5 stars based solely on the cocktails. I have not had a chance to eat here yet.
It has been years since I have been in A2 and my wife and I found ourselves there almost by accident after a surprise babysitting offer and a meandering drive down US12 found us within minutes of downtown.
Being unfamiliar with the city after so many years and not having planned this trip we stopped at the first cool looking place we saw for food which was The Blue Tractor. We ate at the tractor hence the cocktails only rating for TRC.
After the mediocre negroni I had at the tractor I was very excited to see a bottle of Averna on the bar right in front of the stool I had chosen. After a few minutes of watching bartender Robyn Cleveland making drinks as we waited, I knew I was in the right spot. A whirlwind of custom labeled bottles, and grated rinds, and hand labeled eyedroppers of bitters, he was on a mission. A mission of flavor.
I told him I was a fan of negronis but not in the mood for the classic version. Instead he made me a Negroni via El Santiago??? (might be a different city). I have, unfortunately forgotten the ingredients but it was exactly what I was looking for with my vague request. My wife had a gin based drink which I have also forgotten the ingredients to but was equally delicious.
Next up was an unnamed drink which contained Buffalo Trace, port, some of his homemade herbs de provence bitters and I think one other ingredient. This drink was off the charts. Seriously.
My wife ordered a Gin Buck from their "Buck Menu" which included their house made ginger beer brewed perfect for mixing. Much better than my two favorites Fever Tree and Barritt's.
I was prepared to sit on that stool and close down the bar or my brain, whichever came first, with Robyn's concoctions but unfortunately my wife was there to remind me of my duties the following morning. The 2.5 hour drive in front of us loomed heavy and we decided two cocktails was enough.
Oh yeah.. ambience... very cool place. Lots of cast iron gaslights and cool prohibition style wallpapers, ornate bar. Great vibe! Can't wait to go back, this time with a hotel reservation and a wheel chair. Cheers!
Nevermore.
Joined by another couple, we went to the Ravens Club on a recent Monday evening. Unlike my wife and me, our friends are cocktail-lovers which must explain their affection for this bar/restaurant. We can't comment on the cocktails but do have thoughts about the food.
Monday night was "brunch night." Brunch night?? In any event, this meant that though there were appetizers, salads and sandwiches available, the regular dinner menu was not. We tried to make the best of it.
My wife ordered a panzanella salad; aside from bread cubes, it was to have tomatoes, red onions, red peppers, cucumbers and so on. It turned out to be 80% bread cubes with almost no dressing. She's kicking herself for not returning it. She also ordered the cheese plate. What came was three very small chunks of cheese--I doubt these were even an ounce each--with three dabs of chutney-like preserves. The board was attractive; the $15 price not so much.
Our friend ordered a PBJ and cheese. Here's the menu description: medjool date jam, smokey peanut butter, morbier cheese, cranberry-walnut bread, bbq chips (!). This combination is simply bizarre. As was its appearance: large almost black slabs of bread that looked like overcooked thick slices of meat along with a side of (not bbq) fries. My meat loaf sandwich also included fries; both orders were limp and much too salty.
The waitperson was very pleasant though the food came somewhat slowly; the bus person was hyper-energetic about keeping the water glasses full. Â
The Ravens Club is a place that is trying too hard to be au courant. Â Rule-breaking innovation may be interesting but the menu struck us as bizarre and the actual food as just odd.
There's nothing wrong with a restaurant founded on making a statement, as the Ravens Club is. But that statement needs to be coherent. And enjoyable. This one isn't.
I do respect that this is not a place whose kitchen is about reheating what was wheeled in on the Sysco or Gordon's Food Service hand truck. Â Though its ethos is derived (Williamsburg/hipster--all those pig parts), these folks do their own work. Â I just wish they'd do it better.
Came here for drinks with some company who are big fans of Old Fashioneds. Because we were visitors to AA, of course we had to try it. I'm not a fan of Old Fashioneds so I had a beer. The company I was with did approve of their Old Fashioneds, though! This is a pretty cool bar to stop in and grab a drink at the bar or get a table and wine and dine. There are a lot of places nearby to eat, shop, or grab some more drinks.
If you haven't been here, give this place a try!
Everything we had was amazing, from drinks to desserts. They changed a lot of the drinks and we all loved our drinks. The planters punch is much more mellow than the previous philly fish house punch. I had the best cooked swordfish I've ever had. My fiancee had an excellent roasted chicken.
Review Source:I've had a lot of tragedy, and bliss, at Ravens Club. There was the night when all I wanted was a well-temped cheeseburger and a draft microbrew, and got all settled in with a delicious Short's, only to have the bartender return, announcing with chagrin that the kitchen was "all out" of burgers. Devastation. But the staff was perfectly charming in dealing with this situation, and the following week, I repeated the exercise and received my satisfaction.
Then there was the incident of the reading-my-mind chess pie you began serving, albeit with an unfortunate title - I've been craving this dessert for years since having it in Kentucky and there is nothing like it anyplace in Michigan for love or money. Bliss. When I bring friends who scorn my choice they somehow end up eating the entire slice. Chess pie is a magical thing.
But the needle swung full over to tragedy this week when I learned you have canceled your late night menu. So much sorrow. Eating before 10 pm is surprisingly difficult some nights, and when I miss that all important deadline, being relegated to unclean food from diners just drives the knife in deeper. Perhaps you will reconsider, and find it in your heart to embrace us tardy tipplers by giving us a bit to tuck into after 10.
Try the ginger beer! It's homemade and delicious. I agree with previous Yelpers that their drinks are tasty. The Chicken Liver sounds gross, but it was a bite out of heaven! Pork chops with spatzel is a seasonal dish and it is divine! The chops were served with purslane-- yeah I had to google it. It's a seasonal green that's a similar texture to watercress but a flavor unlike anything you've ever had. If they're serving this dish when you go, you must try it!
I wasn't impressed with the duck terrine. For something that's supposed to be the essence of duck, it lacked a meaty flavor and well, any seasoning at all. Duck terrine was served with crostinis that were so rock hard- it almost broke my tooth! I like everything toasted but wow, they annihilated that french bread.
The service left something to be desired. The waitress didn't know much about the menu and couldn't answer our questions. For a fancy establishment and for "farm to table" fare, I expect the staff to answer generic questions like "how is that prepared?" Worst of all, she was very crass. I would ask for more pickles to go along a charcuterie board and she would say things like "pickles are really expensive. I don't know if we just give them out." If I'm going out to dinner, I'm here as a customer.. I don't enjoy being insulted!
Finally, the entree course took almost an hour on a Tuesday night. Wow.
Despite the lack of service and few misfires, I still had a good time!!! Â ..but I'm taking a full star away!
How have I never been here before!?!?!? The Raven's Club is fantastic! Beautifully kept secret it seems.
Went here for drinks and ended up getting a few small appetizers. Everything was the winning combination of cheap and delicious. There were a surprising amount of drinks on the menu in the $3-6 dollar range. The biggest mistake I made was branching out from this subset and picking a $9 dollar drink. It was good, but I'm sure I could have found cheaper comparable items.
The Raven's Club also has a large selection of $5 dollar bar bites. I had the pork confit rillette and the deviled eggs. Both were delectable. The $5 rillette was quite large and filled with salty goodness. The deviled egg yolks were whipped with vinegar and I really enjoyed The Raven's Club take on this classic.
For even more win, they have live music every Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday.
I'm reserving giving The Raven's Club the 5 start treatment until I experience a full dinner, but I eagerly await my return.
Majorly impressed with the Raven's Club. The atmosphere is either cool or weird depending on your perspective. I felt like I had been dropped down into some
(trendy) back-alley E.A. Poe-esque bar, and kept expecting to look into the next booth and see some secret society plotting/making blood oaths. I kind of liked the theatricality of it though.
I went with a group and we all shared dishes, which meant I got to try a little bit of almost everything! *(I only had a bite of all these, I didn't eat all of this by myself fyi I don't have that kind of stamina!)*
Cheese/charcuterie boards: Delicious. Good selection of cheeses/meats. The little crustini slices are seasoned with pepper oil, awesome. My bf especially liked the head cheese, and I loved the crisp/slightly sweet pickles, something I never in my life thought could impress me.
Asparagus appetizer with greens and egg: Very good. I like my cooked asparagus on the side of raw, and was pleased that they packed a pleasant crunch. The dressing on the greens was pretty good, and the egg was unexpectedly tasty. It is almost raw though, so expect runny yolk!
Ratatouille: Overall pretty good. I am really picky about eggplant, so I was the harshest critic of this dish at the table. Vegetables are sliced thin, nicely browned on top. The tomato sauce on this dish was my favorite part, thicker and pastey-er than most.
Broccolini: Possibly my favorite dish. Came with toasted marcona almonds, and the most magnificent roasted garlic, which I spread on the bread from the charcuterie board. Perfectly cooked and salted, slightly peppery, garlicky, and a tiny bit sweet.
Linguini with pesto: Amazing. Pasta made in house, pesto had plenty of whole roasted pine-nuts. Pasta was very al-dente, which I loved but some others wished the pasta had been cooked more.
Desserts were momofuku pie, lavender ice cream, chocolate torte. I think the momofuku was my favorite, it's like a oatmeal cookie pie, but awesomer. Lavender flavored things always make me feel like I'm eating soap, so I wasn't a huge fan of the ice cream. Torte was delicious but really heavy. Sea salt on the chocolate torte was a nice touch.
Overall, fantastic! Portion sizes were really generous too, so sharing works well.
Good Day to All-
This is a review of the bar as I have not had a chance to sample food.
Wow, got to love a great cocktail bar. Â People who know what they are doing and are passionate about it. Â Had a couple of fantastic whiskey drinks one of which was a barrel aged one. Â They make very cool ice in the large square sizes and have the cool machine that makes the big round spheres.
Will be heading back here again and again. Â Looking forward to trying some of the food and trying some more great cocktails.
Best regards, Tony
My boyfriend and I picked this restaurant to have our two year anniversary meal.
The restaurant is beautiful-- it is dark and intimate and we got to sit in a cozy little booth in the corner (upon request, the host tried to seat us next to a loud group of about 8 girls even though 75% of the restaurant was unoccupied). Â I loooove the ambiance and was really excited upon walking in... but sadly my experience wasn't top notch.
The first thing I noticed was the limited menu. Â There isn't much to choose from, I originally wanted the scallops but realized that it's only an appetizer. Â I ended up choosing a burger that was humongous and totally delicious, but I wish I could have had more choices. Â My boyfriend got the porchetta, which was pretty good, but nothing that special in my opinion.
Sadly, we didn't have any desserts or drinks to base our opinion on (maybe that's the winning secret), but I'm not sure I will be back any time soon. Â It's a decent try though!
I've been to Raven's Club several times, and I'd say it's a mixed bag. I rounded up, but I'd give Raven's a 3.5. The drinks are interesting, but I've never had a cocktail there that I'd classify as amazing- which is surprising because they're a cocktail spot. Sometimes I've had incredible waitresses there, and other times the service hasn't been great. I went there for brunch once and I wasn't impressed with my food, which I thought was bland. The other night, however, I got a few cocktails and ordered their burger, which was excellent. It's got a delicious cuban bun, fried egg and thick slab bacon- it might be one of the best burgers in town. But at $13, it's not cheap. They do sometimes have a jazz band, which is fun. They're also great at splitting plates, if you're just going for happy hour or something ($2 off house cocktails during HH-- not bad!).
Review Source:I am updating my review after trying the food here during restaurant week.
We tried the butternut squash ravioli, pork ragu, burger and fries, pork chop, chocolate cake, and pana cotta. A lot of the food was really 5 star quality and they definitely did not skimp on the portion sizes! We were not able to finish any of the dishes and brought some extras home with us. Our main issues were with several bone chips found where they did not belong and the pana cotta being an awful texture, the gelatin ratio was way off, we had to chew it.
All and all we really enjoyed our dining experience and will be back despite the flaws.
While in town a couple of weekends ago, after a recommendation from a local, my fiance and I stopped by the bar for a drink. Â It was around 6ish, so the bar wasn't too packed and we were able to get seated pretty quickly. The bar was really beautiful as we loved the wooden decor and the dim lighting. Â
We were looking to try something new and the bartender was really helpful in helping us decide on something.  I'm usually a beer drinker, but I was in the mood for some whiskey that was somewhat locally produced.  The bartender was very knowledge about whiskey and, me not being anywhere near a whiskey expert, took his recommendation and got the Traverse City whiskey.  It was a great choice as it had a pleasant, sweetish flavor; I was very happy w/ my choice.  My fiance had the paloma tequila cocktail and really enjoyed it.  She tends to like cocktails that are flavorful, but  that aren't overly sweet such that the other liquids mask the flavor or the quality of the alcohol.  She also really enjoyed her drink. Â
We had a great time!
The place looks good until you sit. The service is too slow to handle. We went as a group of 8, after sitting for 15 mins without being attended by a servant, the manager came and said " you guys are blocking the way and some of you need to move to another table". We told him what exactly are we blocking and he replied " well the service will be messy if you don't move " half of us moved to another table and we had to wait for another ten mins before being attended. By that time we weren't able to like the place or even reset our feelings. We had a beer and good bye Forever.
P.S. we went to the place because we've heard they hired a new chef, I think they should hire a new manager as well.
My friend Gina was visiting from San Diego for a week and I wanted to take her to interesting restaurants/eating spots around town. Â We had lovely dinners at Mani and Gratzi, and cheese and charcuterie plates with wine at babo. Â We loved Mark's Carts and enjoyed lunch at Monahan's in Kerrytown. Â And her favorite was Frita Baditos. Â But when it came time to pick a spot for Sunday brunch I knew I wanted to take her to the Ravens Club.
We arrived exactly at 2:00P and were greeted by a waiter who sadly told us they had stopped serving brunch. Â The restaurant was pretty empty, just a few tables finishing up. Â We stood in the entry way and tried to come up with other ideas for somewhere else to go, but nothing seemed as appealing. Â A couple of minutes later the owner, Chris, saw us loitering by the door and asked us if we wanted to have brunch. Â When I told him we were told it was over he seated us anyway, saying the kitchen hadn't broke the brunch down yet, and we could still eat.
We started with bloody marys that were very, very spicy, but also excellent. Â With so many choices of outstanding cocktails available it seemed a shame not to try something new, but a bloody mary was the obvious choice and absolutely worth it!
Gina had the salmon that was as fresh and flavorful as can be. Â She loved it. Â I had the Farmers Hash. Â It was better and more interesting than any hash I've ever had, with big pieces of beef and potatoes, capers, kale and perfectly poached eggs. Â I don't know when I enjoyed a brunch entree more.
Both Will, our waiter, and Chris, the owner were outstanding. Â They checked on us regularly and never made us feel rushed even when we were the only people left in the restaurant. Â My only regret is that we didn't get there earlier so we could have enjoyed two bloody marys!
I went for that living social brunch deal with unlimited mimosas. The food was mediocre -- I got some kind of pork cabbage roll that was not enjoyable and gave me food poisoning. The beef hash was flavorless. The mimosas truly were unlimited. If you counted the prices on the menu, it was a good deal.
However, I paid for it that evening, when the food poisoning kicked in and threw up multiple times through the night. You would think to blame the alcohol, but trust me, there are symptoms that I won't write about that you get with food poisoning that and not with alcohol.
I have to say, my review pretty much mirrors Liz W. Â Although it seems as if I had better service.
The Ravens Club is a very cool place to look at. Â It's got the right feel and atmosphere to make this an appealing choice when you're walking down Main Street wondering where to dine.
Although the food was good, nothing jumped out and screamed at me. Â It seems very overpriced for what you get. Â I ordered the Michigan cherry salad and don't get me wrong, it was fairly tasty. Â But I've had tasty salads at other places for less money.
My husband ordered one of their gourmet hamburgers and he shrugged when I asked him how he liked it. Â Â
With so many options within a 4 block radius, I probably wouldn't frequent The Ravens Club unless it was just for drinks.
I wish Ravens Club had separate ratings for the restaurant experience versus lounge experience. As a lounge experience, we LOVED it here. I could not ask for more.
I do not generally like bars- too loud, too much scene, there's always something annoying. The Ravens Club on the other hand was relaxing, with various groups enjoying their evening without disrespecting the waitstaff or other patrons by being obnoxious or overbearing. The dinks were quality. I wanted to try something new and our server offered to replace my drink if I didn't like it, after noticing my hesitation. Service was friendly with absolutely no attitude.
We don't go out that much and I am grateful to have found the perfect spot to unwind during our weekend in Ann Arbor.
Like many peeps, I had been wanting to try Ravens Club and took advantage of a groupon/living social (can't remember) deal for brunch. Â I was excited, because options for brunch in Ann Arbor are surprisingly limited, and was hoping for somewhere I could revisit. Â
That said, I don't think I'd go back, unless I maybe had another groupon-esque type deal. Â Short and sweet: the food just missed the mark. Â Lots of fancy revamps to brunch standards, e.g. a braised pork omelet or something of that nature, but good/interesting ingredients alone do not a delicious omelet make. Â
Pros: nice decor, decent service, generous with the brunch booze
Cons: Needlessly fancy revamps to brunch staples, bland eggs, overpriced.
I've been to The Ravens Club twice now, once for lunch and once for drinks. I really like the atmosphere inside. Â
When I went for lunch it was pretty empty which was nice because we got to sit by the front windows. I had the Michigan Salad and my BF had a burger, I really enjoyed my salad and my BF liked his burger though he said it was a little overdone. The fries were delicious. Â Our waiter was a little slow, but they had very few people working, so that is understandable and it really want's bad.
When I went for drinks it was on a Friday evening and although they were definitely doing good businesses it didn't feel too crowded or too loud inside which is pretty impressive. Â Their cocktails are a little on the pricey side, but they are also pretty strong. At some bars I can drink several cocktails without even feeling a little tipsy, at The Ravens Club I could actually feel it after only one drink and I didn't drink it fast. Â Our waitress was really great, there was a large-ish group of us and she gave us individual checks without even batting an eyelash.
Overall I really liked The Ravens Club and hope to go back again. The only thing I would say is that they are a little pricey when it comes to both food and drinks.
This isn't a bad place for groups, but it is mostly sitting space, so it's not great for a large group that has people coming and going throughout the night.
I don't want to give this place a lower-star rating because I seriously LOVE the bar. The bartenders are friendly, knowledgeable and give great service...
That being said, the waitstaff/hostesses need some serious work if this place is going to survive.
Whenever I come here, I make sure to always sit at the bar. One night, that wasn't possible -- it was actually St. Patty's Day -- and we decided to go in for a drink and a snack. We were completely forgotten by our server (who I often found standing by the bar, chatting with coworkers). When she did return, she kept noting how painfully busy she was. It was very off-putting so we didn't stay for dessert (even though that's what we went there).
I thought I would try going for brunch this weekend, which coincided with the end of their Livingsocial deal. Every time I've tried going to the Raven's Club for brunch, they often quote an extremely long wait; this time it was 3 hours but there were empty tables everywhere not to mention, a line to sit at the bar. It was a beautiful day so I had asked if they were going to set up tables outdoors and said that we'd be happy to sit there. The hostesses said they did not have enough servers to do this. Hmm...graduation weekend, last day of Livingsocial...maybe a little preparation was necessary. They may also want to consider going to a more discreet location to complain about customers who keep annoying them about the wait. Just saying.
I'll keep coming back for the awesome bar atmosphere and yummy drinks. It's a favorite for me and my friends. That being said, I'm pretty sure this place was hoping to be a restaurant also...not sure though.
Bought a LivingSocial deal for brunch for 2 with unlimited mimosas (I actually bought TWO of them, so we invited 2 friends along to join!) and decided to hit the place up today for brunch!
Today's also the boy's birthday, so it was a celebration of sorts. We made reservations about 2.5 weeks in advance, literally, which I was glad about because when we walked in they were telling people the wait was about 3 hours, at which time they would no longer be serving brunch!
When we got seated we dove right into the mimosas, yum. One dining partner had the granola, which was served with fresh berries and creme fraiche. She loved it. I had the beef hash, as did another dining partner. The beef has had super tender beef, heirloom potatoes, capers, onions, and 2 poached eggs on top. YUMMY. Absolutely delectable. The boy had the french toast, with a side of heirloom potatoes and cottage bacon. All of it was absolutely amazing. Our server was on top of it and we really enjoyed our experience.
I've heard some seriously mixed things about their dinner, but I'd definitely be back for brunch!
Our food was an eclectic delight. My braised short ribs came with dauphine potatoes and spinach, cauliflower, and parsnips all dusted with curry. Everything was cooked to perfection. My husband's Seafood Cobb salad was just beautiful with a big chunk of lobster sitting on an avocado half that was garnished with a piece of dill. The food combinations are very unique; quite the pleasant surprise. You know there is a real chef in this kitchen! Â
Service was excellent in spite of the restaurant being short staffed. You can tell the staff liked working together as the manager helped clear dirty plates, offered to fetch drinks, and made rounds checking on everyone's meal. The bartender knew all about the beautiful décor from the funky lamp posts to the 1902 all wood bar with leather trim.
The detractor--this place was fantastic though a bit pricey. The cheese board while yummy was a little skimpy for $14. The bathroom was clean and neat though their branding ambience did not extend into this space. Near perfection but not quite there.
Two thumbs up on this former furniture and casket manufacturing site.
Enjoyed brunch here today - what a perfect afternoon to sit back and enjoy the sun - plenty of seats were available on their patio. I had purchased the LIving Social deal back in October - because lets face it, it offered BOTTOMLESS mimosas and brunch for two. If the food was crappy, I would probably not complain because hopefully by the time I got around to eating I would have polished off a couple of the mimosas. Did I mention I love mimosas?
I was impressed by their menu, simple - yet comfortable and unique choices that offered new twists on flavor combinations I would have never paired on my own. I had an omlet, filled with poblano peppers, cheese, yams and pork loin -- and could not finish it. My friend ordered the pulled pork, which was equally as tasty.
We did not get an opportunity to try any of their specialty cocktails, but hope to head back there soon and give those a try. I love that they infuse their vodka in house!
Did the Sundayy brunch. Â It was fantastic.
I had the chicken/brie omlette with a side of potatoes. Â Food was well prepared and hot. It tatsed wonderful. Â My SO had the French Toast with some bacon and was happy with hers, as well. Â The mimosas were potent enough, yet didn't taste that way.
Service was great, our server was attentive throughout the meal and we were seated right away.
I used to frequent this place before it turned into the Raven's Club. Â They did a marvelous job with the transformation. Â I especially like the absinthe pourer...nice touch.
Be prepared to spend some moola, but you should be satisfied.
It has been awhile since we have gone out for happy hour (as opposed to the daily happy hour that happens in our kitchen), so we decided to try a new venue: Â The Raven's Club.
We arrived shortly after 5, and settled into a comfortable table in the back. Â My first impression was of how beautiful the restaurant is! Â The lighting is very nice, and each table had a small candle on it-- so even before dark, it is a very romantic venue. Â Classy music from the swing era and a Sam Spade-era film on the TV, complete the mood.
They had a great selection of happy hour specials, all priced at $4. Â We had the following, for a total of $20:
Pint of Darkhorse $4
Pint of New Holland $4
2 delicious beef sliders $4
1 petit portion of pork ribs (with deliciously spicy BBQ sauce) $4
Pommes Frites $4
What a fabulous deal!
We were so impressed with our experience, and the full menu looked so good, that we made reservations for dinner this weekend, in one of the round booths in back. Â Wow-- Valentine's Day is over, and I think I have a new infatuation!
Check out pictures at <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.retiredinannarbor.com&s=ec0d7d4c2af5eb66faecc64df28f801a30a6db7c3e544387c041f342433883eb" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.retiredinanna…</a>.
I mentioned I had gone to this place to a friend who lives in AA, she told me that she had heard it was great, that it had a 20s to 30s styling to it. Â Sadly, I think if a few people who had experienced the 20's or 30's had the opportunity to visit, they would be disappointed.
Disappointed is also the word I would use to describe, my meal, and the service.
We were told that everything on the menu was from scratch, which seems to be a common theme at Ann Arbor downtown restaurants, and when they tell me this I usually assume they are trying to oversell/overprice and poorly conceived menu.
We ordered the Calamari, which was nearly tasteless, you can't throw some seasoned cooked tomatoes next to unseasoned calamari and tell me it's going to be amazing. Â It doesn't have to be covered in breading, but common, please season it to some degree. Â Disappointed.
I ordered the scallops, which were unremarkable, they were cooked alright, which I guess is a challenge enough, because I always overcook them at home. Â There was some brown rice and tiny brussel sprouts, which were probably the best part of the meal. Â
The service was pretty subpar also, waitress didn't really seem interested in her tip, just kind of expected it.
Walked out with a $89 bill, including tip for two drinks, one appetizer and two entrees, which was way beyond what it should have been.
I don't have a problem paying for food when it is good, and I didn't complain.
Just because you claim the food is from scratch, doesn't mean it's going to be better.
Restaurant/bar right on main street in classic spot. Â They are going for a 20s to 30s vibe which was fun except for the old movie they had running on a set of TVs. Â Unhappy tense plot wasn't feel I wanted that night.
We had cheese plate (pretty good) and black bean dip (pretty good). Â Dinner was the trout (excellent), chicken Marengo (good), and antelope (good). Â I would describe the antelope as a chili with some pasta.
Listen, you've GOT to give this place a chance! Â I'm smitten! Â A grown up bar downtown A2 without college kids is already well on its way to capturing my heart. Â Then you add the dark art deco decor and you're ready for me to go steady. Â The drinks here are uh-mazing and the drink menu is quite diverse and creative. Â There is a wine flight for a totally reasonable price that lets you sample three different wines and I've also heard amazing things about the fall sangria (that's it, I'm falling in love)! Â
Now I've always made it very clear that the way to my heart is through my stomach and the Raven's Club has made some pretty impressive attempts to capture my heart. Â Between my dining partner and myself we had the following dishes: Chicken Quesadilla, Grilled Quail, Artisanal Cheese Plate and followed it all up with a wonderful dessert of Red Wine Poached Pears and a Chocolate Raisin Pound Cake. Â Of these five items four of them were absolutely delicious. Â The one dish we weren't crazy about was the Chicken Quesadilla and this is actually why I became so enamored with this place: Â We spoke to the waitress about it and gave her our input at which time we learned it was a new menu item and the chef was thrilled to hear our ideas on how to make it better. Â Not only did they not charge me for the item but I was also given a gift card to come back and use. Â
I felt like the Raven's Club was totally committed to making my experience the best it could be and works very hard in serving their customers what they want, which is rare, especially in the day and age where chain restaurants are the norm. Â This restaurant is new-er and they are working the kinks out but I think they are doing a great job. Â I can't wait to go back and see what's new and how they've changed. Â I felt like my one visit was so personal and I can't wait to create another unique experience.
It was difficult to select the appropriate star rating for this place, since they were good at some things and poor at others. I went with a group of 6 friends on a Friday night. We had a reservation. Unfortunately, due to circumstances that were out of the staff's control (too many tables staying for hour upon hour), we weren't seated until an hour after our reservation. The host comped us a free round of drinks, so all was well.
The drink list is creative and interesting and the actual drinks did not disappoint. The food, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. Looking at the menu, I was excited to see interesting dishes like rabbit and antelope, but when it came down to it, I got a burger---ordered it medium well, and it game charred to a crisp. As in, it tasted burnt. I was so hungry by that point that I didn't bother sending it back. One of my girlfriends ordered a crisp for dessert and had the same problem--burnt granola, plus the creme frache tasted like sour cream. Also, someone is trying to hard with this menu---don't brag about having Country Fresh ice cream, as if it's some local handcrafted item.
I was pretty impressed with the way they designed the interior of this place---it made for a nice atmosphere. I would definitely come back for drinks, but am now leery about the food.
Went for brunch on Sunday...my friend had a Living Social deal...brunch and bottomless mimosas...Sounds like I good time to me I thought...and boy was I right.
The restaurant was busy because everyone had these coupons apparently. My friend and had reservations so we got seated right away. Took several minutes before the server came...he was quite slow in everything he did the whole time and wasn't very attentive to us while another server was very quick bringing mimosas as soon as their drink got low...( I wish she was my server that day)
OK so the food came I order the omelette with pork loin, yams, poblano peppers, and cheese. My friend ordered the french toast, side of eggs, and bacon...
Everything was awesome! The pork was seasoned perfectly and the eclectic assortment of add-ins to the omelette worked together to form this vast array of texture, spice, and taste that was amazing. I had to keep from eating it all because I wanted to save some for tomorrow lol. My friend's french toast was great as well. Big and fluffy with the sweet pecan butter was a good combo. The mimosas were awesome as well. The bar can mix some great ones. I will definitely be going back there again for some breakfast fare. I have been to AA quite a few times and have never found a restaurant that I could honestly say I wanted to return to until now...
This was a nice bar that was not packed with college kids. It was more for grownups and it was nice. They were able to seat us and there was a pretty good crowd going. Just came here after dinner to have more drinks and go bar hopping.
We ordered:
Dark and stormy: housemade Ginger beer, Gosling's black seal rum, falernum, fresh lime. This was definitely gingery! Well....to my taste that was. Not really my type of drink.
Effen Catalina wine mixer: Cooks California champagne, Effen vodka, St-Germain, Chambord. I thought this was a very nice drink. Came with a few raspberries and that was a great touch to it. This was a great drink.
I think overall I give it 3.5 stars, but I'm bumping it up to 4 stars for the atmosphere and service instead of down to 3. The drink I had was great too so I was happy. It wasn't too loud where we couldn't hold a conversation. We felt like we got good value for the price we paid for.
I'd really say 3.5 stars if I could. Â Me and the Mrs. went there on a rare "grown-up" night out. Â One of the Yelp reviews compares the locally sourced food thing to Ann Arbor's "Grange Kitchen and Bar," but I didn't see that at all. Â The Ravens Club is a grown-up bar specializing in fancy cocktails that also happens to serve decent food. Â I wouldn't call this a "restaurant" per se and not "fine dining;" I'd call it a bar. Â It was loud, crowded, people were talking and drinking and having fun. Â And some were eating, too.
Mind you, the food was good. Â The Mrs. had a turkey sandwich that was indeed just that, and I had the beef short ribs that were not fantastic but pretty good. Â And price-wise, I thought it was about right compared to other kinds of places on Main street.
But the real reason to go, IMO, is the cocktails and the atmosphere. I had a Prohibition Martini that I thought was excellent, the Mrs. enjoyed her tasty (albeit strong) Apple Manhattan, and we also had some very reasonably priced glasses of wine by the glass. And the atmosphere is great-- lovely decor, sort of a 1920s speakeasy vibe.
So I would go there again for a pre or post dinner drink, I'd go with friends, and I might even go there for dinner again. Â But right now, the kitchen is a distant second to the bar.
Reading back over some of the less than stellar reviews from this past summer, I think they've ironed out some of the problems. Met some friends here for dinner last night before a concert, and enjoyed it.
I thought the menu was interesting and what we had was good, especially the shrimp and polenta appetizer. Plenty of okra, spicy, etc. Something I'll be sure to order again.
There's a good beer list, lots of liquors, and many appealing cocktails. The two that I had (stella's sour and raven's club #2) were tasty and stiff. My friends agreed. $8 or $9 was a fair price for what we got.
In all honesty, I'd like to give it 3.5 stars but I'm bumping it up because I did enjoy everything I had. Downsides are that menu is a little on the small side and meat heavy, it is a little pricey but I'm ok with that since I think I'm getting good value for my money, and the service was a tad slow. I also think they may rotate the menu seasonally so keep that in mind to see if anything new shows up.
And I have to respond to Jessica Y's comment below; why was your boyfriend surprised that the antelope ragout he ordered was a stew? Ragout is a stew.
I like the look and feel of this place but the food and service just did not cut it for me. Everything was so hit or miss. We also missed happy hour apparently or maybe it just was not extended to us. I believe we did indeed get there before 7, of course our server was on mosey pace wise so maybe because of her we missed the cutoff. Hmmmm. One star loss just for that and yep it did set our mood as less than thrilled.
I understand everything is hand crafted. That doesn't always add up to tasty though. I also found it a bit pricey for what I had. I am less focused on price when things are wowing me and service is on the ball. Sadly service here is a bit half assed and pretentious. I was not sure if we were being ignored due to laziness or just because we weren't the customers she wanted, hard to tell but there was neither friendliness nor attentiveness and I find that to be off putting. She seemed as though there was nothing she would like to do less than serve us or be bothered to explain anything.
My friend and I wanted drinks of course. My Aperol Spritz sounded promising with the Prosecco and lime. I was told that Aperol was similar to Compari by the blase server. Ehhhh, maybe it was too heavy on Aperol because the drink tasted quite a bit like an orange cough syrup with a pronounced bitter finish. Meh. My friend picked much better as her Papa Doble was tasty enough, I refrained from telling her the one at Zing''s Roadhouse blows it out of the water though. Nine bucks apiece so they should have been better in my book. If there is a next time I will stick to beer, Bells Wheat sounds appealing to me and my friend is into Magic Hat, at least its cheaper.
We split two dishes. The Michigan chicken salad was just ok. Nothing that impressed. Certainly nothing that I thought was worthy of the 13 buck price tag, I have had similar salads much cheaper. The lamb and pork belly cabbage rolls were a much better and more interesting pick (if I do say so myself because that was my pick). They give me hope for this place. Heavy-ish but interesting. Maybe  they should do potato or rice inside instead of both but we debated if that would make it greasier because it would not balance out the fatty belly as well. At any rate it was not a cheap dish but at least we felt it was tasty.
I am not racing back. I appreciate what they are trying to do but they aren't quite getting it done as of yet. Its too spendy for my blood to be hit or miss. I also just have a bad taste in my mouth that I did not get a chance at happy hour.
Dinner and drinks on opening day - we were feeling brave. I try NOT to visit establishments for at least 2-3 months after opening (in order for them to find their stride/work out the bugs, etc.) But I decided that just-this-once I'd break my rule.
Decor is quite nice - definite Speakeasy vibe: I wish I'd been wearing a fascinator and slinky beaded dress instead of my frumptastic work clothes...but alas!
Staff were very nice, very accommodating, if a big confused how/where to place folks as they came in (to be expected!) Unfortunately, there was a hoard of parental-looking-folks in golf-attire clogging up the bar area, which made for an ear-shattering din of drunken (at 5 p.m. mind you) guffawing and yelling. Therefore I surmise that Raven's is NOT the place to go if you have any trouble hearing...it was very loud. Perhaps some discrete swaths of fabric on the ceiling or here/there on the walls to break-up the sound?
On to the drinks/food!
I had the Cherry Crush and wasn't wowed...it was OK, but basically tasted of almost straight bourbon. There were at least 10 brandied cherries in the glass, which were nice, but overkill. 3-4 would be plenty and I imagine cost-effective :O)
I DID like that most of the cocktails were REAL cocktails - not overly-sugary neon confections with wisps of substandard booze. I then ordered a dry Plymouth Martini, dirty, and it was very good.
We ordered the cheese plate - which was truly excellent...the pairing were very nicely done: a chili-manchego with honeycomb, spiced, glazed pecans with a blue cheese, buttery gouda with fresh plum.
Husband ordered a burger and fries, which he liked very much - very juicy and flavorful.
I ordered the Salmon Nicoise "salad" which was interesting: the composition was served on long, thin plate which made eating it sort of difficult...it consisted of a plank of cold smoked salmon, a neat pile of olive-oil-herb dressed potatoes, a diced hard-boiled egg, a large dollop of Tzatziki, and some lightly dressed vegetables/radishes.
I ate everything as I was hungry but it was a bit "weird"...it would be good to tell folks that it was a composed salad containing NO lettuce, green-beans, or olives.
We'll be trying Raven again...in a few months when the wrinkles have been ironed.
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