New Metro Detroit Restaurants, Bars, and Cafés
Amelia Street Pizza in Hazel Park
Matt Arb’s pizzeria started as an online side-hustle, slinging pies out of his home on Amelia Street in Royal Oak to a cult following. Next, it became a pop-up at Detroit’s Dragonfly. Now, the fully-fledged brick and mortar — with the business backing and mentorship of Mabel Gray’s chef James Rigato — is finally open, Arb announced on social media.
Amelia Street’s ultra-crispy thin crusts are made with 72-hour cold sourdough ferment using a biga with both commercial and wild yeast. They are topped with a signature “half-moon” Pecorino shave, for flavor and aesthetics. The menu is simple: one cheese pizza, one pepperoni, one rotating special, a cheese bread, its quarter-pound chocolate chip cookies, and soft drinks. 951 E. 9 Mile Rd, Hazel Park; @ameliastreetpizzaco on Instagram
Pine Hall in Downtown Detroit
From Union Square Hospitality Group — the company that started Shake Shack and several Michelin-starred restaurants — comes Detroit’s newest rooftop bar, aptly atop Detroit’s newest skyscraper, Hudson’s Detroit.
Located on the 12th floor of the shorter Hudson’s Detroit high rise, Pine Hall opened on June 11. The bar and tavern is named after — and partially inspired by — The Pine Room, a restaurant that once occupied the original J. L. Hudson building. It features a wrap-around balcony with plenty of seating and incredible birds-eye views of the city.
Pine Hall offers small bites like clams casino and sausage rolls with Dijon mustard — as well as more substantial meals like burgers, trout, steak, and even a Maurice Salad. Libations include Michigan-centric cocktails like the Cherry Picked, with a Better Made potato chip rim, rye whiskey from Journeyman Distillery, plus cherry and lemon. 3000 Nick Gilbert Wy, Detroit; pinehall.com
Cardoon in Sylvan Lake
From the owners of critically acclaimed Sylvan Table comes a new, more casual concept that opened June 16. The European-style establishment is many things simultaneously: a café, deli, bakery, and provisions emporium.
Owned by husband-and-wife team Nicole and Tim Ryan, Executive Chef Scott — the opening sous chef at Sylvan Table — heads the kitchen. Open from morning to evening daily, its offerings include coffee, Italian sandwiches, fresh pasta, pizza, baked breads, plus pastries like viennoiserie, Swedish cardamom buns, and more. Plus, there’s house-made sausages and house-cured charcuterie — with delicious handhelds like porchetta schiacciata, a Danish-style hot dog, and more. 2190 Orchard Lake Rd, Sylvan Lake; cardoon-mi.com
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Tigris in Southwest Detroit
A high-fi listening bar, co-run by the owners of Johnny Noodle King and Green Dot Stables, debuted in southwest Detroit on Saturday, June 20. Tigris features a custom sound system, vinyl library, and will regularly host DJ sets. Its drinks menu is Middle Eastern-inspired, with several nonalcoholic options, and light bites. Tigris is a collaboration between Music Supervisor Fabian Halabou, Inlaws Hospitality, and Kenan Juska from the DJ duo Chances with Wolves. The general manager is In Sheep’s Clothing alumna Dane Majors. 2545 Bagley St., Detroit; tigrisdetroit.com
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Coming to the Table
Agnes in Detroit’s West Village
The team behind one of Detroit’s most critically acclaimed restaurants, Selden Standard, is opening a new restaurant in Detroit’s West Village. Its partners will include Selden Standard owners Evan Hansen and Andy Hollyday — a five-time James Beard semifinalist who earned a Best Chef, Great Lakes nomination in 2023, Detroit News food critic Melody Baetens reports. The other partners are Selden Standard General Manager Paul Fradeneck and Takoi chef Alex Jull. It will open in the space that housed The Metropolitan Kitchen, which closed last September. 8047 Agnes St., Detroit; follow @agnesdetroit on Instagram for updates.
Recent Food & Beverage Headlines
John Vermiglio defeats Andy Hollyday at Iron Chef Detroit III competition
Iron Chef Detroit is an annual culinary competition at Eastern Market to raise funds for charity. On June 11, it returned for the third year in a row. This time around, Chef John Vermiglio (of Grey Ghost, Second Best, Little Ghost, and Basan) defeated reigning champion Andy Hollyday (Selden Standard). The final scores were 92-89 (out of 100). The event was co-hosted by food influencers Carlos Parisi and Jon Kung. A panel of judges, including Baobab Faire’s Hamissi Mamba, Anthony Lombardo (SheWolf, Medusa) and jessica Care moore, the Poet Laureate of Detroit. The event raised over $107,000 for Cass Community Social Services, and it plans to return next year.
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Michigan goes home empty-handed at the James Beard Awards
The James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards — one of America’s biggest nights for culinary accolades — took place on June 15 at Chicago’s Lyric Opera. Unfortunately for Michigan, its sole finalist Bar Chenin was beat out. The winner was Loma in Provenance, Rhode Island for Best New Bar. Loma was Rhode Island’s first James Beard win in a national category. Six Michigan restaurants, including 4 in metro Detroit, were semifinalists this year. In January, Hour Detroit published an article about those semifinalists.
Prime and Proper’s burger makes list of 101 best burgers in the world
Waygu beef, “French onion soup” onions, Beecher’s Flagship cheddar cheese, zip mayonnaise, and pickled mustard seed on a sesame bun. Those are the ingredients that compose the P&P Burger, ranked No. 63 on the list of World’s 101 Best Burger Places, published by WorldsBestBurgers.com. Prime & Proper, a downtown Detroit steakhouse, only makes 10 per evening, and they can only be ordered from its bar menu.
Wright & Co to End Dinner Service in July
For 12 years, Wright & Co. has been a popular destination, with striking views from the second floor of Detroit’s Wright–Kay Building. In addition to its craft cocktails, the restaurant was known for serving seasonal shared plates from a kitchen helmed by James Beard nominated chef-partner Marc Djozlija and executive chef Kyle Schutte. However, Wright & Co announced on June 1 that its dinner service was coming to an end, with its final seating on July 3. But the restaurant also noted, “We will continue hosting private events, celebrations, and special gatherings in the place we’ve proudly called home for the last 12 years.”
Fowling Warehouse to close on June 27
Fowling — AKA bowling with a football — was popularized by metro Detroit native Chris Hutt. He’s the owner of Hamtramck’s Fowling Warehouse, a popular destination for drinking and gaming. However, Hutt announced earlier this month that the location will be closing, citing “pre-pandemic expansion, the economy, and changes in social behaviors.” Its final day will be Saturday, June 27, in which it is hosting its annual Motor City Open Tournament. This past March, Hutt also closed the Grand Rapids location, citing similar reasoning. Read drinks contributor Mickey Lyon’s 2025 profile on Detroit alley sports, which covers Fowling Warehouse.
Spot Lite and UFO Bar to close in late June
One of Detroit’s most popular destinations for clubbing is also closing its doors this month. Spot Lite on Detroit’s east side is closing on June 28. Corktown’s UFO Bar, which is under the same ownership, is closing on June 30. UFO Bar will close and re-open as Detroit Vinyl Bar, a cocktail bar and record store with a new team, according to a statement from Spot Lite’s owners. The 22,000 square foot building has already been listed for sale online, with an asking price of $1,750,000.
“As an Arab-American woman, I have always seen joy as a form of resistance. From the pandemic to troubling times locally and globally, we have all been able to reconnect on this dance floor to find joy and community,” said Spot Lite owner Roula David in the statement. Cairo Coffee, which is an independent tenant of Spot Lite that operates during the day, will take a short break after June 28. It plans to reopen with different hours on July 8. Eventually, it will move to 27th Letter Books at 3546 Michigan Ave. in Southwest Detroit, according to a separate announcement.
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