Midtown Social

We walked in at 12:30 on a Sunday with no reservation and no wait, which on this stretch of Woodward feels a little like getting away with something. Midtown Social sits between Wayne State and the DMC, and it is genuinely cute inside: warm decor, staff who seem glad you turned up, and a fenced-in patio angled off the side street so Woodward’s traffic stays somewhere in the background instead of in your ear.

We split the lamb sliders and the blackened salmon club, and both landed exactly right for a midday meal, filling without a leftovers box, which is what you want with a whole afternoon of the city ahead of you. The cocktail list had us laughing before we ordered anything, one drink being called “Send Me a Nude,” though we stuck with our standard Diet Cokes since it was lunch. Filed away for next time.

The room is a touch boomy, chatter plus music overhead, but never overbearing; we held a real conversation at a window high-top without raising our voices. A couple of parties of six-plus came through while we ate and the smaller dining room absorbed them without drama. One tip: the artwork in the basement hallway on the way to the bathrooms is worth the scavenger hunt, and the staff are very used to redirecting lost guests. Add it to the list of reasons this part of Detroit earns the drive — The Whitney is a few blocks up Woodward if you want something grander another night.