It's Official: The Jefferson House is Totally Underrated

The recent map of Detroit's Most Underrated Restaurants featured The Jefferson House and the cuisine of Chef Justin Vaiciunas inside of the Crowne Plaza hotel, and with a write-up in Hour Detroit it seems they might be starting to get the recognition many say they deserve.

The restaurant won Eater Detroit's "Stone Cold Stunner" award for their interior last year, and Hour insists that "the meals being turned out by Executive Chef Justin Vaiciunas are worth a visit". So why aren't people lining up to get in?

According to Hour, it might just be an identity crisis. The hotel has changed names more than once after their huge renovation:

"When it first reopened last summer...the former Hotel Pontchartrain called itself Crowne Plaza Pontchartrain. Drawing on the legacy of the "Pontch" might work for locals, but for out-of-towners, not so much. So after a few fits and starts, it's now called the Crowne Plaza Detroit Downtown Riverfront. But that doesn't mean much to locals."

Detroit as a city loves the historical aspect of places like Cliff Bell's and the (new) London Chop House, so maybe Hour is on to something after all. However, they skip one other important point: service. While the food, drinks, and atmosphere generally receive rave reviews, service seems to be a consistent complaint on Yelp. But despite it all, they have a four-star rating, suggesting maybe the issue is more complicated than any one article can articulate.
· Identity Crisis?:The Crowne Plaza's Jefferson House Restaurant Fare Deserves Attention — and more Customers [Hour Detroit]
· The Jefferson House [Yelp]
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Meet Detroit's 25 Most Underrated Restaurants [-ED-]