Sadly Boodles missed the mark on almost every level. We made reservations for Saturday night in mid…read moreJanuary. Since this was our first visit we didn't know what to expect but the reviews looked good. We arrived to a packed house and I was surprised how small and crammed it was inside. Dumpy is tree he word is use to describe the inside. Peeling paint and stained ceilings. Ventilation system look like it was straight out of the 70s and never maintained since then. I never thought I'd have to worry about Legionnaires disease but this is the place that stuff like that starts in. Tired, old and dingy inside. I'm not opposed to dive bars and restaurants, in fact I love them but Boodles paints themselves as upscale dining with prices to support that. It's anything but. The tables are crammed very close together and you can't help but bump into the people dining next to you to get to your table. I've been in small, intimate restaurants before with the same type of tight configurations but this was almost ridiculous. We ordered a round of drinks. A Cosmopolitan for me and an Old Fashioned for the boyfriend. The people next to us had a group of 6 and they mentioned they have been waiting for almost 2 1/2 hours for their main course. That was another bad sign. Our drinks arrived and were very lackluster. All you could taste was booze which isn't a bad thing if you were ordering it straight or just on the rocks but a steakhouse like Boodles should know how to make a quality Cosmo and Old Fashioned. We ordered the bread service which doesn't come with dinner and was an additional $6. Nothing to write home about even though they claim it's their homemade sourdough. Personally I didn't feel it was worth six dollars. We each got a Caesar salad and while the salad was a nice portion it was lacking in flavor and very little dressing. We waited for our waitress to come and check on us to ask for a side of additional dressing but she never came around. We ate the salad and finished our round of drinks. I was already skeptical on ordering a main course because everything up until this point had been a miss. Against my better judgment I ordered their signature item: Steak Diane prepared table side. My boyfriend ordered the 16 ounce ribeye. Both entrées come with a side of their lyonnaise potatoes. While we waited for our entrées we each ordered a glass of the house Cabernet. They do give a generous pour so that was a plus. After waiting almost an hour they started to prepare the Steak Diane. It was cool to watch them prepare it table side and after waiting almost an hour I was happily hungry with anticipation. I wish I could say it was halfway decent but it was overcooked. I ordered my steak medium rare in hopes that if it does come out a little more than medium rare it's still pink and flavorful. It was grey inside with no pink at all. Even the sauce it was cooked and was devoid of flavor. How is it possible with all the butter and the garlic they were using it was still lackluster? My boyfriend did say his steak was cooked perfectly medium rare and was excellent. The lyonnaise potatoes were also tasty. This was the best part of the entire dining experience other than leaving. After our waitress came back to check on us I told her I was not happy with my main course and that I would like to send it back. She asked if I wanted something else and I said no thank you I'll just take the check. They did take my steak off the bill since I had only tried one bite. My boyfriend had his steak packaged up to go. We just wanted to get out of there at that point. What was surprising is nobody seemed to care or even inquire what they could do better to improve the situation. Every staff member we encountered was very nonplus which makes me think this is not an isolated incident. After paying our bill we walked by a group of people coming in for dinner. They asked us how everything was and I said well we are leaving and if you leave now you can save yourself three hours of your time only to be disappointed.

Delicious Artic Char topped worth 3 grilled shrimp, sautéed spinach, rice. Great cocktails!read more

This place is a must-try! The restaurant offers a non-pretentious atmosphere while delivery food…read morefit for a seemingly fancier place. To start, the Amaro Soda ($6) offers a nonalcoholic, botanical sparkling beverage perfect for a hot day! The Wagu Beef Carpaccio ($24) is almost melt-in-your-mouth tender and perfect for sharing. If you are a bread lover, order the Sourdough Bread & Butter ($6). It is definitely carb-worthy!! Moving on to main dishes, I had the Risotto ($27) and my husband had the Paccheri ($34). The risotto was cooked to perfection and topped with a delightful roasted tomato/olive medley. My husband's meal was fabulous--I believe I will order it the next time O visit. Dessert? We opted to share one scoop of the Lime-Cucumber-Mint Sorbet ($7). This is a dairy-free option, so the texture is slightly grainy compared to ice cream, but the flavor was perfect for summer. The staff members were pleasant and knowledgeable, our water glasses never were empty, and the food was spaced perfectly. We will be back!

Food: you should start with the sourdough bread and butter, it is excellent. Follow it up with the…read morepork belly(the white beans were as good as the pork). And get the calamari, the frise and endive salad sort of dwarfed the calamari but it all tasted pretty good. I got the ricotta gnocchi, this was by far the best bite I had here. The burger looked and tasted good but the fries were even better! Decent drink selection as well. Service: friendly, prompt and they make good recommendations. Ambiance: I've never been to Italy so I'm just pretending this is what a small restaurant in Italy might feel like. Definitely worth a visit!

Great service sitting at the bar for an early afternoon brunch on a Saturday! Drinks were…read morewell-made and the food was delicious. Good portion of shrimp in the appetizer spicy Shrimp and the dressing on the mixed greens served under the shrimp is to-die-for! I wanted a bowl to take home. Lol Great spot in downtown ferndale. Will be back!

Did I hate it? Nah. Did I love it? Nah…read more Chic, cozy and clean. Service was good. Cocktails were average. Food was ok. Recommend the beignets. Do NOT recommend the shrimp and grits. Guessing it was just the wrong choice since it looks like the french toast is what they are known for. I'd only go back to see if they are anything to write about. But other than that, can check it off the list as been there, done it.

My wife and I were in Ferndale for a meeting and decided to have an impromptu dinner date. Since…read moreneither of us had been to Barrel House before, we thought we'd give it a try--and we're so glad we did. We entered through the back entrance and were immediately greeted with a warm welcome. We quickly found a table for two, and our server was attentive from the start, bringing water right away, answering our questions, and walking us through the wine and beer selections. My wife ordered the Beet & Salmon Salad, while I chose the Crispy Chicken Club with white cheddar and house-smoked bacon. The sandwich was absolutely incredible--hands down the best crispy chicken club I've ever had. The chicken was perfectly crispy, and the combination of flavors was outstanding. I also stole a few bites of my wife's salad and was pleasantly surprised by the yellow beets. I'd only ever had red beets before, and both varieties were prepared beautifully. The salmon was cooked to perfection and paired wonderfully with the fresh ingredients. Between the excellent food, welcoming atmosphere, and friendly service, this turned out to be one of the best impromptu dinner dates we've had in quite some time. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience and are already looking forward to returning to explore more of the menu. Highly Recommend!

Recently went to attend a meetup here. Had to wait around 30 minutes as a huge party was clearing…read moreout. The inside is no frills but service was excellent with our waitress handling multiple checks. My jerk chicken dish over rice was a bit dry and too mildly spiced for my liking. The sesame wings were delicious. Beer selection was superb. Very casual vibe with ok food. Recommend $$

What a cute little eatery and gift shop! Amy needed a card for Jacob's birthday and knew this was…read morethe perfect place to find it. I was along for the ride, but had fun picking out cards. Their selection was unique, ranging from heartwarming to laugh out loud funny to slightly snarky. We went with slightly snarky, got a side eye, and overall it was well received. I wandered about snapping photos and never saw a soul that asked if I wanted to be seated. Even at the front. It was a bit eerie. It was a good thing though because we just finished eating elsewhere and we're full as ticks. When it came time to check out a customer service rep appeared out of nowhere and we were good to go. We passed a pile of dirty dishes on the way out, so there must have been customers and staff ... somewhere.

While visiting Troy MI, we researched/looked for a place nearby that we've never tried. Decided on…read moreThree Cats, and were so pleasantly surprised at its' goodness...from food to decor/atmosphere, to service! What a fun spot! So good that we brought our MI friends (who'd never even heard of it) and their family two days later! If you go, check out their Leon and Lulu, the most interestingly unique shop you'll ever want to see! Let the pictures speak for themselves!

Best By far!! My husbands choice for his Fathers Day dinner (lucky us)…read more We all enjoyed those crazy delicious burgers, fries (we got regular and sweet potato) and the beet salad. And that house made carrot cake!!! Shhhh- don't tell anyone how good it is. When it's gone, it's gone. Our waitress was hustling and was great! We drive 10 miles just to get the best burgers and food in the Detroit area. Please Coach, keep up the GREAT job and realize you're doing everything right!!

A group of us gathered here recently as one of our friends recommended it. One thing to remember is…read morethat it is primarily sports bar food! So with in mind I guess it deserves a 4. Their burgers I've been told are excellent! My antipasto salad was good but I would've liked a better Italian dressing and would've liked to have been told in advance that they charged you for an additional dressing! Had I known that I would've just ordered ranch (safer bet). I do feel they need a bit better ventilation system as I hate leaving smelling of greasy food! Also, their vegetarian options are very limited as they cook with beef tallow. I'd possibly go back to try their burger or get the antipasto salad again! Service: 3.5 Food: 4 Value: 4 Atmosphere: 4

It's been about a year since I've been here and the concept of this place still just blows my mind…read more It runs very well, and pretty much no staff. The business model is genius. A hostess who takes your money and gives you a bracelet, automated beer, and you use your phone to order from the kitchen, they text you and you go get your food. I wondered many times how they could serve alcohol and not monitor how much people were drinking? So I asked. The host is in the front said at the end of 32 oz is your bracelet will not work and you need to come up and see me to reset it. I guess that's how they would monitor whether or not someone could get another 32 oz? I'm surprised not more places have copied their business layout. With the new generation, this would be the place to go, you barely have to speak to anyone except for the people you're with.

North End Taproom is a great addition to downtown Royal Oak!…read more This self serving bar is a brilliant idea and top notch implementation. They have simple pricing per ounce, a self serve with wristband model, and don't accept tips. Also, there was a great variety of Michigan beer, cider, and wine to taste. It was so nice to get up and pour our own drinks throughout. The food menu was small but mighty. My group has never been disappointed by a food order here yet! My go to are the fish tacos. They were delicious and fresh. As for the sides, both the fries and chips are a knock out! To top it all off, this place has games! There was a variety of card and board games. My group ended up with Codenames; a classic. RUN don't walk to North End Taproom!!!

Crab cakes, salmon and lobster/shrimp pad Thai were wonderful! $20 steak empanadas were very…read moredisappointing. Expensive but for a special occasion, worth it. I am a very picky cook.

I love how crafted everything was! It has a very interesting and dark ambience…read more The food was good and came out fast. Our server was great. I had some kind of lamb ratatouille and chicken biryani. I also had the "Weight's Temptation" Cointreau, Rosemary infused Mezcal, Lime juice, Salt rim My friend had the ginger kombucha mule & he really liked it. I can't say I had a very memorable experience or that the food was to die for but it is a cute date night spot or somewhere to go if you really enjoy crafted cocktails.

My friend heard about The Oak Parker from another friend, so we decided to give it a try and now I…read moretotally understand the hype. Walking in, there was very limited seating and about an hour wait, which clearly showed how popular this spot is. Thankfully, the hostess told us about their basement bar area where you can grab drinks and snacks while waiting. The downstairs area had such a cool speakeasy vibe dark ambiance, vinyl music playing, and honestly the perfect date night atmosphere. The drinks were REALLY good, and you can also order appetizers down there. Once we made it upstairs, we grabbed bar seating and talked to a few people around us who all said this was their favorite spot. Our bartender was amazing -- super attentive, explained the menu well, and gave great recommendations. We ordered the wings (perfectly seasoned and so good) and the chicken sandwich with buffalo added for a little spice... absolutely delicious. I also tried the pistachio martini, and wow definitely one of my favorite drinks I've had in a while. Overall, such a great experience from the atmosphere to the food and service. I'll definitely be back, and I've already been telling all my friends about this place!

If a NYC deli and a South Bay beach bar had a baby....it would be an Oak Parker! Little bit of…read moreSouthern Cal chill, little bit of NYC attitude. As others have said, it is always busy here and the parking lot is tiny (and very tight). I knew I was in the right place when they had a whole section of the cocktail list dedicated to margaritas. Mango margarita is my favorite adult beverage and they make a great one here. I was skeptical about the pastrami sandwich, but it blew us away. This masterpiece could hold its own against any famous deli anywhere. It is piled high with thick cut pastrami. Perfectly tender, perfectly seasoned. Shoutout to the homemade potato chips and garlicky dill pickle it is served with. Looking forward to coming back to check out the downstairs vinyl room and make our way through the menu.

Had heard great things about this one since some time and was finally able to get to it. They do a…read morevegan month special all through the month of August because the produce is fresh and flavorful at this time of the year. They had 4 different menus for each week and I happened to try their 1st and last week's menu which we loved so much. Service was excellent as they were very well versed with the variety they were serving, it was a 6-7 course tasting style. They even packed up the leftovers themselves which was very helpful. A special mention to their non alcoholic beverage pairing they were promoting with the food tasting menu. While I chose wine from the ala carte section, I saw on other tables those beverages which I would like to try next time for sure. All items were amazing, summer melon salad being my favorite that had melon, cucumbers, mint, cheese(?), coconut milk, roasted nuts and basil at the minimum that I want to recreate again

I'm not vegan, but I really enjoyed the vegan food tasting! Everything was fresh, flavorful,…read morebeautifully put together, and made to order. Each dish had so many layers of flavor and ingredients, and the staff took the time to explain every course, which made the experience even better. The drinks were delicious and well made, the staff was amazing, friendly, attentive and very knowledgeable about the food and ingredients. The atmosphere was clean and inviting and the music added a nice vibe without taking away from the experience. Even as a non-vegan, I was impressed with how tasty some of the dishes were and satisfying everything was. Definitely a great experience and a fun way to explore vegan food!