Regulars keep swinging back to Selden Standard for small plates and craft cocktails in a cool industrial space that USA Today named one of the best restaurants of 2024. Local and seasonal produce shows up in dishes like charred octopus from the woodfired oven and seasonal fresh pastas like sweet corn agnolotti. Catch the show at the chef’s counter or hang in the back patio lined with flower murals.

Chef Jared Gadbaw led NYC’s acclaimed Marea to two MICHELIN Stars, and that fine dining pedigree shines at this sophisticated coastal Italian spot named Hour Detroit’s 2022 Restaurant of the Year. Expect seafood-forward dishes with pastas made in-house daily like squid ink lumache with shrimp plus knockout Italian-leaning wines, all served in a rustic-chic space with lush hanging plants and exposed brick walls.

Detroit’s first Argentine restaurant, BARDA roared into Motor City in 2021. The steakhouse’s open kitchen is a showcase for Buenos Aires native and chef Javier Bardauil’s exciting live fire cooking, which earned the restaurant a James Beard nod for Best New Restaurant in 2022. Settle into one of the intimate booths in the sleek, dark blue space for a South American feast starring fresh ceviche, flame-kissed steaks, and inventive cocktails.

Part of a new wave of French restaurants in Detroit and named a best new restaurant by Eater, this Brush Park destination is the place to be for stellar cocktails and wine. That's because award-winning drinks pro Travis Fourmant leads the team and has created a lineup that includes a Corsican Negroni and a Parisian Painkiller. Pair it with American Wagyu steak frites, mussels, and more in a chic space with turquoise banquettes, hanging plants, and exposed brick.

The James Beard Awards, Eater, Thrillist, the Detroit Free Press and more have all gushed about this modern Thai spot that started as a food truck in 2014. The restaurant grows its own produce a mile up the road for dishes like an heirloom tomato salad with chile paste and fried shallots or a killer fried chicken sandwich with papaya salad, served in a colorful, glowing dining room and outdoor patio.

James Beard Award-nominated restaurateur Sandy Levine is behind this farm-to-table favorite next to the Detroit Institute of Arts. The simple, seasonal menu at this bright green spot changes often, but don’t miss the twice-cooked egg buried in a nest of greens and showered with salty cheese—and a Chartreuse-tinted cocktail, of course.

A 2022 New York Times pick for the 50 most exciting restaurants in America, Freya is the place to be for a wildly creative fine-dining experience that feels casual and unpretentious. Executive chef Douglas Hewitt leads a super collaborative team that creates the seasonal menu in unison in the open kitchen. You might find a buñuelo dotted with caviar or lobster tangled in pea tendrils and immediately feel compelled to return so you can discover the latest adds to the menu.

"Chopped" winner Hamissi Mamba and his wife Nadia Nijimbere, both refugees from Burundi, pay tribute to the food from their homeland at this bright, community-driven East African spot. The multi-James Beard Award-nominated couple make hearty dishes like slow-simmered beef with fried plantains (nyumbani) alongside fellow refugees. Pro tip: a jar of the fiery habanero pepper hot sauce pili makes for a great memento from the meal.

This James Beard nominee for outstanding hospitality, part of the legendary Zingerman's restaurant family, has been an Ann Arbor favorite for more than two decades. Locals flock here for chef Bob Bennett's Southern food staples like buttermilk fried chicken and gumbo. Pair that with some of the best barbecue in town and a wine list picked by famed sommelier Stephen Satterfield, and you have an unforgettable meal on the books.