with Everybody Reads, their next door neighbor, and created an entryway between the two businesses to encourage cross-pollination of ideas/business/support. The owner, Colleen, is a dear and does wonders in the kitchen and is a go-to person for connecting people. I once sent a visiting activist to her for advice on who to connect to in this community, and Colleen not only readily supplied her with names and numbers, but called them ahead of time to get them excited about the planned event and even showed up in support! I love what they've done to transform themselves recently and encourage even more/better use of the space. If you haven't gone there recently, go check it out for yourself and tell Colleen HI! You're likely to be met with a warm smile that will make you feel like you've come home. read more

The whiz in the kitchen consistently offers tasty eclectic fare. You may not be able to get your 'favorite' dish as the menu is ever changing. But I think this adds to the flair. Try something new. Its all good actually. The venue itself is ideal for a neighborhood coffee shop/bar. The pinball machines are a big draw for my youngins' as well as the very talented artists that perform here. The Ave. really is the place to be. read more

I love coming into the Avenue on any given night, either to study or work or enjoy the live music. I became addicted to Chai Lattes thanks to their suggestion once :) There food for me has always been delicious and the staff has never been short of friendly and good people. This is a really cool place and I can't wait to see how they grow. read more

honestly Im not that into hipsters or the punk scene but I gotta say this is my favorite bar Ive been to. I got a pitcher of beer and some top shelf food all for dirt cheap and they were playing beetlejuice for some film fest thing. overall the place just has a nice blend of college kids my age and chill older people and the service and ambience/vibe is really on point. Good deals on cheap beer really makes this place the perfect bar imo. read more

Stopped in for the Ruckus Ramen after work. The miso ramen was really satisfying. With the atmosphere of a punk/dive music venue & loads of pinball!..bet their large second floor balcony would be a great vantage point to see a band..I'd definitely stop back for cheap drinks , food & music when I'm through here next. read more

Went there on a Sunday night and the creeps were out. The bar was OK, but the clientele was not. We were minding our own business talking amongst ourselves and kept getting harassed. The bartender tried to tell us not to make a scene when all we were doing was trying to enjoy our drinks. We had to leave early due to physical threats from the self proclaimed regulars. Not my kind of establishment. read more

The physical space is excellent and I like that the venue hosts such diverse events and bands. I used to come here and study when it was Gone Wired, but now it is not open until 3pm and is more of a bar. I want to like it so much but: -the food sucks. I love that they have vegan/veg options but they are not very good and over priced for what it is -the service sucks. If you do order food, be prepared to wait a long time. The last time I was there, my friend got a huge clump of hair in her food. The manager came out and apologized and offered her a new plate but she obviously lost her appetite. Another friend of mine ordered a very standard drink - rum and coke - but received GIN and coke (which was mostly gin. Ew). If they could improve the service, food, drinks, and be more professional I would like it much more. I do hope they keep hosting unique events in town like the recent Queer Comedy Show. But you'd be better off getting the excellent Chinese food next door than eating there. read more

Bad news! I cant believe how unfair a so called professional business treated me, my little sister, my brother and his girlfriend we never got the water we ordered from the waitress who rolled her eyes at all of us and stomped around with an attitude, my Michigan drivers license was called a fake by all the employees I even showed them my credit cards that have my picture and name on them also they still didn't think the photos looked like me, what a joke I'm 23 years old and never have I been denied from buying an adult beverage, so I wrote a bad review at how mediocre the service was and how we didn't deserve to be treated in such ways and then they wanted me to apologize?! They even tried to intimidate me by having a girl come up to me and asked for my name and other things, like who are you?! Wow never have I been so disrespected, belittled and humiliated shows how unprofessional they are and how much they care for their customers and business... read more

This place is down the block from our house. We have given it many chances over the years yet are always horribly disappointed and quite often offended by the treatment we receive. The worst service ever, but after reading the bathroom wall graffiti staff has written to complain about customers, I can see customer service is not a priority. It's mind boggling that the owner would allow this. The food takes a long time, we've never had an order come out right and often things are cold & bland. We ordered a pineapple upside down cake and strawberry shortcake recently. The whipped cream was really some strange, sugary frosting and the upside down cake was canned pineapple on the store bought spongecake used for the strawberry shortcake with the gross frosting on top. Last summer I stopped in with my two year old for a smoothie. Waited 10 minutes while the "server" behind the counter had a personal conversation with her friend. When I finally interrupted her, she rolled her eyes, sighed and slowly walked over and stared at me without a word. I asked for a smoothie and was told they didn't have smoothies, they were seasonal. This was mid June so I asked what season and she grumbled then walked away. A few minutes later we just left. They can't seem to make up their mind about what hours to keep or what kind of business it is. A cafe, a wi-fi study cafe, now a music venue. Guests are so often ignored by waitstaff that they approach the bar to place an order. Instead of training the servers better they put up a sign that reads "no orders at the bar unless you are sitting here." I have many other horror stories, including what has happened to a few friends who left honest reviews but I won't get into that right now. read more