Voyager Sails Into Ferndale on Thursday

Hotly anticipated seafood restaurant and raw bar Voyager is preparing to drop anchor in Ferndale on Thursday. It’s the latest project from Eli Boyer (previously Gold Cash Gold) who parted ways with partner/chef Marc Bogoff earlier this year. Boyer has since recruited chefs Justin Tootla and Jennifer Jackson from Chicago to head up the kitchens.

Located in a 1,400-square-foot garage in a residential neighborhood east of downtown and just north of Nine Mile, the restaurant designed by local firm Five Eighths is keeping things cozy at 41 patrons including 28 in the dining room and 13 at the bar. A small outdoor patio will open up in warm weather.

Described early on by Boyer as a “raw bar with an oyster obsession,” Voyager’s menu will feature a rotating selection of the shellfish delicacies drawing from farms in Massachusetts, Alabama, and Washington state. The raw menu will also showcase ceviches and crudos. Oyster lovers looking for a $1 oyster happy hour — a rarity in metro Detroit — can find one here at 4 p.m. daily.

Larger dishes on the “plates” section of the Jackson and Tootla’s menu include a pickled seafood cocktail, a whitefish sandwich, and a “Mahi on the Hibachi” (blackened mahi mahi grilled on a binchotan hibachi with callaloo curry and rice). For dessert there’s pineapple upside-down cake with whipped cream.

A mixture of wines and light and citrus-forward beers flank the menu alongside a brief list of cocktails. Among them, the mai tai with is curly straw stands out: housemade hazelnut orgeat syrup and tangerine curaçao liqueur is blended with Smith & Cross and Appleton Estate rums. Take a peek at the full menu below:

Voyager opens at 4 p.m. on Thursday at 600 Vester Street in Ferndale. The restaurant opens from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Happy hour starts at 4 p.m. daily. Website.

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