Immigrant-owned restaurants in metro Detroit you should have tried by now

Al Chabab

12930 W Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-582-2927
Chamo Barakat, an Aleppian chef and immigrant, left his country in 2006 — mere years before a devastating war broke out. Should you crave the rich, complex dishes of Aleppo, Barakat’s shop, Al Chabab, in Dearborn, is the place to go. Aleppo is known for have regionally unmatched agricultural riches, and in the country's chefs have a deep appreciation and respect for longstanding techniques and processes.
Photo by Tom Perkins

Qahwah House
6655 Schaefer Rd., Dearborn; 313-908-4521
Owner Ibrahim Alhasbani's family grew and supplied Yemeni coffee for hundred years, and he flies the beans directly from the family farm, which allows him to keep the price down. "I want to give the people an education about the coffee from Yemen, tell them the story about the coffee, that mocha is not chocolate. It's a port in Yemen where the first coffee went out to the world," he tells us.
Photo via Instagram user @qahwah_house

Que Huong
30820 John R Rd., Madison Heights; 248-588-0998
A Vietnamese grub hub, Que Huong can be easy to look over in its plain surroundings. If one is lucky enough to spot it, they would be remiss to not give this eatery a try. Its rice noodle soup, sandwiches, and other rice dishes are what make this Asian restaurant standout.
Photo via Facebook

Remas
11444 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-707-0920
Remas' menu includes some Mediterranean and Yemeni standards like ghallaba that Hamtramckans might be familiar with, while other dishes – lahsah, madfoon, and buram – aren't as common in metro Detroit. Owner Fahmi Alfarei, who is Yemeni, has lived in Hamtramck since 2005 and also runs a contracting business.
Photo by Tom Perkins

Reshmi Sweets & Cafe
12170 Conant St, Hamtramck; 313-366-2425
Reshmi Sweets & Cafe offers tasty Indian dining. Reshmi provides its customers with a contemporary interpretation of classic Indian cuisine.
Photo via Yelp user, Reyasmin K.

Sheeba
8752 Joseph Campau Ave, Hamtramck; 313-874-0299
Those who've been going to Yemen Cafe or Sheeba for a while are well aware of how different Yemeni cuisine is from the Lebanese fare we've grown up on. For one thing, Sheeba hasn't moved away from traditional lamb to the cheaper beef you find in many Lebanese restaurants. Sheeba serves a mainly Arabic-speaking clientele — it's that authentic.
Photo by Tom Perkins

Taqueria El Rey
4730 W. Vernor, Detroit; 313-357-3094
Taqueria El Rey is a family-owned Mexican restaurant, and chicken is the name of the game at this Southwest Detroit joint. The pollo is smoked low and slow over lump coal in an open-air grill pit, situated under an adjoining tent. The result, a wonderfully charred flavor, is punctuated with a mix of spices.
Photo via Instagram user @dinedrinkdet

Trizest
33170 Dequindre Rd., Sterling Heights; 586-268-1450
Owner Hsing Ming Wu says Trizest's customer base used to be almost exclusively Chinese, but more and more non-Chinese are hearing about the difference and, for many, experiencing their first bites of authentic Sichuan food. What rolls out of its kitchen, which opened in 2010, is closer to what you'll find in Sichuan. There's a balance of flavors and consideration for textural interplay that makes the cuisine exciting.
Photo via Instagram user @joefoodie

Yemen Cafe
8740 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-871-4349
The Yemen Cafe in Hamtramck blends Arab, Turkish, and Indian flavors to create a unique menu. The influences of the various cultures can be seen on the menu. Different types of shawarma, gallaba, and chicken dishes can be purchased here.
Photo by Serena Maria Daniels

ZamZam
11917 Conant St., Hamtramck; 313-893-9902
The ZamZam Restaurant gives its visitors a chance to experience Indian and Pakistani food with classic dishes like curry, biryani, chicken tikka soup, and plenty more.
Photo via Facebook

Ajishin
42270 Grand Ave., Novi; 248-380-9850
Known for its authentic food, Ajishin gives locals a chance to taste Japanese cuisine. The restaurant mainly serves up sushi dishes. However, noodle bowls, like udon and soba, are also available to try with your choice of meat.
Photo by Tony Lowe

Al Ameer
12710 W. Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-582-8185
A hotspot for authentic Mediterranean cuisine with lamb, shawarma, pitas, falafel, hummus, tabbouli, fattoush, and so much more. There are entrees, sandwiches and a raw juice bar — all served in a cozy space.
Photo via Instagram user @hillarydixlercanavan

Aladdin Sweets
11945 Conant Ave., Hamtramck; 313-891-8050
Aladdin Sweets & Cafe brings the culinary traditions of Bangladesh to Hamtramck. With dishes such as biryani, curry, and more, you wouldn’t want to miss the Bangladeshi cuisine Aladdin Sweets has to offer.
Photo via Facebook

Amar Pizza
12195 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-366-0980
Co-owner Khurshed Amar has garnered national acclaim from the likes of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods for its use of tandoori, dry fish, and sweat-inducing ghost peppers, as well as other unique takes on the pizza pie, like Philly steak, gyro, and seafood. Amar Pizza is known as the Detroit-Bangladeshi hybrid creation factory. The takeout pizzeria is known for a variety of South Asian-inspired pies, including its scorching "Ghost Pizza.”
Photo via Facebook

Antojitos El Catracho
4627 Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-209-4815
“El Catracho” means “The Honduran.” Regardless of the “antojitos” (appetizers) part of the name you’ll get giant full-course meals here. It’s decorated with a mural of a campesino digging rocks out of a field, a reminder of why so many felt they needed to leave and come here.
Photo by Rob Widdis

Antonio’s Cucina Italiana
26356 Ford Rd., Dearborn Heights; 313-278-6000
Despite a few jarring notes, this is the real deal — house-made pasta, fresh sauces, traditional dishes at reasonable prices — you can imagine somebody's mama in the kitchen. The Rugiero family has been serving the neighborhood since 1964.
Photo via Instagram user @_veg_head

Asian Corned Beef
Asian Corned Beef has five locations in Detroit: 13660 Wyoming St.; 14820 W. Seven Mile Rd.; 13240 Gratiot Ave.; 21559 Grand River Ave.; 21639 W. 8 Mile Rd near Lahser
And then there's Asian Corned Beef, a local chain created on the westside of Detroit. Its four locations offer corned beef, pastrami, and roast beef served in onion rolls, plus sides like wing dings, deviled eggs, and cheesecakes — and those now-iconic corned beef egg rolls.
Photo by Serena Maria Daniels

Liang’s Oriental Barbecue

30953 Dequindre Rd., Detroit; 248-616-9616
Liang’s Oriental Barbecue continues a tradition that has been happening for centuries in other parts of the world and this immigrant-owned restaurant shows there is a lot more to Chinese cuisine than what we are used to eating as Americans. Serving up whole (even the head) duck, hog, and chicken, you can buy meat by the beast or by the pound.
Photo by Tom Perkins

Assaggi
330 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-584-3499
Known for its attractive atmosphere and creative menu, Assaggi's menu skips along the northern coast of the Mediterranean from Spain to Lebanon. There's seating for 80 in the al fresco patio, where a garden of tomatoes, peppers, basil, flowers, and other herbs — and statuary including reproductions of the "Venus de Milo" and Michelangelo's "David" — conjure the atmosphere of Tuscany. And, happily, the sound of a fountain drowns out the traffic on Nine Mile Road.
Photo by Rob Widdis

Asty Time
7340 McGraw Ave., Detroit; 313-285-9390
Passionate, loquacious, smiley, and energetic — these are the words that describe Asty, and it's part of the charm of the restaurant. The best dishes at Asty are those that get the sofrito treatment. Sofrito is a slurry of aromatics that's the base of much of Caribbean cooking, and the Dominican Republic is no different. Asty's variation is comprised of sautéed garlic, onions, bell peppers, celery, oregano, green onions, cilantro, lime, and small amount of soy sauce.
Photo via Instagram user @asty_time