I really, REALLY wanted to love and embrace this place. This is probably the closest restaurant to my house and I was thrilled when it opened. I won't go into a long, wordy review. This place was okay. The service was good. The menu courageous. Inventive. But the execution was just okay. Across the eight small plates there were a couple of shining moments (the squash blossoms, the shrimp tacos), but mostly mediocrity. The room was packed with happy eaters. The hard, flat, reflected surfaces are cool but also extremely loud. I could barely hear my server. An option was to sit outside. On their patio. In the blazing, sizzling light of the setting summer sun in metal chairs and amidst an atmosphere that was more reminiscent of the nearby Bigby Coffee than a place like Chicago's Girl and the Goat. I think this place aspires to a gem like that. And falls achingly short. About the server. She was polite, attentive, professional and seemingly unacquainted with the menu and useless in acting as a guide through the vague, hipster descriptions of the dishes. I don't want to beat up Red Haven. I want them to succeed. I just won't be going back anytime soon. I'm sorry. Up your game. Act like you're a real player on the field where savvy diners live and expect better. Way better. Try. Harder. Please. read more

I have eaten at Red Haven five times, returning because others with whom I was going out wanted to go there. I would like to be more enthusiastic, but I am not. The service is friendly and efficient. I appreciate the fresh, farm-to-table approach. Some dishes are excellent; other are fairly good. The drawback is that it is expensive. For example, it cost me about $80 for myself and my daughter. That included one glass of wine. Neither of us is a big eater, so I am guessing most others would spend even more. In summary, I would eat there more often if it were less expensive, I do not choose to go there unless others want to do so. read more

We happened to hear about Red Haven's opening in passing and knew we had to try it out ourselves. As vegetarians, there are only so many places we can enjoy grabbing a nice dinner but Red Haven did absolutely amazing. The menu was well thought-out and constructed while being paired when a great atmosphere. Although some might find it loud, we felt it added to the ambiance they were going for!! We are VERY excited to return and start sampling the dessert menu!! Red Haven is a MUST EAT!!! read more

One of the worst places. Their paella was atrocious. It was salty and I'm not sure what it was, but it definitely was NOT paella. It was our first time here celebrating a birthday dinner, and we literally ordered everything on the menu and everything was bad. Also, it literally cost us 3 hours to get all of our food. Slow service, bad food and paid high price. Very disappointed. read more

Gross canned food, served in tiny portions. Do they not know that the can only costs 50 cents?

Good food . Well thought out. Would recommend this to visit again. Many diverse menu choices for everyone to enjoy.

Moving to the area from California I was on a mission to find the best restaurants in the area. Red Haven is top of the list. I read a review regarding the price and portions being disproportional, I guess this could be true by some standards but it is well worth it to me. The dishes and flavor contrasts are unique, the portions are just large enough to share yet small enough to order several and get a taste of each. Yes, with drinks the tab will climb but isn't that the case no matter where you go? Staff has always been professional and courteous. Food consistently satisfying. Desperately needing more of these types of restaurants in this area. Hate to say it but Mid Michigan is a culinary waste land and this restaurant is one of a handful for good eats. read more

For all the hype, this place did not live up to my expectations. The Roast dish was salty, as was the ravioli. Also, there were a lot of pork and shrimp dishes, which does not fit with a kosher diet. We waited 30 minutes for a table, and when they finally took us back, they placed us at the bar without even asking if we had a preference. THe whole time the cooks were yelling and making noise (which I expect, they have to talk somehow!) but it was amplified to me because we were seated at the bar. They also did not wear gloves...aren't they supposed to? I gave two stars because at least they are trying to buy local. If you want a restaurant that buys locally, I would try Fork in the Road. read more

We fnally got the chance to eat here this past weekend. My hubby was not overly excited about trying a tapas menu ("we'll spend a ton of money and still be hungry" were his concerns) but he went with my wishes to try this place. First off, I love that they use local food sources and domestic (USA) liquors, beers, wine, etc.. Having not been here before the menu was interesting.... They staff recommends you order 2-3 plates per person. We were not starving so we ordered: the soup shooter the carpachio the chicken dish the egg yolk fries... Hubby had a Bell beer and I had a glass of california pino grigio. The soup was very hearty (and also a very small portion - aka: a shooter), I split it with hubby. The carpachio was amazing (thinly sliced beets, radishes, rutabaga, watercress and the best vinagrette I've ever had on top), the chicken dish (chicken breast, surrounded by a type of chicken meat loaf with wafffles, maple syrup and blood oranges which could easily be an enree) was amazing and the potatoe/yolk/rosemary fries were a very large portion that we had a hard time finishing. Our bill came to a total of $50 and we did not leave hungry. If you like fresh vegetables, and interesting combinations you will enjoy Red Haven. This is not the restaurant that provides huge portions that will allow for doggie bags to take home the food you were not able to consume. Hubby enjoyed his dinner very much and agreed he would like to go back again and perhaps try one of the beef plates. read more

This place has some tasty stuff. The atmosphere is cozy but open and servers are super attentive without being aggressive. Definitely a diamond in the rough. read more

We made reservations online the night before, which were confirmed by a phone call that evening, and we were seated immediately upon our arrival. So our experience was already off to a good start. My wife and I celebrated our tenth anniversary there and got a nice little table in the corner. It was a full restaurant, and for good reason. We started our meal with bread, and the selection, along with the spreads were amazing! We also got potatoes and while it's been a month and I can't exactly remember how they were prepared or what they were called, I remember just going crazy over them. They were flavorful and unique. Delicious! I would agree that the protein portion of the meal, wasn't our favorite, but it was by NO means dry or cooked improperly, we just weren't used to the preparation. Still delicious, but nothing could beat the earlier portions. Local draft beers complimented the meal wonderfully, and an attentive wait staff made the experience a pleasant one. I won't be a regular due to the price, but I WILL be back at LEAST once a year and hopefully any chance I can get between those visits. Wonderful dining option in a town needing some more! read more

One of the best farm to table restaurants you'll get. Came here with my family of 7 and ordered everything on the menu, just about. It's hard to remember what we got because I'm writing this review several months later. I do remember a dish called Ragu and mini tacos. Those were absolutely amazing. Although a few dishes I could pass on all were worth trying. We dropped about $350 out the door and it was well worth it. The menu changes often due to local fresh ingredients being used. This place is about 90 minutes from my home and we have been back and will keep coming back for more. I would anticipate ordering 2-3 dishes per guest. 4-5 if you love to eat like me. read more

Our party of 5 ate at the Red Haven for our son' s graduation last night. We spent over 300.00$ on 10 tapas plates including beer or wine per person. The food was not worthy of such high prices. Some of the plates seemed like a chemistry experiment and we all had to laugh. Our waiter was very nice and gave us good service, but this is the place if you like strange food, have deep pockets, and don't have a big appetite. read more

The Red Haven has great tasting food served in incredibly small portions. The dishes are beautifully plated, but you'll need to order 7 or 8 of them if you're hungry. The "big" serving of butternut squash soup consisted of 6 teaspoons of soup. They described their service as family style, designed for sharing, this is very misleading. Following this model they should be thought of as a very expensive Tapas style restaurant where every serving is charged for separately. My Vegan friends loved the dishes and there were many unique selections. The Walleye was passable, the hamburger (Ground rib eye?) was very good. You will be much happier with the meal if you plan to spend $60 per person or more. Following their suggestion to share 6 or 7 dishes among a party of four is a sure way to be disappointed. You would each have a bite or two per dish at most/ I will not be going back as there are many other very nice restaurants worth trying before the Red Haven in the very expensive category read more

I went to Red Haven with a friend, wanting to try something new. It had been recommended to me as a "Main Street Ann Arbor" quality restaurant. I hate to hurt the pride of fellow East Lansing-ers but that is simply not true. Firstly and most importantly, the food literally left me with a bad taste in my mouth that could only be cleansed with a generous helping of frozen yogurt afterward. Not all of it was bad, but what was bad was really bad and expensive, which makes inexcusable. I got the chicken and potatoes, the ravioli, and the chips to share. The chips were expensive for what they were, but non offensive, mixing salty and sweet. The ravioli was creative with a mix of apples vinaigrette and ravioli. However, one of mine was under-cooked and a little crunchy. It was far too small for the price as well. The chicken and potatoes, [fry] was the horrible dish I wish I could un-eat. It was overly salted and overly spiced. The dark meat chicken (something the menu didn't seem important enough to mention) was salted, the gravy poured on top was salted, and the fries were salted. I got a piece of muscle or gristle that I had to spit out. It cost me eight dollars, but I could not stand to finish the salty soggy mess it turned into five minutes after being served. I ordered the chicken and potatoes admittedly with little understanding of what it actually was. That is because the menu is pretentious and resembles a page from a food livejournal trying way too hard. It seems inexpensive until you realize that they expect you to order multiple overpriced small dishes and make you pay for bread. As reflected above, it is hard to tell what you're actually ordering from the menu. I didn't realize how truly terrible my order was for my body (fries were billed as potatoes, the chicken was fried dark meat) until it arrived drenched in gravy. The service was okay, but I couldn't really hear much of what our waiter was saying because of all the noise in this cramped dining room space. The hostess was rather abrupt, but they were busy. I found the decorations were nice. Still, what irked me the most was the price. Comparatively priced restaurants will include free bread or a salad, and wait for it . . . good food with decent portions. I could spend the same amount in Ann Arbor and get an actually delicious meal with an appetizer at almost any restaurant on Main Street. And that's part of the issue. Restaurants in Ann Arbor are forced to provide value for their prices, but Red Haven, because it has been billed as the one "gourmet" restaurant in East Lansing, seems to be getting away with being pretentious without substance due to the perceived "lack" of competition. And the funniest thing is that there are better, cheaper, restaurants five minutes away. Go to Sansu. Get a Bento-Box with free salad and miso soup for half the price. Go to Sultan's. They do not charge you five dollars for their warm delicious endless bread. Whatever you do, save your money and don't go to Red Haven. read more

I'm sorry to say I was a bit disappointed by my dinner here. We ordered two entrees and several appetizers. My main complaint is that the seasoning was inconsistent (the dishes were either way too salty, or under seasoned). The BBQ pork belly entree was delicious and perfectly executed, but everything else was so-so (mainly because of issues with seasoning). Of course, I'm really happy to see restaurants like this popping up in Lansing... farm to table restaurants like this are helping to improve the overall food scene. Hopefully they will make a few adjustments to their technique! read more

Menu is kind of special... But I don't like it. The menu recommends us to order 2-3 for each person~ totally unclear menu... The restaurant was really cold! Made us feel our dinner is cold... Oh! I have to say that! The restaurant is noisy! read more

After paying about $25 for a meal, no matter how delicious, I don't like to leave hungry.

I love experience dining and I don't mind going to places where you pay a lot for a little and it's amazing. What I do mind is paying a lot and being served substandard fare for the type of restaurant that is being advertised. As a tapas place, Red Haven is overpriced and the food isn't anywhere near what I would expect from this type of establishment. Now, the ingredient quality seems very good, but the flavor profiles that the chef comes up with and the food that ends up being served to you is about what I would expect from Denny's or a slightly more upscale Cracker Barrel (in a much prettier presentation anyway). Seriously, it comes to you looking amazing, but once you put the food into your mouth, it's like all of the flavor was in the presentation and they are relying on you eating with your eyes and not with your tastebuds. The entire experience was just a letdown. I feel like they've been able to carve out a niche due more to the poor restaurant and food choices available in the Lansing area rather than having a high quality product that makes you want to come back for more. When I'm looking for tapas, I would rather drive to Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo because even with the gas factored in, I feel like I'm getting my money's worth compared to what you get at Red Haven. read more

Excellent food, locally sourced. Such a cute, creative restaurant! The small plates are actually generous. This is very fun for a group. There is a very good wine selection, good craft beers, and creative cocktails. Don't miss this gem. read more

Quiche: ice cold on inside, black burnt on bottom. Disappointed. Ambience was nice, but we likely won't be back.

Incredible. The level of quality in this restaurant was totally unexpected to me. Service at the bar was superb, as was the food and wine choices recommended. read more

By far the best restaurant in East Lansing. We celebrated our son's graduation from MSU last weekend and had dinner party for 25 guests. I had worked with Nina over the phone in getting everything organized from the food menu to drinks. She could not have done a better job in making the event spectacular. The food was truly fresh and spectacular. Nina created a unique four course meal that everyone enjoyed. The service was also fabulous. Their staff is top notch and really know how to treat their guests. Nina and the staff at Red Haven, thank you so much for making our special occasion even more special. We will definitely be back and highly recommend this gem of a restaurant. read more

This place is SO. GOOD. We ordered too much food and left uncomfortably full because it's all just so good and couldn't stop eating. From presentation to taste to excellent service, Red Haven didn't disappoint. read more

Had a nice meal here before seeing Anthony Bourdain - appetizers and cocktails were great but entrees were nothing to write home about.

Amazing presentation, staff and fresh food! Love the twists on the dishes! So delicious!!!

Came here for dinner and a week later my mouth is still watering. The food was not only some of the best food I have ever eaten in east Lansing, but the staff was charming and kind. I recommend the fry, and the smoke. Coming back here ASAP read more

I really love this spot. I've been several times for lunch, happy hour and dinner, so I suppose it's time to write a review. This is farm to table at its best. Everything is prepared fresh when ordered. Presentation is always on point - beautiful, fragrant, and accompanied by explanations from the servers. Quiche - delicious. Cheese - delicious. Bake - yum. Drinks - double yum. Better adjectives escape me, because I'm always so pleased and content after eating here. I haven't yet tried dessert, but only because I always run out of room. Perhaps I'll start with dessert next time! read more

Hands down the best food and local drinks in town. The service is incredible, the delicious menu rotates frequently, and the prices are perfect to make it a weekly habit. I am so much more productive at work on days I'm looking forward to happy hour at red haven. read more

I brought my friends who visited me to impress her but it turned out to be a huge disappointment for us. The atmosphere was nice and that's all about this restaurant. We had a burger and quiche. I guess burger was way better but you can find burger anywhere. read more

Fantastic restaurant for the adventurous diner. Amazing taste combinations to surprise and delight paired with inventive mixologist inspired cocktails. Pricey but well worth it! read more

Pretty good. I love the fresh and local idea! If you like healthy food prepared in a unique way with appropriate serving sizes , go here!

I really enjoyed Red Haven and I wish the area had more restaurants like this. I've been living in SoCal for the past 8 years and this is the dining experience I am accustomed to. The food was excellent, the service was great, and the ambiance was perfect. We had a few things to share but the salmon was the most memorable. So many places overcook it in the Lansing area but Red Haven cooked it perfectly. My only complaint is that the staff doesn't seem to know much about wines. If I were an owner, I would add a tasting menu with wine pairings or teach the staff about pairing. read more

Let the courses begin! A refreshing change of pace in the Lansing area, where fresh ingredients meet unique and intriguing flavor combinations. Each time I've visited with a small group, which makes sharing the small plates easy, and we can order a large variety and no one leaves hungry(in fact, just the opposite.) The decor is modern, but homey, the service is impeccable, with great wait staff who can answer any question, give great suggestions, and have felt like a new friend by the time we were done with dinner. Each course really does delight the senses, with excellent flavor pairings in each dish, as well as texture and color variety. Don't forget dessert!! read more

This is easily one of my favorite places in the Lansing area. By that I mean it constantly vies for #1, and never falls below #3. The food is consistently excellent, as are the liquors, cocktails, ambiance, and service. This place truly embodies farm-to-table and makes great use of seasonal ingredients. This place demonstrates that food can be as delicious at it is beautiful. read more

I love the farm to table cuisine at Red Haven, but bring a cushion for the very hard seats if you are even slightly arthritic. Everything is quite pricey but usually delicious. Portions look small but they are so packed with flavor, novelty, and variety that the eating experience is satisfying after you dig in and try everything. Just remember, they are closed on Mondays. read more

Must have reservations. I love the atmosphere tapas creates with fun and sharing. We had the chicken, walleye, shrimp aspic, carpaccio, fries, sweet potatoes, egg nog, and bread pudding and they were excellent! read more

One of the best meals I've ever had! Loved the staff, the unbelievable flavor packed dishes and the sipping drink was divine. Recommend the carpaccio and the fry. Also, loved the toast. Wow! read more

Chose this restaurant based on the reviews here, and the good stuff is all true. The food was AMAZING! We were talking about it for the rest of the night. Doesn't look like much on the outside (and I am partial to patios) but the interior was warm and welcoming. One tip, my friend and I followed the suggested 2-3 plates each and we were stuffed at the end - suggest ordering as you go. Grind was heavenly. Highly recommend. Fresh and delicious. read more

I will start off with some positives about Red Haven. The flavor was all there in the food and everything tasted delicious. The presentation was also on point. But the plate sizes were extremely tiny, not just small. I have been to many small plates restaurants in Chicago, New York, L.A., and Detroit so I am very familiar with small plates restaurants and what to expect, after all tapas restaurants are my favorite. At Red Haven, I received two pieces of small cauliflower which costed about $14. Are you kidding me? I can get a whole head of cauliflower for $2. Do not come to this restaurant unless you are trying to spend a lot of money and not be fully satisfied and leaving hungry. I was very disappointed because although everything tasted wonderful, it should be called extremely small plates, not just small plates. read more