bell's eccentric cafe

not impressed. i wanted to like it, i really did. but the service was bad, the food came out cold, and it was just an all-around so-so experience. i think i might need to gobacksome other time when it isn't so crowded. the beer was good though.

nice beergarten. myself and two co-workers stopped in here for beers and food a few weeks ago while in town on business. i'm a big fan of bell's beer and they had many different varieties on tap that you cannot get elsewhere. the ordering system for the food was a bit strange but once we figured that out, we got our food and it was quite good. i would definitely comebackif i'm everbackin town.

so rich and smooth. enjoyed a brew from the tap along with a crowd of middle age to older folks. you could converse easily over the noise while enjoying one of bell's many brews available. very short bar menu that i will have to try when i ambackin town

new perspectives on beer. we love bells (especially their two hearted) and we had to make a trip here... we thought that their set up ordering food and beer at the bar and picking it up ourselves was a little weird.. (fyi they do accept credit cards now) we tried a couple different beers including best brown and an american pale ale (a few beers that haven't made it to our local stores). honestly we were a little disappointed that they weren't very flavorful so we fellbackon our old fav... and it tasted very different from what we are used to! just delicious and fruity and fresh!

solid food, great beer. went a couple nights in a row whilst in kalamazoo for a conference. although the place was pretty full, the high ceilings allowed enough volume to escape that it wasn't too loud to have good conversation. plus...no annoying jukebox, minus some quiet-er tunes coming from the direction of the kitchen.

beer-wise, being a draught-fanatic, i had to limit myself only to things i couldn't get in a bottle in indiana. so no two-hearted, my normal stand-by. instead, i had the le batteur, a malty french-inspired wheat. tasty & not-too-sweet (like some of the wheats that are coming out now); the mead, at 10.5% still quite refreshing and not too booze-y. lastly, had a sour brown ale, which was far-and-away my favorite. sours have been getting a little more play in the states as of late, and i felt like this was a complex, great example. even convinced some skeptics to get a pint of their own.

food-wise, had a couple sandwiches (chicken pesto & veggie burger w/ pineapple). both were tasty, warm, and pleasantly large considering they were only 7 bucks. they came with a boatload of potato chips and pickle spear. beers were $3 to $6.50 (for the mead), so acceptable, good prices on that front as well.

will definitely bebackwhenever i have reason to be in kalamazoo again.

a gem in kalamazoo. bell's is a gem in downtown kalamazoo. it is truly one of the top microbreweries in the united states. at bell's it is really all about the beer, but the limited food menu is also very good. the menu normally consists of high quality sandwiches and burgers that are made fresh per order.. i have yet to have a bad one and my wife and i hang out at bell's quite a bit. last night i had a smoked ham sandwich and chips that was nothing fancy, but very tasty. the eccentric café itself has retained a funky charm over the years and there is not much better in the world than enjoying a fresh bell's brew in the beer garden on a warm summer evening. the other thing i have always loved about bell's is the crowd that hangs out there. all ages from college students to senior citizens can be found any time of day or night and everyone is laidbackand comfortable. we are lucky to have this establishment in our town.