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Willow

4.1 (75 reviews)
Closed 6:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)

Willow Photos

WILLOW ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Trendy
Intimate
Romantic

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Recommended Reviews - Willow

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Reviews With Photos

Seating area
Krit S.

The music was great. The drinks were incredible for the value. (I'm from Vegas where we charge double for something at this standard.) Go say hi to Dre! Definitely excellent service. The whole spots a vibe. There's a tree in the middle of the bar that makes me feel like I'm drinking in someone's backyard. Would recommend.

Menu
Tara K.

We stopped in for drinks before our dinner reservation at Lumen. First, the address on Times Square is not where you will find the entrance. Here's a tip... go to the opposite side of the building (which will be an alley, walk down the the gold door with a painted willow on it) press the doorbell and you will be let in. Kind of a cool entrance, you will be greeted and find a host stand in front of full length drapes. They will take you through the drapes into the dimly lit bar. Very moody and dark with lights here and there. There is a faux willow tree at the bar. Cozy seating areas around. I ordered the Elephant Tree cocktail that is made with gin, Italicus, lemon, mango and pineapple cordial. It was very tasty. My boyfriend ordered the Willow old fashioned, it was just ok. Honestly we all tasted it, it was weak, seemed very watered down. It arrived to the table with an attempt to make it smoked, the bartender took a disc off the top that looked like is was smoldering. The menu doesn't mention that it was smoked, I didn't taste the pecan syrup, and never noted the orange and chocolate bitters. It was very bland. Probably one of the worst old fashioneds that we've ever had. Too bad, it sounded so interesting. My sister ordered a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. The bartender/server said they were out of that wine and brought her a substitute without asking. She was being polite and took it, but she didn't like that at all. We urged her to ask for something else, they did make her a margarita, that she liked much more. My brother ordered a Jameson and ginger, but they only had Tullamore Dew, which is fine. I'm not sure if it was just an inexperienced bartender, or if they were just out of stock on things. The Old Fashioned was just not good and seemed to be missing components and arrived with the attempt at smoking it. I personally would never order a drink or food that gets smoked, so that should be noted on the menu. The decor is cute, and the place has such great potential, I think having a more experienced bartender would have made the difference in the experience for us.

Shawn S.

Cozy, quaint, and one of the best old fashioned I've had in awhile. Staff are so nice and accommodating. Perfect for date night.

Mark D.

The drinks were decent just not a big enough selection of whisky which is my favorite drink. I tried to order food but the kitchen was closed when I arrived. The service was nothing spectacular. I didn't feel comfortable with the overall experiences. The decor was on point though. Especially the Marvin Gaye artwork.

Interior
Malisa R.

Sexy and intimate speakeasy right around the corner from Savannah Blue. My husband and I accidentally found it when we were trying to find the entrance to Savannah Blue. I tried pulling the door and got a sneak peak inside when the hostess came to the door. No signage, but beautiful gold door. She helped us find our way to Savannah Blue, but we came back post dinner. Reservations recommended since the space is small and intimate, but we were able to get a table. The bartenders, waiters, and staff here are so friendly! We started off with a complimentary drink from the bartender. My husband got the 'It's a Hot Drink' and I got 'Pursue Candy.' Both were so good, but I liked my husband's drink more. It was the perfect drink for a cold ish night. We stayed the night in the city, so we wanted to bar hop. I would 100% come back here with girlfriends for a night out.

LaTina J.

I love willow. I've been twice and both times it was good, not crowded. It has a very chill vibe with great music the staff are cool and very accommodating. The drinks are good as well. I will most definitely be returning

Old fashion and shot.
Constance B.

Approach from the parking lot and knock on the metal door. You are let into a speakeasy vibe bar. Sat at the bar and had an array of drinks, several suggested by the friendly bar staff. One created a shot that very tasty, said it was his specialty. Great Detroit find!

Table and menu
Dustin M.

I absolutely loved the ambience in here! It was a bit difficult to find, but once inside we loved the decor and music. It's super small and intimate. The drinks were good, but for the price they could have been better. I can't speak for the food because we only got drinks. No complaints regarding the service.

Inside
Jenna C.

On a Saturday night, Willow was giving us all the vibes and all the swank. We did have a little trouble finding the entrance since it's all the way in the back alley behind Savannah Blue but luckily someone pointed us in the right direction. Even though we were a little early for our reservation, the hostess was able to seat us right away and we opted to sit up at the bar under the giant willow tree. Music was playing in the background, not too loud, so we were still able to easily chat over drinks. The bartender was awesome and able to make a spin on an espresso martini for my sister, which tasted fabulous. I went with The Oaxacan Club first, which was very nice if you like mezcal. I then moved to "The Goat", which was my favorite of the two - refreshing and not too sweet. My sister's second drink was Purse Candy, but we both thought it was too sweet - definitely a miss for our palates. But overall, the craft cocktail menu is innovative and fun. The only drawback is the price - they don't note them anywhere but ours were in the $16-18 range plus they added a 20% tip automatically to the bill which we would have paid anyway but was a little presumptuous in my opinion. Not a big enough deal to take away from an enjoyable evening and drinks at Willow, and I'd still recommend as one of the best speakeasies in Detroit.

Lo S.

Cute spot to grab a post dinner cocktail. A little hard to find initially - it's behind savannah blue building.

Great vibe and the Elephant Tree was amazing. Jada was wonderful. Great place and a dinner upstairs is a must as well.

Sheneka M.

The ambiance, service and music! A1!!!! Went for an evening of Deno's with my girls. Such wonderful staff and the vibe is grown and sexy!

Rodrigo T.

Speakeasy joints are something I always gravitate to. It's one of those places where whoever I brung with and I can have a nice chat and be in a relaxing atmosphere. Drinks are pretty good. I had the Breakers at Eventide which was pretty good. I actually enjoyed it. The hubby ordered a Bees Knees which was also very good as well. My only critique is that the cocktails are a little too sugar forward. We asked for a sugar free type mocktail for my mother and it was still very sugary. And the liqour selection is a bit lacking. Also the server didn't quite know what a bees knees was. A bit of knowledge about classic cocktails please. Other than that, the service was top knotch. Even though they command a high price for their cocktails. I don't mind it because it definitely weeds out the rambunctious high fiving too much testosterone boys. None of the, I just turned 21 crowds or the Bachelorette parties that are out of control. Just a great time with grown up people having grown up talks. Thank you so much for reading my review. I hope this helps with your decision making experience. Enjoy your awesome yelptastic day!!!

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Was very nice inside and the drinks were good and we had a great time! Everyone was very friendly.

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Ask the Community - Willow

Review Highlights - Willow

Highly recommend this lovely little Speakeasy in Times Square, right behind Savannah Blue.

Mentioned in 7 reviews

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Bad Luck Bar - Back bar.

Bad Luck Bar

(229 reviews)

$$$

Downtown Detroit

Hannah was such a sweet girl. So knowledgeable of the menu and also on bourbons in general. Let her…read moremake you a drink of her choice! We had 3 drinks from the menu. All were really good. It's a very small space. Back alley entrance! lol, you are going the right way down the freaky alley!

I have been here several times over the last, almost, decade since they opened and have always had…read morea good time. The cocktails can be quite pricey, but are always very good. Sometimes with unique ingredients. I always tend to gravitate to a more zippy fruit cocktail and those have often come with pop rocks, which is super fun. My significant other, during our last visit, got a smoked cocktail which was a fun experience and my sister received a miniature plate of cheese, pickles with hers. There was only a single pickle and a teeny bit of cheese, but it was kind of funny. (For the price, you would think you would get more or they would offer it as an option) The ambiance in there is always moody and romantic in a way. It can be a smidge hard to see the menus depending on where you sit. The place is quite small, we have sat along the back and at the bar, both are nice locations with different vibes. The service is always good, sometimes you have a very talkative bartender and other times they don't say a word, but I'm sure they are all very knowledgeable. It's a bit of a hidden gem, some people that I talk to still don't know it's secretly waiting for them in a mildly sketchy downtown city alley. Part of its appeal!

Willow - cocktailbars - Updated May 2026

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