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The 7 Best Bars in Detroit

Seven bars, chosen on the record: one on North America's 50 Best, four Spirited Awards nominees.

Browse every Detroit barBest cocktail bars in Detroit
  1. Standby
    PINNACLECocktail Bar

    Standby

    Standby is a cocktail bar and restaurant entered from The Belt alley in downtown Detroit, with bar seating first come and a kitchen open until eleven. Its menus run as themed editions, the current one an exploration of culinary icons with each drink credited to a chef, and its own site lists James Beard semifinalist honors for Outstanding Bar Program in 2017 and 2018 and Spirited Awards regional honors in 2020, 2023 and 2024.

    225 Gratiot Ave, Detroit, MI 48226Wed-Thu, Sun 5pm-12am; Fri-Sat 5pm-2am; Mon-Tue closed
    Full profile
  2. Bar Chenin
    Wine Bar

    Bar Chenin

    Bar Chenin is a small wine bar inside The Siren Hotel on Broadway in downtown Detroit, pouring biodynamic wines alongside cocktails, ice cream and light fare, with no reservations taken. The Spirited Awards named it a U.S. Central honoree for Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar in 2026.

    1509 Broadway St, Detroit, MI 48226Thu, Sun-Mon 5pm-12am; Fri-Sat 5pm-2am; Tue-Wed closed
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  3. Grey Ghost Detroit
    Cocktail Bar

    Grey Ghost Detroit

    Grey Ghost takes its name from a Prohibition-era rum-runner and carries the story into a restaurant on Watson Street whose drinks list is organized as stirred, shaken, dessert and mocktails. The cocktails borrow from the kitchen, a Black Pearl of rye, cognac and aged rum with chai demerara, and an Ides of March that puts caesar, parmesan and sesame oil into a gin martini.

    47 Watson St, Detroit, MI 48201Sun-Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 4pm-12am
    Full profile
  4. The Best Kept Secret
    Speakeasy

    The Best Kept Secret

    The Best Kept Secret is a speakeasy hidden inside The Wine Garden liquor store on Harper Avenue in St. Clair Shores, where a clerk shows you the entrance and the cocktails are built from the bottles on the shelves next door, any of which you can take home. Reservations are recommended, tables run ninety minutes, there is no standing room, and a dress code applies.

    22425 Harper Ave, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080Wed-Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 4pm-11pm
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  5. Father Forgive Me
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTCocktail Bar

    Father Forgive Me

    A Detroit bar serving cocktails, wine and snacks across an indoor room and an outdoor patio. It operates primarily on a walk-in basis, with limited reservations through Resy, and is open daily from the afternoon into the late evening. The bar holds No. 83 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026.

    1265 Parkview StMon-Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri 4pm-12am; Sat 12pm-12am; Sun 12pm-11pm
    Full profile
  6. Antidote
    Wine Bar

    Antidote

    Antidote calls itself a modern American wine and cocktail bar with Spanish influence, sitting on East Jefferson with free parking on site, minutes from Belle Isle and the Schaap Center for the Performing Arts. The kitchen sends modern American plates with Spanish influence. The list runs from Penedes cava and Getariako Txakolina to Priorat, Rioja and old-vine finds across two continents, built to move with the menu and evolve with the evening. Cocktails are made for evenings that linger, and the room is velvet teal and golden light. Happy hour runs Tuesday through Friday, brunch lands at weekends, a patio opens in season, and corkage is twenty five dollars.

    14628 E Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI 48215Mon Closed; Tue-Thu 4-10; Fri-Sat 4-12; Brunch Sat 11-3, Sun 11-4; Happy Hour Tue-Fri 4-6
    Full profile
  7. Saksey's
    Cocktail Bar

    Saksey's

    Saksey's bills itself as Detroit's most intimate room, a throwback-inspired cocktail lounge on Woodward Avenue downtown. The bar is an homage to the original Saksey's operated in the 1960s and 70s by Dan Gilbert's father, and like its predecessor it is built for close quarters and long conversations rather than crowds. It comes from NoHo Hospitality Group, the team behind Evening Bar and Gilly's Clubhouse, and opened on Woodward in 2025. Doors open at five Tuesday through Saturday, running later at the weekend. Tables are booked through the bar's own reservation page, and private events are handled in house.

    1550 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48226Tue-Thu from 5pm-12am; Fri & Sat from 5pm-1am
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Explore the whole Detroit scene

These 7 are the starting point. The full BarMagazine directory covers every listed bar in Detroit, with a map, filters by bar type, and new openings as we verify them.

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