The New Fashioned Way to Dine Downtown
By Anne Elias
There’s no mistaking it. When a chic downtown hotspot is also
the place for the best pizza, wine list, and ambience in downtown Kalamazoo,
you have a winner on your hands. When you find a hyper-contemporary space,
housed inside a building dedicated to Kalamazoo tradition, you’ve
found your next old reliable: Epic Bistro.
Situated in the second block of the Kalamazoo Mall, just steps from
the longtime Kalamazoo landmark, The State Theatre, Epic Bistro is housed
in the Epic Center. Built to accommodate the Kalamazoo arts community,
the center is host to the Kalamazoo Symphony, the Arts Council of Greater
Kalamazoo, Fontana Chamber Arts, and the Wellspring Theatre, home to
Kalamazoo’s best modern dance troupe. But the restaurant is like
stepping into another world entirely.
Open during the dinner hour only, Epic Bistro greets visitors with slate
tile, wrought iron fencing, hardwood flooring, and an open, display kitchen.
In the bar, etched glass tables showcase different wine labels, while
the bar staff serves up forty plus wines by the glass. The offerings:
a classy casual, almost trendy setting, with the likes of wood-fired
pizzas, small plates, and killer signature dishes.
Among them, potato-crusted sea scallops perfectly browned and crispy,
served with a luscious citrus sauce drizzled about the plate. Even better—the
four cheese pizza, with mozzarella, white cheddar, goat cheese and parmesan,
flavored with pesto and artichokes and fired in the wood-burning, brick
oven. The large plates (or entrée section of the menu) boasts
such amazement as duck, fresh salmon or rainbow trout, and of course,
the filet.
The service mantra, “my pleasure” is audible from nearly
every table. In fact, the impeccable service is reason enough to return.
One guest provided unsolicited feedback [at kalamazooeats.com] by saying, “Fabulous
wine, interesting food and good service. One of our favorite places…” Another, “You
know how when you see a really good movie, you find yourself telling
everyone about it, even though they didn`t ask? That`s what I did after
my first visit to Epic Bistro.”
Apparently, Epic Bistro is the new fashioned way to dine in downtown
Kalamazoo.
Epic Bistro
359 S. Burdick
Downtown Kalamazoo
Mon-Thurs: 5-10pm
Fri-Sat: 5-11pm
Sun: 5-9pm
(269)342-1300
Tell them The Guide sent you!
