Came from out of town to celebrate our anniversary and was excited to try this place. The menu and the atmosphere didn't match, but that's fine by me! I saw bone marrow and tiger shrimp with house made gnocchi and blackened red snapper and I presumed fancy restaurant. We arrived and most tables seemed to be eating burgers and sandwiches, and the decor and noise level felt more like a burger joint than a fancy restaurant.
We ordered the bone marrow appetizer, because it's so rare to find that gem on a menu. Unfortunately, it came out about 5 minutes after our dinner entrees, but we were impressed with six huge bones with a respectable amount of marrow each. This appetizer is definitely suitable for a larger table, and at a reasonable price. However, it was smothered in brown sugar... it had caramelized into a crispy glaze that completely masked the flavor of the bone marrow itself. A dish with such delicate flavors shouldn't be covered in sugar. The side plate of spicy giardiniera, shaved ginger, and brown mustard was baffling. Am I supposed to put those spicy/savory things on bone marrow already covered in brown sugar? This dish cried out, "Help me! The chef here has amazing ingredients but is very confused about how to use them!"
My gnocchi with tiger shrimp was excellent. They tossed in some of that giardiniera mentioned earlier to give it a bit of a kick, and the creamy sauce combined with a bit of spice made for a very good dish. However, with the appetizer coming out during the meal, the flavor combination of creamy-and-spicy with syrupy-sweet-and-savory was a bit off-putting. This speciifc appetizer and main course combination should never be eaten at the same time.
My companion enjoyed her meal. The service was pleasant and kept tabs on us, and apologized for the appetizer mix-up (but didn't offer anything to make it right). Overall, I liked the place, but wait staff should be trained to know that if you have an appetizer that takes 15-20 minutes to cook, you should hold off on putting in the dinner order so things come out in the proper order. Try it out if you're in South Haven, and enjoy the uniqueness of the menu and atmosphere. read more