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The 10 Best Bars in Detroit

Detroit's cocktail scene took off after its first craft cocktail bar opened in 2011, and five of the bars on this page were 2026 Spirited Awards regional honorees for the central United States. The best bars in Detroit start downtown at Standby, entered from The Belt alley off Gratiot, whose Yes, Chef menu credits each drink to a famous cook. Close by, inside The Siren Hotel, Chenin pairs biodynamic wines with cocktails in one of downtown's smallest rooms, and Saksey's, a throwback lounge on Woodward, pays homage to Sam Gilbert's 1960s tavern with the classics and a soundtrack of '70s and '80s sleeper hits. In English Village, Father Forgive Me opened in June 2025 on the grounds of The Shepherd, a converted church, and is No. 83 on the 51-100 list of North America's 50 Best Bars 2026. Chenin takes no reservations, and Standby keeps space for walk-ins every night. These are the seven we would start with.

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
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  2. 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
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  3. 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 the North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026.

    1265 Parkview StMon-Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri 4pm-12am; Sat 12pm-12am; Sun 12pm-11pm
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  4. 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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  5. 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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  1. Kiesling
    Cocktail Bar

    Kiesling

    Kiesling calls itself a neighborhood bar in Milwaukee Junction, set in a building the Kiesling family put up in the 1890s as a general store, later a saloon and then a cozy tavern whose 1913 woodland murals depicted the four seasons and a great many deer. The name is still spelled out on the doorstep. The cocktail list is organized by base spirit and leans playful: the Beesting with Wild Turkey 101, China China, lemon and honey syrup; the Diego with corn tea infused rye, Nixta and street corn syrup; a Misc. Adventures section; house classics; and a considered zero proof lineup. Italian wines by the glass, cans and bottles round things out.

    449 E. Milwaukee Ave., Detroit, MI 48206Sun-Thu 5pm-12am; Fri-Sat 5pm-2am
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  2. Sugar House
    Cocktail Bar

    Sugar House

    Sugar House opened in Corktown in 2011 because, in founder Dave Kwiatkowski's words, Detroit deserved a cocktail bar that took the work seriously. Fifteen years on, the team still pours the same way: every classic built bottle by bottle, every seasonal menu chasing a new idea, every guest welcomed the same. The backbone is a list the bar calls the 101 Classic Cocktails, spanning pre-Prohibition standards, mid-century sours and the modern cocktail renaissance, made by hand one at a time with no premix. Rotating seasonal originals run alongside it, plus bar bites, house-made bitters, barware and mixology classes. Walk-ins are welcome Sunday through Thursday, and Friday and Saturday reservations are booked through Tock.

    2130 Michigan Ave, Detroit, MI 48216Mon-Thu 5 PM-12 AM; Fri 4 PM-2 AM; Sat 3 PM-2 AM; Sun 3 PM-12 AM
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  3. Evening Bar
    Hotel Bar

    Evening Bar

    Evening Bar is the Shinola Hotel's take on a classic, intimate hotel bar, tucked discreetly beyond the lobby with its own way in through Parker's Alley downtown. Chef and owner Andrew Carmellini taps local bartenders for an expertly crafted cocktail menu emphasizing time-honored techniques, with creative, multi-faceted drinks in shaken, stirred and session form alongside Carmellini's menu of small plates. Gachot Studios designed the space as a hidden enclave: low-slung seating, soft lighting and fine furniture configured for intimacy and comfort. Golden Hour brings rotating specials on cocktails and bites Sunday through Thursday from 5pm to 7pm. Reservations open 28 days ahead; walk-ins see the maitre d'.

    1400 Woodward Ave., Shinola Hotel, Detroit, MI 48226Sun-Mon 5pm-11pm; Tue-Thu 5pm-12am; Fri-Sat 5pm-1am
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  4. 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
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  5. 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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These 10 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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