As a locally owned establishment, we strive for excellence in producing and serving the finest cuisine. We are excited to provide you with top-shelf service, world-class recipes, as well as local and fresh ingredients. Every part of your experience at Cafe Navarre is important to us, right down to the last detail.
Café Navarre brings you modern American cuisine with European influences, distinguished by its simplicity, flavor, and respect for ingredients. Cafe Navarre offers fresh seafood and steaks, along with dishes created with seasonal elements from local farms that are unmistakable in flavor and quality.
Support Cafe Navarre during COVID-19
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Sanitizer or wipes provided for customers
- Sealed or wrapped utensils used
- Limited number of seated diners
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
- Staff temperature check required
Popular dishes
Mushroom Soup
sherry, hazelnut, snipped chive
32 reviews
Faroe Island Salmon
black rice, sugar snap peas, miso ginger sauce
14 reviews
Caesar
brioche croutons, parmigiano-reggiano
8 reviews
Absolutely perfect would recommend to anyone our meals were perfect
When I made the reservation I listed it was our Anniversary and nothing was done. They did make it up to us in the end and comped our desert. The waitress was very good but did put blue cheese on my salad when I had asked for it to be taken off. The food was delicious and my wife said the lobster risotto was the best. The espresso martini was the best she has had. Overall the dinner was one of the best we have had.
French onion soup and salmon dinner very good! Tuna good but a little salty. Realized afterward that I didn’t have as much sauce as my husband’s order so maybe that’s why as his was not too fishy. Notice I didn’t say to put less roe on it— smile.
Service very nice, but a little rushed and too frequent. But otherwise, enjoyable dinner. Lovely restaurant.
The reservation process was easy and no fuss. Parking was accessible and the restaurant was upscale with a professional staff.
Made reservations for Easter Sunday. Mixed feelings about the experience.
Ambience of the restaurant is very nice. Service was at times attentive and excellent and at times some mistakes were made that you would not have expected.
Salad (with apple and blue cheese) and mushroom soup were very good. Duck was overdone.
Entrees - Prime rib was at best average
Lobster Risotto was good
Short Rib was good
Salmon dish was good
Lamb was tough and therefore below average
Desserts were good but coffee that was served was not even lukewarm. When brought to their attention, they just topped off the coffee instead of replacing the entire cup...
We expected better for $400 (only 2 glasses of wine) and the positive reviews
As a side note, two of our guests ended up with GI issues (N,V etc). Can’t know for sure but it was the only meal these two people shared....
Easter dinner was wonderful
New standard has been set in South Bend.
Absolute delight!
ALL staff has been outstanding and very attentive to diners' needs at all times! We have been there twice and have absolutely loved Cafe Navarre! We just came Easter Sunday and Ceasar was awesome, friendly, and gave outstanding service!!! Thank you! May the staff and Cafe Navarre be blessed always! The food was outstanding and mucho kudos to the Chef and all involved in food preparation! Thank you for all your outstanding efforts and hard work in creating an awesome dining experience! If I could list everyone's names that gave us service, I would.
A go to in South Bend. Excellent food, service and atmosphere.
always good food and drinks service staff are great
Best place in South Bend. Great food in a great atomosphere.
We love Cafe Navarre
Food and service are always great
Our server was very nice, but unfortunately dropped an enormous tray of dishes and glassware right next to our table right after we got our cocktails. I felt terrible and wanted to help! It was an accident of course, but definitely affected the experience and made it feel quite awkward. Margarita was marginal, as was the food. I ordered the NY strip, medium, and it was well done and tough. First date out at a restaurant in well over a year, so it was nice to be out but not the greatest food or service. Lovely restaurant setting.
Service is impeccable but was just a little, unusually slow that evening.
- did not follow instructions in reservation notes
- did not receive waiter name
- sand in lobster risotto
- brought wrong drink for Fiancé
Felt like I was in a fishbowl with the table in the front corner.
The shrimp and duck small plates were phenomenal, as well as the mushroom soup! The lamb and short rib entrees were good, but nothing unique. We also got a couple cocktails each and the lavender cheesecake and ganache dessert, which again were excellent! Our overall experience was great and we will for sure be back in the future!
Thank you for the review! We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your meal with us. We look forward to your next visit!
Very nice meal. The cocktail list was full of Punny Names and the one I ordered was yummy, Peach Me, I’m dreaming. They were out of scallops, so I was disappointed, but the Lobster Risotto made up for it. We also ordered the Lamb Chops and they were also very good. We also had The Caesar salad and the bread. Wasn’t disappointed. The staff was very nice and attentive.
Thank you for the review! We are so happy you enjoyed your evening with us. We always get a kick out of the names our bar manager comes up with for the cocktails. So fun! We hope to see you again soon!
Fantastic service and food. My son had the lobster risotto and he said it was the best he’s ever had. My husband had the rack of lamb that was cooked to perfection. I had the beet salad and it was the perfect mix of flavors. Ambiance was wonderful, very hip and beautifully decorated. We will be back!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed your evening with us! We look forward to your next visit!
It was amazing
Very nice dinner , relaxing was the best part they were not in a hurry to get you out of there we spent 2 hrs there and just had a fun time. Our waiter was awesome
Thank you for visiting! We are so glad to hear you enjoyed yourself. We hope to see you again soon!
The food and desserts were amazing and the staff was very polite and knowledgeable.
Thank you! Cheers!
Great food great service !! What else is there to say
We were on a road trip from Texas and stopped in South Bend for a couple days and just happened on to this restaurant
What a delight
Thank you for your review! We are so happy you enjoyed your evening with us. We hope to see you if you are ever back in the area again!
Went here for birthday with my parents. It’s my favorite restaurant in South Bend. I love the ambiance and architecture. Yes the food is good- I always get the mushroom soup as it’s my favorite with the cream emblem. The only let down was they cooked my lamb medium when I ordered it medium rare and they cooked my moms steak medium rare when she ordered it medium. I’m not sure why they suggest medium for the lamb...I’ve seen enough Hell’s Kitchen episodes to know that’s just not right
Thank you for your review! We are so sorry for the temperature mixup on your steak and lamb. We are glad you still enjoyed your visit. We hope to see you again soon!
One of our favorite spots whenever we get back to South Bend. The food is consistently fresh, delicious, and fun, and the people always seem to enjoy making everyone happy. Have never gone wrong at CN.
We are so happy to hear this! Thank you for visiting when you are in town. We look forward to your next visit!
Always a date night favorite. Look forward to dining again!
Thank you for your review! We are so happy that we are a date night favorite. We look forward to your next visit! Cheers!
Excellent food, great service, and intimate setting! My wife and I had dinner at Cafe Navarre to celebrate her birthday and had drinks, appetizers, entrees and dessert. All of the food we had was delicious, even the bread was top notch. My wife prefers her steak medium well and it came out medium rare. While my wife is very accommodating and would never have said anything, I asked if the steak could be cooked a little more. The waitress was incredibly polite about it and acknowledged the steak was a bit less cooked than she asked for, which really made my wife feel much more comfortable about the situation. When the food was brought back out, they had replaced the vegetables she had eaten with a fresh serving, which we did not expect.
As I mentioned, it was my wife's birthday, so they provided her with a card signed by the staff, as well as a free dessert, which was also excellent.
I would definitely recommend Cafe Navarre and will likely go back myself.
Thank you for the review! We were honored to be a part of your wife's birthday celebration. We hope to see you again soon!
Everything was wonderful. Simply one of the best restaurants I have been to. Excellent service, delicious food.
Thank you so much! We are so happy to hear this. We hope to see you soon!
Rack of lamb very tough, although perfectly cooked. I ate very little of it and told waiter it was tough meat. Did not expect anything. Waiter brought check with lamb meal removed. Very professional. I’ll come back because of the great service!
We are happy to hear that you received great service! We hope to see you again soon!
We go there every year for our anniversary. This year there was a card waiting for us signed by all the staff
Thank you for letting us be a part of your anniversary tradition! We are so honored to be a part of your celebration. We look forward to your next visit!
Tremendous restaurant! The best within 2-3 hours of South Bend!
I got the Filet Mignon and it was amazing! The meat was so tender. The service was excellent and we were checked up on ever once a while which was great if we ever needed anything. The waitress was very nice as well, overall I loved this place, would go again and definitely recommend.
Thank you for the review! We are so happy you enjoyed your filet. We hope to see you again soon!
Delicious food in a safe setting
Thank you! We hope to see you again soon!
Our family was pleased with everything about our visit.
We are so happy to hear this! We hope to see you again soon!
Great service, food and atmosphere!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Upon arriving at this quaint downtown restaurant we were greeted by a friendly gentleman named Nick. He escorted us upstairs to a very quiet balcony table. Very nice atmosphere , Which allowed us to view the dining room from up there and see out the large picture windows to the street. The building was quite exquisite with the architecture. It was brought to our attention by our waiter Ryan that it was a old bank building.
Ryan brought us a great wine list to look over and went over some things with us and we ordered a drink order. Later Ryan came back with some of the finest rolls I’ve had. The nicely swirled light whipped butter with little bit of a pesto oil around it was absolutely delicious. We then proceeded to a small plate of homemade pasta pillows with mushrooms, browned butter etc . It literally melted in our mouths. Amazing. Ryan was very attentive and we decided to split NAVARRE Salad -baby greens, green apple, bleu cheese, candied walnut, white balsamic. Very nice refreshing salad and Ryan split it on two plates for us. My husband got the lobster risotto and that was just perfectly prepared the lobster melted in his mouth. I got the grilled Ribeye steak , which was delicious and it came with some of the most amazing potatoes that I’ve ever had -Crunchy on the outside melt in your mouth tender on the inside. For dessert we got the crème brûlée and some kind of special apple tart which was very beautifully displayed with the crust cut in thin slices.
I told the waiter that this was probably the best meal We have had in years. I asked him about the chef because I needed to find out who was behind these amazing presentations and flavors. Ryan told me the chef is only 23 and his name is Chris.
Chris you are a culinary genius & if I didn’t live in Rochester Hills, Michigan I would eat there everyday. Can you please open a cafe in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
Thank you so much for your kind words. We have passed them along to Nick, Ryan, and Chef Chris! We hope to see you again next time you are in town!
Anniversary
The service and food was excellent! Highly recommend for an upscale night out. Especially recommend the short rib dish and Navarre salad!
Thank you for the review! We are so glad you enjoyed your evening with us. We hope to see you again soon!
Our waiter was amazing- perfect balance of experience and chill. So impressed with the menu- it was hard to choose- every entree looked so good. Agnolotti, seafood and steak all perfectly seasoned and cooked. Can’t wait to go back!!
Thank you for the review! We are so happy you enjoyed your dinner. We love the agnolotti, too! We look forward to your next visit!
I made a reservation about 4 weeks in advance asking for a booth on our reservation instead they seated us by the kitchen which I didn’t like yes the booths were all taken when we were there but I thought making a reservation ahead of time I could get a booth. The food was delicious! I would definitely go back!
We are sorry that we were unable to seat you at your requested table. We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your meal. We hope to see you again soon!
FAQs
You can order delivery directly from Cafe Navarre using the Order Online button. Cafe Navarre also offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (574) 968-8101.
Cafe Navarre is rated 4.8 stars by 1827 OpenTable diners.
Cafe Navarre does offer gift cards which you can purchase here https://navarre.securetree.com/.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.