These restaurants celebrate the area's rich multicultural heritage, including Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Polish, Italian, German, Latin American, and Bangladeshi communities as well as influences from the American South. Diners readily take advantage of Michigan's incredible meat, produce, locally brewed beer, and distilled spirits. The vibrant arts community, small businesses, and a burgeoning young, food scene fueled by a robust urban farming community are points of pride for people living in Detroit. Outsiders typically know Detroit for two things - car manufacturing and bankruptcy - but there’s so much more to the city than the headlines.
This guide is your primer to navigating that complex, fast-evolving landscape. But changes in the region's economy are fostering a new chapter in the city's food economy. The muscle and minds behind the car manufacturing lines helped shaped Detroit's early restaurant history, catering to blue-collar workers and upper echelon executives alike while attracting immigrant labor from around the world.
Diners, prohibition-era bars, shawarma, and locally-grown ingredients - it's all part of the Detroit food scene.
