Fandango Tapas Bistro

«Tapas» range from good to very good. Wine list and cocktails are also very good. the restaurant is a cool space and the servers are also good. My only «issue» with Fandango is that the prices are «aggressive” – both in food and in drinks. This is not to say that the quality of the food/​drinks is not good, but the prices border on New York City (Chicago?) level. Also, the «tapas» are not truly authentic Spanish Tapas, but a mixture of Latin American, some Spanish, and other countries. But, in spite of these two issues, Fandango is still a good stop in downtown Kalamazoo.

Fan danggggg yoooo’! I was not expecting this place to be so good!
When you come here, the conversation is rich and often food oriented, your pallet is satiated and you want to yell it from the tree tops, but instead, you just rave about it with friends. Everyone insists on sharing their small plates, or perhaps, your small plate is so go that you want to savor every last bite on your own.
Tapas is a love/​hate in my book, love the sharing, the variety, and the concept in general, hate the price you have to spend to get full because portions can be unreasonably «my stomach is still growling» small (even for «tapas» style). I’m not sure if it’s just Kzoo that has pricey tapas places, of if that’s just a thing all over.
But Fandango is just so unique and tasty that I think it’s worth it.
It’s a special treat, and if you know how to play the menu, you can actually dine quite well for a decent price.

Loveee! Amazing martinis and I love the sangria so much I always get a pitcher. The calamari is the biggest tastiest I’ve ever had. I also love the rice ball! Everything is so amazing I come here all the time and I can’t get enough!

Come here every time I’m in Kalamazoo. Food has always been great, as has the service. One word of caution — while the Habanero Chicken is usually amazing, this last visit today it was so hot it almost made me sick. My eyes are still watering hours later. When the waitress realized there was an issue, she immediately apologized and had it removed from the bill.

As a person who lives in Kalamazoo and goes out to eat/​drink in Kalamazoo about 3+ times a week, I feel the need to post about how we were treated tonight that caused our table of 4 to walk out and never come back again. The 4 of us waited over 30 minutes for a table, which is fine and expected on a Saturday night. The server said our table was ready «but we may not like how it was configured with the wrap around booth. Our wives went in and found it fine and we followed. A standard 2ft by 2ft square table with two chairs on a side each and a wrap around booth that took the other two sides. I had the napkin in my lap and we were already looking at the menus when the host came back to our table telling us that we were not allowed to sit how we were sitting. We hadn’t moved the chairs from how they were set up. We were told that we had to sit 3 in the curved booth, sharing two sides of the table and the other person on the other side, leaving a side open. An odd request at a Tapas restaurant where room is necessary and also since we were already established from how the serving team had situated. Basically asking either one person to sit at the corner of booth with the corner of the table jammed into their stomach or to share on side of the table. As we begin to ask why we begin to see the table next to us is actually 3 2×2 tables connected and are being separated and the that where the 4^th chair was, was needed for a walk-​way to another two top. So we asked if it would be possible to just do 2 2 tops if it was a spacing issue. We were told no. We had to sit at that table because the manager said so. With no one else waiting for a table at 7:45 at night, why could this not be accommodated. If we are going to start our meal by A) having bad service, and then B) feeling like our table was less important than the next party coming in, we have no desire to eat here. We also have no problem telling everyone about poor service either. Most times we have birthdays or celebrations we also stop at Fandango for a couple of drinks with usually 10 or more people at least once a month– we love your bartenders. But now, we will skip it and we will continue to let others no why. Bad service is a sign of immediate trouble with a place, this is a shame because the name is well known for a nice dining experience. You seemingly are only riding our your name and do not care anymore or you just are hoping for a slow and painful death of the restaurant. We will not be returning, our friends will be hearing as to why, and we will be posting this on review sites. When you start losing people whom are neighbors, its time to re-​evaluate. I hope you do it soon.

First time here. Very attentive wait staff.
Shrimp skewers with ginger sauce. Shrimp were tough and dry. Side of spicy sauce was great. (In addition to the sauce it came with)
Bruschetta was very good. Tasty. A little balsamic drizzle would have made it perfect.
Grilled Beet and goat cheese salad was wonderful. Very nice dressing.
Portions on the salad and bruschetta were very large. Shrimp plate was small. I would not order the shrimp again. The other two I would order again.
I would return with others a share the larger plates.

I guess because Kalamazoo lacks in variety, people think this place is awesome. I gave it 3 tries and was disappointed each time.

As soon as I sat at the bar, I noticed a bottle of cachaca on the shelf. I was excited to see cachaca in a Kalamazoo bar and excited that I may be able to get a caipirinha or two before dinner. Alas, the first caipirinha the bartender made was anything but a caipirinha! The Fandango caipirinha is made with only two lime wedges, BROWN sugar, cachaca, and Sierra Mist. I don’t know what drink that is, but it’s definitely NOT a caipirinha.
The bartender asked if it passed my caipirinha test. I told him, «No, not even close.» He then asked how I make mine to which I replied, «I only know how they make them in Brazil, that’s where I learned to make caipirinhas.» The bartender gave me that knowing look with a twinkle in his eye and proceeded to make my next two drinks properly; one lime, two or three heaping tablespoons of WHITE cane sugar, rocks, and cachaca. The only thing missing was the bendy straw.
The bartender does, in fact, know how to make a proper caipirinha. Unfortunately, Fandango management doesn’t. Hopefully the management team will stop marketing the abomination they call a caipirinha and start making real caipirinhas. If, like me, you’re hoping for a caipirinha or two before dinner make sure you specifically tell the bartender how to make it and bring your own bendy straw.
Caipirinha rant aside, I always enjoy the food at Fandango. I don’t believe I’ve ever had anything that wasn’t good. The staff is always attentive, polite, and efficient. I would recommend Fandango as a dinner destination for a couple or a small group, a place to start your evening with a few drinks, or a place to end the evening after a movie, play, or other event downtown.

Overall there were some big winners but some really huge mistakes as well.
1) scallops-​cooked on too low of a heat, soft seared and cooked through ⁸⁄₁₀
2) sashimi tuna-​excellent. Best I’ve ever had. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
3) duck-​perfect. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
4) Rumesco with goat cheese and pita chips-​Rumesco was excellent tasting but I wished for more texture and less purée. This dish was moderately good and would have been taken to an awesome level if fresh vs dried herbs were used to garnish and if toasted bread vs pita chips were used. Slightly bland ⁷⁄₁₀
5) cheesy eggplant-​was completely awful. It sat in the window for some time and was cold and covered with rubbery cheap mozzarella. The actual eggplant itself was very mushy and bitter suggesting it was prepared incorrectly or it was old. ¹⁄₁₀
6) flan-​terrible presentation, mushy and tasted like rotten eggs covered in simple syrup. This was very disappointing as we fondly remember the flan from years passed. We also felt sick after eating this ⁰⁄₁₀
7) service-​it is the holiday season and they were very busy. However our server never inquired after us. Our food runner was more pleasant and present. ⁴⁄₁₀
Overall the prices were not justified by the quality of food nor service. We used to love this place in the past, but will likely not return in the future.

Love this place! tapas style restaurant you have to try the lollypop lamb chops! & the peach martini. Great service just a very small place so always packed!

Every time I’m in town my sister wants martinis from this place. We use it as a diving off point for the night when we want to go out and play in Kalamazoo. I have to say that their martinis are to die for. They have an incredibly long list of different choices and every single one I’ve had is out of this world amazing. Granted they are 8 $ a pop but once you try just one you have to have a few more.
The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because every time we come in the place is packed (which I’m aware is just my preference) and we have to wait anywhere from 15 – 30 minutes. Also the food is good but a little over priced for my liking. Usually when I go into this establishment it’s solely for the amazing drinks though so it doesn’t really matter how I feel about the prices because I will continue to come here every time I’m in town and I recommend martini lovers to do the same :^)

Great lamb, shrimp, pork and tenderloin tapus. With a party of 10 we had about 20 different things.

It’s expensive, but definitely worth the experience. I had the Shrimp Barcelona and the Orange, Avacado, and Almond salad. Shrimp was excellent. Salad was nothing special (literally exactly what the title implies). Everything is pretty much a la carte so be sure to order a couple of items.

Never come here. The staff is highly rude and they lie. We called ahead and booked a table, and after making the 30 minute drive they said they were booked and that they never got a phone call from us. So they threw us out and said better luck next time. This is the second time they have done this.

Went here for the first time over the weekend and truly enjoyed the experience. My wife and I sat at the bar and enjoyed a cocktail and a couple tapas. Having read the other reviews, I knew we didn’t want to eat a «meal» here. We discovered a new mixed drink (the Luna), and loved the mushroom with goat cheese plate. The rice ball was almost flavorless, so please don’t order it unless you have a Dutch palette and think pepper is too spicy.
I would visit again, but only for a drink and appetizer.

They were so close to great ideas but they missed the mark in almost every dish. Sweet when it needs to be salty and vise versa. With a few small tweaks the dishes could have been fantastic but it really fell short. You are better off sticking to a martini at the bar as the atmosphere is very nice.

After going here twice before, I hadn’t been back for a few months until I brought someone there from out of town. We both agree, great atmosphere… but, the food isn’t that fantastic. It’s like they almost get it right; but it feels like each dish is just almost good. When you consider that the plates average about $ 9 with some of the choices running $ 13 – 15, you might as well go somewhere else where you can spend less and get better quality food.

Love this place! For the GR set, this is every bit as good as SanChez, although the menu is not quite as extensive. Plenty of amazing choices though and I’ve yet to try something I didn’t like.
My husband and I had a date night /​anniversary /​birthday celebration here, and went all out stuffing ourselves silly with food and drink. We went for the olives (enough to bring home and snack on for 3 days), the rice ball (yummy and very filling, maybe too filling), and the beef tenderloin in puff pastry (rich and hearty and mushroomy.) Our favorites though were the lamb lollipops and the tuna cubes. The lamb was cooked perfectly and had a great grill flavor. The generous chunks of tuna were fresh and melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious. Add several glasses of wine and we had an all around great meal.
Service was efficient if not overly warm and friendly. A great choice for special occasions or just a night out.

I so want to give Fandango five-​stars, but the worst mistake they have ever made was discontinuing the cinnamon chicken. This was the best dish I have ever had ANYWHERE. The rest of the food is fine. The atmosphere is great. The martinis are stellar. The mac and cheese is incredible. But the cinnamon chicken made this restaurant.

Tapas bar. Great menu. Great vibe in down town Kazoo. Trendy and hip. Halibut and crusted artichoke was small but fantastic. WOuld love to go back with friends and try everything on the menu.