When I was assigned to write a feature article exploring some of metro Detroit’s most iconic restaurants, I wasn’t sure if a common thread would develop. How does one connect an Italian restaurant to a German biergarten? What correlations are to be drawn between a beer-soaked Belgian café and a historic pizza joint? How exactly do these 12 restaurants — each one with its own unique culture, history, and background — tie in to each other?
Over the next several weeks, I began to notice that Detroit’s long-standing establishments do indeed share commonalities — complimentary bread and butter, for instance, which is a wonderful, hospitable standard that most modern restaurants have abandoned. Frog legs, a Detroit classic, still have a place at many of Detroit’s oldest eateries, and a good Caesar salad (thought to have been first conceived over 100 years ago in Tijuana, Mexico) connects many of the dimly lit steakhouses and bistros. And at just about every one of the restaurants listed below, I made friends with a lovely veteran female bartender
who acts as a cultured and scholarly guide to the restaurant’s peculiar nooks and crannies.
These restaurants aren’t relics; they’re living, breathing cathedrals constructed to keep traditions alive. They’re as eccentric as they are comforting and should be cherished as such. So be sure to visit one or all of the 12 below.
Loui’s Pizza
Many places in town serve great Detroit-style pizza, but it’s especially lovely at Loui’s Pizza in Hazel Park, where the scene is just as iconic as the food.
Loui’s is a place full of inexplicable quirks. The hundreds of Chianti bottle jugs that festively decorate the restaurant, the giant aquarium behind the bar, the framed photos of Labatt Blue everywhere — this is a restaurant built by its community, and many different personalities over the years have helped to erect this growing cathedral to Detroit-style pizza.
The pizza at Loui’s is some of the best in town — crispy, crunchy outer edges of square pizza crust give way to a tooth-some, spongy interior. The nuanced, slightly spicy sauce warms the soul, and the top of the pizza itself is marbled like a steak with blotches of delicious red sauce interwoven with gooey Wisconsin brick cheese. To the outer edges of the pizza crust clings a darkened Parmesan cheese that’s been caramelized, which provides a cheesy, umami-packed crunch.
Though the comforting booths are always a treat, the bar at Loui’s beckons the weary everyman. The cushioned bar lip is the perfect place to rest your elbows while you grab a beer and catch a Tigers game after work. Also, here’s an irregular perk: When you order food from the bar, a custom-made TV tray is set down on the bar’s edge for maximum comfort. The server, a wonderful woman named Sabrina who has been working at Loui’s for decades, tells me directly what to order next time now that I’ve broken my Loui’s seal: the cappelletti soup, which features pasta in a homemade chicken broth. I also enjoyed the antipasto salad immensely. Savor the pizza, but don’t get hyperfocused on it, either; this is a restaurant that has many tricks up its sleeve.
Loui’s Pizza is located at 23141 Dequindre Road, Hazel Park. Call 248-547-1711 or visit facebook.com/louispizza for more information.
Polonia
Polish immigrants began settling in Hamtramck in the early 1900s, and by the ’70s, the population was overwhelmingly Polish. Though the population has dwindled considerably over the years, Hamtramck remains a cultural hub rich with Polish traditions. To engage directly with the city’s history, look no further than Polonia restaurant.
Polonia’s website proudly advertises an Anthony Bourdain appearance back in 2009, a reminder that any restaurant visited by Bourdain is a blessed one, the equivalent of a saint visiting a village to bestow blessings upon the townsfolk. The beloved chef, author, and travel show host happily said of Polonia in Hamtramck, “This ain’t lean cuisine.”
The prices and portions at this cozy Old World eatery remain a revelation. Expect traditional dishes like smalec (a rendered pork fat spread), fresh sausages, beet soup, and potato pancakes. However, Polonia is probably most famous for its city chicken, which is actually cubed pork on a stick that’s been baked. Served alongside a hearty scoop of mashed potatoes, vegetables, and sauerkraut, it’s one of the most filling meals you can get in Detroit for under $20. A side of dill pickle soup is always welcome; the sharp, lemony flavor of the soup cuts through the richness of Polonia’s many meaty dishes.
Polonia is located at 2934 Yemans St., Hamtramck. Call 313-873-8432 or visit polonia-restaurant.net for more information.
Amore da Roma
Bright-red tomato sauce, gooey mozzarella cheese, pork sausage, garlic bread, and good red wine — few things satisfy quite like Italian American food. Amore da Roma — formerly Roma Café — is Detroit’s oldest Italian restaurant, and despite the many changes over the years, it still understands the keys to comfort.
Built in 1888 by the Marazza family, the restaurant originally functioned to serve the vendors and farmers of Eastern Market. Though the property has been revitalized in recent years, it still has that old Detroit charm. Both outwardly and inwardly, this historic restaurant reads like a family estate with its rows of awning windows, spacious dining rooms, and valued heirlooms of Detroit’s past littered throughout. This place is full of regulars; that’s because generations of families have been coming to Amore da Roma to enjoy meatballs soaked in red sauce, tossed salads, and pastas like linguine with clams and fettuccine Alfredo.
In a nod to Detroit’s Greek history and the surrounding Coney Islands, Amore da Roma offers an “Italian saganaki” with chopped Italian sausage covered with aged provolone and mixed with roasted garlic, basil, and chile flakes. The Roma tossed salad is another must-order and features a simple array of mixed greens, a tangy house-made dressing, garbanzo beans, bell peppers, tomato, and a hard-boiled egg. I found myself nostalgic while eating the eggplant Parmesan, which is blanketed by a thick coating of stretchy, low-moisture mozzarella cheese. Amore da Roma gives you complimentary bread and butter here for a reason — there’s a lot of sauce (and history) to soak up.
Amore da Roma is located at 3401 Riopelle St., Detroit. Call 313-831-5940 or visit amoredaroma.com for more information.
Pegasus Taverna
In Detroit, you can’t go too far without seeing saganaki, and few things delight more than a small frying pan of sizzling melted cheese gliding through a restaurant before it’s promptly splashed with brandy and lit aflame, the ensuing exclamation of “Opa!” ringing throughout the dining room as if to proudly announce one’s Greek heritage directly. Saganaki has become a menu fixture in this city, whether you get it at a Coney Island or one of Detroit’s traditional Greek restaurants, like Pegasus Taverna.
Pegasus, which is located in historic Greektown, is the perfect home for a dish as comforting as saganaki. The restaurant is armed to the teeth with big, spacious booths perfect for families and groups, each one equipped with a personal chandelier illuminating the experience even further. Grape leaves smothered in lemon sauce and thick slabs of moussaka laden with Béchamel are both perfect for sopping up with
complimentary bread.
Spending an hour inside Pegasus recently, I was witness to at least a dozen sizzling pans of saganaki being delivered, and each time, both the staff’s and customers’ faces lit up. There’s charisma and personality among the people who visit Pegasus, a liveliness that I suspect is tied to the saganaki itself. You can tell the staff still gets so much joy from shouting, “Opa!” with each delivery, and the customers are equally delighted to scoop up melty fried cheese with pita bread.
Pegasus Taverna is located at 558 Monroe St., Detroit. Call 313-964-6800 or visit pegasustavernas.com for more information.
Jacoby’s
In the late 1800s, Albert Jacoby moved from Luxembourg to Detroit, and he slowly transformed a local tavern into a place to enjoy German cuisine and a cold brew. The bar/restaurant has endured many different owners over the years, including three generations of Jacobys, but a couple of things have always been intact: cold beer and hearty European meals.
Head to Jacoby’s for the baked pretzels and beer cheese, rib tips, Reuben, or burger. However, the list of authentic German entrées that pay homage to the Jacoby roots is particularly interesting, offering hearty platters like schnitzel, sausages, and rindfleisch rouladen, a top round steak rolled with onions, bacon, celery, carrots, and pickle. The gravy-lathered steak comes with spaetzle, a rustic, hand-shaped variety of egg noodle. Jacoby’s spaetzle is especially lovely; it’s chewy and toothsome and has a bit of char to it, too, as if it’s been sautéed directly in a pan.
Like many downtown establishments, Jacoby’s is ingrained in Detroit’s vibrant sports culture. It’s taken on the personalities of all its various owners and proprietors over the years, but at its heart, it remains a downtown sports bar and restaurant that’s the perfect place to catch a game, afternoon beer, and hearty German lunch.
Jacoby’s is located at 624 Brush St., Detroit. Call 313-962-7067 or visit jacobysbar.com for more information.
Caucus Club
In Detroit, downtown restaurants usually consist of art deco style paired with classic American steakhouse cooking. Think bold geometric shapes alongside steaks, oysters, martinis, and perhaps a piano player off to the side. Originally built as a sister restaurant to the London Chop House, the Caucus Club has come into its own over the years for its romantic setting, unique steak offerings, and live jazz on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Caucus Club is also famous for introducing a drink called The Bullshot, a beefy relative to the Bloody Mary made with beef consommé, balsamic bitters, vodka, and lemon. The Caucus Club’s updated version of this classic, The New Bullshot, uses Moletto gin instead. Order it to taste a little bit of Detroit’s storied steakhouse history. The cocktail list itself is inspired, elegant, and extensive.
What separates the Caucus Club from the other steakhouses? Perhaps it’s all of the various enhancements available to elevate your steak. For just a few extra bucks, you can add buttery seared foie gras, an Oscar-style topping with Béarnaise sauce and crab meat, a Zip-style sauce, compound butter, or just classic sautéed mushrooms and onions. Steak is always enjoyed simply, but these classic accoutrements never go out of style, either.
Caucus Club is located at 150 W. Congress St., Detroit. Call 313-965-4970 or visit caucusclubdetroit.com for more information.
Mr. Paul’s Chophouse
Mr. Paul’s Chophouse is just off the busy Groesbeck Highway in Macomb County, and though cars and trucks zip past on the expressway with haste, the inside of the restaurant decelerates life wonderfully. The lights are dim, the décor is elegant, and the classic menu is prepared with grace and precision. This is a place to get comfortable and stay a while.
At Mr. Paul’s, the steaks are juicy, which is both nostalgia-inducing and refreshing. The 16-ounce Black Angus rib eye comes served with a thin but rich-in-flavor au jus and a seared mushroom cap that soaks up all the steak’s wonderful natural fluids. In a modern landscape that celebrates more-inventive steak sauces, Mr. Paul’s goes against the grain by leaning into tradition.
A restaurant that still makes a tableside Caesar salad needs to be cherished accordingly. Making a proper Caesar salad is an art that goes back over 100 years, and that Mr. Paul’s Chophouse keeps this tradition alive is stunning. Anchovies, garlic, egg yolk, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, lemon juice, Worcester sauce, and olive oil are placed in a big wooden bowl before being smashed into a flavorful paste. Fresh rips of romaine lettuce are then tossed in the emulsion, and a smattering of black pepper and more cheese is applied. This salad is dressed to the nines — each bite evenly peppered, decadent, salty, and filled with savoriness. I have yet to encounter a better Caesar salad in all of Detroit.
In addition to a well-prepared steak and several strong martinis, it needs to be said that my dining partner and I enjoyed one of the best liverwurst sandwiches we’ve ever had (a special that day). With plenty of live entertainment, excellent food, and comfortable seating, Mr. Paul’s Chophouse is one roadside attraction worth stopping for.
Mr. Paul’s Chophouse is located at 29850 Groesbeck Highway, Roseville. Call 586-777-7770 or visit mrpaulschophouse.com for more information.
Mario’s Restaurant
A good Italian American restaurant should feel like Christmas: It should be warm, festive, traditional, and dimly lit but still overflowing with lively, celebratory energy — and have songs from crooners like Dean Martin and Perry Como emanating softly from ceiling speakers. Mario’s in Midtown has all of that and more: Nostalgic wood paneling abounds, Christmas lights and wreaths outline the restaurant’s walls, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra plays throughout the dining room, and suited servers wait patiently on guests. Simply put, dining at Mario’s feels like straight out of a scene from Goodfellas.
When it comes to the food, Mario’s is some of my favorite Italian American in the city. Manicotti, buttery shrimp scampi, and crispy fried calamari all grace the iconic menu. Hearty beef and veal meatballs come blanketed with melted mozzarella and wade cheerfully in a pool of delicious red sauce. And the veal selection at Mario’s is perhaps the most extensive in the city, featuring classic dishes like veal Parmesan, veal Oscar, and veal saltimbocca (a cutlet wrapped in prosciutto slices, then sautéed in a sage and cherry wine sauce).
Mario’s nails the ambiance, and it’s one of the more emotive Italian American restaurants in the city. For those who love to dine on veal cutlets and big, saucy pasta dishes, this place is heaven on earth.
Mario’s Restaurant is located at 4222 Second Ave., Detroit. Call 313-832-1616 or visit mariosdetroit.com for more information.
Diamond Jim Brady’s Bistro Bar
On the back wall at Diamond Jim Brady’s Bistro Bar in Novi is a hand-drawn illustration of Julia Child serving an enormous, colorful burger. Beside it, a quote attributed to the legendary cook and TV personality: “People who love to eat are always the best people. Indeed, Diamond Jim Brady’s is a place for food lovers to unite. The menu is eclectic, a list of culinary hits that offer a little bit of something for everybody, whether it’s a big pot of mussels, a classic burger, buffalo wings, steak Diane, braised short ribs, or even a sweet potato burrito.
I felt called to order the Michigan’s Best Caesar salad, a staple at the diner since 1954. Who exactly bestowed the Caesar with this accolade remains nebulous, but it doesn’t really matter — this salad is a stunner. It comes with the option to add a basil-crusted chicken roulade filled with Boursin cheese. Of course, I added the chicken — and you should, too. It’s crispy, creamy, and herby, spectacular in both flavor and texture. Diamond Jim Brady’s Boursin-stuffed chicken roulade is so good that it will ruin all other grilled chicken breast Caesar salads for you.
A refined diner, a neighborhood bistro, a local bar — Diamond Jim Brady’s is multiple establishments all rolled into one. However, one thing remains constant: This is a place for fervent eaters to gather. So come prepared to stay awhile, and order passionately. You’ll be rewarded handsomely.
Diamond Jim Brady’s Bistro Bar is located at 43271 Crescent Blvd., Novi. Call 248-380-8460 or visit djbistro.com for more information.
Cadieux Cafe
“It’s beautiful to be Belgian,” says the bumper sticker on the wall at Cadieux Cafe. In its early days, Cadieux was a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Today, it’s one of the most distinctive establishments in the country — a celebration of all things Belgian, but with a twist.
Cadieux Cafe remains true to its Belgian traditions, but it has modern features, too. The 5,000-square-foot outdoor biergarten features a bar and a stage that houses some great live music from May to October when the weather allows. Cadieux also has a room for feather bowling, a Belgian pastime not all that unlike bocce ball or horseshoes. The restaurant proudly proclaims it’s the only “home of feather bowling” in the United States. Feather bowling league runs from September through April, and the remaining nights are open to public rental.
As far as the food, try the Holland patty melt, the Flemish beignets, or the red wine-braised rabbit, but you’ll want to indulge in some Belgian-style mussels, which come in a few different varieties and are served with a side of pommes frites. In a city full of great steamed mussels, Cadieux Cafe has some of the very best.
Cadieux Cafe is located at 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. Call 313-882-8560 or visit cadieuxcafe.com for more information.
Cuisine Restaurant
Sometimes, a restaurant charms you as soon as you walk through the front door. Such is the case at Cuisine, a chef-driven European bistro that made its home in an old town house. The restaurant — with its stark blue exterior, curtained windows, creaky floors, elegant dishware, and white cloth table settings — nails the simple elegance of traditional French American cooking.
Chef Paul Grosz, who has a rich culinary history here in Detroit, understands the simplicity of French cooking. His tartare is prepared classically with crumbly morsels of raw beef tenderloin accompanied by dry mustard, capers, and a raw quail egg yolk. I was personally smitten by the Salad of Lyon, a riff on the French classic salade Lyonnaise. It features a bed of crisp, peppery mixed greens dressed with bacon lardons, tomato, goat cheese, garlic dressing, and a poached egg. The move is to split the poached egg and mix the egg yolk around the salad. It’s not very often that you get to call a salad luxurious, but the Salad of Lyon is exactly that. Take this as your sign to go try it.
Located across the street from the Fisher Building, Cuisine gets plenty of customers at night who come from the theater. Fitting, as the restaurant itself is quite dramatic, having survived many of Detroit’s ups and downs over the decades. And though the staff across the board is well trained, chef Grosz is still the main protagonist. His story arc should be experienced firsthand.
Cuisine Restaurant is located at 670 Lothrop St., Detroit. Call 313-872-5110 or visit cuisinerestaurant.com for more information.
Scotty Simpson’s Fish & Chips
Historic restaurants have a way of laying all their cards on the table. They’re not shy; they’re confident, approachable establishments aloof to modern conventions or what you might think of them. They’re steadfast and unchanged in an ever-changing world. Go to Scotty Simpson’s Fish & Chips, and you’ll experience this phenomenon and the greatness it produces firsthand.
Outmoded wood paneling and carpet outline this iconic fried-fish restaurant, while mounted fish, model ships, and miniature lighthouses decorate the walls and shelves. There are handwritten menus and signage, no debit or credit cards are accepted, and the seemingly vintage cash register must be several decades old. At Scotty Simpson’s, what you see is what you get, and this old-school restaurant has been blessing the Brightmoor community in Detroit with delicious, affordable platters of fried fish for over 70 years.
First-timers at Scotty Simpson’s will want to order the buttery and sweet Nova Scotian cod, which is fried in a light batter. Also, the refreshing coleslaw is juicy, clean, vegetal, and subtly sweet. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the pile of fried fish you’re about to order from the front counter, where the deep fryer awaits right behind the cash register. Also of note: Scotty Simpson’s serves fried bone-in frog legs, which are rich, juicy, and tender. Frog legs are a Detroit classic going back to the early 20th century, when they were considered a delicacy, and are a commonality among many of the city’s oldest restaurants.
Scotty Simpson’s, having been in the same building since 1950, is practically a religious artifact, and Detroiters wanting to be healed by the virtues of fried fish will want to head to Brightmoor often. Cash in hand, of course.
Scotty Simpson’s Fish & Chips is located at 22200 Fenkell Ave., Detroit. Call 313-533-0950 or visit scottysfishandchips.com for more information.
This story originally appeared in the August 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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