Detroit soul food restaurants

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Detroit's soul food restaurant scene is one of the most distinctive expressions of the city's African American cultural heritage, shaped by generations of migration, community resilience, and culinary creativity. The beloved flavors of soul food were brought to Detroit mainly during the Great Migration of the 1940s and 50s, when hundreds of thousands of Detroiters immigrated from the deep South in search of a better life, and many of those arrivals went on to start businesses selling their unique family recipes, creating a legacy of soul food restaurants in the city. Today, Detroit's soul food landscape ranges from long-standing neighborhood anchors to award-winning modern dining rooms, each carrying forward dishes and traditions rooted in the African American experience. Detroit has long been a city where soul food isn't just a meal — it's a tradition, and the city is home to some of the best soul food restaurants in the country, from slow-smoked barbecue to perfectly fried catfish and rich, comforting sides like mac and cheese, candied yams, and collard greens.

Historical Background

Soul food spread throughout the United States when African Americans from the South moved to major cities across the country during the Great Migration, bringing with them the foods and traditions of the Southern United States, where they had been enslaved. The Great Migration is generally understood as a significant period in Black American history between 1916 and 1970, during which over six million African Americans relocated from the rural South to urban centers in the North and West, a movement that reshaped demographics, cultures, and food. In the South, Black people relied on agricultural practices, and the era's cuisine reflected how they created cultural meals with what they had; staples such as cornbread, collard greens, black-eyed peas, and smoked meats were passed down through generations, embodying the community's resilience and ingenuity amid hardship.

Millions of African Americans moved from the rural South to the industrial North during the early to mid-20th century, seeking economic opportunity and an escape from Jim Crow laws, bringing their culinary traditions with them — though those traditions adapted to new ingredients and different social contexts — and soul food restaurants emerged as community hubs, offering a taste of home and a place for gathering.

From the 1940s, soul food restaurants appeared in every large American city with a sizeable Black population and began to attract a diverse clientele. In Detroit, the growth of the automotive industry drew enormous numbers of Black Southern migrants to the Midwest, particularly in the postwar boom years, and the kitchens and restaurants they built became cornerstones of neighborhoods across the city. The concept of soul food evolved from describing the food of enslaved people in the South, to being taken up as a primary source of pride in the African American community even in the North, including in cities such as Detroit.

Landmark and Long-Standing Establishments

Several of Detroit's soul food restaurants have achieved institutional status, operating for multiple decades and earning loyalties that span generations.

Steve's Soul Food is considered the city's most legendary example. In a category all its own, Steve's Soul Food has been open for nearly four decades, and is described as the most legendary soul food restaurant with a rich history and legacy; while the pandemic shut the restaurant down for nearly two years, it has returned to the delight of all. Operated by Steven Radden, the restaurant is located at 1440 Franklin St. in Detroit and also operates a couple of food trucks that can occasionally be spotted around town.

Bert's Marketplace, situated in the heart of Eastern Market, is another foundational institution. Bert Dearing Jr. opened the Marketplace in 1987, and he comes from a family of entrepreneurs — his grandfather owned grocery stores on Detroit's east side where Dearing would work as a youth; after graduating high school, Dearing enlisted in the U.S. Army before bringing those values back to his community. When you enter from Russell Street, Bert's Marketplace in Eastern Market looks like a standard restaurant with an adjacent bar, but as you go deeper into the 24,000-square-foot complex, you come across a huge venue and stage. While the Marketplace is welcoming to everyone, Dearing has immense pride for African American contributions to the city; one of the main attractions are two vibrant, hallway-length murals painted by Curtis Lewis that cover Black history in Detroit, from the Black Bottom neighborhood where Dearing grew up to important figures in entertainment, sports, and civil rights. Bert's hosts jazz performances every Thursday and Friday, blues on Saturday nights, and an open mic night on Sundays, with the menu paying homage to music legends with dishes like the "Aretha Franklin World Famous Fried Chicken" served with two sides and cornbread, and the "John Coltrane Beef," offering braised bone-in short ribs.

Flood's Bar & Grille, located at 731 St. Antoine in downtown Detroit, has been part of the city's soul food fabric since the Reagan era. Flood's Bar & Grill has been serving up some of the city's best drinks and soul food since 1987. As far as the food goes, the fried lobster is a crowd-pleaser and comes with a delectable butter sauce, and all meals come with two sides including the classic "Big 3": mac & cheese, collard greens, and candied yams.

Cornbread Restaurant & Bar (formerly known as Beans & Cornbread) has been another enduring presence. Since 1997, Cornbread Restaurant & Bar has been serving award-winning soul food, now enhanced with a full-service bar in its new location, with a menu boasting Southern classics like fried chicken and waffles, smothered pork chops, and down-home catfish, with vegetarian options available. This award-winning soul food restaurant fuses southern roots with an epicurean influence in traditional favorites and low-country cuisine, and GQ even named it one of America's "new classic" restaurants. A unique offering is their "History in a Box" shoebox lunches, inspired by the Jim Crow era when African Americans packed meals in shoeboxes during travel due to segregation — an initiative that honors the resilience of past generations while educating diners about a significant aspect of Black history.

Contemporary Soul Food Scene

Detroit's modern soul food scene reflects broader national trends toward health-conscious cooking, culinary fusion, and community investment, while maintaining the traditions that define the cuisine.

Detroit Soul, founded by brothers Jerome Brown and Samuel VanBuren, exemplifies a contemporary approach to the tradition. The first Detroit Soul restaurant, which was open for carry-out and catering, was launched by brothers Jerome Brown and Samuel VanBuren in 2015 on Eight Mile Road. The brothers used southern-style recipes from their family to create and develop their menu, remembering how, as kids, they had seen how their family was bonded by food and wanted to bring those feelings back to Detroit. VanBuren took their family recipes and put a healthier twist on them: "We are staying away from the fat-back, salt pork, and lard and reengineering our items to a healthier option, so that the outcome isn't bad on our health." After launching the carryout spot in 2015, the business opened a sit-down restaurant in 2022. The restaurant's stated mission connects food directly to the history of Black migration. The owners give a nod to the Green Book and to Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, about the Great Migration that brought Black people to Detroit, and describe themselves as "sharing the food that helped us survive the decimations of desegregation, Devil's Night, and the Detroit auto industry."

SavannahBlue offers a more upscale take on the tradition. SavannahBlue is a stylish restaurant in Detroit that offers contemporary soul food and sophisticated cocktails; opened in 2016, the cozy upstairs space features a dinner menu with classic comfort and soul food options prepared in Detroit style. SavannahBlue in Downtown Detroit masterfully blends "southern flavors with Detroit style" to create a unique dining experience, and the restaurant is celebrated for its Contemporary Northern Soul dishes, with reviewers praising the oxtails, shrimp and grits, and salmon/shrimp jambalaya.

Faustina's Creole & Soulfood brings a Gulf Coast influence to Detroit's scene. Chef Anthony Faustina, inspired by his late father, Lenardo Faustina III — an esteemed international chef — brings authentic Creole and soul food to Detroit; the menu features traditional flavors alongside Creole specialties like shrimp and beef jambalaya and Moonie's jerk chicken, with dishes named after family members; Chef Anthony's culinary expertise has attracted numerous celebrities, including Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder.

Motor City Soul Food operates several locations across the metro area. With food set up buffet style behind steamy glass, Motor City Soul Food is a Detroit favorite; the Seven Mile location is the original and some say the best tasting, and the macaroni and cheese is considered some of the best in the city.

Fusion and Innovation

Some Detroit soul food establishments have expanded the definition of the genre, drawing on the city's unique multicultural demographics to produce new culinary hybrids.

Soulfood Shawarma Bistro stands as a striking example of Detroit's multicultural culinary fusion. The Soulfood Shawarma Bistro uniquely blends Detroit's rich culinary traditions by combining classic soul food with Middle Eastern influences, with their signature Soul Food Shawarma featuring grilled chicken paired with black-eyed peas, collard greens, and rice, wrapped in traditional flatbread. Another standout is the Seafood Shawarma, which includes lobster, crab, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, celery, scallions, dill, and basil, while the bistro also offers traditional soul food staples such as fried chicken, BBQ pork ribs, fried fish, collard greens, cornbread, and grits.

Fixins Soul Kitchen, which opened in Detroit's Paradise Valley district in 2024, represents a national soul food brand's investment in the city. Fixins Soul Kitchen is at 1435 Randolph St. in the city's Paradise Valley area; owner Kevin Johnson is a former NBA standout who also served as mayor of Sacramento, California; the menu includes chicken and waffles, oxtails, shrimp and grits, and deep-fried deviled eggs, with recipes coming from Johnson's grandmother, Gladys; and the name of the restaurant comes from the side dishes that go with the entrees, like collard greens, candied yams and macaroni and cheese. The 8,000-square-foot Detroit restaurant is Fixins' largest location to date and is designed to reflect the cultural heritage of the city, with walls adorned with artifacts and photographs of musical icons such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin, and a spacious dining area featuring exposed brick and nearly floor-to-ceiling windows that can accommodate over 200 guests. The history of Paradise Valley and Black Bottom is one of both triumph and loss; in its heyday, Paradise Valley thrived with Black-owned nightclubs, law firms, and businesses that created an economic and cultural ecosystem, with renowned venues like the Paradise Theatre hosting legendary musicians like Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, but the Urban Renewal Program of the late 1950s, followed by the construction of the Chrysler Freeway in the 1960s, led to the displacement of many residents and the dismantling of those culturally vibrant neighborhoods.

Plant-Based and Health-Conscious Soul Food

A significant development in Detroit's soul food scene has been the growth of plant-based alternatives that preserve the flavors and cultural meaning of the cuisine while addressing health concerns common in the community.

Detroit Vegan Soul pioneered this category in Detroit. In 2012, Erika Boyd partnered with Kirsten Ussery to co-create the Detroit Vegan Soul restaurant brand, and in 2013 they opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Detroit's historic West Village neighborhood. From her grandmother, a gifted and talented cook with Georgian roots, Erika Boyd learned to prepare soul food dishes; her father was co-owner and cook at a popular lunchtime café which served comfort food and operated in Downtown Detroit's Book Tower building for several years. Detroit Vegan Soul has spread its influence as a founding member of FoodLab Detroit, a community of food entrepreneurs aiming to make healthy food in the city a sustainable reality, committing to social and environmental policies by partnering with local producers for high-quality, Michigan-made bread, tofu, and tempeh to strengthen and unite the Detroit food economy. PETA gave Detroit Vegan Soul the number one spot on a list of best vegan soul food restaurants across the country.

More recently, health-conscious contemporary cooks have broadly sought to limit the use of animal fat and salt in soul food, especially in light of the prevalence of high blood pressure and diabetes in the African American community. Restaurants like Detroit Soul have joined Detroit Vegan Soul in reformulating traditional recipes, taking family recipes and putting a healthier twist on them by steering away from fat-back, salt pork, and lard and reengineering items to a healthier option.

References

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