The Stamped Robin

• 128 Portage Street
• Kalamazoo, MI 49007
• (269) 743-7744
• Website

I mentioned in the previous blog at 600 Kitchen & Bar that J and I don’t get many “date nights” where we can actually enjoy a meal without kids.  They happen occassionaly but with no family in town to babysit, our Friday and Saturday nights are usually pizza and Netflix.

I took a couple of days off around my birthday so the two of us could spend a kid-free afternoon together.  She had to work until 12:30, but that still gave us about three hours where it was just the two of us.

We went to lunch and started to head home.  J had said something along the lines of, “Man, I wish one of the distilleries was open.”  They weren’t, but then she had another great idea.

The Stamped Robin was just opening as we were walking out of the restaurant. It wasn’t that far away and it’s a place we had never been to so we headed over there for one more drink before heading home.

The Stamped Robin is a wine and cocktail lounge on Portage Road right next to the Kalamazoo Mall Parking Ramp.  The business takes the space The Spirit of Kalamazoo occupied before they moved over to the Kalamazoo Mall.

The space is a mix between casual or fancy restaurant.  There is a row of white table clothed tables along one wall…

…but there are also casual seating areas with chairs and coffee tables to make it feel like you’re sitting in someone’s living room.

The bar has a row of wine taps instead of beer.  They do have a small selection of canned craft beers but it’s really the wine and their cocktails that steal the show here.

During the warm months, there is a great outdoor space tucked into the space between the building and the parking ramp.  It’s so well landscaped that it’s easy to forget that your in downtown Kalamazoo.   There are a couple of heaters out there as well so it’s not too late to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine.

There is some limited food options, but J and I had just eaten so we didn’t even really look at it.  They  have a couple of option of meat trays and tinned fish if you’re looking for a light snack to go with your drink.

There’s also a dessert menu if this is your after dinner stop like it was for us.

J decided to go with a glass of wine since she did a cocktail at lunch.  She picked the Paolo Saracco.  The moscato is a Moscato d’Asti from Italy. It’s the wine choice of hip-hop culture and was even mentioned in the song I Invented Sex.  J likes the sweet moscato’s and really enjoyed this one.

I skipped the beer and chose a cocktail.  I went with Cameron’s Kick.  This drink is scotch, Irish whiskey, lemon and orgeat.  The drink had much more of a lemon taste than it did an alcohol so it was pretty easy to drink.

We just did the one round of drinks because we still had to get home and pick the kids up from school.

The Stamped Robin is such a great, unique concept in Kalamazoo.  It’s the kind of place you go to either to start or wind down your night but you could easily hang out there for hours with a group of friends.