Best Restaurants In Detroit Worth The Hype

When folks think about places around the country that tantalize their taste buds, Detroit hasn't always been at the top of many lists. But all of that is changing thanks to an incredible amount of new restaurants and diners that are garnering a slew of attention from locals and national foodies alike. But are these restaurants actually worth all of the hype? Here are the best restaurants in the Detroit area that are well worth their growing reputation for quality.

Located in the heart of Corktown, not too far from where old Tiger Stadium used to stand, is the big name drawing in all of the crowds: Slows Bar BQ. Slows has perfected the art of barbecue in Detroit and been featured on many national television shows, including a number of Food Network specials highlighting its signature smoked meats and BBQ entrees. The name Slows has not become synonymous with quality meats in Detroit, but that doesn't mean its service has to be slow, too. Though many flock to this diner day and night, Slows now also offers a "Slows-to-Go" service, as well. More information is available on its website for menu and prices.

Michael Symon's wildly-popular Roast restaurant is located in the heart of Downtown Detroit. (Credit, Michael Ferro)

Roast
1128 Washington Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 961-2500
www.roastdetroit.com

Many times when a celebrity chef opens up a restaurant in the heart of a city's downtown landscape, it offers little more than high prices and less-than-great quality in an effort to cash in on a chef's name. Michael Symon's Roast has proven itself time and time again to not be an example of this. Symon opened Roast on the ground floor of the historic Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in a 8,000-square-foot facility with three separate dining areas. Roast has won the Detroit Free Press' prestigious "Restaurant of the Year" award and has been named by Hour Detroit as the Best Steakhouse and Best General Experience in Detroit, along with other awards. Esquire also recently named Roast Detroit's beer selection as one of the best in the country.

Buddy's Pizza is located north of Detroit's Downtown in an older section of the city. (Credit, Michael Ferro)

Buddy's Pizza
17125 Conant St.
Detroit, MI 48212
(313) 892-9001
www.buddyspizza.com

When it comes to Detroit-style pizza, the clear winner is the same each and every year. Since 1946, Buddy's Pizza has been the king of Motown pizza. With Detroit having just replaced Chicago as the No. 2 best pizza in the country (after New York), Buddy's carries a heavy responsibility of making the best in the square deep-dish, Sicilian-style pizza that Detroit is known for. Hour Detroit has named Buddy's as the Best Pizza in Detroit so many times that it's almost a given at this point; no one even comes close. With more locations throughout Metro Detroit popping up all of the time, you can either visit Buddy's in the suburbs or head to the original location that has seen it all since the beginning on Conant Street in Detroit.

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Chances are that if you grew up in Detroit or the surrounding area, you've heard more than once about someone, maybe a family member or friend, who has wanted to impress someone else and decided that taking them to The Whitney in Midtown Detroit was the most obvious choice. For decades, The Whitney has been the symbol of elegance and fine dining in the Motor City, though hard times throughout the late 1990s and 2000s saw The Whitney decline in popularity. These days, the world-class restaurant has reclaimed every bit of its glory days, with a renewed focus on first class service, exquisite food and the Midwest's most lavish desserts. In fact, The Whitney was recently named by Hour Detroit as having Southeast Michigan's Best Desserts. If you've never been pampered (or are looking to pamper someone special), The Whitney will get the job done.

Nested on a little corner of small town Royal Oak, just north of Detroit, is one of Motown's worst-kept secrets. The Inn Season Cafe, with its humble beginnings as a simple all-vegetarian restaurant, has exploded in popularity in recent years thanks in large part to the ravings of big-time celebrities who have dined at the cafe when in town for a movie shoot or film. Since 1980, this small restaurant has been turning even the most precocious eaters into true believers of the vegetarian way. With swarms of young, trendy people moving into the Royal Oak area, the Inn Season Cafe has found a clientele base that is not only happy to fill its diner to capacity, but also thrilled to tweet, blog and post about it – raving about the amazing food coming out of this healthy and environmentally conscious kitchen. Hour Detroit recently named the Inn Season Cafe as the Best Vegetarian Restaurant in Metro Detroit.

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