Colors

Delicious salad with fresh and interesting ingredients (kale and cantaloupe and pomegranate seeds) so good! The staff are so nice and very helpful. Thank you guys!

We had a really good experience at Colors in Detroit when we went for lunch two weeks ago. The concept is amazing there. They employ individuals without jobs in the community and train them in service industry skills. I went with a few co-​workers and we started with the Sweet Potato Wontons. They were delicious, similar to Crab Rangoon but stuffed with sweet potato. I had a chicken salad that was so unbelievably fresh it looked as if could have picked out of the garden and put on my plate. The dressing was a raspberry vinaigrette. The chicken I added to it has an herbed crust on it. So good. My co-​worker had bbq pulled pork sandwich was on special for the day and my other one had a chicken shawarma sandwich. Everything was great, including the service. They have a different menu from what is available online across both of their websites and listed on Unilocal.I think it rotates daily. I wish they would get more press so more people can experience it.

Lunch: Veggie burger, sweet potato fries and banana pudding. Aside from the homey ambiance and excellent customer service, this is one of the best veggie meals I’ve ever had a restaurant. Thanks!

Loved the veggie snacker. The sweet potato fries and onion rings were great too. Really neat concept. It’s clear that the servers are in training but it’s so important that they have this real-​world experience. Keep up the good work!

The perfect taste for the cold. Absolutely delicious chick pea and bacon soup! And it’s dairy free.

The food was amazing. We started off with with Moroccan spiced meatballs, amazing! Then we had the sweet potato wontons, also amazing. And then the burger, let me tell you about that, it was cooked to perfection. Perfectly juicy! The beef is grass fed and all ingredients are local in Detroit. If you want good food. You found it. Only thing I have to say bad was the service. We were the only ones in the place and our waitress was no where to be found for refills or extra things we needed.

Incredible selection of hyepr-​local food. Expertly prepared and delivered in a calm and casual environment. Beautifully put together too! The floors are ornately tiled and the counters’ at the bar are poured concrete. I’ve never had a poor experience eating here and i recommend it to anyone lurking Downtown in need of a bite!

My turkey burger was over cooked and over salted. I would not recommend this sandwich.

It’s really cool what they’re doing here, so that’s the only reason I gave it 4 stars. The food and service would be a 3. We ordered the lamb meatballs first and those were amazing. But they were out of two things I wanted and most of their sides as well. Literally half the menu wasn’t available. And the service was friendly but it seemed like she didn’t know anything about the menu. What I did end up getting was the shawarma sandwich, which was very unique and delicious. Don’t bring anyone picky here because your meal is basically chosen for you with the availability of the menu.

If your in the area, you must go! Amazing food and friendly people. Ask the bartender to show you the abandoned theater upstairs!

I’ve really enjoyed Colors both times I had lunch there. I recommend it to everyone. The concept is great and I’ve never been disappointed by the good. Great vegetarian options!

Went here for the lunch the other day and had a great time. The sweet potato fries were tempura-​style, fried and oh-​so-​delicious. I’m sure whatever healthy aspect they had was probably null and void after the frying process, but it was worth it! The turkey burger is intense — a little meat heavy for my taste — but my dining companion is a HUGE fan and swears by this dish. Service is okay.

Went for lunch today. Wanted to try something new. Was greeted by a sign saying to «Please be patient, our staff is in their 6^th week of training».
When the waitress came to our table we were told they were out of a number of items, including ground beef, and portobello caps. So basically half the menu was off the table.
The waitress was very soft spoken and hard to hear. She never checked on us after serving our food.
The food was good, which is why I gave a couple stars, but the service was not good at all, and I’m weary of any restaurant that is out of half of it’s food at lunch on Thursday.
Hopefully they can work out some of the kinks, but I will most likely not be back.

I just created a Unilocal account to write a review for Colors. I just finished my meal — the chicken shawarma and sweet potato fries. It was absolutely delicious. The batter on the sweet potato fries was so yummy. The chicken was seasoned and marinated to perfection.
I really wanted to try the Moroccan lamb meatballs but they were all out. The sweet potato wontons looked amazing. My boyfriend had the patty melt and Colors fries. We both really enjoyed our experience and will be back!

I don’t get to make it back to Detroit often so when I do I like to find good local places to curb my appetite. I stop by Colors on my last visit and I’m glad I found it, my Chicken Shawarma Wrap was great. I got the seasonal vegetables as a side and they had the perfect amount of garlic on them.
Also, a surprisingly large amount of Detroit area restaurants don’t offer Faygo, so I was really happy to see it there. They had all the kinds, including my favorite, Rock & Rye. My waitress was really nice and made sure it was always full!

From their website:
«COLORS-​Detroit is a non-​profit restaurant where we strengthen our city from the grassroots by using local ingredients and providing job training. COLORS equips unemployed community residents with the life skills, job training, and work experience they need to pursue careers in the hospitality and food service industry.
Our ten-​week training program combines classroom and hands-​on learning with national and college-​level certification opportunities. By supporting job placement, retention, and career advancement, we help our students to achieve their dreams.»
What an amazing place. First of all — you walk down steps that are tiled with Pewabic tiles on the floor and about ¹⁄₃ up the walls. The entire restaurant has this. It’s old and beautiful.
The food is really really really good. The salads have more than just iceberg and romaine (one of my pet peeves of Detroit area restaurants). They have great photos of local gardening in Detroit.
One thing to note — since it is a training restaurant, it can take time to get food and such. Please be patient as the food is worth the wait!

Last night Colors was the location for one of my events. The food was delicious, the customer service was excellent and the staff were knowledgeable and very friendly. The attendees enjoyed themselves and there weren’t any complaints about the location. They have a menu of delicious selection and a well stocked bar. Not only is the food good but they make you feel very comfortable. I’m looking forward to holding more events at their location to support their endeavors and programs.
If you plan to go to Colors for a meal or event, and you’re not sure about parking, you may want to take advantage of the nearby paid parking lots and parking structures to avoid feeling rushed to avoid getting a parking ticket at a meter.

I was worried about this place. You get the hard sell on do-​gooding (living wages and skill building opportunities for locals) in everything I read about here. You also get fed the info about locally and ethically sourced, organic, yadda yadda yadda. Sometimes you eat at one of these type joints and the taste is just meh. Not here. This is a place that will not only make you feel good about the concept but also great about the product.
We were plenty hungry and curious as well. We probably overdid but it was hard to decide what all to order. Portions are not necessarily gigantor here but you will not feel deprived, there is plenty. Three apps and two mains and we were full up.
The Greek meatballs were my pick. They feature Zing’s feta, oregano oil and toasted garlic avalon baguettes. Very tasty indeed. My husband wanted the sweet potato wontons and they were very nice. Not overly sweet but just right, he hogged them or I would write more. The shrimp toast was our mutual crave and it is made with avalon bread, a little herb salad, sesame vinaigrette and a sriracha mayo. Yes it was as happy as it sounds.
For my main I had to get the motor city shrimp and grits. Perfectly cooked everything in it. Great texture on the grits, good spice level, everything just melded into a delightful dish. My husband got a burger made with grass fed beef that was cooked right to order and some ranch potatoes. He seemed very pleased, especially with add on options for his burger such as a fried egg, bacon and bacon jam (happy gasp).
Service was good, people were friendly, what more can you want? And yes I did like all the do gooding to boot but that is not the only reason you should come here. We will be back. You should give it a whirl.

I came here while I was visiting Detroit on a business conference. While traveling, I always try to get places that have a variety of appetizers or small plates, because nearly every single place I ever go to serves HUGE portions that you can never finish, and you feel guilty, so you try and cram as much food as you can into your stomach, paying for it later. Anyhow, back to Colors. Colors, as you’ll be able to tell from the website, is intended to introduce people into the food service industry and teach marketable skills. I find their mission laudable, and that’s why it didn’t bother me when I got a waiter who was training someone else.
The place itself is somewhat nondescript (see the photos) and a touch cafeteria style. They do have a bar, though, and behind the restaurant there seems to be some kind of craft area of some kind. Anyhow, I ordered a few dishes — see some pictures uploaded.
Navy Bean Soup — the perfect portion! Yes, I was just ranting about portion control earlier, and this was just the right amount. Hot and spicy, without being too much, and the flavor was good.
Samosas — I didn’t think this quite hit the mark. The exteriors were crispy but the interior didn’t have too much flavor, and the effort to drizzle a balsamic reduction left my palatte a little confused.
Meatballs — Tasty, and the touch of crostini with a bit of lemon for an acid bite was nice.
These three dishes filled me up perfectly. In general, I’d give it another go if I was in the area to see what else they came up with. The menu was a bit limited, but it had exactly what I wanted.

We went for their St. Patrick’s Day dinner. It was more than a great meal. It was a great experience, from the long tables that encouraged chatting with others to the chef’s explanations behind the organization, the food sources and more.
And the food was excellent. My girlfriend said it was the best corned beef she even eaten. For me, they offered some vegetarian options.
They did not sell alcohol, but we were allowed to bring in our own.
We look forward to returning and bringing our friends and parents.

My team and I were excited to try out a new place for lunch and Colors didn’t disappoint. We went the first week they were open and we can’t wait to go back. We ordered the Empanadas as well as the sweet potato won-​tons (recommended to us) as appetizers; which came out promptly. The lunch took a little longer than expected, especially for sandwiches, but it was well worth the wait. The food was delicious and tasted so fresh.
All ingredients are local, so it makes you feel good; like we’re giving back to the community. Detroit grows some good stuff!