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    El Barzon

    4.0 (611 reviews)
    ModerateItalian, Mexican
    Closed 5:00 pm - 8:00 PM

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    EL BARZON ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - El Barzon

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    Keith And Teresa B.

    We went here in November of 2025 with 2 other couples. Everything was amazing! The food, the vibe, the staff . . . . best night out in a long time. Can't wait to go back.

    Ha N.

    Service: very attentive waiter Food: delicious! We started with the mixed calamari, shrimp, zucchini and peppers appetizer which was AMAZING. I had the halibut special which was soooo good. The fish was cooked perfect, broccollini was nice and crisp, plus the scallops potatoes were buttery delicious. I had a taste of the Kiss and the Vodka Pasta which were very good. Drinks were also on point. Ambiance: ok, so neighborhood seems a bit sketch but they had a semi private lot in the back which was totally safe. The interior was dark and a bit dated. Gave me the grotto vibes. But the food was a good selection of Mexican and Italian. I went in thinking I was going to go Mexican but ended up with an Italian dish. Go figure.

    Mushroom risotto
    Victoria S.

    The Gnocchi Alla Bava and Kiss Pasta are must trys! I'm not sure what magic they use to make these dishes, but on the first tries for both, our entire table erupted in, "ooohs" and "omg this is so good"! We had reservations around 8pm for a table of 12 people and were seated immediately. While their sister restaurant was packed, El Barzon had more openings and we enjoyed the quiet setting. Our table also got their steak special, and the meat was extremely soft and juicy. After everyone got a hefty share, there was still a decent amount left, so they definitely don't skimp on portion sizes! I didn't get a picture of all of the apps, but the calamari was yummy, broccolini had a nice snap to it, and the Italian sausage with peppers were also a crowd favorite. Highly recommend!

    Kiss Pasta
    Ned I.

    El Barzon is both an Italian and Mexican restaurant. The service has always been exceptional in the 10+ years I've been dining here. Meals begin with complimentary chips and salsa, while bread and butter is served with appetizers. The salsas are better than the average Mexican restaurant's, and chip baskets get replenished free of charge. If you plan on drinking, I recommend reviewing the margarita menu. As for appetizers, both the insalata caesar (caesar salad) and calamari La Noria are worth getting. I could distinctively taste the anchovy in the caesar salad, but it wasn't overbearing by any means. The croutons tasted fresh and weren't overly dry or crunchy. I initially questioned why arugula was a part of the calamari La Noria, but it ended up being a nice touch. The pennette (penne) alla vodka is the best I've been able to find locally. The kiss pasta is also incredible, but is quite pricey ($33) for a pasta dish. I didn't dislike the scaloppine (veal) alla Frances, but it's my least favorite dish I've had here. The costolette di vitello (veal chop) alla Milanese is the better veal dish between the two, but is more than double the price. My most recent experience at El Barzon was in celebration of my wife and I's anniversary. The staff was kind enough to surprise us with a complimentary "happy anniversary" dessert. The dessert was flan, and it was delightful. However, it was the staff going the extra mile for us I appreciated more than anything. El Barzon successfully pulls off the combination of Italian and Mexican cuisines, and offers a worthwhile dining experience.

    Enchiladas Suiza
    Henry Z.

    Nice upscaled dining experience. Waiters and hosts were very friendly. The margherita pizza was light and the crust was perfect. The enchiladas were very rich in flavor

    Asparagi alle parmigiana
    Madison D.

    Service is very kind and attentive. Menu is very large. Fusion of Latin and Italian dishes. I wish I could say the food was better, but most of our items came out room temperature. We ordered multiple small plates to share. The rice and beans were lacking in flavors. The calamari, asparagus and chorizo queso were all cold. Inside the restaurant is nice. There are many tables but you will want to make a reservation. I would give it another try as a date night.

    Isabella J.

    El Barzon and La Noria share menus, so you can enjoy both Mexican and Italian dishes in one spot love that concept! The patio is the place to be, as most people prefer it over indoor seating. Good food, fair prices, friendly service, and plenty of free parking in the back.

    Enchiladas de Mole Poblano
    Greg G.

    From outside the front you would never expect what a hidden gem this place is. In the front, it looks like every other older spot in Mexican Town Detroit. However, when you enter the giant decorative metal gate in the back, it is beautiful. This place was packed with people enjoying the outdoor dining space. El Barzon is a Mexican and Italian restaurant with options for everyone. This is not an American style Mexican, it is incredibly authentic. I ordered the Mole Enchiladas with chicken. My wife got a Margarita pizza from their wood fire oven (only available on weekends). Our table had some calamari, courtesy of the owner. The Enchiladas de pollo Mole were incredible. The mole takes them days to make and it is so deep with flavor. It is sweet, tangy, and spicy. The chicken just fell apart and it was a perfect portion. I couldn't get enough of the sauce. My wife's margarita pizza was also amazing. It was perfectly crispy, but still floppy where it needed. The wood fire oven sets it on top. Would definitely recommend trying it on a weekend. This place is a hidden, but not so hidden gem. From the service, to the food, to the beautiful patio, this place delivers. Next time you are downtown, check it out.

    Phil M.

    6 of us had dinner at El Barzon on Mother's Day evening. The place was absolutely packed. We ate inside the restaurant, but they have a covered outdoor section that was very nice. Our waiter, Cesar, stopped by and immediately apologized (even though we had only sat down 3 minutes prior) and took our drink orders. My wife and others were very impressed with the Italian Margarita and the Strawberry Jalapeño Margarita. He quickly brought chips and salsa (really good) and Italian bread and butter. For our meals, I had the Saltimbocca Alla Romana and was blown away. Absolutely amazing flavor! 2 people got the enchilada - both said it was the best they had ever had Honey Mustard Salmon - Loved it / extremely good Scaloppine Alla Toscana - Incredibly good A pasta dish that I don't remember the name, but it was very flavorful! The portions of veal were fairly small, but potatoes and spinach came with our meals so it was enough. A big thank you to Cesar. He was an amazing waiter and truly busted his butt that evening. A definitely favorite of ours. Definitely an odd combination (Italian and Mexican), but I highly recommend it! There is a small parking lot behind the restaurant as well.

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    9 months ago

    The food - the service - the outside garden - all was so very nice. We will be back soon!

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    7 months ago

    Tried their seafood special and it was amazing! Everything tasted fresh, and the portions were perfect. Staff were super kind too

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    5 months ago

    Excellent food, attentive and knowledgeable waitstaff. The cactus soup was outstanding.

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    Ottava Via - RAGOUT ALLA BOLOGNESE

    Ottava Via

    4.2(1.1k reviews)
    2.3 miCorktown
    $$

    Came here to celebrate a friend's birthday. They don't do walk ins, but despite it being a Saturday…read morenight, we were able to get a table for 8 within minutes. The restaurant has a good amount of seating. Our server was fantastic, answering all of our questions about drinks, features, and soup of the day. All of the staff were very friendly, saying hello and asking how we were. I ordered the virgin fresh fruit smash to drink, and it was refreshing. I thought the NA champagne added a nice touch. I was happy with this selection as good mocktails are sometimes hard to find and are generally more basic. The food here is excellent! We decided to get some small plates to share. We went with the bread service and the bread was light and fluffy and came with a whipped butter that melted in nicely. We also ordered the arancini because who doesn't love a good fried rice ball and they were delicious. My friends and I also shared the Caesar salad, which came with anchovy and a breaded hard boiled egg. I loved the savory flavor these ingredients added. For my main I had the feature, which was rainbow trout with a creamy sauce paired with fingerling potatoes and asparagus. This dish was phenomenal! The portion was big and the fish was light. I loved the crispy skin on it. My friend was celebrating her birthday, so they brought out a cannoli for her for dessert!

    It was lively an loud on a Saturday night. Portions were large. The food was tasty but they…read morerelied heavily on salt and oil for effect, which made for a fun time but left us feeling greasy and puffy. The waitress asked my husband 3 times if he wanted a third beer. Who did she think was driving home and why so pushy? Broccolini - nicely cooked, buried in cheese, a spicy aioli-type topping. Branzino - tasty, overly salted and oiled Cacio e Pepe - bucatini was a bit overcooked. Not enough pepper!

    Photos
    Ottava Via - Merry Christmas!

    Merry Christmas!

    Ottava Via - Tuscan potatoes

    Tuscan potatoes

    Ottava Via - Virgin Fresh Fruit Smash

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    Virgin Fresh Fruit Smash

    SheWolf Pastificio & Bar

    SheWolf Pastificio & Bar

    4.3(601 reviews)
    2.7 miCass Corridor, Midtown
    $$$$

    We made reservations a few weeks prior online. Got seated quickly. Our waitress was so friendly and…read morehelpful and so was the sommelier. Cool restaurant with a central bar, and bathroom was decorated cute! Cocktails were good- had the violets turning violet and it was kinda like a whiskey sour- very tasty. And the wine was really good. Got a mix of lots of food- it was all DELICIOUS! Our waitress was really helpful with pointing out what options had dairy or not. Some of the standouts were the carpaccio- was so good with parm and crispy capers, the cappelletti alle fave- my husband said it was so creamy, the fried artichokes, and scallops- they did half of them in a nondairy sauce to accommodate. The dessert was soooo good- we had the torta di cioccolato- it had chocolate cake and balsamic strawberries and a toasted meringue- I would come back just for that dessert.

    Great place to bring back fond memories of Rome! We started with the chick pea pancakes, secondi…read morewas the Amatriciano pasta (pasta perfectly el denti and right flavor), main dishes we had fish and scallops. The scallops were the star of the evening - well so was the pasta. Warning only 3 scallops but they were best I have ever eaten. The whole fish was great too. Do not shy away from the sautéd kale with the fish, it was FANTASTIC! We had the fried artichokes for a veggie! GREAT! Cocktails the aperol spritz and my wife had one with basil. Both very good. I had the one with compari too but I did not like it. Ambiance was updated casual and fun. Service top notch - compliments to Kaylee. Chef, the chickpea pancake should be thinner. Great dish but pancakes was too dry. Suggestion: make sure you order the rosemary bread for the table! It is to die for! We will be back and highly recommend SheWild!

    Photos
    SheWolf Pastificio & Bar - Bar

    Bar

    SheWolf Pastificio & Bar - These pretty little pastas were made to look like candy caramels. They had chestnut filling and brown butter & sage sauce and were so good!

    These pretty little pastas were made to look like candy caramels. They had chestnut filling and brown butter & sage sauce and were so good!

    SheWolf Pastificio & Bar - SheWolf interior

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    SheWolf interior

    Oak & Reel - Crostini- FABULOUS!

    Oak & Reel

    4.5(313 reviews)
    3.6 mi
    $$$

    Wow - what a beautiful restaurant and delicious food. After this Sunday meal, we already booked…read moreanother reservation to try the Chef's Tasting menu. If everything is as good as what we ordered this time, I can't wait to try more! Firstly, the natural lighting in here is just fantastic, and I really like the layout - you have a bit more space than some of the other downtown restaurants, and it's fairly quiet. Nice cozy booth seating as well as chairs. The gated parking lot is also a huge plus downtown and service was absolutely excellent. We came on a Sunday to try their all day happy hour, and it did not disappoint. $2 oysters meant that we ordered 2 dozen, and while the east coast varieties tend to be our favorite, their west coast selection was also top notch. Just lovely, salty, briny fresh oysters with a great mignonette. We also both ordered dirty martinis, and they're perfect for $8. We also had the focaccia which comes with this amazing tomato pesto - it tasted like pizza concentrated into a sauce. Yum! And the focaccia is perfect - the kind of bread that makes you remember why bread is so good. Pillowy and soft inside, toasted crispy outside; an amazing app. For dinner, we had the squid ink and seafood pasta, the wild striped bass and the lamb. Everything was absolutely so delicious and perfectly cooked. They split the pasta for us, which was very nice, and I just can't get over the delicious unique flavor of that dish. Outstanding. This pasta is the kind of pasta you want to order when you go out. Lots of yummy seafood, perfectly seasoned al dente pasta, savory sauce. The bass was the most perfectly cooked piece of fish I've had in a long time - crispy skin, tender moist flesh, buttery sauce. And lastly, I was super impressed with the lamb - it was tender yet crispy on the edges, savory and satisfying. If a seafood restaurant is doing lamb this well, I've got to see what else they have to offer. Can't wait to try the tasting menu. Even hubby was impressed and had zero complaints about anything, and he's tough to please. What a gem of a restaurant.

    Yelp considers 3-Stars to be Okay. This visit was a bit better than just okay, but not worthy of…read morefour stars. We arrived at 6:24 for a 6:30 resv and were immediately seated. My first impression: Noisy! Lots of hard surfaces. Difficult to hear the hostess, server and my wife. The tables were appropriately spaced for diners and servers to work with no bump & grind. We started by sharing a dozen oysters and the pear/walnuts salad. The oysters were a bit small-ish; but otherwise, excellent. Server took a drink order from my wife, but skipped me. Eh? I flagged down another server to order a Pino. It took a surprisingly long time to arrive. On the plus side, I was offered a taste to insure it was satisfactory - it was. The pear salad w/walnuts was excellent. The pears were sliced paper-thin. One of the joys of eating a properly ripened pear is the juicy explosion and thinly sliced pears defeat the juicy explosion. If the pears were fully ripe, perhaps cube them? Weirdly; the two sides (mushrooms, potatoes) were served before the entrees. The server noticed, seemed surprised and withdrew the sides, returning with our entrees (lamb shoulder, steak). Then the side returned. Both entrees were warm-ish and the sides were hot. The 14-day, dry-aged steak was ordered medium-rare and was seasoned and prepared as ordered. Again; warm-ish, not hot. I expected better beefy flavor for a dry-aged steak. One end was a bit chewy. Tenderness improved as I got to the other end of the steak. I ordered it with horseradish. I will admit to being a weirdo who loves spicy horseradish (and wasabi) that will clean the sinuses - this was "Ohio-spice'd" horseradish ... not creamy, but less spicy than Arby's Horsey sauce. The mushroom and the potato sides were served hot from the kitchen. Both were excellent, no complaints. The presentation of the steak needs improvement. It was a properly prepared, lonely lump of brown, served on a white plate with cracked ceramic glaze. The lamb shoulder was the better entree. For some reason, my wife was expecting Middle Eastern seasoning. The menu did not mention Middle Eastern seasoning and she did not ask, so that's on her, not the kitchen. I thought it was excellent. Gripe: After the entrees arrived, our server did not return to ask if the entrees were satisfactory. She did return later to ask if we wanted a second round of drinks. We did ... We were offered dessert and ordered, but never asked if we wanted coffee or an after dinner drink. Both desserts were excellent. Will we return? Probably ... not. With tip; dinner for two was $286. At this price point I expect better: Less noise, better beef and flawless service.

    Photos
    Oak & Reel - Oak & Reel interior

    Oak & Reel interior

    Oak & Reel - Rosemary focaccia

    Rosemary focaccia

    Oak & Reel - Octopus

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    Octopus

    Cibo Detroit - Welcome to Cibo!

    Cibo Detroit

    4.4(257 reviews)
    2.9 miDowntown Detroit
    $$$
    Locally owned & operated
    Luxury

    A friend came to visit my wife and I and stayed at the hotel connected to this restaurant. We had a…read morefun day in Detroit and apparently due to some mishap earlier in the day, the hotel gave him some food credit for this restaurant. Let me say, this was such a fun experience, great company, great food and great service. Cibo Detroit has such an amazing vibe, well lit, bringing in a peaceful but fun energy and great art decor, making it feel very upscale. The food matched the ambience, everything was delicious. The brussel sprouts had the perfect amount of char, the steak was very tender. This is definitely a place we'd go back to at some point!

    First time trying Cibo! The ambiance is warm, open and inviting. We had a reservation and was sat…read moreright away. We came around 5pm so it was still during their new happy hour (4-6, M-F) we ordered some cocktails which were tasty. Cocktails were all $12 during happy hour. We also got two apps from the HH menu, and one app from the regular menu. The pizza tasted like it came from a pizza oven which was great, the palomino dip was rich with flavor, and the shrimp had a great flavor to them. For entrees we got the salmon, meatball, and crab orchettie, probably spelled wrong lol all had good flavor. The polenta with the meat ball was a bit flavorless but over all good. When our bill came we noticed there was 15% gratuity already added and a 5% "service fee" also noticed the HH prices weren't applied. Our waitress did fix it quickly, which was appreciated. Overall a good dinner and will be back to try the brunch.

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    Cibo Detroit
    Cibo Detroit
    Cibo Detroit - Pomegranate ribs and fried Brussels

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    Pomegranate ribs and fried Brussels

    La Lanterna - Fiorentino with Pepperoni

    La Lanterna

    4.2(371 reviews)
    3.2 miDowntown Detroit
    $$

    We were visiting Detroit for the weekend, and we gave this place a shot since we were in the mood…read morefor Italian. Super glad we did! It's a smaller restaurant, but they make efficient use of the space by utilizing the bar and pizza area for seating. Upon getting there, we were greeted by extremely friendly staff. They did not have any tables available, but they would soon. They told us to walk around, and they would call us. They did, and we had a table within 30 minutes. Every bite of food we ate was divine! The limoncello wings were some of the best wings I have had. I usually don't get excited over calamari, but this calamari was fantastic. Our entrees were extremely delicious. What is not pictured is the octopus appetizer that my son got. Holy moly this was one of the best things we ordered!! I highly recommend this place and will be back on my next visit to Detroit!

    Stumbled into La Lanterna after checking into my hotel on a Friday afternoon while in town for an…read moreevent. I just wanted a quick lunch before heading out later and ended up having a great experience. The bar was pretty lively for a Friday afternoon, even before work officially ended, but I was still able to snag a seat. The staff was super friendly, which made it even better. I ordered the vodka chicken parm along with a drink special since happy hour was just starting. The portion was massive, easily one of the biggest chicken parms I've had, and it came with a full serving of spaghetti. For around $25, the value was excellent. Super filling and really well done. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area. Great Italian food and great value.

    Photos
    La Lanterna
    La Lanterna - Lombardi Pizza with Mushrooms in half

    Lombardi Pizza with Mushrooms in half

    La Lanterna

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    El Barzon - italian - Updated May 2026

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