Detroit: Restaurant Spotlight - Leila

It’s Friday, my favorite day when it comes to food, which means it is time for this week's Fun Food Friday. Almost everyone I know enjoys good Mediterranean food. I know Teresa and I sure do. Most of the time we will go to one of our local restaurants, like The House of Falafel or Alloush Grill, which are 2 of our favorites. However, there is a place in Detroit that has been on our radar for the past couple of years and we were finally able to get there for dinner.

Leila is an upscale Middle Eastern / Lebanese restaurant located 1245 Griswold between State St. and Grand River near Capital Park. We had seen and heard many good things about Leila, which opened in October of 2019. It was voted restaurant of the year by the Free Press in 2020. It doesn’t have a big sign, so it can be easily missed. The only sign was the name in the front window.

When it comes to middle eastern food, I am a huge fan. I love a good chicken shawarma sandwich (Bucharest Grill), some tasty falafel (House of Falafel has the best) or just hummus and bread (the hummus from Alloush Grill is amazing). Very few places have Kibbeh the way I was introduced to it growing up. Every Christmas we would go to my Uncle Tom and Aunt Barb’s, and she made the best baked Kibbeh and occasionally Kibbeh Niyee (raw Kibbeh). Her baked Kibbeh was never dry (she made the best hushawa) which is my biggest complaint whenever I try it at other places.

Leila’s atmosphere is upbeat, not stuffy and the space is open and airy. We sat at the bar (which is our favorite place to sit anywhere we go), and we ordered a variety of food to share. We started with Kibbeh Niyee and Fried Haloumi (a middle eastern cheese originating in Cyprus which is just east of Lebanon and Syria) - both were delicious. The Kibbeh was served with fresh onion petals, sliced jalapeño and fresh baked pita bread.

For our main course we ordered the sesame crusted grilled salmon with roasted cauliflower and za’atar seasoning, and the mixed grill plate which came with shish kabob (made from their ribeye), tawook (grilled yogurt marinated chicken) and kafta, which was served with rice. There were so many other things we wanted to try but could only eat so much.

Overall we were very happy with what we ordered and the overall experience. A lively atmosphere and good service made the experience very enjoyable. The one negative I will state is that it is expensive but you are paying for quality. You can view their full menu on the website here.

Until next week…Eat Well and Enjoy Life!!!

- Keith & Teresa Becker