Review of Three Great Mexican Restaurants in Detroit, Michigan
Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails is located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. The owners, Doug Hewitt and Sandy Levine, opened their restaurant in 2015.
Doug, a native of Michigan, got his start in the restaurant industry at the age of 14 and eventually went on to graduate from School Craft College with a degree in culinary arts. After working for several acclaimed restaurants, he decided he wanted to open a restaurant of his own. The Detroit Free Press named Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails restaurant of the year in 2016.
Sandy started working in his grandparent’s restaurant when he was 11. He would stand glass racks in order to reach the dishwashing table. He continued to work in restaurants all over the area while he was in high school and college. Sandy opened his first restaurant, The Oakland Art Novelty Company which was a speakeasy-style cocktail bar in 2011.
Their menu changes daily based on the availability and seasonality of fresh local ingredients. From Fried Green Tomatoes to Grilled Squid there is sure to something for everyone to enjoy. Is it any wonder they have a four-point-seven-star rating on the internet with well over 650 reviews?
Located in the Cass Corridor of Detroit, Michigan is La Feria Spanish Tapas. It is owned by three lifelong friends, Nami Khalil, Elias Kahlil and Pilar Baron-Hidalgo. They had spent some time in Spain and fell in love with not only the area and feel but the food as well.
Spain has a weeklong party called Feria de abril. The air is filled with Flamenco while the women wear colorful dresses. There is the enticing odor of orange blossoms as well as the aroma of food where the kitchens sell their paella, tortillas and pesciato frito.
The three friends decided to create their own La Feria and started have an annual party in their own backyards. As the years went by, the crowd grew bigger and bigger. Eventually, with the encouragement of family and friends, they finally opened La Feria Spanish Tapas in October of 2013.
In December of 2018, they opened Cata Vino Mercado and Wine Bar which is located in the space next to La Feria. They have over eight hundred reviews on the world wide web giving them a strong four-point-six-star rating.
Located across the border in Windsor, Ontario is Palenque. It is about 5.1 miles from downtown Detroit, Michigan. The owner and chef, Francois Ivan Dominguez, was born and raised in Mexico and came to the United States when he was 18.
His passion for food began at a young age when he would help his grandmother in the kitchen. When he came to the United States, he worked at various top-rated restaurants honing his cooking skills and putting on catering events for elite clients.
As the years passed, Francois dreamed of opening a true Mexican restaurant of his own. He finally realized his dream when he opened Palenque on December 10th, 2011. His book of recipes have the traditional foundation that his grandmother taught him.
He has a four-point-six-star rating with over four hundred positive posts on the interweb. Just imagine how wonderful his Chiles en Nogada or Chilies Rellenos are.