Balk Cafe - Grand Rapods

The James Shirley Balk Cafe is a very nice option for lunch on site at Frederik Meijer Gardens Sculpture Park. The menu changes a bit seasonally but on my most recent visit I got the halloumi and hummus bowl for a bit of a healthier option. Nate got the Michigan maple salad. It's a cafeteria style ordering process, and it was pretty quick to order and get our food. Then you can add beverages (they have beer, wine, tea, coffee, fountain pop, and other bottled beverages), desserts, and other snacks/treats. Check the menu board outside the door for special features and the soup of the day.The dining area is pretty spacious and they even have outdoor seating for warmer months. There's a beautiful Chihuly glass sculpture on the ceiling that's fun to look at. The food was tasty and I liked that the halloumi and hummus bowl came with pita crackers. The hummus was spiced with curry and I really liked the flavor. The menu also includes sandwiches, soups, delicious mac and cheese, and options for kids. We've also tried the mac and cheese before and it was cheesy deliciousness. If you're at Meijer Gardens around lunch time, I'd recommend checking out the cafe. It's definitely the best quality and most delicious option I've experienced at a place like this.

Like the Gardens, the Balk Cafe was not a great fit for our kids the pizza had a strange sawdusty quality, the mac and cheese was strongly flavored with smoked gouda, even the PB J was a little ambitious. The sandwiches and salads for grownups are pretty good, though. I wouldn't come here for the food, but I've done plenty worse at plenty a museum cafe.

Pizza is subpar and they have stopped answering their phones to take orders or inform patrons of their daily special

An unexpectedly good food respite from the rigors of striking the Meijer Gardens, the café boasts a mean brisket burnt ends macaroni and cheese! So good we went back for another! The pizza was tasty too, as was the coffee. Free refills on the sodas. Chighouli blown glass adorns the indoor café, be the outdoor patio ought not be missed on nice days.

This was such a pleasant experience! We enjoyed a date day at the park and were just getting hungry in the afternoon. We opted for the cafe after we saw their posted menu with a burnt ends mac and cheese. So we went for the mac and cheese and they let us combine the jalapeños from the other option with it so good! What really knocked our socks off was the lentil shawarma. The lentils were so flavorful and the whole dish was well balanced. We topped it all off with two of St. Steve's farm crafted sodas. Small batch crafted sodas are a big thing with us. A ginger and an elderflower soda were just the ticket here. If you make it out to the Meijer gardens, definitely include the cafe in your stop!