The Best Detroit Restaurants for Delivery

Southern Smokehouse

Recently dubbed a hidden gem by the Detroit Metro Times, Southern Smokehouse is where we’ll direct anyone who needs to tear into a rack of saucy ribs for dinner. Fried-to-order okra, chicken, and turkey chops crackle with every bite, while smothered pork chops, candied yams, and banana pudding always taste like a Southern holiday.

Flowers of Vietnam

First: Those sticky fish-sauce caramel wings are a must. And the more you order from Flowers of Vietnam, the happier you’ll be. The slightly sweet broken rice topped with a charred pork chop is hard to stop eating, but if you can, save some leftovers for breakfast. The crisp papaya salad goes with everything, and the Middle of the Mall Chicken will transport you to the food court in the best way.

Ima

You might seek the ramen at Ima on cold Detroit nights, but don’t ignore the chewy-wonderful pan-fried udon with beech mushrooms and crispy garlic in the yaki butter bowl. The karaage — fried chicken — is good in every form, as a bowl or bites, and there’s even a vegetarian karaage tofu option. The crispy-bottomed shrimp and scallion dumplings belong in every order.

Noorjahan Indian Cuisine

With seven locations around Detroit, including Grosse Pointe Woods and Bloomfield Township, Noorjahan is a newcomer with staying power, based on the textbook tikka masala and the butter chicken that always hits. The saucy vegetable dishes travel extremely well no matter what part of town you live in, while every grain of rice in the lamb biryani is coated in spice.

Bucharest Grill

A go-to for shawarma (and for some, quesadillas) since 2007, Bucharest Grill is about as Detroit as a Joumana billboard. Offering chicken, lamb, beef, falafel, and veggie shawarma for one or a crowd, the only requirement is ordering extra toum, garlic sauce, for dipping.

Takoi

There are spare ribs, and there are Takoi’s lightly battered and fried ribs, which inspire devotion and obsession among all who gnaw that glazed, sweet, hot meat off the bone. For vegetarians, the coconut milk-basted, perfectly charred grilled cauliflower is a must. Expertly prepared Thai dishes like khao soi mingle with a damn good fried chicken sandwich on this menu that’s just as fun delivered as it is in person.

Yum Village

Afro-Caribbean classics, like jerk chicken, jollof rice, and sweet-and-spicy plantains, are at their best at Yum Village, a restaurant that’s just as dedicated to flavor as it is to food justice in the city. The maafé, a peanut stew, is rich and creamy (vegan, too!), and there are all kinds of combo platters so you can sample as many dishes as possible.

Mudgie’s Deli & Wine Shop

Mudgie’s is a big-hearted Detroit classic (it even has a Wikipedia page) for artfully composed sandwiches, potato salad, soups, and big salads. The deli recently reopened after the death of beloved owner Greg Mudge, which means Detroiters can once again look forward to having the Leggo for lunch — a salami and provolone sandwich with a briny olive tapenade that food critics crowned one of the best sandwiches in America.

Al Ameer Restaurant

Dearborn icon and recipient of the American Classics James Beard Award, Al Ameer’s impossibly silky hummus, sumac-sprinkled fattoush, and stuffed shawarma sandwiches are available at your beck and call. The stuffed lamb is an extremely generous portion that will feed you for days, while the raw kibbe is a tartare lover’s dream.

Slows Bar-B-Q

Corktown favorite Slows will satisfy your craving for smoky Southern barbecue and all the decadent sides, especially mac and cheese. (Always go with the 32-ounce portion.) The Reason sandwich, overflowing with pulled pork, lives up to its name — “the reason Slows exists” — while the award-winning Yardbird sandwich, dripping in honey mustard barbecue sauce, gives the Reason a run for its money.

Fork in Nigeria

Detroiters chase down Fork in Nigeria’s food truck for its soulful fufu and braised goat shank, but now it can come right to you from DoorDash. If you’re surprised that a hibiscus iced tea is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, don’t be; it has a warmth of spices (cloves, cinnamon, ginger) that will make you wish it came by the keg.

Shatila Bakery

While you can’t get dinner from Shatila, a nationally renowned Middle Eastern bakery, you can order pastry trays and shredded phyllo-topped knafeh for celebrations, holidays, or office birthdays that will impress your guests. Chopped green pistachios bejewel sweet, crispy, sticky baklava, the crumbs best licked from your fingers.

National Coney Island

Detroit’s Coney rivals, Lafayette and American, aren’t available for delivery, and we’re not trying to start a new war. But on DoorDash, National Coney Island is the one to order when you crave the comfort of a classic Coney, with saucy chili on a squishy bun. Add a side of chicken lemon rice soup, this spot’s unsung hero.

Buddy’s

The best Detroit-style pizza, made in well-seasoned cast-iron pans for the butteriest, crispiest crust, is a point of contention among locals. Some stick to Buddy’s, a local institution founded in 1946. The Detroiter pie is a popular pick; that crunchy-edged crust is filled with Wisconsin brick cheese and topped with pepperoni, tomato-basil sauce, shaved Parm, and Buddy’s Sicilian spice blend.

San Morello

In Detroit, fancy Italian doesn’t get fancier than San Morello, opened by New York restaurateur Andrew Carmellini. Stunning house-made pastas, like the campanelle pomodoro, are the star of the menu, alongside lamb meatballs and a killer slow-roasted beef sandwich. Look for seasonal salads and vegetable dishes that don’t get as much love as they deserve.

Sweetwater Tavern

Sweetwater Tavern is where you turn when you need obsessively prepared wings — Sweetwater sells 600 pounds a day! The wings, marinated for 24 hours, are just the beginning. Go for a bulky burger, too, and beer-battered chicken strips for the table. Another route for success: the barbecue rib tips with coleslaw.

Jet’s Pizza

Jet’s is the other favorite choice for Detroit-style pizza. The franchise started in 1978 and went national. At Jet’s, try their trademarked All Meaty pizza, topped with mozzarella and all the meats: pepperoni, ham, bacon, Italian sausage, and ground beef. Whether you prefer Buddy’s or Jet’s, you’re ordering a side of ranch and staying home, happy.

Condado Tacos

One of the most-loved Detroit spots on DoorDash and Caviar, with locations in Royal Oak and Midtown, Condado lets you build your own bowls and nachos — and live happily ever after. Party packs and combos like the Crunch Box (four hard-shell tacos, ready to go), make Condado a no-brainer for feeding a crowd. Because who doesn’t love tacos?

Anita’s Kitchen

Anita’s Kitchen is a longtime Detroit institution for elegant Lebanese food (with the occasional side of zippy, saucy chicken wings). Start with the grape leaves and then look to the Family Meal Deals for combinations that cover all the bases: kebabs, hummus, that pitch-perfect fattoush, and garlic sauce. The sleeper hits? The delicately spiced soups, especially black bean.

Little Saigon

We couldn’t leave out a place for fabulous pho in Madison Heights, and Little Saigon fits the bill. Get your fix of steaming hot pho or sweet-and-tangy bun (vermicelli noodle bowls). The summer rolls are popular, but don’t ignore the chao tom, sweet fried-shrimp snacks that you’ll crave for weeks afterward.

Penny Red’s

Buckets of fried chicken are the star of Penny Red’s, though the honey-butter biscuits are a strong contender at this modern spot that happens to be in the same restaurant group as San Morello. The Korean-inspired chicken cutlet sandwich with toasted peanuts and kimchi barbecue sauce is spicy good fun, and a can of Stroh’s will tame the burn.

La Saj Lebanese Bistro

Cloudlike hummus begins every meal at La Saj, and the rest of the Lebanese feast is up to you. To pair with your lamb chops or shawarma, scroll down for a side order of baba ghanoush, and stock up on house-made labneh and a dozen fluffy breads for meals beyond the one you’re ordering tonight.

Toast

A diner with a playful side (see: the Trashy Hashy), Toast in Ferndale will make your breakfast-in-bed dreams come true, though you’ll have to get out of bed to answer the door. Chicken and waffle, a wild mushroom omelet, and huevos rancheros are surefire hits, especially with a side of jalapeño-cheddar challah.

Culantro

Peruvian food gets its due at Culantro in Ferndale, an under-the-radar gem in Metro Detroit. Try the empanadas with bubbly, golden pastry; the aji de gallina, shredded chicken in a yellow cream sauce made with amarillo chiles; and the arroz chaufa (fried rice, a uniquely Peruvian mash-up after years of Chinese immigration).

Detroit Soul

Detroit Soul is a soul food institution known for homestyle fried and baked catfish and perch, baked mac and cheese, and juicy fried chicken. Opened in 2015 with support from the Fair Food Network and other local initiatives for small businesses, Detroit Soul makes a point to serve farm-fresh ingredients and make healthy options accessible to all.

Golden Fleece

Eating in person in Greektown is half the fun because there’s no tableside flaming saganaki cheese with delivery, unless you have pyrotechnic leanings. … But on nights in, you can still feast on Golden Fleece’s soul-soothing avgolemono soup, thick slices of spanakopita, and tangy marinated octopus.

Tai Fai

Sometimes you just need a few orders of piping-hot crab wontons, sesame chicken, and a spicy dragon roll without overthinking it. Tai Fai is one of Caviar’s top-ordered restaurants in Detroit for a reason. Offering a wide range of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai favorites, it’s a reliable heavy hitter on takeout night. 

PHOTO CREDITS:

Courtesy of Al Ameer Restaurant

Courtesy of Fork in Nigeria

Ima by Michelle Gerard

Courtesy of San Morello

Courtesy of Penny Red’s

National Coney Island by Jessica Malek/Mercenary

Courtesy of Anita’s Kitchen

Culantro by Alvaro Herrera

Courtesy of Jet’s Pizza