Cafe West

I went with my mother and boyfriend and we all got shawarma. Two of us got chicken and one of us got the tilapia. The chicken was just plain grilled chicken, no seasoning what so ever and the same thing with the tilapia. The French fries we ordered were great, crispy and delicious. Our serverice was poor though, we had a hard time finding our server to get refils, silverware, and napkins. We didn’t get napkins until the meal was over and the waitress said she wasn’t used to having people outside but there was only one other table in the restaurant so it wasn’t really reasonable.

I ordered a shwarma thru carry out because I constantly drive by and keep seeing their advertisement out front. When I got back to my office I was more than impressed. The sandwich was not only HUGE but tasted amazing and was only 5.30! I will definitely be back in the near future.

The food is amazing. The only place I know of downriver with fresh, unique seafood options. The service is AWFUL. My glasses of wine and water were empty for half an hour before a hostess walked by and we asked for our waitress. There were two waitresses just sitting at the bar chatting with the bartender. Next time, I’ll get carry out.

My family and I have stopped in a couple of times over the past few months. I have to say it’s a bit of a hidden gem. You would never guess from the outside that this was a great fish restaurant!
They have a number of excellent daily specials, while their pasta dishes are not bad either. The wait staff seam very knowledgable about the items on their menu and are very attentive.
The atmosphere is casual, but not loud or obnoxious. You can have a very nice family dinner without feeling rushed.
The only challenging issue is parking. Sometimes you have to park across the street from the restaurant even though it’s not full inside. But don’t let that stop you from trying them out. We enjoy going there!

Walked in for dinner on a Thursday night with the family. This place has not tailoring for kids. Ordered the Ahi Tuna for the app and was pleasantly surprised, not fantastic but good! The main meals we good, Filet, Sirloin, burger, fish and chips (kids), and kids steak. Even though they do not recommend getting your steak well done, my wife was insistent of a well done steak (Sirloin). She was very precise with the waitress that it must be well done. Needless to say, it was not well done. The fries that came with the kids were quite possibly the best portion of the entire meal. Odd but that is what the case was…
SERVICE: Needs some major improvement (at least our waitress), the other wait staff was one there game and taking care of the tables. Our waitress, your girl with dark short hair, needs to attend wait staff 101 before servicing any customers. The wait for every item was long. I could have been server many more liquid beverages if she only was attentive to my needs; but I guess she did not want to drive up the price of the total bill.
PRICE: In general all items are overpriced. Do not eat here without a deal, Groupon, Living Social, etc…
DECOR and AMBIANCE: Dated and BORING! Nothing special about it. Does not make me want to return or gather with friends a such a boring establishment.
Would I return, yes HOWEVER only with a Groupon or similar deal!

Three stars = A-​OK, which I feel fits this restaurant. I didn’t think anything was TO DIE for, but the food was good. I didn’t think their décor or that the ambiance was crazy cool, but the restaurant was updated and clean inside. If someone was in the area I would recommend this place, but I wouldn’t say go out of your way 30+ mins just to dine here.
If you decide to look at the menu on their website before you go, just know they have a larger selection of items on their actual menu at the restaurant.
Now let’s get down to the food…
When you are seated and greeted rolls are brought to the table. The rolls were warm and soft. ⁴⁄₅ stars for your run-​of-​the-​mill dinner rolls. I ordered the crab cake dinner which was accompanied by soup or salad, I chose salad, and fries, linguine, garlic red skin mash or the vegetable of the day, I chose the mash.
With my dinner salad I had the house garlic dressing, which was fantastic. Just a warning though it is creamy and thick like the consistency of ranch and the garlic is potent. I’m a huge garlic lover so for me this was mmmm… mmmm… good!
My dinner had two decently sized crab cakes with a large scoop of the garlic red skin mash potatoes. Love that the mash potatoes were made with red skins. I loved the potatoes and the crab cakes were tasty. I would recommended this dish. I wouldn’t rave and say they were the best crab cakes I’ve ever had, but they were good.
Overall the service was prompt and they seemed to have a steady flow of patrons coming in to dine on the Tuesday evening.
Overall I would come back.

I don’t think I ever have to come back here. The food was barely ok. My server was awesome though! We got there at 8pm on Friday night and there was only 1 other table seated… it was like a ghost town. That should’ve been my first warning sign but I had already purchased a groupon so we decided to stay. The server was super nice and helpful. Very honest as well which I really appreciate. I started with the crab cakes and the Ahi Tuna. Crab cakes were decent but the tuna was super bland. My fiancé loved his chicken, it was spicy and I believe it had mango salsa or something on top. My drink was The Grinch, wasn’t very strong or tasty. The gumbo was so salty and ungumbo-​like that I had to send it back. I don’t know what the heck they were serving in that bowl. Anyway, we gave this place a try and now I see why the parking lot was empty. I love finding local gems but this was not one of them. Will not come back.

Hey guys happy NYE! We walked in at 1015pm to get dessert. (I specified we only wanted dessert) We would have been there for 20 mins. There were still 5 tables seated, eating. We were turned away, in a very rude manner, with the waiter saying, «we are closed». Way to bring back Trenton’s downtown nightlife.

Perfect upper-​middle class dining experience.
The duck egg rolls appetizers are especially delicious. Courteous staff, intimate atmosphere for a group, skilled kitchen.

Blackened tilapia cajun fish tacos were amazing, right down to the soft tortilla and tasty sauce! The fish was cooked perfectly. And the price was good: $ 7 for two large tacos. My boyfriend got the pulled pork po’boy and really enjoyed it (and he knows his pulled pork). The waiter, Ryan was very nice and personable. Will definitely be going back for lunch again.

I purchased a Groupon after hearing good things about Café West and headed downriver.
The place is casual yet a bit refined. You wouldn’t feel out of place in jeans or a suit, somehow. Very Key West themed…
We started with crab crostinis for our appetizer. They were basically slices of Loaf bread with bits of crab and cheese smothered on top. The crab tasted very fishy and not sweet or delicate and the cheese on top absolutely smothered any other flavors. It was a waste of $ 10 as the free bread and garlic butter
I ordered the scallops scampi style. When my dish came out it looked unlike any scampi I’ve seen as if it wasn’t real butter and no garlic was present either in the dish or in flavor. Finally the scallops were quite tough and seemed overcooked. I actually needed a knife… For scallops!
My husband ordered linguine Alfredo with chicken and shrimp. The shrimp looked like medium sized shrimp you would expect from a chain but the Alfredo sauce was good enough to mask the lack of quality.
Perhaps we ordered the wrong items or went on an off day but this trip was far less impressive than expected.

The food was pretty good and the server was excellent. The clientele was a little snooty though, they were very surprised when a black couple walked in. Overall a very good experience

This place is good but nothing spectacular. I feel that their décor outdated, worn down carpet, it reminds me of a breakfast diner. Also, our server was not good at all! I asked a few simple questions such as, «How’s the soup?», she had not a clue (could’ve even made something up), and didn’t know how our Groupon worked; absent for 10 minutes asking the manager about it, and we didn’t even have drinks yet! Besides the service and atmosphere, the food was pretty good. I got the Mix Grill– $ 24 for two quarter sized scallops, a mid sized grab cake, two piece of shrimp, and a side of pasta. Not the best deal in town. This place is overpriced, make sure you get a Groupon!

Overall food and service is good. Plan on a long wait at dinner time (place is small)

I’ve been here a handful of times for the fish. It’s one of the few places Downriver to get real fish that’s not fried.
The food can be a little hit or miss sometimes. One of the last times I ate here my potatoes were like a salt lick, but the mahi mahi was good. They also have a good wine list and a decent beer one if you’re into that.
Get the salmon duvall if you’re unsure. It’s rich but delicious.
I would give this place three stars, but they get four for the nonfried fish selection.

When I sat down and reviewed the beer selection menu I notice quite a few Michigan micro brews. Upon ordering one I was told they were out, I then preceded to order 5 more with the same answer. I then ordered my entrée surf n turf. A 10oz angus sirloin and a 8 oz lobster tail. The steak had little taste so I asked for some A-​1 I was then given a bargain brand steak sauce. The lobster tail was slightly over cooked and what ever happened to butter warmers? When I received my bill I noticed I was overcharged for the meal according to the menu charges. When I asked my server about this she went to a manager and he took it off but I could hear the conversation something about market price. Well sir put that on your menu and not a stated price of what the meal actually was. I also believe I was overcharged for the beer but didn’t say anything as I just want to pay and go. Very Disappointed.

We stumbled in here since we had found a good deal on line. The place itself is pretty plain. No frills, nothing fancy. My boyfriend ordered a salad and an appetizer. Holy Cow. They were both great. I ordered the mushroom crusted sirloin. This is probably one of the top 3 steaks I have ever had in my life and I have been to some pretty reputable establishments. Cooked to perfection, it was flavorful and filling! My salad had a fantastic homemade blue cheese dressing with dill. I cannot say enough good things about the food here… oh and our service was top notch! Cannot wait to go back!

I used to LOVE this restaurant. However, the last couple times I have gone I have been very disappointed! It seemed to me like they weren’t really trying anymore. I have gotten brown lettuce in my salad the past couple times I’ve gone, and I mean so brown that there is no way they missed it. My boyfriend had multiple fruit flies in his soup, and we were told that they must have left the door open when making it. After that, we were afraid to eat dinner. I used to love their mahi mahi, now it’s just okay. I hate to say it, but I will probably not be returning.

I wish we can do half stars, because this honestly deserves 3.5, not 3. Even though we got there with only half an hour before it closed, we still received excellent service. The half dozen oysters we had were great. Not New Orleans great, but Michigan great. The conch chowder was really flavorful, but the saltiness can be dialed down a notch or two. The oyster crackers that come with the soup are salty, but it’s not the same type of saltiness. The Salmon Duvall was pretty good, a bit skimpy on the crab pieces, and the salmon was a bit overcooked for me. I loved the garlic linguine as the side. John’s Seared Tuna was really great. It’s clearly high quality fish, and the chef was skillful at getting it to the perfect temperature.
It’s a shame the only thing holding me back from giving the extra star is the presentation. I’m not a gourmet chef and put out dishes that are fully «composed», as the people on Food Network would say. But seriously, humor me and pretend you care to make your dishes look good. Thank goodness the food tastes better than the dish looks. Maybe I can convince them to hire me for a day and I can do a little dish designing for them. Haha.

I was torn between a three and a four for this place. I found out about it via a popular online coupon service, and tried it recently with a friend.
We started with a half dozen raw oysters, because we always relish an excuse to teleport our minds back to New Orleans culinary experiences. The oysters were among the most fresh and tasty I’ve had in the Midwest. The horseradish sauce was great; the cocktail sauce was mediocre. A good buy at $ 9.
I had the Yellowfin Tuna and my companion had the Salmon Duvall. The caesar salad and the garlic linguini were both really solid side dishes.
The Yellowfin Tuna Steak came out rare, just as I had asked. The wasabi and soy sauce on the side weren’t culinary inventions, but rather a piece of wasabi and a cup of soy sauce. The tuna was VERY high quality (better than I’ve had on the coasts in some cases) and had the perfect texture.
The Salmon Duvall may have been the highlight of the meal. It was rich and creamy with alfredo sauce. Not overly generous with the Alaskan King Crab meat, but you could definitely tell it was there. The entire meal came together quite well.
The service was top-​notch the entire time; pleasant, polite, fun, and prompt with refills without being overbearing.
I suppose now we arrive at my biggest reservation about this restaurant: I don’t mind paying $ 60 for a meal for two, but I expect *everything* to be top-​notch. The presentation was kind of sad (they used a HUGE plate for my tuna steak, which was small as I expected, and my only side was a baked potato… they looked like forlorn children in a vast desert on that plate). Everything I tasted was either good or great, but none of it was truly inspired or original. I would recommend that people who want a really good seafood meal try this place, but if you are wanting a place to «rock your socks off» this might not be the venue for you.