Republic

Pleased as punch with this experience. It was recommended to me by a local while I was in town for Detroit Grand Prix and I'm happy I went with this selection.

It was just myself and one other and we for sure splurged on the Chef's Tasting Menu ($50/person) and it was beyond enough food. We got:
- Charcuterie
- Fingerling Potatos
- Roasted Veggies
- Spring Chicken
- Prime Rib
- Banana Coffee Cafe

And let me tell you the overall consensus was "yummy!" My favorite part was probably the dessert. It was by far the most tasty coffee ice cream I have ever had. Second would be the prime rib with the yorkshire pudding dipping sauce.

the ambience was great, the crowd was lively, our server was knowledge and pointed us in the right direction as far as cocktails. They're also very accommodating - I mentioned no mushrooms as a preference on the tasting menu and it was done & done.

I will for sure make this as a recommendation to people I know in the area.

Castle. Check. Prince Charming. Check. Amazing food. Check. Fairytales do come true!

In the heart of Detroit, Republic sits in a beautiful castle. The ambiance is upscale but relaxed. I came here during the holidays and loved the extra lights and wreaths.

The menu changes from month to month depending on the local resources. So don't be surprised if you don't find the same yelp pictures in the restaurant.

We started with with the roasted carrots with celery and pesto. Very fresh. Great course to start with. We continued with the meatballs and the poutine. Everything was an excellent choice! There is an option to do a tasting, which allows you to try multiple dishes. We wanted to try everything so next time that may be our best bet.

The drinks were great! I loved my potion #9, which changes color. Always a kid at heart!

Parking is free on Sunday, otherwise there is a lot right next to the restaurant.

I'm going to start this review by saying I was VERY excited to go to Republic. My guy and I received a gift card for X-mas and decided to use it tonight. We had a reservation but would not have needed it, the restaurant was pretty empty on a freezing, Sunday evening.

First off, it is beautiful inside - lovely and interesting looking. We were sat by a window in comfy chairs - a good start.

Our server was very polite and pleasant. We ordered cocktails - I enjoyed mine, my guy said his was just ok.

First course we had the roasted carrots. They were ok. Some were completely charred, a few were very hard, almost raw. We agreed it also needed a bit of salt. Next we had the celery root which was similar to eggplant parm. The smoky sauce tasted incredible (seriously I would buy a jar of it!) We did notice that the whole dish was served room temperature. Again, the place was pretty empty so I'm surprised the dish wasn't hot. The first disc of celery root I had was really quite good but the other one was much thicker and very hard. My knife could barely cut though it. Next we ordered two different draft beers and the server said both kegs "blew". Both?? We ordered different beer. The bartender ended up bringing my guy his original choice but told me the cider I ordered had been taken off the menu which isn't the same as the keg blowing. ???

After that my guy had the meatballs which he enjoyed. We got the beets next(I'm surprised they didn't come right after the carrots- at other small plate restaurants we have been to the food usually comes out in the progression it is on the menu or how you order it). This was the dish I was most excited for. I love beets! I did not love these beets. I tried to eat them but they were very acidic and vinegary which is not at all how they are described on the menu.

Despite the issues with dinner I was still hopeful and excited about the espresso chocolate cake with house churned vanilla ice cream and macerated berries. How good does that sound?? We waited quite a while for it to come to the table - again this seemed odd because by this point there were maybe two other tables of diners left in the restaurant. When it arrived I excitedly dug in. Sadly, it was kind of awful :( No espresso taste, no chocolate taste at all. The edges of the cake were dry and crusty, the ice cream tasted like...ice, no cream. The berries seemed to be an after-thought and didn't taste macerated at all. It was very disappointing. Our bill was $115. That is a lot of money to spend and we left feeling very underwhelmed (and I was even still feeling hungry!)

After reading so many great reviews I am left to surmise that maybe it was just an off night at Republic?? We were both left feeling ripped off (even with using a gift card) and disappointed.

Yum! Stopped by for a Friday night dinner. Before I get into the food, I have to call out how great the service is here. Not only was our server funny, personable and helpful, all the other staff was great here too! For instance, as I was pouring out the last of the water - a server practically magically appeared to hand me a new bottle. Even compared to hoity toity Beverly Hills steakhouses, the service is fantastic -- they're just so intuitive and personable here. Made for a really great dining experience.

Of course, service is only one part of the equation so let's get into the food!

We went for the $60pp let the chef cook. The dishes were amazing - my friend and I both commented on how well seasoned, balanced everything was.

The only reason why I'm giving 4 stars is because if I add up the prices of all the dishes below ($95), it's less than $60 per person. Might as well just ordered a la carte. Soooo, just order yourself & know that you can't go wrong with anything on the menu!

*House Sausage (Peppers, Polenta) - it was a housemade italian sausage and pickled hungarian peppers.The peppers were fantastic - reminded me of a banana pepper with more heat. The italian sausage also had great flavors. The polenta was fine - I'm not a big polenta fan in the first place though.

*Roasted Carrots (Cilantro Pesto, Cashew Cream - MUST GET. I've never had such delicious roasted carrots. The flavors, textures -- mamma mia! If every vegetable dish were like this, I'd go vegetarian. I know it's sounds weird that I'm gushing about carrots, but I promise it's delicious!

*Duck Breast (beets, creme fraiche) - Perfectly cooked duck breast and perfectly seasoned. I love the smoked beets on this. It was a combination of red & golden beets. The smoke was subtle but effective. Also, the color the beets were beautiful! Really adds to the visual tastiness/plating.

*Grilled Bavette Steak (black rice, fried shisito peppers, chimichurri) - This was from the Summer Bounty menu. I've typically only had black rice in dessert form, so eating this in a savory application was new to me. But, I loved the rich, nuttiness with the bright chimichurri. If I had to complain, it seems like the steak was a spectrum of doneness and we weren't asked how we'd like our steak cooked. Either way, still tender and delicious!

*Apricot Puff Pastry (poached apricot, apricot jam, housemade pff dough, corn cream) - Also from the Summer Bounty menu. This was so good! I loved that it kind of looked like an over easy egg. It read more peach than apricot to me but I loved every part of this dish especially the corn cream! So silky and luscious but light.

Also, the cocktail were fantastic as well. I went with one of the OGs at Republic -- the Half-Blind Dovetail (Reposdo Tequila, blood orange liqueur, jalapeno, ginger beer, lime). I love tequila and heat in my drinks so this was a perfect combination. It was way too easy to drink!

Republic needs to be on your restaurants-to-eat-at list!

222/365

Can't believe I haven't written a review for Republic yet! It's easily one of my favorite restaurants in Detroit. I've been several times and I haven't been disappointed in the slightest. I've been with a larger group and split multiple plates and been on a date with my husband and had my own entree and each experience has been to die for.

Most recently we came here on Valentine's Day for a lovely dinner. We kind of made a last minute call to come here and we were welcomed warmly, even though it was late in the evening. We each started with a beverage, a beer for my husband and a glass of bubbly rose for me, and a couple of appetizers and it was pitch perfect. To start, we went with the ploughman's plate (a variety of meats, cheeses, and accompaniments), and the whitefish rillette and OMG. I stuffed myself full of those and could have just eaten both of those alone for dinner and walked out ready to pen a 5 star review.

For our entrees, my husband with the lamb and it was great. I'm not always the biggest fan of lamb but this one was delicious and cooked perfectly. I went with the beef tenderloin with chanterelle mushrooms and roasted potatoes. This dish was also fantastic. The meat was perfect. PERFECT! If I'm being a bit nitpicky, it was definitely pretty meat-heavy, which like, I ordered the steak, so I'm not complaining about that. Ha. But I would have loved a bit more veggies and mushrooms on the side.

For dessert, we went with the baked chocolate mousse, which was pretty much a rich, warm chocolate pudding/brownie batter hybrid topped with cranberry jam, vanilla ice cream, and candied pistachios. Rich, not overly sweet, and the ideal warm end to the meal on a chilly winter's night.

Service can be a bit hit or miss. Like it starts off strong but once your meal has arrived it can be tough to find your waitperson, so maybe don't plan to come here if you're on a time crunch, or let them know ahead of time if you need snappier service. We weren't in a hurry so it wasn't a problem, but just a heads up if you are.

Absolutely hands down the best experience I've ever had at a restaurant. From start to finish from service to food, everything was perfection.

We did the Chefs table dinner. What an amazing foodie adventure. I don't know what some of these other reviews were talking about, saying they didn't have enough food. I felt like the fat guy in the movie Seven, were he is fed to death. I mean, without the torture part. Our table of six was more than satisfied and full to the brim by the end of the night. Food constantly brought out for us to try. I swear we must have samples most of the menu. It was glorious and I definitely recommend this place especially with friends. It's so much fun to enjoy with a small group of people.

Came here for my birthday on a Friday night. We had reservations for 8pm but didn't seem to need them necessarily as the restaurant wasn't jam-packed.

The cocktails here are *SO* good. My s.o. and I had 4 different ones and they were all amazing. My personal favorite was The Ninety Nines (gin, lavender, lemon), but also enjoyed Sonny Chiba, Oh You Devil, and Half-Blind Dovetail (the jalepeño in this one packs a punch!) Really you can't go wrong with anything that sounds good to you.

For food we had the bread and butter (VERY good, but think hard about how much you like bread and butter for $10), mushroom tempura (omg this was amazing), Okonomiyaki (a twist on the popular dish from Osaka), Sticky Ribs (wow, these were so tender and good), and the curried donuts for dessert (the coconut ice cream is not to be missed).

The bread and butter, 2 small plates, one "entree" plate, and the dessert were an appropriate amount of food for 2 people. We were satisfied but not uncomfortably full.

Excited to return someday and try more! I will dream about that gin and lavender cocktail foreverrrrr!

Popped in for a late dinner after a concert this past Friday. Found two spots at the end of the bar. I've been here once before a few years ago. Really sharp spot, dimly lit, and sort of a hodgepodge of retro/Art Deco mixed with modern industrial. Nice bar with nice spirits.

Everything was on point, reasonably priced, and delicious. Sous vide lamb sirloin and the chickpea panisse were the stars. The chickpea dish was sort of a mystery to me and the really nice bartender guy did his best to describe it but it is just such a unique and amazing dish. They were like long perfect rectangular fritters. Dense but fluffy and pretty heavy when you picked them up. Like little bricks! So light and fluffy on the inside. Really clean taste and the two sauces to dip them in were outstanding. The lamb dish was perfect. Four big pieces, a nice medium-rare of course, and it cut like butter. Under it was bed of a citrusy couscous salad, Hungarian chiles, and thinly sliced beets.

I've eaten higher end meals all over Detroit and this is one of the better ones with really good value. Looking forward to the next time!

My wife and I had a very nice anniversary dinner here! The food and drinks are great, and the location is very cool.

I ordered the half-blind dovetail cocktail, and it was very good. It had a hint of spice but not an overpowering one, and the taste was refreshing.

For food, my wife and I split the bread & butter (good, but nothing to write home about) and the house sausage (amazing!). My main meal was the sticky ribs, which were perfectly cooked and fell right off the bone! My wife had the whitefish, which she said was good.

I'm not giving it 5 stars because the waitress acted pretty annoyed when we asked to move -- they first sat us in the back corner by the window and it was *freezing*, so definitely avoid that spot. Also, the bread & butter seemed extremely overpriced -- it was okay, I guess, but it didn't really taste much different than any bread and butter you could buy at a store, so I'm not sure about the price tag.

Overall, though, it was a good experience and I'd definitely go back!

LOVE the food, LOVE the bar and bartenders but it's so loud in there all of that kind of doesn't matter. I arrived very early so waited for my friends and reservation time up at the bar. The bartenders are super educated, use house made syrups, and I wanted something off menu so I described flavors i liked and watched them create magic. It also tasted like magic. Sitting at the bar, very comfortably, I got to see what everyone was eating. I'd recommend eating at the bar and/or eating early there to avoid all the noise. A good pre-drink/pre-sport event dinner place.