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Downtown Detroit

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By Downtown Detroit we are referring to the area from the Detroit River to I-75 between I-375 and M-10 (The Lodge). It is nice to tour people around because it is very walkable with plenty of places to visit. The attached map and following articles have a suggested walking tour. The People Mover is the Mass Transit in this area but it really isn't necessary to take because of all of the places that you can walk to. Here is a list of cool places by People Mover Stop:

Greektown

Even when Detroit was at its lowest, Greektown was the place to go. The two blocks on Monroe Ave between Brush St and St Antoine St features lots of restaurants and entertainment. Pagasus, Pizzapapalis, Fishbones, and Old Shillelagh have been around since the early days and are still favorites. The Greektown Casino used to be a shopping mall called Trappers Alley. There are still restaurants and shops there. Select location name below for a map.

  • Greektown Casino
    • One of three casinos in Detroit
  • Pagasus
    • This is one of the more popular places to go for Greek food and flaming cheese
  • Pizzapapalis
    • Serves Chicago style deep dish pizza
  • Fishbones
    • New Orleans Bourbon Street French Quarter feel. Great Cajun food and sushi. Large beautiful restaurant. Serves a great brunch.
  • Old Shillelagh
    • Irish Pub. Active nightclub at night
  • Loco’s Tex-Mex Grille
    • Mexican Texas food
  • Delux Lounge
    • Night club
  • The Well
    • Dive bar with dancing at night
  • Wahlburgers
    • Mark Wahlberg’s restaurant. Newer addition to Greektown
  • Lots of other restaurants and bars

Cadillac Center

This is your closest station to Campus Martius Park where they have an ice skating ring and entertainment. The Compuware Building is the center piece and has restaurants such as Texas de Brazil (Brazilian Steakhouse). It is also close to other popular restaurants.

  • The Z Lot and “The Belt”
    • These are part of the complex where Punch Bowl Social and Vicente’s are at. The Z Garage is just a parking garage but it has beautiful murals on every level. “The Belt” is a little alley alongside it that also features murals and some bars. Cool to walk through.
  • Vicente’s
    • Cuban restaurant that often has some kind of entertainment from live music to dancers.
  • The Hudson Café
    • Small restaurant that serves a great breakfast.
  • Texas de Brazil
    • Brazilian steak house. If you like meat, they serve a lot of it here.
  • Campus Martius Park
    • Ice skating ring and other entertainment.
  • Lafayette Coney Island
    • A legendary Detroit institution. When people are done drinking from a night out or from sporting events, they usually go here. The place is usually packed but you never wait long. They have serving Coney dogs down to an art form.

Broadway Street

  • Wright & Co
    • Craft cocktails and small plates in a cool atmosphere. Often hard to get a seat, so I recommend going to the bar for a nice drink and appetizer. A little tricky to find. It is on the second floor of the building. You enter through a side door that is just an entry to an elevator. One of my favorite bars.
  • Vertical Wine Bar
    • My favorite restaurant in Detroit. Great place to go for wine lovers. Great food too (small plates) in another cool atmosphere.
  • Small Plates
    • Great small plates food
  • Detroit Beer
    • Microbrewery
  • Angelina Italian Bistro
  • Bleu Detroit
    • Night club
  • Café D’Mongos Speakeasy
    • Our favorite bar in Detroit! VERY eclectic place. The place itself looks like a garage sale exploded and everything got stuck on the walls. A wide variety of people show up from what looks like college kids to their professors. The house band Carl & Co always plays music at a volume that is not too loud. They play a lot of 70’s rock. No dance floor. The owner, Larry D’Mongo, is usually there. Very nice guy and well connected. Michael Jackson once stayed at his house. One of Michael Jackson’s outfits is on the wall. Better place to go to towards the end of the night. It is not open during the day.

Grand Circus Park

The theater and sports district. Comerica Park, Ford Field, Fox Theater, The Fillmore, Opera House, Cliff Bell’s (Jazz).

  • Cliff Bell’s
    • Legendary Jazz venue. Great place to go for dinner and live music. It is a luxurious place done in mahogany and brass.
  • Fox Theater
    • This theater is absolutely beautiful inside. Mike Ilitch (just passed away) was the owner of Little Caesars and the Red Wings. He renovated and open this theater when Detroit was a waste land. It was the beginning of the turnaround of Detroit in my eyes.
  • The Fillmore
    • This is our favorite concert venue in Detroit. This theater is smaller than the Fox and not so gaudy, but still beautiful. The thing that we like most about this theater is that the theater seating was removed from the main level. The place attracts a lot of alternative music. It often serves as a large bar. Fantastic place to go for the Detroit Tigers Opening Day. Huge party!
  • Hockeytown Café
    • A bar dedicated to the Red Wings fans
  • Centaur Bar
    • Art deco Martini bar with a club feel

Financial District to Michigan Avenue

This area has some nice things, but are not extremely close to people mover stations. The main attractions by the Michigan Ave station is the Westin Book Cadillac hotel and Lafayette Coney Island. Roast is a very nice restaurant in the Book Cadillac. The Financial District is close to “The Spirit of Detroit” statue.

  • Roast
    • This is the restaurant of Food Network Iron Chef star Michael Symon’s. It is in the Book Cadillac hotel (very nice). The restaurant features a daily meat that is roasted in the restaurant. Very nice place. They have rooms for private events too.
  • 24 Grille
    • Another nice restaurant in the Book Cadillac. Not as fancy as Roast, but still very nice.
  • Lafayette Coney Island
    • A legendary Detroit institution. When people are done drinking from a night out or from sporting events, they usually go here. The place is usually packed but you never wait long. They have serving Coney dogs down to an art form.
  • Dime Store
    • This is a fantastic place to go for breakfast. This is one of those places where your servers will have tattoos and piercings. Very cool!
  • Grand Trunk Pub
    • Old train station that is now an Irish Pub and Martini bar. The building is very cool.
  • Townhouse Detroit
    • Nice all around restaurant with great food. Restaurant is on the larger size.
  • The Guardian Building
    • This building is famous for its Art Deco architecture. They give tours of this building, but they are often at odd times. If you can get a tour, take it.

 

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