Rodin Bar & Restaurant

Previous reviewer should wait til the restaurant opens fully on 12÷12÷12. Not fair to judge on Noël night which was 2 weeks before their official opening. I was privileged to be part of the REAL soft opening last weekend and marveled at the various fabulous food entrees our entire table ordered. Everything was a cooked perfectly, a wonderful medley of flavors and taste sensations! A Great DJ with an eclectic mix of music — all dance-​able! Will be my go-​to place when I need to hit the D for a night out!

Waiter serving all the bar and house tried to cover for ineptitude of kitchen and management but couldn’t come close to pulling it off. Food was ok but half the dishes delivered cold or wrong and sent back. Would not come here again.

Was here in July and had a wonderful meal and experience. Something has completely changed and I will never return. The waitstaff was completely rude and the meal was horrible. We waited for our meal over 45 minutes and the waiter seemed completely oblivious to this even after we pointed it out to him. When the food arrived-​all at one time-​it was cold and soggy. My advice –Rodin better look into quality control or fire the chef and staff who were there last night. If they continue down the path they were on last night they won’t last long. Too many good choices in Detroit to put up with that experience!

Although it’s a little on the pricey side, ($ 10-​$ 13 for a smallish salad, $ 15-​$ 20 an entrée) both the Breakfast salad and the Rodin salad were absolutely delicious and dressed perfectly. I went for lunch today, but will return for dinner, as their entrée selections are quite interesting and different. Their special sandwich today was a lamb blt, for example.
The décor is beautiful; large windows, high, lofty ceilings, and lots of great art on the walls. Dinner after the DIA, seeing as it’s right across the street, would be a great date idea.

I’ve been here twice. 1) Friday dinner before a concert in July and then again 2) on a Wednesday for Detroit’s 312 birthday party /​fundraiser for Forward Arts.
1) Had a reservation at 6:30pm before an 8pm concert. Less than half full, and were sat immediately. Several tables came in after us, which overwhelmed the short staff. We ordered and received our meals at 7:45pm. Ridiculous. One apology, and no offer of discount for the inconvenience.
The food was a little salty, but overall nice. If I wasn’t so annoyed by the wait, and the assumption that it was ok not to give us options when the staff was informed that we had an 8pm concert, I would have remembered what we ordered.
2) Stopped by for the event with a bubbly crowd. Enjoyed a festive (and decently priced) cocktail. In addition, there was a Couchsurfing and French Meetup event. Had a GREAT time chatting up all sorts of cool, diverse folks. Professionals, artists, any sort of folk just dressed up to be on the town. Had the beef and brie sandwich. It ended up being a good quality hamburger patty with loads of brie. Tasty and heavy, but not unexpected.
Socially, this place is great, the food is unique for Detroit, and the décor and layout is very cool. I dig what Tanya has done here, but needs to be staffed better. Ambiance vs. Cost value vs. Potential is high.
Since it’s Detroit, PLEASE come here so I can come back to say it’s improved!

I didn’t receive ½ my order and waited 45 minutes for my drink. I was nice about it and didn’t complain, knowing I wouldn’t be back. There are so many other great establishments in Detroit who want my money.

I am so sad and disappointed that Rodin wasn’t better. :(
DECOR: I read another review that said it looks like they ran out of money and left it unfurnished. Sadly, I think it’s true. The space is huge, and it could’ve been so much, but it sadly isn’t.
SERVICE: there was no hostess when we arrived to an empty restaurant at 10pm. I wasn’t very happy with that, but our waiter was prompt with his service, the kitchen staff was accommodating (I needed a cooked chicken breast w/​no seasoning for my dog, and although I caught them giving me funny looks, they obliged. side note: the funny look wasn’t offensive at all, I would’ve done the same! HAHAHA.)
FOOD: mehhhhhhhh. I went to France. And this is not French food. This is someone’s take on French food. So I’d say it’s French-​INSPIRED American cuisine, just don’t think it’s French food, like I was led to believe.
— Fish & chips: TINY, ITSY BITSY portion. Seriously. Someone said 2 – 3 oz of salmon, and I think they’re correct. It literally was like 2.5″ long, maybe 2″ wide… it was tiiiiiiiiny. Don’t expect normal fish & chips. This is like cooked salmon on top of some mashed (but then «fried») potatoes. You will not be full off of this.
— Fried chicken: I got a tiny wing, a tiny drumstick (maybe ¾ the size of a KFC drumstick), and a tiny piece of god knows what else. I think that Rodin buys midget chickens and cooks them.seriously.
— Pomme frites: soooo good! Curly fries w/​some AMAZING aioli.
— Coffee beignets: my first time eating beignets! They were pretty good, but I couldn’t taste the coffee flavor. Not a big deal bc I’m not a fan of the coffee taste anyways.
Over all, Rodin really has the potential to be great. I’d invest in some more/​better décor, maybe reduce prices in half for happy hour (but keep portions the same bc they’re honestly TINY), or double portion sizes. I’m still shocked that the portion sizes are this small… and for the «meh» taste of the entrees I tried, they should either up the portion size or reduce prices. Dinner was about $ 70 – 80 for 2 people who left with empty stomachs… not worth it.

Food was alright. I had the fish and chips and was very excited. It is not your traditional fried fish. The flavors just seemed rather muted. The chicken fried duck was a little bit more tasteful.
Our service was poor. There were only 4 tables of people and she rushed our entire meal. The table next to us was get top notch service from another server so I knew that it had to be our waitress. She didn’t explain or recommend anything. She rushed us through our bread appetizer and immediately brought out our entrees.

Wow… surprisingly bad. The breakfast salad was very good, the fish and chips were ok, but everything else we had (4 of us) was just bad… fries were covered in a unnecessary breading, soup was chunky and was supposed to be smooth, cauliflower salad was a hot salad saturated in dressing. Too bad. Wine was very good, on the other hand!

I took a friend out to lunch, excited to have a ‘nice’ place right near Wayne. We were one of two occupied tables on a Friday.
Pretty disappointing experience. Stars for nice setting, wonderful breads and one interesting dish. We ordered the $ 3 bread and butter that came with 3 very large portions of 3 different blended butters. In retrospect this was a crazy choice. I think an entire stick of butter went into the portions. The blend with a blue cheese and caramelized onions was delicious but eating of stick of butter as an appetizer is a bad idea so we just tasted a bit.
The lunch prices are $ 1 cheaper than the dinner selections for the same thing. We had the ‘fish and chips’ — a riff on fish and chips, and the upscale grilled cheese with tomato soup. The fish and chips was a layered presentation with a fairly small 2 – 3 ounce? portion of salmon– but done perfectly. The chips were smashed deep and then deep fried. There were many other things on top, including julienned peppers and lemon peel. Unfortunately, the waitress didn’t know what the things were (if this were food network mystery diners– she’d have been in trouble– she should know).
The grilled cheese was presented to us burned black. How could the chef, and then the waitress not see that they were bringing out burned food? No excuse for that. Of course they re-​did it, but I was kind of offended that someone would even try to serve it to me and see if I just took it as it was. Once re-​done, it was tasty and on wonderful bread. The tomato soup was ridiculous. It tasted like nothing more than a can of pureed tomatoes. Not a spice in it– not even salt and pepper. No onions, cream, milk– nothing at all to alter it from what comes out of can. (might have been made from fresh tomatoes, but even so– nothing else). Wasn’t even worth dipping the g.c. into. They took one of our two soups off the bill when we spoke up.
Overall, it is a heavy menu– not really appealing for a lunch time. I’ll check back in a few months and see how it looks.

Ugh. I can’t stand Unilocal reviews that base the rating of a place on the opening night and complain that its too busy. Or say things like «to be fair, I never even ate there.» There’s nothing fair about that, you’re just a moron.
This is why, when a new place opens I always give it some time to get on it’s feet. My rating is based on the food, the service and the overall value of the place.
Four of us stopped in last week for dinner, and the experience was, in a word, fanfuckingtastic. We had the steak balls, the messy lamb, the fish & chips, the duck salad and a couple other things. They were all spectacular with an interesting and fun play on classic French fare. The service was courteous and attentive without being stuffy or pushy. My friends and I commented that it was seemingly too cheap, for how excellent the whole meal was. It blows my mind that people think this place is expensive… It’s priced far less than any other restaurant of it’s caliber (and there are only a few) in the city.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve been in, but it was the first time I had a full meal here, and this has immediately become one of my «go to» dinner spots in Detroit.
Also, the wine list is fantastic, concise and accessible with an emphasis on traditionally made old-​world wines. And I don’t think there is a wine on there for over $ 50.
A welcome and needed addition to the Detroit fine-​dining scene.

I, like everyone else, was thrilled a new restaurant was opening in Midtown. Which is why I was so disappointed that I was so disappointed. The menu is deceptive: $ 14 for a salmon dish? Sign me up! You realize though that the portions are appetizer-​size. You’re definitely not getting what may seem like a deal. Given my cognitive dissonance, I thought, «so they’re going for tapas style (even though it’s a French restaurant); that’s cool.» However, my partner and I agreed that the menu is way too limited, if that’s what they’re going for. You would order half the menu in one meal. Not a place you’d want to visit frequently!
Unfortunately, the food was not especially good. I won’t say it was bad, but we weren’t thrilled by any of the dishes we tasted.
Why 1 star? I value service, and Rodin had some of the worst service I’ve experienced in Detroit. The servers were actively rude. I asked the waitress for her recommendation and some information about two wines, and she responded starkly, «I don’t know.» No offer to ask the bartender or manager. Just stood there staring at me. She proceeded to be cold and uncaring the entire night. We witnessed similar incidents with other staff and neighboring tables. Customers asked for more information or recommendations and were quickly shut down.
A final straw: the wines by the glass were glaringly limited. I believe there were only three reds available, and they were out of one. My partner ordered a mixed drink and was disappointed. So, disappointing food, drinks, and most of all, service. We won’t be back.

Went for happy hour with friends and everyone had delicious drinks. Maple popcorn was a little difficult to eat — sticky! — but worth eating with a fork. (Points for creativity on the popcorn options.) Some other reviews complain that things are overpriced, but I think it’s actually somewhat reasonable for the quality of food you receive. It’s not huge meal, so if you’re looking to fill up, this might not be the place.
I appreciate a small, focused menu with twists on traditional French fare. The décor leaves a little to be desired — there’s a difference between industrial and unfinished — but not to the point it’s distracting. Actually, for a party or an event, it would be a great space to rent out.
Synopsis: Not life changing, but definitely worth a visit.

Very well priced. Nice wall art, very local and artsy midtown appeal. Nice night addition to midtown life. Haven’t tried the food but considering how long my drinks took I may be waiting… a while. I’m pleased with staff friendliness and assistance. The vibe was very chic and cool but not hipster ish. I’m ready for this to be a consistent spot on my hangout list.

I love to swing by here after visiting the DIA. It is within walking distance (two blocks over in fact) and it is a perfect cherry on top of the day.
Once inside the French inspired motif, cement floors, green and white painted columns & art, create an atmosphere that feels like an extension of the DIA, around the large bar lining the left side of the establishment.
We started with some Popcorn which was seasoned with Truffle oil & bacon. It was quite delicious, but a little messy, it should come with wet naps and maybe a bib, I have issues.
Sloppy Lamb (braised lamb shoulder) was wonderful, normally a stew, it is served on a plate (ah, the French).
Smores for dessert. Just do it.
I love coffee and when a French press used it produces a wonderful cup of joe in it’s most uncomplicated form. I enjoyed a few cups to help offset the food coma I felt approaching.
It had a small selection but I was able to find a wine from where my brother-​in-​law was raised in France and it was excellent, (write me if you want to know the region)
Calling it grilled cheese feels like I am insulting it, because it is nothing like what momma used to make and the soup it comes with is perfect for dipping. If only momma bear was there to cut off the crust.
To Recap
The Good: A limited menu, but a ton of wonderful items to enjoy. I am sure it will hate the term, but a true Gastro-​pub. Great service, inspired cuisine and laid back atmosphere.
The Bad: Nothing pops out, parking isn’t great, but that is true for most of the city to me.
The Band This Restaurant Most Resembles: Alex Beaupain, French & Fun.

Due to the incredibly unprofessional and irascible owner, I will never again go to this restaurant or any other restaurant owned by Torya Blanchard (she also owns Good Girls Go To Paris). Friday night she assaulted a customer who was walking out the door after the customer accidentally bumped in to her hostess stand. She shoved her in the back when the customer wasn’t looking and then ran away into the restaurant like a scared child. She seems to be more concerned with getting drunk and doing god knows what else at her restaurant than making sure it is being well-​run. It was a pretty disturbing experience. Stay far far away.

A++ service, cool artsy/​industrial décor, creative drinks, pricey
Came in late on a Wednesday night and seated myself up at the bar… from beginning to end the bar staff were great… really hard working/​friendly/​attentive got-​their-​shit-​together type folk… treated me like a king… watched them handle super shitty/​arrogant/​sloppy customers with aplomb… a la donna summer, they work hard for the $$$…
Helped myself to some of the cocktails off their drink list — was really taken by the creativity of their concoctions… they’re inventive but classic-​styled drinks… many small variations on recognizable favorites… and they make them well… like your drinks sweet n fruity? check out what they can do with Chambord… miraculous! like ‘em stiff and bitter? look for the Aperol or Benedictine drinks… also fantastic… i like what this bar is up to…
old jazz crooners singing in the background, the décor was full of art that was as appealing/​interesting as you’d want for a restaurant, i kind of found the open ceilings/​red curtains/​giant movie prints/​expressionist portraits to all be endearing… suited me just fine… maybe it’s the concrete floors/​pillars that do leave a slightly cold/​austere impression… i was there with only a few others in the space and i wonder how the mood shifts when it’s full of bodies… otherwise, i’ll say the fonts on the menu are kinda rad… (i wasn’t hungry enough to try any food this time around, nor did the descriptions bowl my curiosity over), but continuing with the commendable, the candles are charming, i love that they’ve literally MAPPED out their wine selection using a chalk-​drawn outline of France above the bar, and their plastic garnish picks are about as aesthetic as they come… very cool attention to detail all around… bravo!
prices are a little steep (for me), though I’ll say that they’re well within the «new normal» for the detroit bar surge of late… i remember not so many years ago when Atlas Global Bistro was serving up the best cocktail you could get in the city at that time, and at $ 9 a pop, it seemed a little extravagant… funny how these days $ 9 a cocktail kinda leans on the lower end of the spectrum relative to most new DTW bars… mais c’est la vie! i don’t knock it, just notice it… it’d be nice if Cass Ave would keep up with the explosion of new fancy bars by bringing in equally new but more trashy/​low-​brow beer/​cocktail lists… a little balance is all… some equilibrium…
in the meantime, i’ll definitely be back to Rodin sooner or later to try their food and maybe some of their wines… though it’s really their cocktail list/​bar staff that won me over on first impressions…

I’ve been anticipating the opening of Roodin for some time, and I’m pleased to report that it did not disappoint. The vibe is a little cold, but in a loft/​art space type of way, so it’s acceptable and very Detroit. There is plenty of local art, mostly for sale, and some nice little décor touches that are vaguely reminiscent of a vintage French boudoir. The music was good, and although not blasting from a major system, the sound radiated pleasantly. Overall, I liked the feel.
The staff were super friendly, and unlike another reviewer, I had no problem that the owner did not approach us to ask what type of experience we were having. It’s just not that type of place, I only have that happen occasionally and mostly at finer dining spots.
The menu is small, and to me, that’s a great sign. We ordered: The Ham and Cheese (their charcuterie and cheese plate), the Ravioli, the Warm Cauliflower Salad, and the Chicken Wings. The charcuterie was okay, nothing mind-​blowing or super unique. The cheeses were fresh, and varied. I do wish the server would have given an explanation of what they were though, despite my cheese savvy, I like to know for sure. The Ravioli were pretty tasty– seemingly dusted and pan fried, they were warm and crispy, filled with brie and topped with a light creamy sauce, and sauteed greens. The warm cauliflower salad was great. I tend to compare all cauliflower to the life-​altering version served at Roast, and this variation was nearly as good. It comes in a little dish, well-​roasted and served with mint, capers and a light, tangy sauce. The star of the meal were the chicken wings. They were slathered in an insanely delish coq au vin style sauce, which was genius.
Please keep in mind, these are very small plates. If you equate a good meal with quantity, this is not your spot. Also, there was no mention of purveyors or sources so while the food is great, I can’t speak to the actual quality. Overall, I truly enjoyed my visit to Rodin, I hope you do also!

Surprisingly good food: the fried ravioli was decadent and tomato bisque was excellent as well! While the menu was limited, it had a range of vegetarian options.
Disappointingly, the staff was unresponsive (texting in front of customers, and by the time they came to take our dessert order we’d lost interest) and rather inexperienced. More worrying was the lack of care in the kitchen, with the chef popping things back in the pan after they fell out onto the counter, and long-​haired bar-​staff going in to work at the stove without washing their hands for food preparation.
Good music and a nice concept we hope they grow into!

We were very excited to try this new place on their Grand Opening… I started to loose the excitement shortly after we sat down. The hostess was friendly, but the menus (drinks, wine and food) were slim and selective. From the items we order, we struck-​out, two out of three… oh well. My vodka soda was served without vodka, (someone else also order the same and theirs tasted fine.)
The DJ had some good tunes, but to my surprise, the owner never came over to tables and make sure anyone was enjoying themselves, she greeted her friends and danced with them so we know at least they had fun. Also, there was a man holding a dog at the bar, maybe he was served a doggie cocktail in a bowl?
Once I corrected the waitress on our bill (I was charged for an item they were out of) we were more than ready to go. For $ 50 we hardly enjoyed 3 drinks, some deli meat and cheese and two bowls of soup.
I really don’t like to complain, EVER, only if its warranted. As a former business owner myself, I found the place to be unorganized, unfinished and unprepared. Or maybe I should throw the cares to the wind and just dance! (like the owner)