Detroit: Sullivan’s Steakhouse
This week we are checking out Sullivan’s Steak House in Downtown Detroit. Sullivan’s is located on the ground floor of the Westin Book Cadillac, on Washington at Michigan Avenue in the space that Michael Symon’s Roast used to occupy. Roast abruptly closed its doors in January of 2022, a month after the sale of the Westin Book Cadillac to Oxford Capital Group and Taconic Capital Advisors. Roast had occupied the space since 2008 and was known for having one of the best Happy Hour menus in the city.
Sullivan’s opened the doors in Detroit on September 20, 2023, but nationally they opened in 1996 in Austin Texas with the commitment of big steaks, big portions, big drinks and big hospitality. That theme has carried on to all 15 of their locations from Anchorage, Alaska to Raleigh, North Carolina. The Detroit location, which has been open for a little over a year, is very spacious. When you walk in, the restaurant is to the left of the hotel lobby. It has 3 separate dining areas all set with white linens and white high back chairs.
In the middle dining area there are 2 display cases, one with their seafood and raw bar and the other featuring their steaks and chops which they get from Stockyards which has been cutting and selling meats since 1893.
Happy Hour is at the bar, which is in the first of the 3 dining areas. The bar itself, which is built around their wine room and on full display for everyone to see, is immediately to your right as you enter the room. There are only around 20 seats at the bar, so it can get crowded, but we were fortunate to get there when it wasn’t too busy.
The Happy Hour menu is pretty cool. Like most high-end restaurants that do Happy Hour, they offer discounted beer, wine and cocktails. Here they offer $8 glasses of house wine and $5 off martinis and craft cocktails
But the food is the real stand out. It is tiered with 3 different levels of dining experiences. $10, $15 and $20.
We ordered a couple glasses of their house Chardonnay to start. Everything looked so good and with all the choices, how do we choose? Knowing we had another destination in mind afterwards, we decided to keep it light. We ordered an order of the Ahi Tuna Poke Stack and the Beef Wellington bites. There was a couple at the bar with us that raved about the Truffle Shaved Ribeye Cheesesteak sandwich but that seemed like more than we wanted to eat, maybe we’ll try that next time.
Our choices were solid as we are sure everything there is. The Ahi Tuna Stack was light and refreshing. Nice chunks of beautiful Ahi Tuna topped with cucumber, avocado and a light Béarnaise sauce, served with fried wontons and pickled ginger. The Beef Wellington Balls were our favorite. Chunks of filet and mushrooms wrapped in a puff pastry ball, baked and served on a pool of bourbon peppercorn sauce, super delicious.
We will definitely be going back and taking friends. There is too much good food to try in just one visit.
Sullivans is located in the Westin Book Cadillac in Downtown Detroit at 1128 Washington opens 11 AM daily, till 10 Sun-Th and 11PM Fri-Sat. Happy Hour is M-Th 3-6PM
Until next week . . . live well, eat well and enjoy life!
-Keith & Teresa Becker