Here are the Top 10 Best New Restaurants in metro Detroit

The Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers 2020 Best New Restaurants have been revealed!

Before we count down the Top 10, here is how our Restaurant of the Year is decided, and a look at our Restaurant of the Year past winners from 2000-19.

Honorable mentions: An unmistakable theme with this year's list

And now, without further ado, the Top 10 Best New Restaurants of 2020:

No. 10: Lao Pot, Madison Heights

Lao Pot is an amalgamation of China’s various regional styles, with eight broths to choose from ranging from the Chongqing-style spicy tallow broth laced with numbing Sichuan peppers, to mellow Yunnan-style mushroom broth and the clear broths of Northern China. And though the restaurant also offers a Thai-style tom yum soup base as a broth option, the “Lao” in its name is actually Mandarin for “old” and not a reference to the country of Laos.

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No. 9: Karl’s Coffee Shop, downtown Detroit

With its ample polished chrome, Formica countertops and Detroit sports memorabilia lining the walls, Karl’s is one of the most visually arresting new restaurants. The food, too, is a throwback to simpler times, to Maurice salads and club sandwiches downed with Side Cars or Manhattans at lunch.

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No. 8: Balkan House, Hamtramck

Is the döner kebab sandwich served at Balkan House a faithful recreation of the Berlin-style of döner? Not exactly. But when it tastes this good, who cares?

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No. 7: Pernoi, Birmingham

Pernoi is leaning into Luciano Del Signore’s upscale Italian roots and chef de cuisine Justin Fulton’s French fine dining background for a more succinct, slightly less buttoned up package. But whatever you do, don’t skip dessert.

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No. 6: Mink, Detroit (Corktown)

Mink is a snug oyster and raw bar with a limited menu and just 24 seats. The driving force at Mink is oysters, with a daily rotating roster that includes immaculately shucked East and West Coast varieties.

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No. 5: Taqueria y Cenaduria Triángulo Dorado, Detroit

Taqueria y Cenaduria Triángulo Dorado is a little different from most of the other Mexican restaurants in Southwest Detroit. The low-key Mexican diner focuses on popular street food from Sinaloa, Chihuahua and Durango.

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No. 4: Best New Restaurant No. 4: Magnet, Detroit (Core City)

Magnet is a progressive wood-fired restaurant with creative Middle Eastern bent, vegetable focus and no tipping. Everything is cooked either in the wood-burning oven or on the wood-burning hearth. Much of Magnet’s menu is dedicated to vegetables, and more than half of it is vegan or can be readily made vegan.

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No. 3: Saffron De Twah, Detroit

Saffron De Twah, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Moroccan-inspired street food spot on the city’s near east side, wins you over the moment you walk in the door. It has affordable food in a snug, unassuming former BBQ joint on Detroit’s east side.

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No. 2: YumVillage, Detroit (New Center)

YumVillage offers Fast-casual Afro-Caribbean rice bowls, stews and snacks. You can’t deny the quality of the food that's put out every day — at a quick pace and affordable price, no less. There’s plenty to love in the spicy-sweet plantains and vegan dishes, but it’s the chicken and rice that keep me coming back.

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No. 1: Leila, Detroit

Leila is an upscale second-generation Lebanese restaurant in historic downtown digs from a longtime restaurateur family. It's quickly becoming Detroit’s pinnacle of modern Lebanese cuisine in one of the city’s most visible historic quarters. Leila serves best-in-class versions of food that’s both familiar to and emblematic of the region, while exuding a grace and elegance that defies a large, high-volume restaurant.

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Send your dining tips to Free Press Restaurant Critic Mark Kurlyandchik at 313-222-5026 or mkurlyandc@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKurlyandchik and Instagram @curlyhandshake. Read more restaurant news and reviews and sign up for our Food and Dining newsletter.