Here are the 12 hottest restaurants in metro Detroit right now

King’s Bakery

It's hard to imagine making improvements to the classic shawarma, but King's did just that by adding a layer of cheese and wrapping it up in manoush, a Lebanaese flatbread. In short, King's makes delicious cheesy shawarma in better bread.

Find King’s Bakery here.

King’s Bakery

It's hard to imagine making improvements to the classic shawarma, but King's did just that by adding a layer of cheese and wrapping it up in manoush, a Lebanaese flatbread. In short, King's makes delicious cheesy shawarma in better bread.

Find King’s Bakery here.

La Noria

The second restaurant from El Barzon’s owners brings Detroit more-than-excellent takes on traditional tacos and pizzas. But it also offers new-for-Detroit flavors like the chapulin pizza (topped with sauteed grasshoppers) and tacos arabes, a type of taco native to the central Mexico’s Arabic population that melds the best of Arabic and Mexican cuisine. A must visit. Photo via Facebook.

Find La Noria here

La Noria

The second restaurant from El Barzon’s owners brings Detroit more-than-excellent takes on traditional tacos and pizzas. But it also offers new-for-Detroit flavors like the chapulin pizza (topped with sauteed grasshoppers) and tacos arabes, a type of taco native to the central Mexico’s Arabic population that melds the best of Arabic and Mexican cuisine. A must visit. Photo via Facebook.

Find La Noria here

LoLo Potluck

Want a break from the usual Lebanese fare that we categorize as “Mediterranean?” Try LoLo’s Egyptian cuisine. Among the best dishes is mahshy, a common, colorful Egyptian plate that's similar to grape leaves. But Lolo replaces the grape leave wraps with cabbage, eggplant, or green pepper. The wraps are then stuffed with a super fragrant, red mix of rice, tomatoes, onions, parsley, dill, and cilantro, along with a hit cumin.

Find LoLo Potluck here.

LoLo Potluck

Want a break from the usual Lebanese fare that we categorize as “Mediterranean?” Try LoLo’s Egyptian cuisine. Among the best dishes is mahshy, a common, colorful Egyptian plate that's similar to grape leaves. But Lolo replaces the grape leave wraps with cabbage, eggplant, or green pepper. The wraps are then stuffed with a super fragrant, red mix of rice, tomatoes, onions, parsley, dill, and cilantro, along with a hit cumin.

Find LoLo Potluck here.

Noodletopia

Chinese noodlemaker Noodletopia pulls all its noodles in house and is truly a noodle paradise. But the star of the lineup of entrees is the Sichuan noodles. The dish's noodles are long, firm, chewy, and carry the dressing well, and the balance between the aromatics, sugar, black vinegar, chili oil, ground pork, and Sichuan peppercorns is just right.

Find Noodletopia here.

Noodletopia

Chinese noodlemaker Noodletopia pulls all its noodles in house and is truly a noodle paradise. But the star of the lineup of entrees is the Sichuan noodles. The dish's noodles are long, firm, chewy, and carry the dressing well, and the balance between the aromatics, sugar, black vinegar, chili oil, ground pork, and Sichuan peppercorns is just right. Photo via Instagram.

Find Noodletopia here.

Culantro

Ferndale’s new Peruvian restaurant is quickly becoming a hit with dishes like aji de gallina — a slightly spicy chicken and rice dish that's yellow from the use of Peruvian aji amarillo chili peppers, and "rich from the unusual cream sauce made with ground walnuts." Culantro doesn't serve booze, but mixes awesome drinks like the chicha morada, a "sangria-like mocktail" made purple from the use of dried Peruvian corn. Get there! Courtesy photo.

Find Culantro here.

Culantro

Ferndale’s new Peruvian restaurant is quickly becoming a hit with dishes like aji de gallina — a slightly spicy chicken and rice dish that's yellow from the use of Peruvian aji amarillo chili peppers, and "rich from the unusual cream sauce made with ground walnuts." Culantro doesn't serve booze, but mixes awesome drinks like the chicha morada, a "sangria-like mocktail" made purple from dried Peruvian corn. Get there! Courtesy photo.

Find Culantro here.

Standard Bistro and Larder

Yes, it’s near Ann Arbor, so it’s not exactly in metro Detroit. But we couldn’t resist including the new Julia Child-inspired French restaurant by chef Alex Young, a James Beard Award winner who recently left Zingerman’s Roadhouse to open his own shop. Southeast Michigan is short on excellent French cuisine and has very few James Beard Award-winning chefs in its ranks, so this is an especially exciting combination.

Courtesy photo.

Find Standard Larder and Bistro here

Standard Bistro and Larder

Yes, it’s near Ann Arbor, so it’s not exactly in metro Detroit. But we couldn’t resist including the new Julia Child-inspired French restaurant by chef Alex Young, a James Beard Award winner who recently left Zingerman’s Roadhouse to open his own shop. Southeast Michigan is short on excellent French cuisine and has very few James Beard Award-winning chefs in its ranks, so this is an especially exciting combination.

Courtesy photo.

Find Standard Larder and Bistro here

FOLK Detroit

Corktown’s newest, cutest cafe offers excellent coffee from Hyperion and seasonal hash, breakfast plates, biscuit sandwiches, house made granola, wholesome salads, meat pies and family meal specials based on the owners' global travels and family recipes.

Find FOLK here.

FOLK Detroit

Corktown’s newest, cutest cafe offers excellent coffee from Hyperion and seasonal hash, breakfast plates, biscuit sandwiches, house made granola, wholesome salads, meat pies and family meal specials based on the owners' global travels and family recipes.

Find FOLK here.

Lovers Only

This new, hip downtown Detroit burger restaurant is a product of the team that brought you Ferndale’s well-loved Voyager seafood restaurant. Turns out they’re as skilled on land as they are at sea, and they developed a menu of “burgers and sandwiches that draw from the chefs’ rich culinary experience — as well as family memories — to create a menu that not only delivers deliciousness, but a story as well."

Photo via Instagram.

Find Lovers Only here

Lovers Only

This new, hip downtown Detroit burger restaurant is a product of the team that brought you Ferndale’s well-loved Voyager seafood restaurant. Turns out they’re as skilled on land as they are at sea, and they developed a menu of “burgers and sandwiches that draw from the chefs’ rich culinary experience — as well as family memories — to create a menu that not only delivers deliciousness, but a story as well."

Photo via Instagram.

Find Lovers Only here

Prince’s Bakery

One of the best dishes at Princes — one of Dearborn’s best Lebanese bakeries — is the sfeeha. The mini beef pies are a small, nearly pyramid-shaped pastry that cradle a big, red Lebanese meatball. Prince's packs the tender minced meat with plenty of sauteed onion, garlic, tomatoes, and a seven-spice blend of salt, black pepper, cardamom, and more. Like a lot of Lebanese meat, it's a slightly sweet but mostly savory package, and it's more moist at Prince's because of the quick trip through the its super hot oven.

Prince’s Bakery

One of the best dishes at Princes, one of Dearborn’s best Lebanese bakeries, is the sfeeha. The mini beef pies are a small, nearly pyramid-shaped pastry that cradle a big, red Lebanese meatball. Prince's packs the tender minced meat with plenty of sauteed onion, garlic, tomatoes, and a seven-spice blend of salt, black pepper, cardamom, and more. Like a lot of Lebanese meat, it's a slightly sweet but mostly savory package, and it's more moist at Prince's because of the quick trip through the its super hot oven.

Lumen

Lumen has one Detroit’s best patios and views as it looks across the newly built Beacon Park and downtown’s cityscape. But the real attraction at this futuristic-looking restaurant is the beer and food, as the folks who brought you Griffin Claw Brewing are behind the concept. Think prosciutto mac and cheese, pan-seared salmon with chimichurri, and PEI mussels with white wine and chorizo.

Find Lumen here.

Lumen

Lumen has one Detroit’s best patios and views as it looks across the newly built Beacon Park and downtown’s cityscape. But the real attraction at this futuristic-looking restaurant is the beer and food, as the folks who brought you Griffin Claw Brewing are behind the concept. Think prosciutto mac and cheese, pan-seared salmon with chimichurri, and PEI mussels with white wine and chorizo.

Find Lumen here.