Detroit’s Breakfast House & Grill

Went here a while ago with what I call my Detroit Family the Noël’s. An amazing place with even greater people!
When I went we all choose to get a bunch of different things in order to share amongst the table! (by far the greatest idea ever)… I’m sad to have heard it’s not open right now but as soon as I get word of things I’m on the first flight out to get me some Catfish, Grits with fried shrimp and banana pancakes!!!

Wow. Just looked for this place to give it a bad review and it says it’s closed! Yay!
This place was overpriced and terrible service to boot.
My breakfast was $ 15 and it was less food then the Denny’s Grand Slam. Also denny’s is better tasting!
I’m glad they are closed because they need to be.

Detroit Breakfast House is definitely a landmark on Woodward. It’s located right past campus martius if your headed north on Woodward. I’ve always been a fan on this place and I come here at least once or twice every season.
The interior is painted in shades of orange, green and white with plenty of natural light from the eastern sun.
The food here I believe is amazing. I had the portobello omelet the last time I was here. The omelet is huge and stuff with basil, pesto, dill harvati cheese, portobello mushrooms and grilled onions. It was really good but I do wish they did add some extra basil and onions to give it that kick. All your meals do come with a side of toast and coffee or fresh juice.
The staff are friendly and are very attentive to your needs. So if your in Detroit give this place a shot.

Just went there this past Sun 3÷7÷2010. I’ve gone there when it first opened-​it was the bomb. Good food, good service, and packed with customers. Moved to MKE & returned for a visit. I think cutting corners doesn’t work. First, don’t get orders wrong then blame the customer. You have a pen and pad-​no excuse… Pancakes are supposed to be fluffy and golden brown-​not yellow and doughy… Please cook the chicken all the way-​my chicken was kind of crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The bacon looked like a mound of bacon bits not with three distinct strips. After asking to speak to the manager which took about 30min-​she basically defended the products and service. No problem ma’am I’ll just take my business elsewhere. The sad thing is that it was sooo good in the beginning (about 2006).It’s fallen very far now. Buyer beware…
Peace And Blessings To All

I had breakfast here once several years ago (so hopefully it’s gotten better). At the time the host was rude to my boyfriend even before seating us, so I knew we were off to a great start!
We waited at our table for about 10 minutes before anyone took our drink orders, and then waited a much longer time to order and get our food. From what I remember the food was ok, nothing horrible or great about it. It was somewhat overpriced for the quality.
What irked me most about this place, and the reason I would never go back, were poor manner of the wait staff. Having waited tables before, I know what a shitty job it can be, but I also know how extremely important it is to be polite and attentive to the people who are paying the majority of your wages (yeah, that’s right, the customer).

Yep, I have experienced better. In Detroit? No.
I admittedly don’t know my way around town AT ALL. I recognized this place from passing it on the people mover.
The breakfast was par with our local coney place… eggs, toast, bacon… ok. It was a little grubby in there… jelly on floor, etc.
DBH just seems to be kind of stuck. I think it needs to either go upscale all the way, or scale back prices and make it more of a down-​home kind of place. When deciding if we should go here, I imagined it would be filled with business people in suits doing mergers and acquisitions over eggs benedict. (Yeah, I said I don’t get out much!) Instead it was just kind of a regular place with regular food.

If I could have rated this with 0 or negative stars I would have!
Worst food and service ever! My boyfriend and I have been here several times before and it has consistently gotten worse each time. We love going out to breakfast so we wanted to give this place a chance.
Let’s start with the greeting… no smile no hello no nothing it was a quick and short «how many? have a seat!»
When we were seated in the extremely cramped dining area at the dirty table and given FILTHY menus I knew we were not in for a spectacular dining expierence.
I unwrapped my silver-​ware and it was GREASY, so was my BF’s. I reach over and grab the set from the unoccupied table next to us unwrap and guess what even worse!!!
The water glass was so cloudy I was afraid to drink from it!
I got the smoked salmon eggs bennidict, and he got the cheese grits with shrimp. Both came with their «house potatoes» which were barely warm and barely cooked. The english muffin was not cooked and the salmon was ice cold. The eggs with beyond runny. The grits well they left much to be desired!
Our waitier never came back to check on us but you bet your hiney he had that bill ready for us.
When we left my BF ran to get the car and i asked to speak to a manager and guess what… one never came!
We wont ever be back and nor will anyone I know if I can help it!!!

Uhhhh.. . This place is fucking amazing.. . That is all.
Kidding! It is amazing, but that’s not all.. . I could literally go on for 4 days about how yummy the food we had there was! But first things first, this spot is in a pretty convenient location, parking wasn’t really an issue. On the inside, it’s kinda swank, with a very hip vibe.. . now, back to what really matters– the food.. . IT WAS FUCKING AMAZING.. . THAT IS ALL! ;)

This was my first visit to Detroit, so of course I consulted Unilocal for some advice on where to eat. A guy at Avis also recommended Detroit B’fast House, so my Mom and I went for breakfast. We got there right when they opened. Our server was incredibly nice (in fact, EVERYONE in Detroit was nice, except for the ranting bum we encountered down the street). I ordered Chicken and Waffles, ’cause it’s hard to find where I live. I was very pleased to also receive a bowl of cheese grits. All were finger lickin’ awesome! My mom’s «healthy» scramble and sausage patties left much to be desired. The flavors were a bit off.
Several people have commented that this place is expensive. Coming from California, the prices seemed reasonable to me. The portions were huge. Décor in the restaurant was odd but bright and welcoming. A note to other out-​of-​towners: street parking is practically nonexistent here. Give yourself plenty of time and be sure to arrive hungry.

This place is a hit or a miss kind of place. Being the closest brunch spot to home, I tend to go pretty often. I really like the portobello omelet here. The combination of basil, pesto sauce, and havarti cheese along with portobello mushrooms is great. While I would like to give this place a 5 star, the service and the wait can be really annoying. There have been times when we go lightening fast service and at times when we had to wait 15 minutes just to get someone to take our drink order.
I have also been disappointed by their kitchen once. While their omelets are great, they are also greasy. So once I asked the waiter to go light on the grease and the cheese. Not only did my order take forever to get to the table, but they totally messed it up by leaving out the pesto sauce. When I pointed it out, the waiter took it back to the kitchen and brought it right back with the sauce thrown on top. Normally they blend in the sauce with the eggs. Plus I had asked my toast dry, but they totally forgot and slathered it with butter and by the time they got my toasts I was done with my meal.
So here are my ratings:
Place /​Ambience — 5 stars (considering its one of the most decent places for brunch in downtown Detroit)
Food — 4 star (as long as you don’t try and make special requests)
Service — 1 star (or maybe 3 stars if its your lucky day!!)

Loved the Jumbalaya Omelete! Excellent choice, I highly recommend this very tasty breakfast treat.
A little on the pricy side for breakfast but well worth it!

I’m rather picky about breakfast. Most of the time, when I go out for breakfast, I think: «this omlette/​french toast/​pancake is mediocre, at best.» I usually find the breakfast food served up by places to be uninspired, greasy and either overly bland or overly salty. This place was no exception! I went here a little while back and ordered the greek frittata, and while edible, it was just (predictably)…meh.
As for ambiance, while I did like the sunny décor, the music was HORRIBLE! It was SMOOTH jazz (which is just fucking awful! like that Kenny G shit) and it made me want to die.
Also, a rant: why is it that all breakfast places (well, most) serve crappy POS coffee?! Presumably, to cut down on cost, but for christ’s sake, there are so few lunch/​breakfast places that serve decent coffee that if I found one that DID serve good coffee, I’d give ‘em five fucking stars even if the food was crap!

I came here for brunch during the detroit electronic music festival. The décor is odd and amusing and our server was very friendly and efficient with our table of 11. I thought the food itself was only okay. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there if I was at home. However, it’s still the best breakfast I’ve had so far in downtown detroit, so until a real competitor emerges I’ll likely be back. I had the portabello omelet with an english muffin and a bloody mary. The bloody mary was on the weak side but I was hungover and just happy they had one. I also shared the stuffed french toast which was decadent and tasty.

When I saw this open before the Superbowl I thought it would be gone as soon as the big game was over. It should be. I went for Sunday brunch and was seated outside in a strong gale force wind. Then ignored. I think it took about a half hour to order, 45 minutes to get our food. Nothing complicated, eggs benedict and an omelet. They forget to bring our $ 4 orange juice. We reminded our waiter. He forgot again. We got our warm orange juice after our meal was finished.
The food was expensive as well.
Although my visit was a disaster, I did see something hilarious happen while seated outside. Two women ate and tried to walk off without paying. The had valeted their car! As they were waiting for their car at the valet stand the host came running out and refused to allow them into their car until they paid.

Okay, People i give the real deal reviews… based on economic times! That means when your pennies truly count. (no pun intented)
The Detroit Breakfast House is a great place to take a date or if you want to fake the funk to some out of town guest. You know, show them that Detroit does has something hip and fresh to offer, even a business breakfast (expense back to the company please!!).
Here you get the still to be fully utilized Woodward Ave… a decent cool modern Décor for a Breakfast joint, comfy and cozy booths and decent out in the open tables for large parties. Cool waiters and waitresses. unless its too busy for them to be to personable!
But now we get to the real deal… come on people! Do you really want to drop this much money on a Omelet (Eggs), Bread Dipped in Eggs (French toast), Grits (probably Quaker) Eggo’s (okay maybe they make the batter) and oh yeah the Southern Favorite Chicken and Waffles?
Now i will say I like the Southern Play on Catfish, Porkchops and Shrimp mixed in the Breakfast Genre… Hooooowwwweeeeva!
I personally feel, this restaurant plays to the fact Detroit lacks retail competition. especially on the restaurant front, well on every front. Visit any major city. you have restuarants up and down the major streets and around corners You see menu and prices posted on the windows to woo you in. A lack of choice and the name behind it keeps the place in business.
Food is just okay. i mean its breakfast. Most people i know will tell you. I can’t cook, but i can make breakfast (Fella’s how many times have you heard that?).
So to sum this up… totally overpriced in a nice restuarant. My recommendation is Fella’s show her your skills at home (Clean up 1^st)! You could even practice a few recipes, break a few eggs and not spend this much money on a breakfast for two. If you have fam or friends in town. Hit a Casino downtown and do a breakfast buffet and bust your stomach for the same cash or see my alternative below.
This place would be hot if it was a Dive offering up southern style breakfast. Low prices and big portions in todays economic climate! Make this the hole in the wall joint, you tell people they have to hit when they visit and you have a Detroit Landmark on your hands! Stop the assualt on peoples wallets with the pompus restuarants!
My Fellow Detroiter’s, when you have nothing you think you have something!
Alternatives: Always a classic favorite. The Original Pancake House. Good for any situation! Date, Visitors in town, good prices and worth the wait in line for a table on the weekend.
or
Hit New Center Eatery for your Chicken and Waffle Fix!
Its all about the best Value for your dollar so…
2 of 5 on my scale!!!
«Aye, Frank give me some of my money back»

While I didn’t hate it here, it really didn’t strike me as all that special either. It was better than my first impression. When we arrived at my sister-in-law’s house nearby to walk over to the Breakfast House for brunch for my father-in-law’s birthday, someone said they weren’t sure if there would be high chairs or anywhere to park my infant’s stroller. What? I was in a mild panic that we may be doing nothing but walking there and back, but not being able to stop and eat there.
Luckily, not only were there high chairs available and room in the lobby to leave the stroller, the hostess was super nice about us having an infant. It may have helped that our baby is so adorable, right? Much to our fellow diner’s relief, I don’t think she woke up all the way through brunch.
The wait staff was reasonably competent at keeping up with our table of ten, although it was a little crowded with the high chair. The food was decent, but I don’t know that I’d make a special trip for it. Overall, it was a pleasant place for a once in a while event.

Sometimes Detroiters can be so accepting of restaurants and food that isnt really that good.
Went to DBH about a year ago. After hearing all the hype built up about Frank «whatever his name is» new restaurant that had opened up on Woodward Avenue.
A relatively intimate spot (perhaps a little bigger than Beans & Cornbread), the breakfast house was overrated. This place cant hold a candle to New Center Eatery… about 2 miles away, and the best Chicken & Waffles spot in the nation… yes, I said the nation.
The spot is pretty nice on the inside for a b-​fast place. The service was pretty good (Detroit good that is), but the chicken and waffles left a lot to be desired for… you cant be «corporate» w/​Chicken & Waffles. And thats exactly what Detroit B-​House tries to do…
This is like
a) Crypt walking with a tuxedo on
b) Booty shaking on the white house lawn
c) Bringing a 40 ounce to a wine tasting
It just doesnt mix. So i respect the effort, but i am not really feeling this place and I honestly think its overrated.

I only come to Detroit once a year, and this is the one place I have to come. Sure, the servers are so busy that they forget things you order, but they’re so nice about it, and the food is so good that who cares?
Recommendations for the perfect meal: chicken and waffles, cheese grits with shrimp, and fresh fruit (to negate the fried foods).

Funky and high class at the same time. Upscale «southern» breakfast foods served in a beautiful restaurant with friendly servers and light motown music playing in the background. Interesting varieties of pancakes, waffles, french toast, eggs, and fried chicken/​pork/​catfish. So why only 3 stars? Let me explain.
Plusses: I loved the setting, the seating, the friendly servers, and 3 of the 5 items we selected. I loved the music, the hospitality, and the layout.
Minuses: I hated 2 of the 5 items we selected, it took 14 minutes to get a refill of my coffee and longer to get water refilled, and no corn bread.
Both the Banana’s Foster French Toast and especially Franks stuffed toast were excellent. The Pullman/​Sourdough was perfectly cooked, spiked with just a bit of cinnamon, and had a heavenly vanilla undertone. The Rum/​Maple syrup served with the Banana’s Foster was heavenly and the bananas were perfectly ripe while the creamcheese/​whipped cream topping filling Frank’s Stuffed French Toast was very mild and airy, yet at the same time endulgant and creamy. The apples in the Stuffed Toast… they worked in the context of this dish…
…utilizing the same apples in on the Waffle, however, did not. Why a nice restaurant would stoop to using canned apple pie filling is beyond me. If they want to hide it in the stuffed toast, that is fine, but to simply glop a large luke-​warm portion of it on a doughy and undercooked waffle… poor form. Having had southern style waffles and chicken at Roscoes in the past, I can definitely say that the waffles here were mediocre and the addition of the apples harmed the dish more than helping it. I’ve had cafeteria waffles in college that were better.
For sides we selected the grits and the Canadian bacon. To be honest, the cheesy grits were legendary and were actually better than King crab grits we had the same evening at Iridescence. The spicy popcorn shrimp and green peppers added an interesting twist to the dish and at $ 6 the portion was nearly meal sized and wonderfully creamy and savory to contrast with the sweet French Toast.
The Canadian Bacon didn’t fare as well, however, as it was vastly oversalted and was barely palatable even with the addition of maple syrup. The price, at $ 4, was also excessive.
While the food had its hits and misses and I’d definitely return for the grits and the french toast, I likely will never return here for breakfast because of the service. While servers were INCREDIBLY friendly, the owners of this establishment are clearly tightwads (the apple pie filling is one indicator) and make their servers also bus tables and handle refills… which are handled poorly. If there is one thing that can ruin a breakfast in my world, it is sitting around with an empty cup and I felt like I did WAY too much of this at Breakfast House as my waiter helped other tables, bussed tables, and set up for incoming diners. Hiring a couple busboys who bus tables and refill coffee could do this place a world of good.
Finally, when I go someplace for ‘southern’ or ‘soulfood,’ I have an expectation of cornbread. As this place did not have any, I was disappointed. Perhaps that is unfair, but considering the ‘southern’ nature and focus on fried foods, biscuits, etc… why English Muffins and no cornbread?

I LOVE FRIED CATFISH & WAFFLES at 6:30AM!!!
I flew into Detroit on a redeye flight the day before the annual Detroit Auto Show, and since there wasn’t much in terms of food on the flight, I was dying of hunger! When my boy Patrick picked me up, I asked him to pleeeease take me somewhere good, that would be open early!
We cruised through the cold, snowy streets of downtown Detroit until we got to the Breakfast House. It was the buttcrack of dawn, so we weren’t sure if they were open yet or not. We were the only people there!
The hostess welcomed us to sit down with a smile, and we got to ordering right away — fried catfish n waffles! with cheese grits! oh damn, we were bout to start my Detroit trip the right way! Once we got our food, we dug in right away (but I snapped some pics 1^st — peep em out in the gallery)…
The catfish was light and crispy, and flavored just right. The waffles were thick and the texture was perfect. I was jocking the food no doubt! And when I put the first spoonful of cheese grits in my mouth, I must have said «daaaaaaamnnnnnnnn» or something cause my boy just started laughing. We just dont get this type of quality soul food in Los Angeles, especially not at 6:30AM!
The next time I hit up the Dirty D, I’m mos definitely hittin up the Detroit Breakfast House & Grill again. I can’t wait!