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A mural in white and blue with a bagel with legs and feet wearing sneakers and the words Detroit Institute of Bagels, DiB N’ Go, and Order Online. Pik Up N’ Go in Core City, Detroit, Michigan.
The interior at the newly-relaunched Detroit Institute of Bagels, now in Core City
Serena Maria Daniels

The Hottest New Restaurants in Detroit, March 2023

Two beloved Detroit establishments have returned and a food and nightlife spot hits Grand Circus Park

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The interior at the newly-relaunched Detroit Institute of Bagels, now in Core City
| Serena Maria Daniels

We’re in that weird phase of the year in Michigan where one day it might be 60 degrees and the next day, we get an ice or snow storm. That doesn’t mean we should stay cooped up in the house. There are many food and drink options to check out. Bagels have made an entry into Core City, a restaurant and night club has hit Grand Circus Park, and in Eastern Market, a beloved spot that last year announced its closure, has made a return.

This month, Breadless, Symposia, and Brooklyn Street Local make their exits from the heatmap to make way for the reopening of the Detroit Institute of Bagels now in Core City, District Seventy8 in Grand Circus Park downtown, and the resurrection of Bunny Bunny, now offering counter service and an abbreviated menu.

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The newest venture of restaurateur Mario Camaj — who’s previously brought Tallulah Wine Bar and Besa — Zana offers American cuisine with hints of European influence in Birmingham. This fine dining establishment opened in late October, and features an interior accented with soft greens and pinks, monochrome tile floors, and large glass lighting fixtures. Named for the Albanian folklore of the “fairy of the mountains,” the menu at Zana includes starters like wagyu meatballs and steak tartar, entrees like coco-spiced lamb chops and rigatoni with rabbit sugo. Pro tip, be sure to order an espresso martini with tequila instead of vodka from the bar.

California Burgerz

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The In-N-Out Burger-inspired, all-halal spot California Burgerz has made its Macomb County debut with the opening of a Warren location on New Year’s Day. The aesthetic of the eatery is loosely inspired by that one famous burger chain on the West Coast, but with its own unique offerings like seasoned curly fries, thick milkshakes, and juicy Angus beef burgers.

TigerLily

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Situated inside the space formerly occupied by Antihero, Tigerlily is an inspired sushi and robata grill spot that specializes in Edomae-style sushi, shareable small plates, and “fireside cooking.”

Helming the kitchen is a veteran in sushi-making, chef Chris Vasquez, a metro Detroit native who comes to Tigerlily from the critically-acclaimed Japanese restaurant Momotaro in Chicago’s Fulton Market.

A hand holding chopsticks and a piece of sushi roll and a brown beer bottle Tigerlily

Petty Cash

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This New American restaurant draws from the legacy of Black Southern culinary traditions and brings an “upscale casual” dining experience to the Avenue of Fashion. Guests can expect Southern cooking techniques that incorporate inspiration from other regions across the globe, including northern Africa, the Middle East, and Mediterranean on a seasonal, vegan-friendly menu.

A dark colored brick building with a mural that says Black Dollars Matter.
A mural designed by Detroit artist Desiree Kelly on the exterior of Petty Cash on the Livernois Avenue of Fashion.
GB in Detroit

Adda Music Cafe and Restaurant

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The Bangladeshi disapora has found a new hang-out spot in Abba Music Cafe and Restaurant in Warren. The eatery opened over the summer of 2022 during a food festival and offer guests a mix of dishes typical of most area Bangladeshi restaurants like butter chicken, biyani, and tandoori chicken, but also more unique choices, according WDET, such as bhortas (mashed vegetables with spices) and mogoj bhuna — dried beef brain curry.

Kitab Cafe and Bookstore

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This sleekly-designed cafe and bookshop landed inside a dramatically-renovated former mini-market in Hamtramck in January and offers Hamtramckans a stylish spot for espresso drinks, deli sandwiches, baked goods, and space to curl up with a good book.

See You Tomorrow

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This long-anticipated all-day eatery on Woodward opened in mid-November and offers a little bit of everything one could want, ranging from a quick bite to eat on the way to work in the morning, full-scale brunch, and lunch. Expect bagels and nova lox, smoked salmon croquettes, pecan smoked bacon, kale quinoa tossed salad, and a variety of soups and chili.

Detroit Soul

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This sit-down eatery in the city’s Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood offers east siders a legit place for soul food. The second location of this business launched in November and came as a result of a community engagement process that involved asking surrounding residents what kind of restaurant they felt was lacking in the community. Expect Southern comforts like fried catfish, black eyed peas, mac and cheese, cobbler, and Saturday barbecue specialities like ribs and chicken.

Bunny Bunny

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Bunny Bunny, the South African/American Southern restaurant in Eastern Market, has returned several months after announcement its departure. This time, diners can expect a more casual setup with counter service, an abbreviated menu, and a frequent rotation of pop-up chefs on hand to showcase their offerings.

Hanah Steakhouse

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A new steakhouse touting Asian fusion inspiration has made its way in Brome Burger’s former downtown Detroit location in the city’s financial district. The spot, which launched in late November, features a variety of sushi rolls, nigiri flights, Vietnamese spring rolls, Shanghainese soup dumplings, wagyu sliders, ramen, chicken and waffles — featuring miso buttermilk fried chicken, taro waffles, and kimchi pineapple slaw — and a cherrywood smoked Peking duck. The spot also includes an array of European, Oregon, and Michigan, an extensive offering of sakes, and a cocktail menu that is split up by shaken, stirred, and N/A beverages.

District Seventy8

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Dining and nightlife come together at District Seventy8, which opened late February in the space formerly occupied by Rusted Crow across the street from Grand Circus Park. Expect shareable appetizers, seafood entrees, steaks, and more, along with moody lighting, a private lounge, bar, LED TVs, and fireplace. The establishment is owned by Elevated Ventures — a hospitality group run by Ron Mims of Southfield-based D’bo’s Daquiris and Society Detroit Operations, Starter’s Bar and Grill chain owner Ali Saad, and J. Bravo Samuels from Society Detroit Operations.

The founders behind restaurant group Four Man Ladder, which operates Grey Ghost and Second Best, opened the highly anticipated Basan Detroit — a mood-lit restaurant that takes a playful Midwest approach to Japanese izakaya bar culture — in November inside the newly restored Eddystone Apartments building across the street from Little Caesar’s Arena. Here, chef Eric Lees takes Grey Ghost’s famous thick-cut bologna and wraps it inside bao buns, grills octopus, wagyu steak, and trumpet mushrooms on a robata grill, while beverage director Will Lee bar manager Alex Kirles draw subtle inspiration from traditional Asian ingredients for their cocktail menu, such as with the Ube-B — garnished with a butterfly-shaped sponge cake on a Pocky stick and is made with a creamy, vodka-based drink featuring black sesame oil and ube.

The chicken liver mousse, topped with cherry jam, along with a side of toasted pieces of milk bread and pickled red onion. Rosa Maria Zamarrón

Bar Pigalle

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This long-anticipated “playful French” inspired cocktail bar is situated on the ground level of the historic Carlton Lofts in Brush Park. Behind the venture, hospitality veterans Joseph Allerton and Travis Fourmont. Named after the Parisian neighborhood, Quartier Pigalle — known for its nightlife, bars, and bistros — the space gives off unpretentious French brasserie vibes and a high caliber dining and drinking experience. Expect a variety of hot or cold small plates like bison tartar and chef Nyle Flynn’s selection of oysters, or heartier entrees like a Coney-style steak and frites. At the bar, a brief selection of French wines, a cocktail menu that highlights French spirits, and bottles of Budweiser, Jolly Pumpkin on draft or in the bottle, and other select craft brews and ciders.

The interior of Bar Pigalle in Brush Park. Bureau Detroit

Empire Kitchen & Cocktails

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Empire Kitchen & Cocktails returns to Brush Park following a two-year closure. Expect the spot’s familiar pizza, chicken wings, burgers but, according to Resy, is now Black-owned and promotes a “for Detroiters by Detroiters” ethos.

Red Hook-Midtown

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Red Hook already has locations in Ferndale, West Village, and the Detroit Greenway, and now it has a spot in Midtown inside the space formerly occupied by Great Lakes Coffee on Woodward at Alexandrine. The new location opened around Noel Night. Expect a rotating selection of roasters and baked goods featuring a wide selection of sweet and savory pastries.

Haraz Coffee House

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Traditional Yemeni coffee is continuing to expand its presence in metro Detroit with the opening of a Midtown location of Haraz Coffee House, the Dearborn-based chain that features a variety speciality espresso drinks like the saffron latte, teas like the Adeni chai, and pastries like the milk cake made with saffron and rose milk. Several locations are already dotted throughout the region. The growing chain will also soon add a spot at the Wayne State University campus early this year.

Ima Izakaya

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Ima founder Mike Ransom is now flexing his background in fine dining with the opening of Ima Izakaya inside the space formerly occupied by Gold Cash Gold. Guests can expect many of the growing chain’s casual favorites, such as its popular udon, pho, rice bowls, shrimp dumplings, and chicken karaage. In addition, Ransom adds a touch of creativity with new arrivals like hamachi crudo made with yellowtail, yuzu-lemon confit, jalapeno, micro cilantro, and black sea salt, robata grill with skewered bites, market cut meats, and a more robust bar menu. The new spot replaces Ima’s original Corktown location just down the street.

DiB - Detroit Institute of Bagels

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DiB, as it’s affectionately known, has returned after shuttering in fall 2020 in Corktown. Now the spot is situated in Core City, in the former home of Ochre Bakery and Astro Coffee. In addition to slinging bagels by the dozen, offering an array of flavored schmear, and roasted coffee, the new place includes a separate, takeout-friendly entrance for grab-and-go orders, a forthcoming dining room, and a variety of traditional Jewish nosh, which owner Ben Newton says will include house-made brisket, pastrami, matzo ball soup, loaves of rye and challah, and cold salads.

A half-dozen bagels in a takeout-friendly blue and white Kube or box from Detroit Institute of Bagels in Core City, Detroit, Michigan.
A half-dozen bagels in DiB’s new takeout-friendly blue and white Kubez
Serena Maria Daniels

Ladder 4 Wine Bar

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The Eater Award-winning Ladder 4 operates as a wine bar and retail wine shop, with more than 200 varieties for sale and a particular focus on natural wines. The space hosts live music events, features three patios and a spacious backyard, and a full-scale menu developed by John Yelinek, a veteran of the beloved, shuttered downtown steakhouse Michael Symon’s Roast, and who also helms the Park Ranger pop-up.

A bar with four chair set in front of it with shelving stocked with wine bottles overhead, a black sign with white lettering, and white subway tiles.
The bar area inside Ladder 4, a new wine bar and shop set inside a historic Detroit firehouse in Southwest Detroit.
GB in Detroit

ZANA

The newest venture of restaurateur Mario Camaj — who’s previously brought Tallulah Wine Bar and Besa — Zana offers American cuisine with hints of European influence in Birmingham. This fine dining establishment opened in late October, and features an interior accented with soft greens and pinks, monochrome tile floors, and large glass lighting fixtures. Named for the Albanian folklore of the “fairy of the mountains,” the menu at Zana includes starters like wagyu meatballs and steak tartar, entrees like coco-spiced lamb chops and rigatoni with rabbit sugo. Pro tip, be sure to order an espresso martini with tequila instead of vodka from the bar.

California Burgerz

The In-N-Out Burger-inspired, all-halal spot California Burgerz has made its Macomb County debut with the opening of a Warren location on New Year’s Day. The aesthetic of the eatery is loosely inspired by that one famous burger chain on the West Coast, but with its own unique offerings like seasoned curly fries, thick milkshakes, and juicy Angus beef burgers.

TigerLily

Situated inside the space formerly occupied by Antihero, Tigerlily is an inspired sushi and robata grill spot that specializes in Edomae-style sushi, shareable small plates, and “fireside cooking.”

Helming the kitchen is a veteran in sushi-making, chef Chris Vasquez, a metro Detroit native who comes to Tigerlily from the critically-acclaimed Japanese restaurant Momotaro in Chicago’s Fulton Market.

A hand holding chopsticks and a piece of sushi roll and a brown beer bottle Tigerlily

Petty Cash

This New American restaurant draws from the legacy of Black Southern culinary traditions and brings an “upscale casual” dining experience to the Avenue of Fashion. Guests can expect Southern cooking techniques that incorporate inspiration from other regions across the globe, including northern Africa, the Middle East, and Mediterranean on a seasonal, vegan-friendly menu.

A dark colored brick building with a mural that says Black Dollars Matter.
A mural designed by Detroit artist Desiree Kelly on the exterior of Petty Cash on the Livernois Avenue of Fashion.
GB in Detroit

Adda Music Cafe and Restaurant

The Bangladeshi disapora has found a new hang-out spot in Abba Music Cafe and Restaurant in Warren. The eatery opened over the summer of 2022 during a food festival and offer guests a mix of dishes typical of most area Bangladeshi restaurants like butter chicken, biyani, and tandoori chicken, but also more unique choices, according WDET, such as bhortas (mashed vegetables with spices) and mogoj bhuna — dried beef brain curry.

Kitab Cafe and Bookstore

This sleekly-designed cafe and bookshop landed inside a dramatically-renovated former mini-market in Hamtramck in January and offers Hamtramckans a stylish spot for espresso drinks, deli sandwiches, baked goods, and space to curl up with a good book.

See You Tomorrow

This long-anticipated all-day eatery on Woodward opened in mid-November and offers a little bit of everything one could want, ranging from a quick bite to eat on the way to work in the morning, full-scale brunch, and lunch. Expect bagels and nova lox, smoked salmon croquettes, pecan smoked bacon, kale quinoa tossed salad, and a variety of soups and chili.

Detroit Soul

This sit-down eatery in the city’s Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood offers east siders a legit place for soul food. The second location of this business launched in November and came as a result of a community engagement process that involved asking surrounding residents what kind of restaurant they felt was lacking in the community. Expect Southern comforts like fried catfish, black eyed peas, mac and cheese, cobbler, and Saturday barbecue specialities like ribs and chicken.

Bunny Bunny

Bunny Bunny, the South African/American Southern restaurant in Eastern Market, has returned several months after announcement its departure. This time, diners can expect a more casual setup with counter service, an abbreviated menu, and a frequent rotation of pop-up chefs on hand to showcase their offerings.

Hanah Steakhouse

A new steakhouse touting Asian fusion inspiration has made its way in Brome Burger’s former downtown Detroit location in the city’s financial district. The spot, which launched in late November, features a variety of sushi rolls, nigiri flights, Vietnamese spring rolls, Shanghainese soup dumplings, wagyu sliders, ramen, chicken and waffles — featuring miso buttermilk fried chicken, taro waffles, and kimchi pineapple slaw — and a cherrywood smoked Peking duck. The spot also includes an array of European, Oregon, and Michigan, an extensive offering of sakes, and a cocktail menu that is split up by shaken, stirred, and N/A beverages.

District Seventy8

Dining and nightlife come together at District Seventy8, which opened late February in the space formerly occupied by Rusted Crow across the street from Grand Circus Park. Expect shareable appetizers, seafood entrees, steaks, and more, along with moody lighting, a private lounge, bar, LED TVs, and fireplace. The establishment is owned by Elevated Ventures — a hospitality group run by Ron Mims of Southfield-based D’bo’s Daquiris and Society Detroit Operations, Starter’s Bar and Grill chain owner Ali Saad, and J. Bravo Samuels from Society Detroit Operations.

Basan

The founders behind restaurant group Four Man Ladder, which operates Grey Ghost and Second Best, opened the highly anticipated Basan Detroit — a mood-lit restaurant that takes a playful Midwest approach to Japanese izakaya bar culture — in November inside the newly restored Eddystone Apartments building across the street from Little Caesar’s Arena. Here, chef Eric Lees takes Grey Ghost’s famous thick-cut bologna and wraps it inside bao buns, grills octopus, wagyu steak, and trumpet mushrooms on a robata grill, while beverage director Will Lee bar manager Alex Kirles draw subtle inspiration from traditional Asian ingredients for their cocktail menu, such as with the Ube-B — garnished with a butterfly-shaped sponge cake on a Pocky stick and is made with a creamy, vodka-based drink featuring black sesame oil and ube.

The chicken liver mousse, topped with cherry jam, along with a side of toasted pieces of milk bread and pickled red onion. Rosa Maria Zamarrón

Bar Pigalle

This long-anticipated “playful French” inspired cocktail bar is situated on the ground level of the historic Carlton Lofts in Brush Park. Behind the venture, hospitality veterans Joseph Allerton and Travis Fourmont. Named after the Parisian neighborhood, Quartier Pigalle — known for its nightlife, bars, and bistros — the space gives off unpretentious French brasserie vibes and a high caliber dining and drinking experience. Expect a variety of hot or cold small plates like bison tartar and chef Nyle Flynn’s selection of oysters, or heartier entrees like a Coney-style steak and frites. At the bar, a brief selection of French wines, a cocktail menu that highlights French spirits, and bottles of Budweiser, Jolly Pumpkin on draft or in the bottle, and other select craft brews and ciders.

The interior of Bar Pigalle in Brush Park. Bureau Detroit

Empire Kitchen & Cocktails

Empire Kitchen & Cocktails returns to Brush Park following a two-year closure. Expect the spot’s familiar pizza, chicken wings, burgers but, according to Resy, is now Black-owned and promotes a “for Detroiters by Detroiters” ethos.

Red Hook-Midtown

Red Hook already has locations in Ferndale, West Village, and the Detroit Greenway, and now it has a spot in Midtown inside the space formerly occupied by Great Lakes Coffee on Woodward at Alexandrine. The new location opened around Noel Night. Expect a rotating selection of roasters and baked goods featuring a wide selection of sweet and savory pastries.

Related Maps

Haraz Coffee House

Traditional Yemeni coffee is continuing to expand its presence in metro Detroit with the opening of a Midtown location of Haraz Coffee House, the Dearborn-based chain that features a variety speciality espresso drinks like the saffron latte, teas like the Adeni chai, and pastries like the milk cake made with saffron and rose milk. Several locations are already dotted throughout the region. The growing chain will also soon add a spot at the Wayne State University campus early this year.

Ima Izakaya

Ima founder Mike Ransom is now flexing his background in fine dining with the opening of Ima Izakaya inside the space formerly occupied by Gold Cash Gold. Guests can expect many of the growing chain’s casual favorites, such as its popular udon, pho, rice bowls, shrimp dumplings, and chicken karaage. In addition, Ransom adds a touch of creativity with new arrivals like hamachi crudo made with yellowtail, yuzu-lemon confit, jalapeno, micro cilantro, and black sea salt, robata grill with skewered bites, market cut meats, and a more robust bar menu. The new spot replaces Ima’s original Corktown location just down the street.

DiB - Detroit Institute of Bagels

DiB, as it’s affectionately known, has returned after shuttering in fall 2020 in Corktown. Now the spot is situated in Core City, in the former home of Ochre Bakery and Astro Coffee. In addition to slinging bagels by the dozen, offering an array of flavored schmear, and roasted coffee, the new place includes a separate, takeout-friendly entrance for grab-and-go orders, a forthcoming dining room, and a variety of traditional Jewish nosh, which owner Ben Newton says will include house-made brisket, pastrami, matzo ball soup, loaves of rye and challah, and cold salads.

A half-dozen bagels in a takeout-friendly blue and white Kube or box from Detroit Institute of Bagels in Core City, Detroit, Michigan.
A half-dozen bagels in DiB’s new takeout-friendly blue and white Kubez
Serena Maria Daniels

Ladder 4 Wine Bar

The Eater Award-winning Ladder 4 operates as a wine bar and retail wine shop, with more than 200 varieties for sale and a particular focus on natural wines. The space hosts live music events, features three patios and a spacious backyard, and a full-scale menu developed by John Yelinek, a veteran of the beloved, shuttered downtown steakhouse Michael Symon’s Roast, and who also helms the Park Ranger pop-up.

A bar with four chair set in front of it with shelving stocked with wine bottles overhead, a black sign with white lettering, and white subway tiles.
The bar area inside Ladder 4, a new wine bar and shop set inside a historic Detroit firehouse in Southwest Detroit.
GB in Detroit

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