Quick recap: i would say 3.5 stars for food. Negative -10 for service. As one of my only nights off, and after reading about Troppos, I expected a nice atmosphere and some "fine" dining in the lansing area. our lovely experience started off by calling the restaurant asking about how fancy it was. The hostess told us it was pretty fancy (no jeans)- so we dressed accordingly. We got to the restaurant and were seated. In front of us was the boys night out crew dressed in jeans, sweatshirts & baseball caps downing beers- no problem normally, but we were specifically told to dress UP. We told our order to the waitress, got our drinks and waited. A half hour later, when our appetizer was finished, another waitress comes up to us asking if we still wished to have the steaks we initially ordered. A little bit confused we responded yes, thinking we had already ordered w/ our first waitress. Nope. Apparently they switched waitresses on us, never told us, and new waitress had never put in our order. Another extra half hour of waiting for our food. In the meanwhile, we put in another drink order, for washington apples. waitress leaves, comes back to fill our waters (10 minutes later) and asks, "oh did you still want those washington apples?". yes. i wanted them the first time, WHEN I ORDERED THEM. so she finally goes to the bartender to put in the drinks. comes back 5 minutes later being claiming that there are two ways to make them, and our preference. 15 minutes later, we get our drink- which is so strong and disgusting tasting that it is undrinkable. lovely so after flagging down our waitress AGAIN, we ask her to dilute it/add cranberry to make it bearable, our food finally comes. Food was decent, but for the amount that we paid (over 115 for dinner & drinks), i expected better. We left not finishing our drinks (that bad) and overall thoroughly disappointed with our meal. I do not appreciate having to tell my waitress EVERY ORDER TWICE, and in turn, wasting 40 more minutes waiting. I will not be returning, nor would i recommend. :( Not worth it.
(2)
Maggie S.
I went to Troppo the week it opened in the newest location. The atmosphere is nice, good wine, but the meal left a lot to be desired. The cream sauce for the pasta I ordered was bland and didn't hold together. Overpriced for the quality of food. I did return again after the new location had been open for months and there was no improvement. What would Gordon Ramsey Do? Not eat at Troppo. Go here for a nice glass of wine. Don't eat.
(2)
Gaius Kaligula C.
The lovely atmosphere of troppo's new building across michigan ave. has done nothing to fix the glaring problems with their menu and execution. the food is quite simply terrible - the menu seems stuck in the 1980s power lunch culinary genre, with disgustingly fatty salads, overworked entrees, and an overhyped and over-pushed butternut squash soup that tastes as all butternut squash soups do - way too sweet. the cobb salad not only has bacon (which is traditional) but also an unnecessary addition of prosciutto, unecessarily candied pecans, and all is slathered with a disgusting amount of creamy gorgonzola dressing instead of a traditional cobb dressing. disgusting. this is probably also the healthiest salad on the menu, and the simplest thing to make delicious, yet they somehow muck it up. a duck breast salad with black mission figs and black mission balsamic dressing sounds like a featured alice waters recipe from a 1982 issue of bon appetit, and is executed poorly as well (i've had it twice - both times the fat was barely even rendered on the duck breast leaving that terribly unpleasant bubble gum layer of fat, even harder to chew because it's served cold). this is also a note to all lansing area restaurants that see themselves as "fancy" - if 90% of your entrees are served over mashed potatoes, you are a kids menu, not an adult restaurant. troppo is, of course, no exception. in fact, the one dinner entree that isn't served over mashed potatoes is two boneless pork chops (why not just one double-cut pork chop with bone in? this is a restaurant, not shake-and-bake cooking with mom) that are chipotle-glazed and served over Macaroni and Cheese. dry boneless pork chops served over macaroni and cheese for 20 bucks a plate... why not just skip the pork chops and chop up some ball park franks in your mac and cheese for the whole 5-year-old experience? aside from the fact that i have yet to have anything there cooked properly and served at a pleasant temperature, their menu is truly poor and every dish suffers from having too many ingredients on the plate. besides the aforementioned cobb salad, we have things like a salmon entree with rhubarb orange chutney. instantly, that description tantalizes me and i have to have it, until the tiny piece of salmon comes served over a dwarfingly huge, lukewarm, overcooked risotto and topped with leeks that are double battered and deeped fried (and also lukewarm - accentuating their greasiness). granted, maybe this impresses people who are used to olive burgers and fish sticks, but personally i felt for the fish that lost his life to become a part of this culinary trainwreck. service ranges from barely competent to terrible. expect everything, including soups, to be lukewarm and lunch to take over an hour, even if you're the only people in there (which is likely). if you're not drinking alcohol, i advise sticking to water on the beverages - it's not likely you'll ever get a refill, and upcharges for coffee and soda are ludicrous here. the picnic-style "grinder" salt and peppers on the table are also quite the tacky touch in such a luxurious space. expect to be underwhelmed by your meal, and then absolutely furious when you see how high your bill is. is one star an exaggeration? not at all, this place should truly be avoided at all costs. a wonderful new building has done nothing to solve this restaurants kitchen and service issues. i have suffered through many (15+) lunches and dinners here in the past two years, and my advice to those coming to lansing for a business lunch and thinking of suggesting this place: chances are, your lansing-dwelling business associate is taken here constantly, due to its reputation as being "the fancy place downtown," and he/she feels the same way i do about it. save your expense account, palate, and waistline this experience and go for someplace cheaper and better.
(1)
Bob S.
Went for dinner tonight with 3 other couples. Waiter came over and took drink orders, one person in our party did not get his drink. Had to ask where it was. Service getting our meals were extremely slow. While we were waiting for dinner, the manager came over and apologized for being slow I due to a large party. Well, you knew there was a large party and why did everybody else have to wait. Be staffed. He did offer us free desert which was fine. Thank you. Our waiter came back and took desert orders. After maybe 20+ minutes, the waiter came back and asked "Is there anything else". I said, "Sure, how about our deserts". He forgot to turn the orders in. Wow, then we had to wait again. Almost 3 hours to eat! No excuse, Sorry Troppo, we probably won't be back.
(2)
Rasheda K.
Each time I visit my brother's family in Lansing, I check out this restaurant. It has the best patio in town and great happy hour and Sunday specials. But what I really enjoyed most outside of the food is the Troppotini- a fabulous martini that is made of vodka infused raspberries. And it is under $10. This place is a bit on the expensive side but if you go on Sunday you'll get a third off. Overall I like it. But I don't know if I would go on a day that isn't Sunday or happy hour. Paying 20 bucks for chicken marsala in downtown Lansing doesn't seem justifiable to me.
(3)
Roberta M.
No wait on a Wednesday night. Troppo is elegant and classy in appearance. They have a good wine selection and moderate beer selection. We came in for drinks and appetizers. We shared a caprese salad and ahi tuna tartar appetizer. The salad was great and flavorful. The ahi tuna was good but didn't have much flavor. We were also brought a bread basket which had very good bread and a sweet herb butter. Our server was excellent, making recommendations and checking up on us several times. The atmosphere was relaxing and enjoyable.
(4)
Ashley A.
First time and last time. Let's see here... I didn't make a reservation, but they seated us within 5 or 10 minutes. Our waitor was sweet, but that's about it. I have never waited 40 mins in my life just to get my DRINK. Once they came, we put our orders in. 15 minutes later he came back ask in for our orders but then said "Oh wait, I already took them." An hour and a half into being there, I still didn't have a bread basket (which we asked for), waters had been empty for about half an hour along with our drinks. Once we got our food, everything was good except for two entrees that weren't prepared how we asked. The food was still pretty good however, but I will never go back to this restaurant solely based off of the terrible, terrible service. Also was very expensive. I would've expected at least a beer to be taken off of the bill as a way of compromising for the service, but no.
(2)
Jiah C.
Had a lovely dinner at Troppo. Had the calamari as an appetizer - it was lightly flash fried, and they were fat pieces of the head and it was fresh, as it was nice and delicate, not chewy. The spicy sweet sauce was yummy, but a little overboard on the sweet. Good presentation. We had a cucumber gin martini, and a lotus martini (?), they were both delicious. Not overbearing on the sweet or the alcohol, and nice and refreshing. Main course - I got the Filet a la Troppo, other got Ribeye "Au Poive". My filet came out perfect, Ribeye came out overdone. They brought out a new ribeye cooked ok (still a little overdone, and at that point loss of appetite didn't help), and they heated up and represented my filet. The filet was delicious, even though I had to just stare at it for 20 minutes and my appetite was a bit lost at that point, and the potatoes were a bit of a loss. They were not spectacular; comparable to flaky one minute mashed potatoes with tiny chunks. No butter or salt flavor and texture was meh. But still, zip sauce was good, and the filet made up for it. Ribeye came with tempura portabellas, which were not bad. Had a bottle of Shiraz, their wines are decently priced. They brought out a gigantic plate of 4 slices of dessert to make up for the Ribeye oops, which topped off our meal. Blueberry cheesecake, Flourless layered Chocolate Torte, Lemon cake, and some other cheesecake with a chocolate layer and macadamias dessert (I have no idea what it was but it was delicious). The service was also excellent. Waiter knew his stuff, checked back frequently but not so much as to annoy. House manager took very good control of the situation, I was very happy. I had gone here once before for a corporate X-mas party, and really enjoyed the catering and the bar. This last meal sealed it, I am definitely going back. :)
(4)
Vick A.
One of my favorite places to go. Awesome food, very good quality. If you like seafood, try the entree sampler with crab cakes, calamari, shrimp cocktail, and scallops. Little pricey but very good food and drinks!
(4)
Steve T.
After reading some of the reviews here, my wife and I were uncertain about having dinner at Troppo. However, a couple friends had good things to say so we tried it out. The service was good without being intrusive. I had the Flat Iron steak which was quite good. The marinade had a fairly strong flavor and may not appeal to everyone, but I enjoyed it. This steak comes served on top of "Truffle French Fries". Personally, I wasn't a huge fan. They basically tasted like fries with a small twist. I would have preferred regular mashed potatoes or redskins. Their house salad was tasty as was the house made ranch dressing that I ordered. My wife and I both liked the small, crusty dinner rolls with herbed butter. My wife had the Salmon Two Ways. One piece served with a bbq sauce on top of some sweet potato hash. The other was herb crusted on top of mashed potatoes with a cheese sauce. She raved about it and thought it was excellent. I tried a couple bites of it and while I'm not a huge salmon fan, I thought it was very good. My wife ordered her salad with cherry vinaigrette dressing. Also very excellent. Overall, we were pleased with our meal. The four star rating is due to the fact that I don't hand out 5 star ratings very often. That's reserved for what I view as some of the best food I've ever had. Troppo isn't in that category, but it was a satisfying meal.
(4)
Kelly M.
Granted I am from Boulder,Co which is foodie town all the way I was pleasantly surprised to find Troppo on my last visit to Lansing.The patio seating was lovely and and their selections on the munu were many. As far as the meal goes, we had comfort food. The pork chops and mac and cheese were great and very satisfying.The calamari had good flavor but served cold so was a little soggy. It was a beautiful evening on the patio and so i decided to order off their special summer drink menu,a mojito sounded lovely. The waittress informed me they were out of mint so I had the sangria instead which was delicious though I thought the fresh herbs,tarragon or rosmary,overpowered the fruit The strawberrie shortcake was very good and the biscuits were very flakey. Overall,it was a great evening. The biggest drawback was our waitress, nice but very unprofessional. Very uninformed and was horrible at selling special of the day or offering dessert and very unattentive compared to the other servers I observed around us. When our bread came undone and partially frozen she looked at us and said "so , it will be a while for fresh bread do you not want it?" just one example of how she communicated with us. Another was when we asked her about the strawberry shortcake she said " well we don't make the biscuits homemade but it is good". Wow! I hope that isn't how she was trained to respond to those situations. All in all I would go back next time I go visit my family again, I think it is one of the nicest restaurants there.
(3)
Bonnie F.
Ah, Troppo. The over all problem with Troppo is that it is not consistent. I've had excellent food at Troppo and I've had sub-standard food at Troppo. I've had excellent service at Troppo, and I've had bad service at Troppo. I've had the best martinis I've ever had at Troppo, and I've had the worst martinis I've ever had at Troppo (they used to be nothing short of sublime and now are smaller with less liquor...at average of $9 each they are now a complete rip off). I've had dessert at Troppo that rivals anything in Quebec City and I've had dessert at Troppo that smacks of Sam's Club frozen. The list goes on and on. It also appears that, as time has went on, everything has become more toward the bad end. On one occasion in October 2007, the waiter decided my 15% tip for lunch wasn't enough so he gave himself over 50% on my credit card. I wrote to management and they never responded. So, inconsistent food+rip off bad drinks+wait staff that steals+managment that does nothing about wait staff that steals+Sam's Club desserts+not exactly Big Boy prices = No thanks. Too many other places to give my dining $'s to. The butternut squash soup, however, is prize winning good. Really. But I'll have to live without it due to too many (easily 15-20) bad to mediocre experiences at easily $50 bucks a person per pop.
(2)
J X.
This is a medium class restaurant masquerading as high class. My $30 strip steak requested at medium was definitely rare...and grisly. Overall it is overpriced and under delivers. The 14-year old Scotch was excellent however and reasonably priced for a double at $18.
(3)
Sarah R.
This place is not cheap. Appetizers are $7-10 and most entrees are in the $25-30 range. My friend and I had pomegranate martinis and the vegetarian spring rolls with chili sauce. Both were yummy, but this place does seem a bit overpriced.
(3)
Brenden B.
This place is could be just amazing, but it just misses the mark with a bunch of little things that made it just ok. First, the decor is awesome. It feels like a speakeasy! Very dim lighting, robust dark woods, white tablecloths, and murals of famous people from back in the day. Wrap all this up with modern music and it made for a great atmosphere. The menu was basic, simple... in a good way. Everything sounded so good and refined. Based off the atmosphere and menu alone, you were setting yourself up to think this is going to be a great fine dining experience. I really wanted something simple so I decided to go for the burger. I don't eat beef and asked if they could sub the beef for chicken. Which they did. The food was fantastic too. Perfectly cooked and married so well with the flavors they offered on the plate. I was very impressed. Now you're probably wondering by this point, why am I not giving this place 5 stars, it sounds like a great experience. Well here is why. Our waiter, bless her, so nice, was just not there. The place wasn't that busy so to have a long wait to order our food, have our food come out, refills, etc. was irritating. We were never brought bread, and it would take at least 2 requests for our waiter to actually bring out what we had asked for. Also our server never cleaned our table. Not after our appetizers or main meal. We had a table stacked with dirty dishes that, at a place like this, and the prices on the menu, you would think it would be common knowledge to clear the table as you go. Also with any of the seafood dishes, you get jipped. My co-worker ordered the scallops. He got 3. Really? $20 dish and you get 3 scallops? Needless to say he was still very hungry. The food - check The atmosphere - check Wine list - check service - fail
(3)
Krystle M.
It was my first visit but it was great. I really enjoyed my food and wine. Nice environment and great location downtown lansing. We will definitely be returning.
(5)
Michelle N.
Troppo has a great location! It's right next to the state capitol, and I had a great view of it from my seat at the patio. I was worried about service due to the reviews left by previous yelpers, so I tried to come in with low expectations. I do agree that service leaves a bit to be desired. On the bright side, our waitress was nice and seemed to try her best, so I can't hold that against her. We tried: -pork chop a la troppo: I really liked this!!! I thought the pork chop came out medium well, as I requested. I also liked the mashed potatoes. However, I wasn't a fan of the apples that came with it. It reminded me of an apple cinnamon candle, haha. Don't let it deter you though bc the bf liked the apples a lot. -delmonico au poivre: I think this was a ribeye that was cooked well. In fact, I think it was closer to the medium rare we requested than Capitol Prime! -troppotini w/mandarin oranges: I thought this would be too vodka-y for me, but I really enjoyed how sweet and citrus-y the vodka tasted! -drunken strawberry shortcake: this was really good as well! Yelp almost scared me away from Troppo, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. You should too!
(4)
Tim M.
I've been twice now. Troppo is probably as "high-end" as you'll find in Lansing. That said the food could be better for the price. Their wine and cocktail selection is excellent. Their beer selection was not so excellent. The Venue is beautiful and the wait staff is very good but, at $20 an entree they damned well better be. I had the Peasant Pasta salad, which was tasty. A sausage appetizer, which was expensive. And a steak that wasn't very memorable. It was all fine. I have no major complaints besides the price. It's a good special date night restaurant. But, it's not worth going to unless you're trying to avoid the "poor" people who can't afford to eat their with regularity. And, I'll be honest - that's really what brings their regulars in.
(3)
Michael C.
Stopped in for dinner 12/29/14, and left unimpressed. Food was average, which says a lot considering their upscale prices. Service was slow and absent at times. I would not go out of my way for this place...there are better places to dine in Lansing
(2)
Eric Z.
I went on a Friday night and I probably will not go back again. We ordered calamari and the mango chutney made it cold and damp. My entree was good but it was a tiny portion - overwhelmed by sun dried tomatoes. Server did not refill my water. Several beers listed on the menu were unavailable. Music playing on speakers was super annoying. Food was good but not for the price.
(2)
John P.
Great environment and excellent food. This is definitely one of the nicer places in Lansing.
(4)
Mitzie B.
Enjoyed a nice lunch here yesterday. My waiter was super great. I ordered the chop salad and a diet coke. They served the diet coke in the small classic bottles. So cute! Also they bring a chocolate chip cookies to the table with the check. Just as a side note, this is the popular politician spot for lunch.
(5)
Amanda C.
After reading the negative reviews on this place, I decided to try it myself. It definitely does not deserve all the negativity! Came here on a Friday night. It was relatively quiet, but the atmosphere was very nice. We started with two house salads which were light and refreshing. My boyfriend had the salmon two ways--both very good, and I had the chicken piccata which was very tasty and a generous portion. The service could have been better and staff could have been friendlier, but the food came very quickly. All and all we were pleasantly surprised by Troppo and will be returning!
(4)
Amanda S.
I want to love Troppo. Really. I do. Lansing is in need of a high-end, I'm-treating-you-to-a-nifty-business-lunch kind of place. For me, it just never quite gets there. Mac and cheese is pretty good. Not $13 good. Salmon anything tastes like it was frozen, not fresh. The food is pretty much the exact same as their sister stop, Tavern on the Square, but double the price. And, generally speaking, I leave feeling "meh" about the experience and still hungry. Ownership is great and the place has a nice vibe. I don't mind paying a price for a classy Lansing if the food can learn to catch up.
(2)
Aaron M.
First, the good: the facility is gorgeous and the bar-side of the restaurant is quite posh. It goes quickly downhill from there. Unfortunately they are the only game in town when it comes to purportedly "fine" dining and I end up there a couple of times a year for business meals or other functions (when I have no say in the location) despite the fact that I am consistently disappointed. Some recent examples: (1) Ordered a cocktail from their printed cocktail menu only to have the waiter come back 15 minutes later (the place was not busy at the time either) and tell me "we don't have that." You don't have a cocktail on your own list? (2) Same visit as (1) above: Wife orders mac-n-cheese entree and I order the stuffed pork chops. Waiter comes back 10 minutes later (see number (1) above) and says he forgot what I ordered and asks me to remind him. 20 minutes later food comes (delivered by someone other than our waiter) and mine is not what I ordered -- it was some other sort of pork dish. I inform the server of this and she apologizes and takes it back. Waiter comes over and says he'll bring out the right dish right away. 10 minutes later he brings me the stuffed pork chops. I cut into the first one and it is essentially raw. Mind you that stuffed pork chops are butterfly cut so it is incredibly easy to see if they are cooked thoroughly or not -- these never should have made it out of the kitchen. I send it back and help my wife finish her now cold entree. Manager graciously offers to take the pork chop entree (that I never even got) off of our bill. (3) Ordered a Grey Goose martini with a twist during a happy hour gathering of colleagues on the patio, but was served a dirty martini. Sent it back because I loathe olives and olive juice. Replacement comes and it is easily 50% vermouth and still has a strong olive taste (likely from reusing the same shaker as when they made the first one). Not wanting to cause a scene, I went ahead and choked it down. When we ordered another round I explained to the waiter that a dry vodka martini essentially means just vodka in a martini glass. Unfortunately that resulted in me receiving a shot of WARM vodka in a martini glass. Seriously. (4) Attended a group dinner meeting at the "chef's table" -- was excited because I thought that this would mean extra attention to the quality of the meal. Ordered the duck entree and it was so overcooked I needed a steak knife. The "chef" came by the table and didn't seem to even comprehend how badly overcooked the entree was even though one of my dining partners noticed from 3 seats away without me even saying anything. Several others at the table had barely edible meals as well. These are just a few examples of particularly bad experiences. The rest of my experiences since they moved to the new facility have been mediocre, at best. Unfortunately I will likely end up here again at some point soon when the location is out of my control, but I NEVER choose Troppo when it is up to me.
(1)
Matt R.
Wow..and not like a good wow. Like, " wow look at that car accident". What happened to Troppo? They used to be good. We had a wedding reception AND a class reunion here in the past few years and was very happy! The past 2 times here the service has been terrible...and the food: I almost hesitate to say it, but close to inedible. My wife had "risotto" that literally tasted like soggy minute rice. I won't be back. Sorry Troppo, but when you start to cut quality & service it is not a good sign..
(2)
Kent L.
Good choice for a special evening out or an afterwork drink. Prices are a bit high, but food is good. Drew (manager) and Jason (exec. chef) are great guys and treat you well. Nice ambience; and its nice to support downtown merchants. The one mistake is the hefty price for substitutions. Actually its not really a "substitution," its an add-on. For example, if you didn't want the potato choice that came with your entree and want to "substitute" fries, you can't. You have to pay a hefty add-on for a side order of fries, which if I recall correctly is something like $8 FOR A SIDE OF FRIES. Guess I just shouldn't eat fries - for more reasons than one. Squash soup is amazing. Favorite dinner entree is the pork tenderloin. Oh, and there's one female bartender who tends to evesdrop and butt into your private conversation without being "invited in" when you're sitting at the bar. If you want to have a private conversation, sit at one of the hightop tables in the bar area instead.
(4)
Kevin P.
My wife and I have been here several times and really enjoyed the food and the service. We went the day after Valentine's Day and they were still serving the Valentine's menu. They only offered a few choices - my wife chose the chicken and I the Filet. Mine was cold. She thought hers was supposed to be stuffed but it wasn't. All in all for the price we were charged the entree' choices were poor & the food quality was sub par based on our previous experience with the restaurant. We have not given up on the restaurant - we just won't go during a "Special" weekend or events. I know they can do better!!
(2)
Kelli P.
After reading some of the Yelp reviews on Troppo, my expectations were pretty low when I found out our party of ten was headed here for dinner before having a night out on the town. Perhaps low expectations are the key to happiness and satisfaction, because I - along with the remaining dinner party - thoroughly enjoyed the meal! All of the people at my table ordered steak except for me; I had salmon. Half of the salmon was delicious, and the other half had BBQ sauce (one of the things I cannot bring myself to eat); I bet it would have been really tasty had it ended up in front of someone who doesn't have food consistency issues. There was only one complaint from the carnivorous beasts that were dining with me, and that was due to someone ordering their steak medium and it actually came out medium (imagine that!) rather than medium-well as most restaurants tend to do. Bravo, Troppo - you know how to cook a steak! Bread was warm and fresh, herb butter was out of this world (OMG, so good!), and the wine menu was impressive compared to what other restaurants similar to Troppo would offer. If you order the tiramisu for dinner, beware - the serving is enormous! Our waitress, Kelly, was really laid back and friendly but did her job well. By the end of dinner, the champagne began taking over and I am assuming we may have been a tiny bit obnoxious, but Kelly rolled with the punches and joked around with us while freshening our drinks and clearing plates as we polished things off. To sum it up, I'd go here again - and ask the chef to hold the BBQ sauce. ;)
(4)
Jennifer S.
Troppo is a decent place to get drinks, but the food can be kinda "meh" considering the price. I've been here three times with mixed results. The first time I went everything tasted overly (and disgustingly) sweet to me. Since then, I've made sure not to order anything that could seem even a little sweet at this place. The second time I had a steak which was quite good. The third time I had drinks and appetizers, and everything was fine though the service could have used work. The white pizza was possibly the only thing that I thought was particularly tasty. Troppo markets itself as an upscale restaurant, but I'd really expect better food for what they charge.
(3)
Anna P.
I go here for dinner whenever I am in Lansing for business. It's a nice atmosphere and the service is great, and it's one of the only dinner options if you're staying downtown near the Capitol. However, while the food is good it's not fantastic.
(3)
Erica D.
I'm being generous. Troppo, what the hell is going on with you? I wish I had a video camera with me during my last experience, so you could see just how bad (I mean REAL bad) the service received by my party was. I thought you were suppose to be upscale - something special in the Lansing world of chain restaurants and hometown bars. Once again, Troppo was not busy when I arrived. I had three other people on their way and decided to arrive fifteen minutes earlier than planned to take advantage of the happy hour specials. Once seated (the hosts are always awesome and friendly - I wonder if this some sort of scheme, because it's all downhill from there), it took fifteen-twenty minutes to be greeted. When I received my order, the waitress asked if I still needed the other three menus... Obviously, chick, or why would I have asked for them? My appetizer, the meatballs, was cold and served in a brothy soup that was substituted for marinara. It was very difficult to eat half of the meatball, and probably a hazard to my health since I have doubts it was properly cooked. Once my party arrived and placed their orders, it took three reminders for the waitress to bring my friend lemons for her salad (she wanted them for dressing). During all of those requests, my other friend wanted to order another drink... but the waitress would walk away before any one else could ask for any thing. We were laughing hysterically... it was straight out of a movie, or a training video showing how NOT to give good service. We were never asked how every thing was, and when the waitress came by to drop of the bills, she didn't say a word! She just walked by the table and set the bills down and skulked off. Awkward... My friend even commented that she was glad her husband didn't come because he would have raised hell. At this point, I would not return to Troppo again.
(2)
Shelly C.
My husband I had an anniversary lunch here and it was amazing. We shared the Mac and cheese and the risotto which were some of the best we've ever had! Our server Brian was awesome, very friendly and on top of everything. We will definitely be going back again!
(5)
Jessi T.
Outstanding service! This is just one way to describe the treatment we received from the entire staff at Troppo for a recent bachelorette party of 20. After speaking with the Events Coordinator, Ashley, we decided to pay a room fee for the Peninsula Room. We were not disappointed. Our waiter for the evening, Andrew, did an amazing job. He (and the rest of the staff) were efficient, courteous and went above our expectations. He accommodated all of our requests and went out of his way to make sure our Bride was his first and foremost priority. The food was exact to order and just as great as the service. The specialty cocktails were tasty and replenished often and without waiting. Finally, Andrew accompanied us outside taking pictures and escorting us to Tavern on the Square where more great service awaited us. What a fabulous way to celebrate our friend's upcoming wedding with the stellar service of the team at Troppo!
(5)
heather t.
We decided to spend our New Year's Eve at troppo. they had a preselected menu set up 2 people , 4 course meal and champagne it was approximately $125.00 First course they called an antipasto plate, it included candied bacon, marinated mushrooms, various cheeses and bread. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavors. Second course was the basic house/ carder salad. Third course; we both ordered the 8 oz filet that was accompanied by mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. We both ordered the filet medium. And what we got was almost rare, no biggie tho we sent it back and was corrected. The server was extremely apologetic. Great service. I also have to add the filet was amazing, topped with zip sauce. Yummy. PS - you should consider having hard cider on tap :)
(4)
Nick B.
Downtown Lansing is know for their concentration of fine dining spots. But Troppo is great! We went there for a client lunch and you could see all the other "power lunches" that were going on around us. The food was quite tasty. I enjoyed a muffaletta and some amazing cream of tomato soup. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the great Michigan day. Cocktail list looked interesting but because of the work function, I didn't partake. Looking forward to trying the place out again for diner.
(4)
Zach A.
Troppo has been among my family's favorites for years. Service has always been great, atmosphere is one of the best in Lansing, and food has been great! That is, until our last few visits. Prices have gone up, quality of food has suffered. I can't say this is a direct result of their move across the street a few years ago but it seems to coincide. Although the service remains great on some occasions we have been very disappointed on others. It's a shame, as this used to be one of our favorites. Next to fast food you could call it 5 stars, but for the cost of a dinner and drinks you get much better quality and service at other establishments in the same "class". 2.5 stars but I can't seem to get myself to round up...
(2)
J H.
Ordered the rack of lamb, for a birthday meal with my girl. Everything was great, the apt and wine. Then the main courses, so looking forward to the rack of lamb. I cut into one of the three, almost well done.....I had order them medium rare. Then the other two racks were also almost well done. Ok, everyone makes mistakes. So the management asked if I would like to re fire a other rack. The second plate came out very fast, great. I cut into a rack and it was raw.... The management came back, then told the chef. The chef asked the management to bring the plate for him to see. The management bought the same plate back, which the chef had flip and poke the rack of lamb. I was shocked, to say the least. My girl enjoy her steak but I left hungry and disappointed.
(1)
Jessica S.
As I walked in I was greeted by very loud music from the party upstairs apparently. I was seated in the main dining room, but could still hear the music from upstairs. I ignored it and eventually ordered the Salmon Two Ways, herb and chipotle. I was served Salmon Two Ways, plain and barbecue. It was good salmon, but no herbs and no chipotle. I was too hungry to complain, but I could have made salmon and then put barbecue sauce on it myself for much less. The butternut squash soup that came with it was good, but a bit too sweet. My favorite part of the meal was the bread and flavored butter. I do not think I would go back unless I was in the area and someone else wanted to.
(3)
Jill M.
Five ladies out for the evening expecting great food and table service, not what we got. Let me tell you ... the house salad dressing was just vinegar straight out of the bottle. The table service was not attentive considering how empty the restaurant was, and the menu sounded super tasty, but was not worth our time or money. Whoever said the squash soup was amazing.... is out of their mind. It tasted like squash, banana and sugar mixed together with a hint of cinnamon. Both the squash and tomato soup were served luke-warm. We all consider ourselves to be foodies, and decided to give Troppo a try since the word on the street was that it's the best spot for food, drinks and atmosphere in downtown Lansing. The drinks were tasty but took forever to reach the table. I'm not sure if our waitress had side jobs to finish while waiting on us, but she did not check up on us to find that we didn't have the proper place settings for 20 min. and we ended up getting them for ourselves from another table. Our favorite dish of the night was the Too-Much Platter. It was yummy, but could have had something more original done to the Calamari then just sweet Chili sauce dumped on top of it. The Lamb Chops, eggrolls, and mushrooms were what you would expect from the menu's description. The Duck dinner was tasty but had too much of the sweet sauce all over the plate. The risotto that came as a side was swimming in sweet sticky goo, and the asparagus tasted like fresh cut grass. The duck breast was cooked to order, and I think that was the best part of my own meal. My friends were not happy with their dishes either. The Salmon and Salmon dinner looked nice, but it was really overdone. The Duck and Fig salad was missing figs and the duck was not palatable. The Rib-eye was suppose to be cooked medium and came out rare. It was sent back. Oh, make sure not to order the polenta, it was hard with no flavor. And, the Boursin Whipped Potatoes were missing the Boursin cheese. Finally, we had hoped to save the night's dinner with Betty's Cheese Cake, but it tasted like it was Sara Lee out of the freezer. The only redeeming factor was it had fresh strawberries with homemade sauce to make it taste less store bought. Over all review, skip this place and seek out something better!
(2)
Robby R.
Hour long wait for food. mediocre salmon (salmon is much better at Enso in East Lansing). Decent service. Overpriced. ...or am i still expecting LA standards.
(2)
Scott S.
We went here when I was in town on business, and i must say I was very impressed. the place has a nice decor, and was pretty inexpensive. We started out with a wine rec that was really good..i don't remember the bottle though.. the apps were a flatbread chicken and calamari..im not a calamari fan so i can't comment but the flatbread chicken was pretty good.. for an entree i had salmon and salmon which was just excellent.. i didnt know how good the place was gonna be, and i have mixed feeling about ordering salmon at restaurants (even in nyc) but this was awesome... I would def have it again and recommend it.. We were going to come to Troppo again during my stay but the governer had the place booked up when he was having is state of the state address...I will def return if I am in Lansing again..
(4)
Per S.
I ventured to Troppo with my family for my graduation dinner. We had no complaints about seating or the atmosphere. But ALL of my family members had comments about the food. My family knows I like to Yelp so we were joking about that the whole time, but by the end of the meal we came to the consensus that I needed to write a review. The food did not live up to expectations. The parmesan dinner rolls were really yummy (!!). No complaints about those! We had the appetizer platter with the various offerings- honestly, I can't remember anything good or bad about it. The tomato bisque soup was delightful-- three of us were diving into my boyfriend's bowl. It was so creamy and delicious. But the deliciousness ends there. Now for the fun part. For my dish I ordered the filet medium well- I got a rare, blobby cut that was really something questionable. I just ate around the goopy part. I should've gone with the mac n cheese. The "warm cookies" for dessert were NOT warm. The waitress even informed us upon ordering that the cookies would take about eight minutes to come out... they arrived cold and hard. My mom's gelato was completely tasteless. How disappointing :-( Overall, we were left feeling very underwhelmed. I wouldn't return. Luckily, I moved out of the area.
(2)
ZT M.
I think I had the worst steak in my lifetime, and I've eaten a lot of steak. I ordered the New York Strip and I rate it negative one star. On the other hand, the Chicken Bellagio my friend ordered was really good. The ambiance and atmosphere is really very hip and inviting, it's just a shame the place was barely full on a Saturday night. As for my steak: hard, rubbery, it didn't even taste like a strip steak. It was supposed to have gorgonzola "crust"...but it was smeared on like wet jelly and tasted overpowering. Once I got past the gorgonzola, the steak itself wasn't seasoned. The "peppercorn demi glace" tasted like gravy out of a can...no joke. I can honestly say it was practically not edible. Wow. What a shame. The place is huge. We sat on the bar side and that side was about 2/3 full. The rest of restaurant was completely empty. Yikes.
(2)
Tami S.
Just had the scallops for a light dinner after my waitress recommended it. Wonderful bechamel sauce with boudin potatoes and wilted spinach. I wasn't feelin potatoes tonite although they were good. BUT the spinach with a bite of roasted garlic and the bechamel sauce was awesome, actually my favorite part of the whole dish. Wish there had been more! The scallops were done perfectly with a little Cajun spice to them. Service was good too.
(4)
James F.
Troppo is a slightly upscale restaurant in downtown Lansing on Washington Ave overlooking the Michigan state capitol. The food was good overall. I enjoyed the scallops and the bread was excellent. My wife had the teryaki tuna which was not her favorite, but was objectively good. The chocolate torte for dessert was very good. The on-tap beer selection was not very exciting, but did have one local IPA which was enjoyable. The outdoor ambiance and quality food make Troppo a good choice for a relaxing dinner. A better on-tap beer selection would take this restaurant to the next level. As is, this is a quality choice, if not spectacular.
(4)
Nathan T.
Nice atmosphere, the food was OK - nothing to get too excited about. The salmon was a little too sweet.
(3)
Dan S.
Keeping in mind that the culinary choices in Lansing include olive burgers and deep fried gizzards, then Troppo qualifies as one of Lansing finest. Our first trip to Troppo was enjoyable - I enjoyed the rib eye au poivre and my wife had the salmon prepared two ways - we both enjoyed our meals. The real standout was the butternut squash soup - superb. Our second visit to Troppo was on a Friday evening for wine and appetizers - and the it was an interesting experience. First the drinks. We were drawn to Troppo on this night because they were advertising a drink special - Caipirinha (a Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça, lime, sugar and crushed ice). We make a mean Caipirinha at home and know how it should taste. We were brought the drinks in short "old fashioned" glasses, with two or three slices of lime, too much cachaca and what tasted like standard bar sour mix. When the waitress came to ask if we were enjoying our drinks we had to say that we were disappointed. She took this very well and asked how Caipirinha is properly made - my wife pulled out her iPhone and displayed the recipe. The waitress went back to the bar and came back with two more cocktails that were getting closer, but not quite right - and we told her so. This was all very good natured and fun and we were happy to keep trying their attempts! The floor manager then came over and declared that he was determined to get this cocktail made right for us. We showed him the recipe, we asked to see the muddler he was using, asked about the amount of sugar, told him the right way to cut the limes - and he produced a passable, but still not on target drink. If you want to make a proper Caipirinha, here is how: Cut two limes into chunks by cutting the lime lengthwise into 6 wedges, then cut each wedge in half. Put the limes in an 8 to 10 ounce glass. Mash the limes very thoroughly with a muddler, add 1 TBS of granulated sugar and keep mashing the limes. Now add 1.5 ounces of cachaca and muddle some more. Fill the glass with crush ice, stir thoroughly and serve. And now to the food. We ordered the vegetarian spring rolls and the calamari. The spring rolls were excellent, hot with a kind of spicy remoulade that was very nice. The calamari was unfortunately not crispy and lukewarm. It seemed like the calamari waited at the service window too long before services. The sweet and hot sauce for the calamari is excellent. We had heard that Troppo does an especially good job with calamari, so we were a bit surprised. Service was good and friendly - no complaints. There was live music that night and we enjoyed that. Overall atmosphere is very nice - I enjoyed to old photos of Lansing that are on the walls. We will make Troppo an occasional destination and plan to be there for the annual Silver Bells in the City night.
(4)
Holly B.
Great food and atmosphere! Downtown Lansing lacks great restaurants, but this one one is worth the drive. The mac n cheese is unbelievable!
(5)
David M.
Three stars is a decent rating (though not from me, I guess, since most things get 4 or 5) but it's definitely not acceptable for a place as expensive as Troppo. We went here with a large party for a graduation lunch, and while the atmosphere and service were nice, the food didn't really blow anyone away. For one, they had a very small menu, so there were like five dishes at the table with twelve or so people, which is kind of lame. I don't know if this was because of graduation, or a normal lunch thing, but either way, nothing really blew anyone away, until the bill came, that is. Well, we knew it was an expensive place, we just expected some better grub for the price.
(3)
Jon T.
I've been to both the new property as well as the original across the street. The new one looks slick...especially compared to what they came from. I like eating at either the bar or the area with tables surrounding it. Comfy and sophisticated without feeling too stodgy or too 'fine dining-ish'. Unfortunately, those are the highlights. The food and the service are ok to good but neither stand out. The food is simply good, just as it probably was 15 years ago. Meaning, borderline old fashioned and not much originality. Service, I'd rate below the food. I've never been treated poorly by any means but I wouldn't think 'bland' is the service prerequisite when filling out an application. From bartenders to hosts to servers, it seems like somewhat of a trait. One other pet peeve, I'm more than ok spending double digits on a nice glass of wine but, it's tough to find one. Again, needs refreshing...vino you can buy at the end-cap of any big box grocery chain doesn't cut it these days. To sum it up, you won't have a bad time, I personally just seek more for my money. And maybe that's harsh but life's too short to settle.
(3)
Lizzie P.
Went here around 8pm on a Saturday night and the restaurant area was almost empty, the lounge seemed to have a few more patrons. There wasn't a host/hostess so we had to wait a couple of minutes until anyone noticed we were there. I got the butternut squash soup which was good but stick to the cup size--I couldn't finish the bowl because it was too rich. I also got the Tomato/Mozzarella salad which was pretty good, it could have used a little bit more flavor or maybe just more garlic bread on the side. My boyfriend ordered the Mac & Cheese which was delicious but again a little too rich to finish the whole plate. Once we were seated the service was good, our waitress was friendly and efficient.
(3)
Misi P.
Meh...Troppo was much better when it was a bar in downtown East Lansing. It gave the university community a much needed kick of SWANK without conceit. Since its move into downtown Lansing and conversion into a restaurant, it's not the same. The decor is sweet and the digs are nice, but the actual bar is small and drinks are high priced. I mean after all, it is downtown Lansing, y'know -get with the program. I traverse the line when it comes to the grub - depending on what you get (peach chicken pecan somethin or another) it may be fantastic or (chicken pot pie) not worth the gas you wasted to drive there. I mean, it's a good place to go impress a date, but Troppo isn't flippin' my poodle skirt.
(3)
Bruce S.
Ahhh.. Troppo. It's been repositioned into targeting the upper echelons of the market, particularly that of the downtown Lansing political and business crowd. Therefore the food and drinks are priced accordingly. You get what you pay for here, excellent food, excellent drinks, excellent service. I've never been disappointed. 5 stars.
(5)
Ania S.
The new Troppo is impressive. It is rather cozy and still elegant. 3.5 stars out of 5. It is lacking that extra 1.5 because I found things rather... bland. My chicken and beet salad wasn't that great. In fact, the beet salad that Tavern has is way better. The butternut squash soup is always great, but again I really had to salt and pepper it a lot! (I do think I like salt a lot, but not that much more than the average person). The menu now includes a side of lobster whipped mashed potatoes. I am very curious to see how these taste!
(3)
Chris M.
Over-rated. Food was salty, noisy, way over-priced.
(2)
Stephen R.
Fantastic experience at Troppo. For one, I dig the owners' decision to move to downtown Lansing and try to boost the late night experience in the Capital City. Second, I had an amazing experience for my parents' 25th (silver) wedding anniversary. I booked the Boardroom (16 or so people), the smaller of the two reserved party rooms. Drew was super accomodating when I had to change the room date (ugh. I still feel terrible about that) and because I had reservations on working with their pre-set menu, he allowed me to have open menu for the party so the other family members could order what they want, rather than what I selected. The appetizers I had pre ordered were promptly out by 5:30 as requested. Veuve Cliquot was chilled and ready to go. They even let us bring in our own cake (from the Amway Grand), and I brought in a few tasteful balloons and table top confetti. Not a problem. Super accomodating. My parents (my mom loves Troppo) were shocked: just the perfect reaction! Mom even cried a bit to see we were all there -- especially me, since she had no idea I'd driven up from Chicago. Service was fantastic and prompt. The food was amazing! Everything was effortless and well handled by the amazing staff. They even brought us a (dull. Legal issues.) knife from the kitchen so my parents could recreate "cutting the cake" and feed it to each other. It was adorable! Even after the appetizers, meal, drinks, coffee, and room reservation, the bill was only half of what I had anticipated. I keep forgetting how great Lansing is on pricing -- even at Troppo -- compared to Chicago. It was an awesome experience and I cannot praise them enough. Thanks for the fantastic memory, Troppo! I can't wait to come back! Keep on making Downtown Lansing a great place to be!
(5)
Patrick W.
Food is consistent and usually vert good but service is very inconsistent. First, we waited 15 minutes for a server while those around us, who were seated after us, were being waited on....and when i went to the front desk to say something I was made to feel like it was my problem. Then it doesn't help when food comes out sporadically and some guests are served literally 10 minutes apart and then the "favorite" dessert of our waitress, the strawberry shortcake, which features whipped cream, is brought to the table with no whipped cream because the kitchen didn't have any!!?? Really? Oh...and no apology for the service or the dessert being "incomplete". I think it's time for Troppo management to step back and take a look at the entire experience.
(2)
Alexandra K.
I dined at Troppo for lunch with some co-workers today and really enjoyed it. I've been in East Lansing for three years and have yet to venture to Downtown Lansing. Not only did they boast plenty of vegetarian options, but the lunch prices were very reasonable. It was a cozy environment with fast service. I had the roasted tomato soup and salad combo, the salad being the Troppo salad. For dessert, I had the chocolate cheesecake. It was delicious and rich, coupled with a chocolate gelato.
(4)
Carlos A.
Keeping expectations in check Troppo is about as good as it gets in the Lansing area in terms of food, service and decor. The new location is an upgrade, especially in terms of ambiance. However, I have found the food to be hit or miss. Still, for a step up from the usual Lansing fare, it's pretty good.
(4)
Ed T.
I'm with Misi P. If I had a poodle skirt, Troppo wouldn't be flipping it. We went for our anniversary, since it looks posh and dimly lit, and lack of lighting always makes me appear more attractive to my girlfriend. Unfortunately, the real appeal of this place is that it looks nice. Our waitress was okay, but the bartender who came to "recommend" a bottle of wine didn't so much want to help us as to wax poetic on how much better "new world wines" (his bottle of choice) were than "old world wines" (our bottle of choice.) Most of our food was okay - uninspired, perhaps too salty, but on the whole not bad. The real winner was the butternut squash soup: very good. The real loser was the pork tenderloin: our waitress assured us that it was her favorite, but do not let them lead you astray as it's nearly inedible. (Edited as The Girl pointed out that this was our anniversary dinner, not our honeymoon dinner.)
(3)
Dan G.
Average, but in a town know for having both kinds of food (fried and deep fried) it is a standout. Lots of self importance crowding the tables at lunchtime. Watch out.
(3)
Jessica S.
I would like to say for one I really enjoyed my time here. In a place like Lancing it is the only spot you can go ,that I know of, and feel like your not still in Lansing. The food is actually portions should be eating and quite delish! However if your going for more food for less price,I wouldnt recommend it. It is a classy place which you could impress any out of state people with as well as nicely lit with a wonderful atmotsphere. The only comment I could say in any way is if you go close to closing the back kitchen area is extreamly loud and you can hear the cooks screaming and laughing which just does not work when you are enjoying a quite dinner with your spouse.
(4)
Michael K.
Eh. Troppo, I wanted to like you. I was excited about a real red-leather-and-wooden-paneling sort of place, with your interior looking like something used in a Sopranos shoot. I had visions of discrete service, perfect steaks and mobsters bedecked with pinky rings in a corner booth. Well, there were no mobsters (all the better, I suppose), but I hear this is a favorite haunt of the Michigan politicos. Anyways, the food. It took about 20 minutes and three trips back to our table before the waiter and the bartender figured out my drink order (A Negroni, just ask me.), but service was speedy, efficient and very polite. The apps we had were good. The tempura-batter portobello mushrooms didn't get soggy (but how?! Mushrooms are so wet...) and were drizzled with reduced balsamic vinegar. The stuffed acorn squash was pretty good; filled with sauteed spinach and undercooked but flavorful risotto. The salads were fresh and tasty. The entrees were disappointing. It's been more than a year since I've had a steak, so I ordered a NY strip, med-rare. It came to the table at med-well. I sent it back, something I've never done and felt terrible about, and the manager came to the table, profusely apologized and comped my drink. The steak came out perfectly cooked, but bland! Oh so bland...The other entrees at the table just needed salt. Unseasoned steaks, unseasoned duck breasts. Too bad. The desserts were good: a fig-and-Nutella tart was rich and figgy, but could have benefited from more hazelnuts. Spumoni ice cream was fantastic, the best I've ever had, and coffee was hot and strong. Nice for a date, but dress well so you don't feel out of place.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Dressy Ambience : Classy Noise Level : Average Good For Dancing : No Alcohol : Full Bar Happy Hour : Yes Coat Check : Yes Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Amrita R.
Quick recap: i would say 3.5 stars for food. Negative -10 for service. As one of my only nights off, and after reading about Troppos, I expected a nice atmosphere and some "fine" dining in the lansing area. our lovely experience started off by calling the restaurant asking about how fancy it was. The hostess told us it was pretty fancy (no jeans)- so we dressed accordingly. We got to the restaurant and were seated. In front of us was the boys night out crew dressed in jeans, sweatshirts & baseball caps downing beers- no problem normally, but we were specifically told to dress UP. We told our order to the waitress, got our drinks and waited. A half hour later, when our appetizer was finished, another waitress comes up to us asking if we still wished to have the steaks we initially ordered. A little bit confused we responded yes, thinking we had already ordered w/ our first waitress. Nope. Apparently they switched waitresses on us, never told us, and new waitress had never put in our order. Another extra half hour of waiting for our food. In the meanwhile, we put in another drink order, for washington apples. waitress leaves, comes back to fill our waters (10 minutes later) and asks, "oh did you still want those washington apples?". yes. i wanted them the first time, WHEN I ORDERED THEM. so she finally goes to the bartender to put in the drinks. comes back 5 minutes later being claiming that there are two ways to make them, and our preference. 15 minutes later, we get our drink- which is so strong and disgusting tasting that it is undrinkable. lovely so after flagging down our waitress AGAIN, we ask her to dilute it/add cranberry to make it bearable, our food finally comes. Food was decent, but for the amount that we paid (over 115 for dinner & drinks), i expected better. We left not finishing our drinks (that bad) and overall thoroughly disappointed with our meal. I do not appreciate having to tell my waitress EVERY ORDER TWICE, and in turn, wasting 40 more minutes waiting. I will not be returning, nor would i recommend. :( Not worth it.
(2)Maggie S.
I went to Troppo the week it opened in the newest location. The atmosphere is nice, good wine, but the meal left a lot to be desired. The cream sauce for the pasta I ordered was bland and didn't hold together. Overpriced for the quality of food. I did return again after the new location had been open for months and there was no improvement. What would Gordon Ramsey Do? Not eat at Troppo. Go here for a nice glass of wine. Don't eat.
(2)Gaius Kaligula C.
The lovely atmosphere of troppo's new building across michigan ave. has done nothing to fix the glaring problems with their menu and execution. the food is quite simply terrible - the menu seems stuck in the 1980s power lunch culinary genre, with disgustingly fatty salads, overworked entrees, and an overhyped and over-pushed butternut squash soup that tastes as all butternut squash soups do - way too sweet. the cobb salad not only has bacon (which is traditional) but also an unnecessary addition of prosciutto, unecessarily candied pecans, and all is slathered with a disgusting amount of creamy gorgonzola dressing instead of a traditional cobb dressing. disgusting. this is probably also the healthiest salad on the menu, and the simplest thing to make delicious, yet they somehow muck it up. a duck breast salad with black mission figs and black mission balsamic dressing sounds like a featured alice waters recipe from a 1982 issue of bon appetit, and is executed poorly as well (i've had it twice - both times the fat was barely even rendered on the duck breast leaving that terribly unpleasant bubble gum layer of fat, even harder to chew because it's served cold). this is also a note to all lansing area restaurants that see themselves as "fancy" - if 90% of your entrees are served over mashed potatoes, you are a kids menu, not an adult restaurant. troppo is, of course, no exception. in fact, the one dinner entree that isn't served over mashed potatoes is two boneless pork chops (why not just one double-cut pork chop with bone in? this is a restaurant, not shake-and-bake cooking with mom) that are chipotle-glazed and served over Macaroni and Cheese. dry boneless pork chops served over macaroni and cheese for 20 bucks a plate... why not just skip the pork chops and chop up some ball park franks in your mac and cheese for the whole 5-year-old experience? aside from the fact that i have yet to have anything there cooked properly and served at a pleasant temperature, their menu is truly poor and every dish suffers from having too many ingredients on the plate. besides the aforementioned cobb salad, we have things like a salmon entree with rhubarb orange chutney. instantly, that description tantalizes me and i have to have it, until the tiny piece of salmon comes served over a dwarfingly huge, lukewarm, overcooked risotto and topped with leeks that are double battered and deeped fried (and also lukewarm - accentuating their greasiness). granted, maybe this impresses people who are used to olive burgers and fish sticks, but personally i felt for the fish that lost his life to become a part of this culinary trainwreck. service ranges from barely competent to terrible. expect everything, including soups, to be lukewarm and lunch to take over an hour, even if you're the only people in there (which is likely). if you're not drinking alcohol, i advise sticking to water on the beverages - it's not likely you'll ever get a refill, and upcharges for coffee and soda are ludicrous here. the picnic-style "grinder" salt and peppers on the table are also quite the tacky touch in such a luxurious space. expect to be underwhelmed by your meal, and then absolutely furious when you see how high your bill is. is one star an exaggeration? not at all, this place should truly be avoided at all costs. a wonderful new building has done nothing to solve this restaurants kitchen and service issues. i have suffered through many (15+) lunches and dinners here in the past two years, and my advice to those coming to lansing for a business lunch and thinking of suggesting this place: chances are, your lansing-dwelling business associate is taken here constantly, due to its reputation as being "the fancy place downtown," and he/she feels the same way i do about it. save your expense account, palate, and waistline this experience and go for someplace cheaper and better.
(1)Bob S.
Went for dinner tonight with 3 other couples. Waiter came over and took drink orders, one person in our party did not get his drink. Had to ask where it was. Service getting our meals were extremely slow. While we were waiting for dinner, the manager came over and apologized for being slow I due to a large party. Well, you knew there was a large party and why did everybody else have to wait. Be staffed. He did offer us free desert which was fine. Thank you. Our waiter came back and took desert orders. After maybe 20+ minutes, the waiter came back and asked "Is there anything else". I said, "Sure, how about our deserts". He forgot to turn the orders in. Wow, then we had to wait again. Almost 3 hours to eat! No excuse, Sorry Troppo, we probably won't be back.
(2)Rasheda K.
Each time I visit my brother's family in Lansing, I check out this restaurant. It has the best patio in town and great happy hour and Sunday specials. But what I really enjoyed most outside of the food is the Troppotini- a fabulous martini that is made of vodka infused raspberries. And it is under $10. This place is a bit on the expensive side but if you go on Sunday you'll get a third off. Overall I like it. But I don't know if I would go on a day that isn't Sunday or happy hour. Paying 20 bucks for chicken marsala in downtown Lansing doesn't seem justifiable to me.
(3)Roberta M.
No wait on a Wednesday night. Troppo is elegant and classy in appearance. They have a good wine selection and moderate beer selection. We came in for drinks and appetizers. We shared a caprese salad and ahi tuna tartar appetizer. The salad was great and flavorful. The ahi tuna was good but didn't have much flavor. We were also brought a bread basket which had very good bread and a sweet herb butter. Our server was excellent, making recommendations and checking up on us several times. The atmosphere was relaxing and enjoyable.
(4)Ashley A.
First time and last time. Let's see here... I didn't make a reservation, but they seated us within 5 or 10 minutes. Our waitor was sweet, but that's about it. I have never waited 40 mins in my life just to get my DRINK. Once they came, we put our orders in. 15 minutes later he came back ask in for our orders but then said "Oh wait, I already took them." An hour and a half into being there, I still didn't have a bread basket (which we asked for), waters had been empty for about half an hour along with our drinks. Once we got our food, everything was good except for two entrees that weren't prepared how we asked. The food was still pretty good however, but I will never go back to this restaurant solely based off of the terrible, terrible service. Also was very expensive. I would've expected at least a beer to be taken off of the bill as a way of compromising for the service, but no.
(2)Jiah C.
Had a lovely dinner at Troppo. Had the calamari as an appetizer - it was lightly flash fried, and they were fat pieces of the head and it was fresh, as it was nice and delicate, not chewy. The spicy sweet sauce was yummy, but a little overboard on the sweet. Good presentation. We had a cucumber gin martini, and a lotus martini (?), they were both delicious. Not overbearing on the sweet or the alcohol, and nice and refreshing. Main course - I got the Filet a la Troppo, other got Ribeye "Au Poive". My filet came out perfect, Ribeye came out overdone. They brought out a new ribeye cooked ok (still a little overdone, and at that point loss of appetite didn't help), and they heated up and represented my filet. The filet was delicious, even though I had to just stare at it for 20 minutes and my appetite was a bit lost at that point, and the potatoes were a bit of a loss. They were not spectacular; comparable to flaky one minute mashed potatoes with tiny chunks. No butter or salt flavor and texture was meh. But still, zip sauce was good, and the filet made up for it. Ribeye came with tempura portabellas, which were not bad. Had a bottle of Shiraz, their wines are decently priced. They brought out a gigantic plate of 4 slices of dessert to make up for the Ribeye oops, which topped off our meal. Blueberry cheesecake, Flourless layered Chocolate Torte, Lemon cake, and some other cheesecake with a chocolate layer and macadamias dessert (I have no idea what it was but it was delicious). The service was also excellent. Waiter knew his stuff, checked back frequently but not so much as to annoy. House manager took very good control of the situation, I was very happy. I had gone here once before for a corporate X-mas party, and really enjoyed the catering and the bar. This last meal sealed it, I am definitely going back. :)
(4)Vick A.
One of my favorite places to go. Awesome food, very good quality. If you like seafood, try the entree sampler with crab cakes, calamari, shrimp cocktail, and scallops. Little pricey but very good food and drinks!
(4)Steve T.
After reading some of the reviews here, my wife and I were uncertain about having dinner at Troppo. However, a couple friends had good things to say so we tried it out. The service was good without being intrusive. I had the Flat Iron steak which was quite good. The marinade had a fairly strong flavor and may not appeal to everyone, but I enjoyed it. This steak comes served on top of "Truffle French Fries". Personally, I wasn't a huge fan. They basically tasted like fries with a small twist. I would have preferred regular mashed potatoes or redskins. Their house salad was tasty as was the house made ranch dressing that I ordered. My wife and I both liked the small, crusty dinner rolls with herbed butter. My wife had the Salmon Two Ways. One piece served with a bbq sauce on top of some sweet potato hash. The other was herb crusted on top of mashed potatoes with a cheese sauce. She raved about it and thought it was excellent. I tried a couple bites of it and while I'm not a huge salmon fan, I thought it was very good. My wife ordered her salad with cherry vinaigrette dressing. Also very excellent. Overall, we were pleased with our meal. The four star rating is due to the fact that I don't hand out 5 star ratings very often. That's reserved for what I view as some of the best food I've ever had. Troppo isn't in that category, but it was a satisfying meal.
(4)Kelly M.
Granted I am from Boulder,Co which is foodie town all the way I was pleasantly surprised to find Troppo on my last visit to Lansing.The patio seating was lovely and and their selections on the munu were many. As far as the meal goes, we had comfort food. The pork chops and mac and cheese were great and very satisfying.The calamari had good flavor but served cold so was a little soggy. It was a beautiful evening on the patio and so i decided to order off their special summer drink menu,a mojito sounded lovely. The waittress informed me they were out of mint so I had the sangria instead which was delicious though I thought the fresh herbs,tarragon or rosmary,overpowered the fruit The strawberrie shortcake was very good and the biscuits were very flakey. Overall,it was a great evening. The biggest drawback was our waitress, nice but very unprofessional. Very uninformed and was horrible at selling special of the day or offering dessert and very unattentive compared to the other servers I observed around us. When our bread came undone and partially frozen she looked at us and said "so , it will be a while for fresh bread do you not want it?" just one example of how she communicated with us. Another was when we asked her about the strawberry shortcake she said " well we don't make the biscuits homemade but it is good". Wow! I hope that isn't how she was trained to respond to those situations. All in all I would go back next time I go visit my family again, I think it is one of the nicest restaurants there.
(3)Bonnie F.
Ah, Troppo. The over all problem with Troppo is that it is not consistent. I've had excellent food at Troppo and I've had sub-standard food at Troppo. I've had excellent service at Troppo, and I've had bad service at Troppo. I've had the best martinis I've ever had at Troppo, and I've had the worst martinis I've ever had at Troppo (they used to be nothing short of sublime and now are smaller with less liquor...at average of $9 each they are now a complete rip off). I've had dessert at Troppo that rivals anything in Quebec City and I've had dessert at Troppo that smacks of Sam's Club frozen. The list goes on and on. It also appears that, as time has went on, everything has become more toward the bad end. On one occasion in October 2007, the waiter decided my 15% tip for lunch wasn't enough so he gave himself over 50% on my credit card. I wrote to management and they never responded. So, inconsistent food+rip off bad drinks+wait staff that steals+managment that does nothing about wait staff that steals+Sam's Club desserts+not exactly Big Boy prices = No thanks. Too many other places to give my dining $'s to. The butternut squash soup, however, is prize winning good. Really. But I'll have to live without it due to too many (easily 15-20) bad to mediocre experiences at easily $50 bucks a person per pop.
(2)J X.
This is a medium class restaurant masquerading as high class. My $30 strip steak requested at medium was definitely rare...and grisly. Overall it is overpriced and under delivers. The 14-year old Scotch was excellent however and reasonably priced for a double at $18.
(3)Sarah R.
This place is not cheap. Appetizers are $7-10 and most entrees are in the $25-30 range. My friend and I had pomegranate martinis and the vegetarian spring rolls with chili sauce. Both were yummy, but this place does seem a bit overpriced.
(3)Brenden B.
This place is could be just amazing, but it just misses the mark with a bunch of little things that made it just ok. First, the decor is awesome. It feels like a speakeasy! Very dim lighting, robust dark woods, white tablecloths, and murals of famous people from back in the day. Wrap all this up with modern music and it made for a great atmosphere. The menu was basic, simple... in a good way. Everything sounded so good and refined. Based off the atmosphere and menu alone, you were setting yourself up to think this is going to be a great fine dining experience. I really wanted something simple so I decided to go for the burger. I don't eat beef and asked if they could sub the beef for chicken. Which they did. The food was fantastic too. Perfectly cooked and married so well with the flavors they offered on the plate. I was very impressed. Now you're probably wondering by this point, why am I not giving this place 5 stars, it sounds like a great experience. Well here is why. Our waiter, bless her, so nice, was just not there. The place wasn't that busy so to have a long wait to order our food, have our food come out, refills, etc. was irritating. We were never brought bread, and it would take at least 2 requests for our waiter to actually bring out what we had asked for. Also our server never cleaned our table. Not after our appetizers or main meal. We had a table stacked with dirty dishes that, at a place like this, and the prices on the menu, you would think it would be common knowledge to clear the table as you go. Also with any of the seafood dishes, you get jipped. My co-worker ordered the scallops. He got 3. Really? $20 dish and you get 3 scallops? Needless to say he was still very hungry. The food - check The atmosphere - check Wine list - check service - fail
(3)Krystle M.
It was my first visit but it was great. I really enjoyed my food and wine. Nice environment and great location downtown lansing. We will definitely be returning.
(5)Michelle N.
Troppo has a great location! It's right next to the state capitol, and I had a great view of it from my seat at the patio. I was worried about service due to the reviews left by previous yelpers, so I tried to come in with low expectations. I do agree that service leaves a bit to be desired. On the bright side, our waitress was nice and seemed to try her best, so I can't hold that against her. We tried: -pork chop a la troppo: I really liked this!!! I thought the pork chop came out medium well, as I requested. I also liked the mashed potatoes. However, I wasn't a fan of the apples that came with it. It reminded me of an apple cinnamon candle, haha. Don't let it deter you though bc the bf liked the apples a lot. -delmonico au poivre: I think this was a ribeye that was cooked well. In fact, I think it was closer to the medium rare we requested than Capitol Prime! -troppotini w/mandarin oranges: I thought this would be too vodka-y for me, but I really enjoyed how sweet and citrus-y the vodka tasted! -drunken strawberry shortcake: this was really good as well! Yelp almost scared me away from Troppo, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. You should too!
(4)Tim M.
I've been twice now. Troppo is probably as "high-end" as you'll find in Lansing. That said the food could be better for the price. Their wine and cocktail selection is excellent. Their beer selection was not so excellent. The Venue is beautiful and the wait staff is very good but, at $20 an entree they damned well better be. I had the Peasant Pasta salad, which was tasty. A sausage appetizer, which was expensive. And a steak that wasn't very memorable. It was all fine. I have no major complaints besides the price. It's a good special date night restaurant. But, it's not worth going to unless you're trying to avoid the "poor" people who can't afford to eat their with regularity. And, I'll be honest - that's really what brings their regulars in.
(3)Michael C.
Stopped in for dinner 12/29/14, and left unimpressed. Food was average, which says a lot considering their upscale prices. Service was slow and absent at times. I would not go out of my way for this place...there are better places to dine in Lansing
(2)Eric Z.
I went on a Friday night and I probably will not go back again. We ordered calamari and the mango chutney made it cold and damp. My entree was good but it was a tiny portion - overwhelmed by sun dried tomatoes. Server did not refill my water. Several beers listed on the menu were unavailable. Music playing on speakers was super annoying. Food was good but not for the price.
(2)John P.
Great environment and excellent food. This is definitely one of the nicer places in Lansing.
(4)Mitzie B.
Enjoyed a nice lunch here yesterday. My waiter was super great. I ordered the chop salad and a diet coke. They served the diet coke in the small classic bottles. So cute! Also they bring a chocolate chip cookies to the table with the check. Just as a side note, this is the popular politician spot for lunch.
(5)Amanda C.
After reading the negative reviews on this place, I decided to try it myself. It definitely does not deserve all the negativity! Came here on a Friday night. It was relatively quiet, but the atmosphere was very nice. We started with two house salads which were light and refreshing. My boyfriend had the salmon two ways--both very good, and I had the chicken piccata which was very tasty and a generous portion. The service could have been better and staff could have been friendlier, but the food came very quickly. All and all we were pleasantly surprised by Troppo and will be returning!
(4)Amanda S.
I want to love Troppo. Really. I do. Lansing is in need of a high-end, I'm-treating-you-to-a-nifty-business-lunch kind of place. For me, it just never quite gets there. Mac and cheese is pretty good. Not $13 good. Salmon anything tastes like it was frozen, not fresh. The food is pretty much the exact same as their sister stop, Tavern on the Square, but double the price. And, generally speaking, I leave feeling "meh" about the experience and still hungry. Ownership is great and the place has a nice vibe. I don't mind paying a price for a classy Lansing if the food can learn to catch up.
(2)Aaron M.
First, the good: the facility is gorgeous and the bar-side of the restaurant is quite posh. It goes quickly downhill from there. Unfortunately they are the only game in town when it comes to purportedly "fine" dining and I end up there a couple of times a year for business meals or other functions (when I have no say in the location) despite the fact that I am consistently disappointed. Some recent examples: (1) Ordered a cocktail from their printed cocktail menu only to have the waiter come back 15 minutes later (the place was not busy at the time either) and tell me "we don't have that." You don't have a cocktail on your own list? (2) Same visit as (1) above: Wife orders mac-n-cheese entree and I order the stuffed pork chops. Waiter comes back 10 minutes later (see number (1) above) and says he forgot what I ordered and asks me to remind him. 20 minutes later food comes (delivered by someone other than our waiter) and mine is not what I ordered -- it was some other sort of pork dish. I inform the server of this and she apologizes and takes it back. Waiter comes over and says he'll bring out the right dish right away. 10 minutes later he brings me the stuffed pork chops. I cut into the first one and it is essentially raw. Mind you that stuffed pork chops are butterfly cut so it is incredibly easy to see if they are cooked thoroughly or not -- these never should have made it out of the kitchen. I send it back and help my wife finish her now cold entree. Manager graciously offers to take the pork chop entree (that I never even got) off of our bill. (3) Ordered a Grey Goose martini with a twist during a happy hour gathering of colleagues on the patio, but was served a dirty martini. Sent it back because I loathe olives and olive juice. Replacement comes and it is easily 50% vermouth and still has a strong olive taste (likely from reusing the same shaker as when they made the first one). Not wanting to cause a scene, I went ahead and choked it down. When we ordered another round I explained to the waiter that a dry vodka martini essentially means just vodka in a martini glass. Unfortunately that resulted in me receiving a shot of WARM vodka in a martini glass. Seriously. (4) Attended a group dinner meeting at the "chef's table" -- was excited because I thought that this would mean extra attention to the quality of the meal. Ordered the duck entree and it was so overcooked I needed a steak knife. The "chef" came by the table and didn't seem to even comprehend how badly overcooked the entree was even though one of my dining partners noticed from 3 seats away without me even saying anything. Several others at the table had barely edible meals as well. These are just a few examples of particularly bad experiences. The rest of my experiences since they moved to the new facility have been mediocre, at best. Unfortunately I will likely end up here again at some point soon when the location is out of my control, but I NEVER choose Troppo when it is up to me.
(1)Matt R.
Wow..and not like a good wow. Like, " wow look at that car accident". What happened to Troppo? They used to be good. We had a wedding reception AND a class reunion here in the past few years and was very happy! The past 2 times here the service has been terrible...and the food: I almost hesitate to say it, but close to inedible. My wife had "risotto" that literally tasted like soggy minute rice. I won't be back. Sorry Troppo, but when you start to cut quality & service it is not a good sign..
(2)Kent L.
Good choice for a special evening out or an afterwork drink. Prices are a bit high, but food is good. Drew (manager) and Jason (exec. chef) are great guys and treat you well. Nice ambience; and its nice to support downtown merchants. The one mistake is the hefty price for substitutions. Actually its not really a "substitution," its an add-on. For example, if you didn't want the potato choice that came with your entree and want to "substitute" fries, you can't. You have to pay a hefty add-on for a side order of fries, which if I recall correctly is something like $8 FOR A SIDE OF FRIES. Guess I just shouldn't eat fries - for more reasons than one. Squash soup is amazing. Favorite dinner entree is the pork tenderloin. Oh, and there's one female bartender who tends to evesdrop and butt into your private conversation without being "invited in" when you're sitting at the bar. If you want to have a private conversation, sit at one of the hightop tables in the bar area instead.
(4)Kevin P.
My wife and I have been here several times and really enjoyed the food and the service. We went the day after Valentine's Day and they were still serving the Valentine's menu. They only offered a few choices - my wife chose the chicken and I the Filet. Mine was cold. She thought hers was supposed to be stuffed but it wasn't. All in all for the price we were charged the entree' choices were poor & the food quality was sub par based on our previous experience with the restaurant. We have not given up on the restaurant - we just won't go during a "Special" weekend or events. I know they can do better!!
(2)Kelli P.
After reading some of the Yelp reviews on Troppo, my expectations were pretty low when I found out our party of ten was headed here for dinner before having a night out on the town. Perhaps low expectations are the key to happiness and satisfaction, because I - along with the remaining dinner party - thoroughly enjoyed the meal! All of the people at my table ordered steak except for me; I had salmon. Half of the salmon was delicious, and the other half had BBQ sauce (one of the things I cannot bring myself to eat); I bet it would have been really tasty had it ended up in front of someone who doesn't have food consistency issues. There was only one complaint from the carnivorous beasts that were dining with me, and that was due to someone ordering their steak medium and it actually came out medium (imagine that!) rather than medium-well as most restaurants tend to do. Bravo, Troppo - you know how to cook a steak! Bread was warm and fresh, herb butter was out of this world (OMG, so good!), and the wine menu was impressive compared to what other restaurants similar to Troppo would offer. If you order the tiramisu for dinner, beware - the serving is enormous! Our waitress, Kelly, was really laid back and friendly but did her job well. By the end of dinner, the champagne began taking over and I am assuming we may have been a tiny bit obnoxious, but Kelly rolled with the punches and joked around with us while freshening our drinks and clearing plates as we polished things off. To sum it up, I'd go here again - and ask the chef to hold the BBQ sauce. ;)
(4)Jennifer S.
Troppo is a decent place to get drinks, but the food can be kinda "meh" considering the price. I've been here three times with mixed results. The first time I went everything tasted overly (and disgustingly) sweet to me. Since then, I've made sure not to order anything that could seem even a little sweet at this place. The second time I had a steak which was quite good. The third time I had drinks and appetizers, and everything was fine though the service could have used work. The white pizza was possibly the only thing that I thought was particularly tasty. Troppo markets itself as an upscale restaurant, but I'd really expect better food for what they charge.
(3)Anna P.
I go here for dinner whenever I am in Lansing for business. It's a nice atmosphere and the service is great, and it's one of the only dinner options if you're staying downtown near the Capitol. However, while the food is good it's not fantastic.
(3)Erica D.
I'm being generous. Troppo, what the hell is going on with you? I wish I had a video camera with me during my last experience, so you could see just how bad (I mean REAL bad) the service received by my party was. I thought you were suppose to be upscale - something special in the Lansing world of chain restaurants and hometown bars. Once again, Troppo was not busy when I arrived. I had three other people on their way and decided to arrive fifteen minutes earlier than planned to take advantage of the happy hour specials. Once seated (the hosts are always awesome and friendly - I wonder if this some sort of scheme, because it's all downhill from there), it took fifteen-twenty minutes to be greeted. When I received my order, the waitress asked if I still needed the other three menus... Obviously, chick, or why would I have asked for them? My appetizer, the meatballs, was cold and served in a brothy soup that was substituted for marinara. It was very difficult to eat half of the meatball, and probably a hazard to my health since I have doubts it was properly cooked. Once my party arrived and placed their orders, it took three reminders for the waitress to bring my friend lemons for her salad (she wanted them for dressing). During all of those requests, my other friend wanted to order another drink... but the waitress would walk away before any one else could ask for any thing. We were laughing hysterically... it was straight out of a movie, or a training video showing how NOT to give good service. We were never asked how every thing was, and when the waitress came by to drop of the bills, she didn't say a word! She just walked by the table and set the bills down and skulked off. Awkward... My friend even commented that she was glad her husband didn't come because he would have raised hell. At this point, I would not return to Troppo again.
(2)Shelly C.
My husband I had an anniversary lunch here and it was amazing. We shared the Mac and cheese and the risotto which were some of the best we've ever had! Our server Brian was awesome, very friendly and on top of everything. We will definitely be going back again!
(5)Jessi T.
Outstanding service! This is just one way to describe the treatment we received from the entire staff at Troppo for a recent bachelorette party of 20. After speaking with the Events Coordinator, Ashley, we decided to pay a room fee for the Peninsula Room. We were not disappointed. Our waiter for the evening, Andrew, did an amazing job. He (and the rest of the staff) were efficient, courteous and went above our expectations. He accommodated all of our requests and went out of his way to make sure our Bride was his first and foremost priority. The food was exact to order and just as great as the service. The specialty cocktails were tasty and replenished often and without waiting. Finally, Andrew accompanied us outside taking pictures and escorting us to Tavern on the Square where more great service awaited us. What a fabulous way to celebrate our friend's upcoming wedding with the stellar service of the team at Troppo!
(5)heather t.
We decided to spend our New Year's Eve at troppo. they had a preselected menu set up 2 people , 4 course meal and champagne it was approximately $125.00 First course they called an antipasto plate, it included candied bacon, marinated mushrooms, various cheeses and bread. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavors. Second course was the basic house/ carder salad. Third course; we both ordered the 8 oz filet that was accompanied by mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. We both ordered the filet medium. And what we got was almost rare, no biggie tho we sent it back and was corrected. The server was extremely apologetic. Great service. I also have to add the filet was amazing, topped with zip sauce. Yummy. PS - you should consider having hard cider on tap :)
(4)Nick B.
Downtown Lansing is know for their concentration of fine dining spots. But Troppo is great! We went there for a client lunch and you could see all the other "power lunches" that were going on around us. The food was quite tasty. I enjoyed a muffaletta and some amazing cream of tomato soup. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the great Michigan day. Cocktail list looked interesting but because of the work function, I didn't partake. Looking forward to trying the place out again for diner.
(4)Zach A.
Troppo has been among my family's favorites for years. Service has always been great, atmosphere is one of the best in Lansing, and food has been great! That is, until our last few visits. Prices have gone up, quality of food has suffered. I can't say this is a direct result of their move across the street a few years ago but it seems to coincide. Although the service remains great on some occasions we have been very disappointed on others. It's a shame, as this used to be one of our favorites. Next to fast food you could call it 5 stars, but for the cost of a dinner and drinks you get much better quality and service at other establishments in the same "class". 2.5 stars but I can't seem to get myself to round up...
(2)J H.
Ordered the rack of lamb, for a birthday meal with my girl. Everything was great, the apt and wine. Then the main courses, so looking forward to the rack of lamb. I cut into one of the three, almost well done.....I had order them medium rare. Then the other two racks were also almost well done. Ok, everyone makes mistakes. So the management asked if I would like to re fire a other rack. The second plate came out very fast, great. I cut into a rack and it was raw.... The management came back, then told the chef. The chef asked the management to bring the plate for him to see. The management bought the same plate back, which the chef had flip and poke the rack of lamb. I was shocked, to say the least. My girl enjoy her steak but I left hungry and disappointed.
(1)Jessica S.
As I walked in I was greeted by very loud music from the party upstairs apparently. I was seated in the main dining room, but could still hear the music from upstairs. I ignored it and eventually ordered the Salmon Two Ways, herb and chipotle. I was served Salmon Two Ways, plain and barbecue. It was good salmon, but no herbs and no chipotle. I was too hungry to complain, but I could have made salmon and then put barbecue sauce on it myself for much less. The butternut squash soup that came with it was good, but a bit too sweet. My favorite part of the meal was the bread and flavored butter. I do not think I would go back unless I was in the area and someone else wanted to.
(3)Jill M.
Five ladies out for the evening expecting great food and table service, not what we got. Let me tell you ... the house salad dressing was just vinegar straight out of the bottle. The table service was not attentive considering how empty the restaurant was, and the menu sounded super tasty, but was not worth our time or money. Whoever said the squash soup was amazing.... is out of their mind. It tasted like squash, banana and sugar mixed together with a hint of cinnamon. Both the squash and tomato soup were served luke-warm. We all consider ourselves to be foodies, and decided to give Troppo a try since the word on the street was that it's the best spot for food, drinks and atmosphere in downtown Lansing. The drinks were tasty but took forever to reach the table. I'm not sure if our waitress had side jobs to finish while waiting on us, but she did not check up on us to find that we didn't have the proper place settings for 20 min. and we ended up getting them for ourselves from another table. Our favorite dish of the night was the Too-Much Platter. It was yummy, but could have had something more original done to the Calamari then just sweet Chili sauce dumped on top of it. The Lamb Chops, eggrolls, and mushrooms were what you would expect from the menu's description. The Duck dinner was tasty but had too much of the sweet sauce all over the plate. The risotto that came as a side was swimming in sweet sticky goo, and the asparagus tasted like fresh cut grass. The duck breast was cooked to order, and I think that was the best part of my own meal. My friends were not happy with their dishes either. The Salmon and Salmon dinner looked nice, but it was really overdone. The Duck and Fig salad was missing figs and the duck was not palatable. The Rib-eye was suppose to be cooked medium and came out rare. It was sent back. Oh, make sure not to order the polenta, it was hard with no flavor. And, the Boursin Whipped Potatoes were missing the Boursin cheese. Finally, we had hoped to save the night's dinner with Betty's Cheese Cake, but it tasted like it was Sara Lee out of the freezer. The only redeeming factor was it had fresh strawberries with homemade sauce to make it taste less store bought. Over all review, skip this place and seek out something better!
(2)Robby R.
Hour long wait for food. mediocre salmon (salmon is much better at Enso in East Lansing). Decent service. Overpriced. ...or am i still expecting LA standards.
(2)Scott S.
We went here when I was in town on business, and i must say I was very impressed. the place has a nice decor, and was pretty inexpensive. We started out with a wine rec that was really good..i don't remember the bottle though.. the apps were a flatbread chicken and calamari..im not a calamari fan so i can't comment but the flatbread chicken was pretty good.. for an entree i had salmon and salmon which was just excellent.. i didnt know how good the place was gonna be, and i have mixed feeling about ordering salmon at restaurants (even in nyc) but this was awesome... I would def have it again and recommend it.. We were going to come to Troppo again during my stay but the governer had the place booked up when he was having is state of the state address...I will def return if I am in Lansing again..
(4)Per S.
I ventured to Troppo with my family for my graduation dinner. We had no complaints about seating or the atmosphere. But ALL of my family members had comments about the food. My family knows I like to Yelp so we were joking about that the whole time, but by the end of the meal we came to the consensus that I needed to write a review. The food did not live up to expectations. The parmesan dinner rolls were really yummy (!!). No complaints about those! We had the appetizer platter with the various offerings- honestly, I can't remember anything good or bad about it. The tomato bisque soup was delightful-- three of us were diving into my boyfriend's bowl. It was so creamy and delicious. But the deliciousness ends there. Now for the fun part. For my dish I ordered the filet medium well- I got a rare, blobby cut that was really something questionable. I just ate around the goopy part. I should've gone with the mac n cheese. The "warm cookies" for dessert were NOT warm. The waitress even informed us upon ordering that the cookies would take about eight minutes to come out... they arrived cold and hard. My mom's gelato was completely tasteless. How disappointing :-( Overall, we were left feeling very underwhelmed. I wouldn't return. Luckily, I moved out of the area.
(2)ZT M.
I think I had the worst steak in my lifetime, and I've eaten a lot of steak. I ordered the New York Strip and I rate it negative one star. On the other hand, the Chicken Bellagio my friend ordered was really good. The ambiance and atmosphere is really very hip and inviting, it's just a shame the place was barely full on a Saturday night. As for my steak: hard, rubbery, it didn't even taste like a strip steak. It was supposed to have gorgonzola "crust"...but it was smeared on like wet jelly and tasted overpowering. Once I got past the gorgonzola, the steak itself wasn't seasoned. The "peppercorn demi glace" tasted like gravy out of a can...no joke. I can honestly say it was practically not edible. Wow. What a shame. The place is huge. We sat on the bar side and that side was about 2/3 full. The rest of restaurant was completely empty. Yikes.
(2)Tami S.
Just had the scallops for a light dinner after my waitress recommended it. Wonderful bechamel sauce with boudin potatoes and wilted spinach. I wasn't feelin potatoes tonite although they were good. BUT the spinach with a bite of roasted garlic and the bechamel sauce was awesome, actually my favorite part of the whole dish. Wish there had been more! The scallops were done perfectly with a little Cajun spice to them. Service was good too.
(4)James F.
Troppo is a slightly upscale restaurant in downtown Lansing on Washington Ave overlooking the Michigan state capitol. The food was good overall. I enjoyed the scallops and the bread was excellent. My wife had the teryaki tuna which was not her favorite, but was objectively good. The chocolate torte for dessert was very good. The on-tap beer selection was not very exciting, but did have one local IPA which was enjoyable. The outdoor ambiance and quality food make Troppo a good choice for a relaxing dinner. A better on-tap beer selection would take this restaurant to the next level. As is, this is a quality choice, if not spectacular.
(4)Nathan T.
Nice atmosphere, the food was OK - nothing to get too excited about. The salmon was a little too sweet.
(3)Dan S.
Keeping in mind that the culinary choices in Lansing include olive burgers and deep fried gizzards, then Troppo qualifies as one of Lansing finest. Our first trip to Troppo was enjoyable - I enjoyed the rib eye au poivre and my wife had the salmon prepared two ways - we both enjoyed our meals. The real standout was the butternut squash soup - superb. Our second visit to Troppo was on a Friday evening for wine and appetizers - and the it was an interesting experience. First the drinks. We were drawn to Troppo on this night because they were advertising a drink special - Caipirinha (a Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça, lime, sugar and crushed ice). We make a mean Caipirinha at home and know how it should taste. We were brought the drinks in short "old fashioned" glasses, with two or three slices of lime, too much cachaca and what tasted like standard bar sour mix. When the waitress came to ask if we were enjoying our drinks we had to say that we were disappointed. She took this very well and asked how Caipirinha is properly made - my wife pulled out her iPhone and displayed the recipe. The waitress went back to the bar and came back with two more cocktails that were getting closer, but not quite right - and we told her so. This was all very good natured and fun and we were happy to keep trying their attempts! The floor manager then came over and declared that he was determined to get this cocktail made right for us. We showed him the recipe, we asked to see the muddler he was using, asked about the amount of sugar, told him the right way to cut the limes - and he produced a passable, but still not on target drink. If you want to make a proper Caipirinha, here is how: Cut two limes into chunks by cutting the lime lengthwise into 6 wedges, then cut each wedge in half. Put the limes in an 8 to 10 ounce glass. Mash the limes very thoroughly with a muddler, add 1 TBS of granulated sugar and keep mashing the limes. Now add 1.5 ounces of cachaca and muddle some more. Fill the glass with crush ice, stir thoroughly and serve. And now to the food. We ordered the vegetarian spring rolls and the calamari. The spring rolls were excellent, hot with a kind of spicy remoulade that was very nice. The calamari was unfortunately not crispy and lukewarm. It seemed like the calamari waited at the service window too long before services. The sweet and hot sauce for the calamari is excellent. We had heard that Troppo does an especially good job with calamari, so we were a bit surprised. Service was good and friendly - no complaints. There was live music that night and we enjoyed that. Overall atmosphere is very nice - I enjoyed to old photos of Lansing that are on the walls. We will make Troppo an occasional destination and plan to be there for the annual Silver Bells in the City night.
(4)Holly B.
Great food and atmosphere! Downtown Lansing lacks great restaurants, but this one one is worth the drive. The mac n cheese is unbelievable!
(5)David M.
Three stars is a decent rating (though not from me, I guess, since most things get 4 or 5) but it's definitely not acceptable for a place as expensive as Troppo. We went here with a large party for a graduation lunch, and while the atmosphere and service were nice, the food didn't really blow anyone away. For one, they had a very small menu, so there were like five dishes at the table with twelve or so people, which is kind of lame. I don't know if this was because of graduation, or a normal lunch thing, but either way, nothing really blew anyone away, until the bill came, that is. Well, we knew it was an expensive place, we just expected some better grub for the price.
(3)Jon T.
I've been to both the new property as well as the original across the street. The new one looks slick...especially compared to what they came from. I like eating at either the bar or the area with tables surrounding it. Comfy and sophisticated without feeling too stodgy or too 'fine dining-ish'. Unfortunately, those are the highlights. The food and the service are ok to good but neither stand out. The food is simply good, just as it probably was 15 years ago. Meaning, borderline old fashioned and not much originality. Service, I'd rate below the food. I've never been treated poorly by any means but I wouldn't think 'bland' is the service prerequisite when filling out an application. From bartenders to hosts to servers, it seems like somewhat of a trait. One other pet peeve, I'm more than ok spending double digits on a nice glass of wine but, it's tough to find one. Again, needs refreshing...vino you can buy at the end-cap of any big box grocery chain doesn't cut it these days. To sum it up, you won't have a bad time, I personally just seek more for my money. And maybe that's harsh but life's too short to settle.
(3)Lizzie P.
Went here around 8pm on a Saturday night and the restaurant area was almost empty, the lounge seemed to have a few more patrons. There wasn't a host/hostess so we had to wait a couple of minutes until anyone noticed we were there. I got the butternut squash soup which was good but stick to the cup size--I couldn't finish the bowl because it was too rich. I also got the Tomato/Mozzarella salad which was pretty good, it could have used a little bit more flavor or maybe just more garlic bread on the side. My boyfriend ordered the Mac & Cheese which was delicious but again a little too rich to finish the whole plate. Once we were seated the service was good, our waitress was friendly and efficient.
(3)Misi P.
Meh...Troppo was much better when it was a bar in downtown East Lansing. It gave the university community a much needed kick of SWANK without conceit. Since its move into downtown Lansing and conversion into a restaurant, it's not the same. The decor is sweet and the digs are nice, but the actual bar is small and drinks are high priced. I mean after all, it is downtown Lansing, y'know -get with the program. I traverse the line when it comes to the grub - depending on what you get (peach chicken pecan somethin or another) it may be fantastic or (chicken pot pie) not worth the gas you wasted to drive there. I mean, it's a good place to go impress a date, but Troppo isn't flippin' my poodle skirt.
(3)Bruce S.
Ahhh.. Troppo. It's been repositioned into targeting the upper echelons of the market, particularly that of the downtown Lansing political and business crowd. Therefore the food and drinks are priced accordingly. You get what you pay for here, excellent food, excellent drinks, excellent service. I've never been disappointed. 5 stars.
(5)Ania S.
The new Troppo is impressive. It is rather cozy and still elegant. 3.5 stars out of 5. It is lacking that extra 1.5 because I found things rather... bland. My chicken and beet salad wasn't that great. In fact, the beet salad that Tavern has is way better. The butternut squash soup is always great, but again I really had to salt and pepper it a lot! (I do think I like salt a lot, but not that much more than the average person). The menu now includes a side of lobster whipped mashed potatoes. I am very curious to see how these taste!
(3)Chris M.
Over-rated. Food was salty, noisy, way over-priced.
(2)Stephen R.
Fantastic experience at Troppo. For one, I dig the owners' decision to move to downtown Lansing and try to boost the late night experience in the Capital City. Second, I had an amazing experience for my parents' 25th (silver) wedding anniversary. I booked the Boardroom (16 or so people), the smaller of the two reserved party rooms. Drew was super accomodating when I had to change the room date (ugh. I still feel terrible about that) and because I had reservations on working with their pre-set menu, he allowed me to have open menu for the party so the other family members could order what they want, rather than what I selected. The appetizers I had pre ordered were promptly out by 5:30 as requested. Veuve Cliquot was chilled and ready to go. They even let us bring in our own cake (from the Amway Grand), and I brought in a few tasteful balloons and table top confetti. Not a problem. Super accomodating. My parents (my mom loves Troppo) were shocked: just the perfect reaction! Mom even cried a bit to see we were all there -- especially me, since she had no idea I'd driven up from Chicago. Service was fantastic and prompt. The food was amazing! Everything was effortless and well handled by the amazing staff. They even brought us a (dull. Legal issues.) knife from the kitchen so my parents could recreate "cutting the cake" and feed it to each other. It was adorable! Even after the appetizers, meal, drinks, coffee, and room reservation, the bill was only half of what I had anticipated. I keep forgetting how great Lansing is on pricing -- even at Troppo -- compared to Chicago. It was an awesome experience and I cannot praise them enough. Thanks for the fantastic memory, Troppo! I can't wait to come back! Keep on making Downtown Lansing a great place to be!
(5)Patrick W.
Food is consistent and usually vert good but service is very inconsistent. First, we waited 15 minutes for a server while those around us, who were seated after us, were being waited on....and when i went to the front desk to say something I was made to feel like it was my problem. Then it doesn't help when food comes out sporadically and some guests are served literally 10 minutes apart and then the "favorite" dessert of our waitress, the strawberry shortcake, which features whipped cream, is brought to the table with no whipped cream because the kitchen didn't have any!!?? Really? Oh...and no apology for the service or the dessert being "incomplete". I think it's time for Troppo management to step back and take a look at the entire experience.
(2)Alexandra K.
I dined at Troppo for lunch with some co-workers today and really enjoyed it. I've been in East Lansing for three years and have yet to venture to Downtown Lansing. Not only did they boast plenty of vegetarian options, but the lunch prices were very reasonable. It was a cozy environment with fast service. I had the roasted tomato soup and salad combo, the salad being the Troppo salad. For dessert, I had the chocolate cheesecake. It was delicious and rich, coupled with a chocolate gelato.
(4)Carlos A.
Keeping expectations in check Troppo is about as good as it gets in the Lansing area in terms of food, service and decor. The new location is an upgrade, especially in terms of ambiance. However, I have found the food to be hit or miss. Still, for a step up from the usual Lansing fare, it's pretty good.
(4)Ed T.
I'm with Misi P. If I had a poodle skirt, Troppo wouldn't be flipping it. We went for our anniversary, since it looks posh and dimly lit, and lack of lighting always makes me appear more attractive to my girlfriend. Unfortunately, the real appeal of this place is that it looks nice. Our waitress was okay, but the bartender who came to "recommend" a bottle of wine didn't so much want to help us as to wax poetic on how much better "new world wines" (his bottle of choice) were than "old world wines" (our bottle of choice.) Most of our food was okay - uninspired, perhaps too salty, but on the whole not bad. The real winner was the butternut squash soup: very good. The real loser was the pork tenderloin: our waitress assured us that it was her favorite, but do not let them lead you astray as it's nearly inedible. (Edited as The Girl pointed out that this was our anniversary dinner, not our honeymoon dinner.)
(3)Dan G.
Average, but in a town know for having both kinds of food (fried and deep fried) it is a standout. Lots of self importance crowding the tables at lunchtime. Watch out.
(3)Jessica S.
I would like to say for one I really enjoyed my time here. In a place like Lancing it is the only spot you can go ,that I know of, and feel like your not still in Lansing. The food is actually portions should be eating and quite delish! However if your going for more food for less price,I wouldnt recommend it. It is a classy place which you could impress any out of state people with as well as nicely lit with a wonderful atmotsphere. The only comment I could say in any way is if you go close to closing the back kitchen area is extreamly loud and you can hear the cooks screaming and laughing which just does not work when you are enjoying a quite dinner with your spouse.
(4)Michael K.
Eh. Troppo, I wanted to like you. I was excited about a real red-leather-and-wooden-paneling sort of place, with your interior looking like something used in a Sopranos shoot. I had visions of discrete service, perfect steaks and mobsters bedecked with pinky rings in a corner booth. Well, there were no mobsters (all the better, I suppose), but I hear this is a favorite haunt of the Michigan politicos. Anyways, the food. It took about 20 minutes and three trips back to our table before the waiter and the bartender figured out my drink order (A Negroni, just ask me.), but service was speedy, efficient and very polite. The apps we had were good. The tempura-batter portobello mushrooms didn't get soggy (but how?! Mushrooms are so wet...) and were drizzled with reduced balsamic vinegar. The stuffed acorn squash was pretty good; filled with sauteed spinach and undercooked but flavorful risotto. The salads were fresh and tasty. The entrees were disappointing. It's been more than a year since I've had a steak, so I ordered a NY strip, med-rare. It came to the table at med-well. I sent it back, something I've never done and felt terrible about, and the manager came to the table, profusely apologized and comped my drink. The steak came out perfectly cooked, but bland! Oh so bland...The other entrees at the table just needed salt. Unseasoned steaks, unseasoned duck breasts. Too bad. The desserts were good: a fig-and-Nutella tart was rich and figgy, but could have benefited from more hazelnuts. Spumoni ice cream was fantastic, the best I've ever had, and coffee was hot and strong. Nice for a date, but dress well so you don't feel out of place.
(3)