Here are the 10 hottest restaurants in Detroit this summer

By on Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 7:29 pm

As Detroit heats up, we're eating out. Here are some of our favorite restaurants right now that you definitely need to check out before the summer's over. Whether you're looking for some classic comfort foods with a twist or worldly plates from continents over, we've got you covered.

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Otus Supply 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-291-6160 The restaurant might be best described with the phrase "fine dining hippies." The food is reminiscent of a California Cuisine/New American approach: There are pizzas, small plates, and a few larger items, and they're all centered around an ingredient-forward approach. At Otus Supply, you can see what a kitchen full of dedicated and talented staff can do in a restaurant where there's live music every night, ranging from Grateful Dead and Johnny Cash cover bands, to dubstep brass, to local groups just making their name. Photo from Facebook.
Otus Supply
345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-291-6160
The restaurant might be best described with the phrase "fine dining hippies." The food is reminiscent of a California Cuisine/New American approach: There are pizzas, small plates, and a few larger items, and they're all centered around an ingredient-forward approach. At Otus Supply, you can see what a kitchen full of dedicated and talented staff can do in a restaurant where there's live music every night, ranging from Grateful Dead and Johnny Cash cover bands, to dubstep brass, to local groups just making their name. Photo from Facebook.
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Must try: Mafalde. MT file photo.
Must try: Mafalde. MT file photo.
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Maty's African Cuisine 21611 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-472-5885 You could be forgiven for not having yet tried — or even heard of — Maty's African Cuisine: it’s the city's only Senegalese restaurant. Owner Amady Gueye took over the restaurant from a friend who set it up but never opened the doors. Yet, for cuisine that — in theory — is so unusual in Detroit, the suite of flavors in Maty's jumbo portions of meats and fish alludes to something familiar. One can find traces of French, Arabic, and even Vietnamese cuisine in Senegal's food, but the most obvious connection is to Caribbean dishes. MT file photo.
Maty's African Cuisine
21611 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-472-5885
You could be forgiven for not having yet tried — or even heard of — Maty's African Cuisine: it’s the city's only Senegalese restaurant. Owner Amady Gueye took over the restaurant from a friend who set it up but never opened the doors. Yet, for cuisine that — in theory — is so unusual in Detroit, the suite of flavors in Maty's jumbo portions of meats and fish alludes to something familiar. One can find traces of French, Arabic, and even Vietnamese cuisine in Senegal's food, but the most obvious connection is to Caribbean dishes. MT file photo.
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Must try: Michui. MT file photo.
Must try: Michui. MT file photo.
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Fat Salmon Sushi 11411 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-305-4347 There's nothing not to like at Fat Salmon Sushi, save lack of a liquor license (note the beer cooler at EuroMart next door, which closes at 6.) The menu is ambitious for a small place, with not only a long list of sushi rolls but also soups, salads, gyoza, and other appetizers, four kinds of fried rice, udon in several incarnations, ramen, bulgogi (beef barbecue), and bibimbab, teriyaki, and katsu (deep-fried cutlets), with mochi for dessert. Photo from Facebook.
Fat Salmon Sushi
11411 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-305-4347
There's nothing not to like at Fat Salmon Sushi, save lack of a liquor license (note the beer cooler at EuroMart next door, which closes at 6.) The menu is ambitious for a small place, with not only a long list of sushi rolls but also soups, salads, gyoza, and other appetizers, four kinds of fried rice, udon in several incarnations, ramen, bulgogi (beef barbecue), and bibimbab, teriyaki, and katsu (deep-fried cutlets), with mochi for dessert. Photo from Facebook.
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Must try: The Sunday morning roll, Oshinko, and Easter roll. MT file photo.
Must try: The Sunday morning roll, Oshinko, and Easter roll. MT file photo.
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Trizest 33170 Dequindre Rd., Sterling Heights; 586-268-1450 Do you know why we always return to Trizest? What rolls out of its kitchen, which opened in 2010, is closer to what you'll find in Sichuan than in most Chinese restaurants. There's a balance of flavors and consideration for textural interplay that makes the cuisine exciting. The dishes are surprisingly light, clean, and bright, with ingredients that are the hallmark of Sichuan's piquant flavor portfolio. That means shifting combinations of chiles, garlicky oil, cumin, green onions, dark vinegar, cilantro, and fermented beans and pork. It should be noted that you're going to wait for your food, so don't be in a hurry when you go. That's what happens when it's made from scratch. Photo via IG @actionbrendan.
Trizest
33170 Dequindre Rd., Sterling Heights; 586-268-1450
Do you know why we always return to Trizest? What rolls out of its kitchen, which opened in 2010, is closer to what you'll find in Sichuan than in most Chinese restaurants. There's a balance of flavors and consideration for textural interplay that makes the cuisine exciting. The dishes are surprisingly light, clean, and bright, with ingredients that are the hallmark of Sichuan's piquant flavor portfolio. That means shifting combinations of chiles, garlicky oil, cumin, green onions, dark vinegar, cilantro, and fermented beans and pork. It should be noted that you're going to wait for your food, so don't be in a hurry when you go. That's what happens when it's made from scratch. Photo via IG @actionbrendan.
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Must try: Squirrel shaped fish done "double flavor" MT file photo.
Must try: Squirrel shaped fish done "double flavor" MT file photo.
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Neehee's 4924 Rochester Rd., Troy; 248-250-6335 You might think of "street food" as something not just obtained on the street but easily eatable on the street: like a hot dog you can scarf without the benefit of utensils. But in India, street food doesn't mean simple. So at Neehee's Indian Vegetarian Street Food, be prepared for dishes with more visible ingredients than you're used to seeing at an Indian restaurant, creating a riot of shapes, colors, textures, and tastes in one dish. Photo via IG @its_me_lb.
Neehee's
4924 Rochester Rd., Troy; 248-250-6335
You might think of "street food" as something not just obtained on the street but easily eatable on the street: like a hot dog you can scarf without the benefit of utensils. But in India, street food doesn't mean simple. So at Neehee's Indian Vegetarian Street Food, be prepared for dishes with more visible ingredients than you're used to seeing at an Indian restaurant, creating a riot of shapes, colors, textures, and tastes in one dish. Photo via IG @its_me_lb.
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Must try: Aloo paratha. MT file photo.
Must try: Aloo paratha. MT file photo.
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Common Pub 5440 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-285-8849 A quick glance at the menu of Cass Avenue's new Common Pub might elicit a "ho-hum": burger, mac and cheese, fried chicken, fish and chips. If you look more closely, though, you'll find intriguing touches: a burrito made with lamb and wrapped in housemade naan. A beet and goat cheese slider. A whole lot of duck fat, used to prepare the fries and the chicken. "Duck Noodles," too, in a broth with Chinese sausage. One of the ingredients of the mac and cheese is "Science." Award-winning chef and now co-owner, Zachary Stotz, describes his food as "cutting-edge casual," which sounds right. Photo via IG @rebeka0916.
Common Pub
5440 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-285-8849
A quick glance at the menu of Cass Avenue's new Common Pub might elicit a "ho-hum": burger, mac and cheese, fried chicken, fish and chips. If you look more closely, though, you'll find intriguing touches: a burrito made with lamb and wrapped in housemade naan. A beet and goat cheese slider. A whole lot of duck fat, used to prepare the fries and the chicken. "Duck Noodles," too, in a broth with Chinese sausage. One of the ingredients of the mac and cheese is "Science." Award-winning chef and now co-owner, Zachary Stotz, describes his food as "cutting-edge casual," which sounds right. Photo via IG @rebeka0916.
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Must try: The Poutine. MT file photo.
Must try: The Poutine. MT file photo.
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Faustina's Creole & Soulfood 16155 Wyoming Ave., Detroit; 313-397-8010 There's a misconception that "creole" is Louisianian for "salt and cayenne bomb." In reality, "ragin'" isn't common to the Louisiana lexicon and cajun and creole food is complex and full-flavored, rich from properly applied roux, and built layer by layer off a base of the "holy trinity" of aromatics — onion, celery, and bell peppers. For whatever reason, Detroit sees very little of that kind of cooking, but it can be found. The kitchen of chef Anthony Faustina in Faustina's, a small carryout spot on Wyoming Avenue just north of the Lodge, is one of the only places. Photo via IG @blesseddd2020.
Faustina's Creole & Soulfood
16155 Wyoming Ave., Detroit; 313-397-8010
There's a misconception that "creole" is Louisianian for "salt and cayenne bomb." In reality, "ragin'" isn't common to the Louisiana lexicon and cajun and creole food is complex and full-flavored, rich from properly applied roux, and built layer by layer off a base of the "holy trinity" of aromatics — onion, celery, and bell peppers. For whatever reason, Detroit sees very little of that kind of cooking, but it can be found. The kitchen of chef Anthony Faustina in Faustina's, a small carryout spot on Wyoming Avenue just north of the Lodge, is one of the only places. Photo via IG @blesseddd2020.
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Must try: Cajun Chicken and Waffles. Photo by Arnold Gatilao, Flickr Creative Commons.
Must try: Cajun Chicken and Waffles. Photo by Arnold Gatilao, Flickr Creative Commons.
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Sheeba 8752 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-874-0299 Sheeba, a Yemeni restaurant, serves a mainly Arabic-speaking clientele, and servers don't normally need a lot of English, but the language barrier isn’t insurmountable. For another thing, you'll find unfamiliar dishes like aseed, muishakal, and seltah, and a fantastic lamb broth. Sheeba hasn't moved away from traditional lamb to the cheaper beef you find in many a Lebanese restaurant. You can get three lamb chops for $13, what a deal. If you order in advance, you can get a whole stuffed baby lamb.
Sheeba
8752 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-874-0299
Sheeba, a Yemeni restaurant, serves a mainly Arabic-speaking clientele, and servers don't normally need a lot of English, but the language barrier isn’t insurmountable. For another thing, you'll find unfamiliar dishes like aseed, muishakal, and seltah, and a fantastic lamb broth. Sheeba hasn't moved away from traditional lamb to the cheaper beef you find in many a Lebanese restaurant. You can get three lamb chops for $13, what a deal. If you order in advance, you can get a whole stuffed baby lamb.
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Must try: The lamb agdeh and the lamb haneeth with malawah bread. MT file photo.
Must try: The lamb agdeh and the lamb haneeth with malawah bread. MT file photo.
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La Lanterna 1224 Griswold, Detroit; 313-962-8821 La Lanterna is named after Edoardo Barbieri's, the patriarch of the Barbieri family italian restaurant empire, very first restaurant, opened in 1956. History is invoked even in the red-and-white-checked napkins on every table. The menu, though, does not hark back to the 1950s and the days of red sauce and meatballs. The narrow space is minimal and modern, with a friendly three-sided bar, street-side seating, and engaging touches like a picture of a glass of red wine shattering, throwing spray and shards. The menu is modern, too, with inventive pizzas (pizze is the official plural) and lots of fresh mozzarella. Photo from Facebook.
La Lanterna
1224 Griswold, Detroit; 313-962-8821
La Lanterna is named after Edoardo Barbieri's, the patriarch of the Barbieri family italian restaurant empire, very first restaurant, opened in 1956. History is invoked even in the red-and-white-checked napkins on every table. The menu, though, does not hark back to the 1950s and the days of red sauce and meatballs. The narrow space is minimal and modern, with a friendly three-sided bar, street-side seating, and engaging touches like a picture of a glass of red wine shattering, throwing spray and shards. The menu is modern, too, with inventive pizzas (pizze is the official plural) and lots of fresh mozzarella. Photo from Facebook.
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Must try: The Rocket. MT file photo
Must try: The Rocket. MT file photo
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Antojitos el Catracho 4627 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-784-9361 Chief cook Sandra Padilla sticks to what she grew up on: pupusas, baleadas, pastelitos, and super-rich tamales. "Tenemos el sabor de su tierra" ("We have the flavor of your homeland") says the writing on the window at El Catracho. Hondurans and their neighbors agree. Note there's no liquor license and a $10 minimum for use of a credit card — and with their low prices, you can make a couple of meals before getting to $10. Photo via IG @detroit_fertile_earth.
Antojitos el Catracho
4627 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-784-9361
Chief cook Sandra Padilla sticks to what she grew up on: pupusas, baleadas, pastelitos, and super-rich tamales. "Tenemos el sabor de su tierra" ("We have the flavor of your homeland") says the writing on the window at El Catracho. Hondurans and their neighbors agree. Note there's no liquor license and a $10 minimum for use of a credit card — and with their low prices, you can make a couple of meals before getting to $10. Photo via IG @detroit_fertile_earth.
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Must try: Pupusa, baleada, carne asada, tostones, platano maduro, and tajadas. MT file photo.
Must try: Pupusa, baleada, carne asada, tostones, platano maduro, and tajadas. MT file photo.
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