Family celebrating Birthday dinner at Aster. Conveniently located downtown Midland, MI…read more Made reservation for four and we were seated immediately by the host upon arrival. Clean tables, cloth napkins, nice silverware, subtle lighting, intimate atmosphere. Friendly waiter service consistently checking on our table regularly filling waters and clearing plates replacing with new clean plates and silverware between courses. The staff and kitchen did a superb job of spacing out the courses so the drinks and appetizers came out with good timing. Finished appetizers, plates cleared from first course; the entrees arrived promptly. From my observation the staff works well together to provide a very nice dining experience for their customers from start to finish. Ordered starters: small portion appetizers. Asparagus. diced asparagus with diced morel mushroom morsels. Very good. Shrimp Toast. Harder to share as an appetizer, one piece of toast with shrimp pate. I did not try, group seemed to enjoy. Entrees: Burger Filling burger when you order "make it a double", the double is actually three beef patties. Comes with waffle cut fries. Yummy cheddar cheese sauce. I liked the brioche bun because it is soft enough to hold the burger and absorb the cheese sauce without being too messy. Smoked Whitefish Hushpuppies. Basically scrambled egg lighly battered and fried. No flavor or hint of smoked Whitefish fish. "Cocktail sauce" was just ketchup I suspect. Light and fluffy, not dense like traditional hushpuppies. One order comes with five hushpuppies for 10 dollars, the "Smoked Whitefish Hushpuppies" starter is not worth two dollars per piece. Pajun (Korean savory pancake). I really liked this dish last time I dined at Aster. This time the Pajun was burnt on the top and undercooked on the bottom. Love the soy dipping sauce. I will ask for more soy dipping sauce next time. The clever combinations of ingredients -considering local sourcing and seasonal items is- admirable. Plenty of variety for any taste. Drinks ordered: Birthday "Beer and shot": Bartender selected glass of beer, and bartender selected shot glass of hard liquor. Offer "Temperance Pilsner" (non-alcoholic). The unfortunate quality of the burnt Pajun, Hushpuppies with no flavor, but the service is excellent so I will give 5 star. I will be back to Aster to enjoy the next seasonal menu items they offer.

We came in for an early dinner while we were passing through town. What a gem for Midland! We had…read moregreat service and had the pleasure of learning a little bit about the restaurant and the team! The owner and chef is in the kitchen every day and they are a mighty team of about 6 operating every level of service! Food was great, drinks were unique and very good! If we are ever back in the area, we would absolutely visit again!

Nacho deluxe and Chicken Quesadillas were both excellent, as was the beer and service.read more

This place is incredible. My daughter has special needs and she absolutely loves it there! There is…read morea woman named Laura that is a cook and stuff. Everytime we see her, she goes above and beyond for my daughter. She makes her balloons, special food exactly how she wants it and gives her lots of hugs! This lady is so incredibly amazing with so much love for her! The simplest things in life make such a huge impact on her and this place does it everytime!!

The food is excellent! The service is excellent! Pricing is okay…read more I highly recommend this restaurant! We live in Gladwin but we drive there because the food is GREAT!

I had a wrap combo with mashed potatoes and gravy. The wrap was OK, but the side portion was a bit…read morestingy IMO. Others in the group got salads which were a pretty decent size. The dining room was clean and the staff were friendly. There was a fairly steady stream of traffic hitting the drive thru during our visit so the place seems to be fairly popular.

This has been my local stop for 10 years. The store and selection is great...but tonight- got there…read moreat 11:50- racing over from my restaurant job across town- it was closed at 11:50. They are open till 12. After calling the store- the younger male employee( the asshole with long blondish hair and beard- answered saying the close early on Saturdays to run reports. This is the same guys who ive seen swear at eldery ladies- rude often slamming things around and making people uncomfortable. Several of my friends and coworkers have said the same. Ill have to start spending my hard earned money somewhere else. A shame. Right around the block but will go elsewhere not to waste my time. Shame they make so much money of me and my guy. Sorry owners. You should know though- that guy is turning away business during business hours

Absolute garbage. Went to buy a vape, walked out of the store and went to hit it, it was a dud, so…read morethe long blonde haired dude tells me it's nutritious for happening and that you have to try it in the store and bc i took 2 steps out i can't get it replaced. Would not recommend buying anything from a store like that. Garbage worker, garbage store. At the very least maybe say hey these tend not to work or maybe have a sign that says "try in store or you can't return" absolute trash

I stopped here for a quick drink. I kept seeing variation of cinnamon plum so I ordered that. The…read moredrink was OK. It's like flavored milk. The staff was quick. There's free parking outside. There's also an outdoor area with tables and chairs. This is a great place for those who want to study or have a small get together. There was actually a small group of what looks like a book club while I was waiting for my drink. There's also a corner of various books and toys for young children. Overall, it was OK . Next time, I'll try something else. Their tea flight looked interesting but I was short on time.

The tea has been bitter lately and there's no Boba anymore…read more Kinda disappointed Service is good

First off, the atmosphere is very homey and peaceful. The service was great and the food was…read moreexcellent. I tried the chicken pot pie combo. The pie was very tasty...I would definitely order it again. and it came with a side salad which was very crisp and fresh tasting. The Cherry vinaigrette was delicious! A thick piece of rustic bread came with it. And the bonus was the piece of pie which was your choice of which was listed (and there were many to choose from) - I chose the raspberry. I was grateful for the opportunity of having my daughter-in-law taking me there to meet a mutual friend. The workers were very patient, as we ended up talking for hours...nobody rushed us - even when they got very busy. I can't wait to get my husband there for lunch sometime!

I have been to the Traverse location and had good experiences, but this location needs help. The…read morewomen's restroom was literally falling apart. The food, service, and ambiance wasn't memorable enough to make the experience worth repeating.

Stopped by today for the first time. Everything was good. I ordered the double cheeseburger and…read morefries. No complaints. My friend ordered the slim Jim and said the sweet potato fries were really good

Service was great! The food was not. We both ordered Eggs…read moreBenedict The hollandaise sauce was flavorless the english muffin was not toasted and it was only lukewarm. The plate was delivered with nothing but the Eggs Benedict, no piece of fruit, parsley, nothing. I have eaten here before and have had reasonably good food, but not this time.

I was a bit skeptical about a restaurant based in a mall, but unfortunately, my second senses were…read morecorrect. Besides taking 30 minutes to make the order, the food was just blah. It did not taste fresh and authentic. Remarkably it has a high rating online, but I guess it just depends on who's doing the rating. I can imagine in a place like Midland Michigan, this would be very new and exotic without much to compare to. If you've ever tried Egyptian or Middle Eastern food, you won't be impressed . If it's totally new to you, then it might be a good experience.

I really wanted to support this family owned business, but the food was just very average…read more We've ordered regular portion of koshary to share, falafel wrap and chicken shawarma wrap, plus baklava to try, as they said it's made in house. They didn't have the skever for the meat, so we were a little hesitant, but ordered anyway. We paid for all that food $44, and left hungry. Portions are so small, it's hard for me to belive this place will survive mall food court with such a small portions for a lot of money. Koshary was very bland, no specific flavor at all. The garlic sauce was just very salty water without any garlic flavor. Both wraps were very small, and the falafel one was so dry, I was choking trying to eat it. Had to buy extra tahini to make it edible. $2+ for a very tiny portion of extra tahini. On top of that everything was too salty. I hoped for the baklava, but it went straight to trash can after my first bite. It had raisins in it. It overwhelmed the flavor, made it tasty raisiny instead of nutty. Also. the nuts were chopped in big pieces. I've had enough share of baklava living close to Dearborn, and this was the worst thing ever. I rarely throw anything, but this had to go. Awful. The owner seemed like a very nice person, but unfortunately with those prices and small amount of food, I can't give more stars. There is nothing expensive in those ingredients either, so this is surprising. If it only the taste was good... not either. Sorry

Great option for lunch in Midland…read more Ordered "Build Your Own Bowl". Medium size, two proteins are included. Ordered Sushi Rice base, raw tuna, raw salmon seaweed salad, edamame. Spicy Mayo. Eel sauce. Very good. Pleased with prompt service from Maxwell upon arrival. Clean facilities. Plenty of Interior and exterior seating. Will return, thanks!

While on Midland I grabbed a male your own poke bowl. Note, they only have bowls here not sushi…read morerolls. I got the tuna and spicy tuna with rice, avocado, crab, and cucumber. Wow the portions were huge, and the prices were reasonable. I also got the peach slush with peach popping boba topped with cream. Divine. 10/10 recommend. Everything was perfect.

Great stop in Midland. I enjoyed a flight of beer as they had a lot to offer and I couldn't choose…read morejust one one. It's a really nice selection. My husband and I split the panini, added a side of beer cheese and I had the spinach side salad. Food was very good! We sat at the bar and the bartender service was prompt and friendly. Ambiance is perfect and matches the vibe. I recommend and we'd go back if we ever go through Midland again. It's a really cute downtown area and parking was easy to find.

Great service and space for large parties. Had a party of eight and was able to fit all of us at…read moretheir large table with room to spare. No rushing waitstaff, great drink selection.