Eater Award-winning chef Genevieve Vang’s flagship restaurant Bangkok 96 has been stunning diners with refreshing takes on Thai cuisine since 1996. The menu here runs the gamut from palate-cleansing fresh spring rolls to chicken larb salad to Thai fried rice. Online ordering is available.

In business since 1941, this classic dive bar has endured while staying true to its roots. The famous ground round is served on a bun with or without cheese, pickles, and onions — and that’s pretty much it. No heirloom tomatoes, no housemade bacon, no organic fried eggs — just a burger on a square of parchment paper. Make sure to take cash. Miller’s goes by the honor system: Customers pay at the bar and tell the staff what they had. Online ordering is available.

This halal restaurant serves up flavors of the Himalayas — Indian, Nepali, and Tibetan cuisine. Start with the samosas, which are flavorful and fried to perfection. The butter chicken and the chicken tikka masala are popular with customers, who’ve given high marks to the restaurant since its 2019 opening. Online ordering is available.

This French patisserie and restaurant from the team behind Brome Modern Eatery and Detroit’s Cannelle is a dream for both pastry lovers and folks looking for brunch in Dearborn. The space is as elegant as the buttery croissants, rich eclairs, colorful macarons, and freshly baked bread. It also offers robust breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus that include sandwiches, salads, a variety of fancy toasts, and a full coffee bar featuring locally roasted brews. Reservations are available on Resy, and online ordering is also available.

This car-themed shrine to Ford Motor Company is the destination for burgers, adult milkshakes, and a bar that features a genuine Model T that hovers above. Try Ford-theme snacks and entrees like an order of the Giant Funnel Tower of Jumbo Piston Onion Rings or the Model “A” Burger — with sharp cheddar, applewood smoked Bacon, and pico de gallo. To drink, try a frozen cocktail, a variety of mules and margaritas, and more car-themed menu items like the tequila-based Backseat Driver cocktail. Watch the big sports game from one of the many large-screen TVs on display. Guests here are also encouraged to become regulars with a rewards program that offers points for every dollar spent. Reservations are available, and online ordering is also an option.

This spot in Dearborn serves up Middle Eastern-inspired cuisine but with a seafood twist. Many of the classic offerings one would find in a traditional Middle Eastern restaurant are available here, including skewers, hummus, grilled kibbeh, and kofta sandwiches, with one key distinction: In addition to beef, lamb, chicken, or other typical proteins, Aliz prepares with a variety of marinated or spicy fish or shrimp. The menu is rounded out with entrees like roasted red snapper, grilled salmon with herbs, as well as casseroles and shrimp biryani. Online ordering is available.

Yemeni cuisine continues to gain in popularity throughout metro Detroit, thanks in part to the growing number of Yemeni-owned coffee shops cropping up. Here, get a taste for the cooking with specialties like a Yemeni-style rotisserie chicken — available whole or in half — breakfast staples like foul, fresh-squeezed juices and smoothies, and sandwiches made with roti. Online ordering is available.

For Yemeni food, Sheeba Restaurant is a go-to place with dishes such as seltah (root vegetables with whipped fenugreek) and fahsah (shredded lamb and potatoes) — both of which come to the table bubbling hot in a clay bowl. The lamb haneeth is the most popular dish, with slow-roasted lamb over basmati rice. The Yemeni tannour bread is perfect for scooping and sopping it all up. Online ordering is available.

Michigan Avenue’s M Cantina specializes in Nuevo Latino cuisine, including halal tacos and tortas as well as refreshing cocktails from chef and mixologist mastermind Junior Merino (aka The Liquid Chef). Due to staffing shortages, reservations are required. Online ordering is also available.

This Lebanese mainstay features a ski chalet-inspired diner interior and a clever drive-thru window for takeout orders. Regulars love it for the complimentary lentil soup, juicy rotisserie chickens, and plentiful combination plates piled high with everything from falafel to fried kibbeh to grape leaves. Drive-thru and curbside pickup are available. Online ordering is also an option via third-party apps.

Al Chabab serves Syrian food paired with friendly, attentive service. Those who seek out spicy flavors will find a lot to like here, such as the hummus halabi that has a little kick from Aleppo chilies and the spicy kibbeh. The kabobs are standouts, especially the cherry. Can’t decide what to get? The mixed grill has a little bit of everything, or ask the owners who are always ready and willing to make suggestions. 

There’s no shortage of great burgers in metro Detroit, but Taystee’s stands out for its halal beef, creative flavor combinations, and unsuspecting location. Like spicy? There’s the Volcano, boasting jalapeno, jalapeno poppers, and spicy mayo. Want breakfast for dinner? The Breakfast Burger has a fried egg, beef bacon, and not one but two grilled cheese sandwiches as a bun. Online ordering is available.

From wildly popular food truck to a physical restaurant, Lobster Pitstop gives diners a casual destination for enjoying a craveable lobster roll. The rolls here are served on a non-traditional bun overflowing with big, juicy pieces of lobster, which is sourced straight from Maine. The whole thing is dressed up with garlic butter and herbs. The food truck continues to roam the region for those who can’t make the trip to Dearborn. Online ordering is available.

Turkish entrees like shareable mezze platters, kebabs, doner sandwiches, salads, as well as a selection of traditional coffee beverages, and desserts are available at this casual space in Dearborn. According to Eater Detroit contributor Rosa Maria Zamarrón, the kanafeh — with layers of cheese, spun pastry, and topped with pistachio and simple syrup — is a worthy sweet treat. Reservations are available, as is online ordering.

All-halal coastal Italian seafood like pomegranate-glazed octopus, high-quality cuts of meat, pasta, and wood-fired, naturally leavened pizza are all on deck at this Dearborn fine dining establishment. Chef Hisham Diab is a Culinary Institute of America-trained alum and has a background working with chef Jared Gadbaw (who now runs Oak and Reel in Milwaukee Junction) when at the Michelin-starred restaurant Marea in New York. Reservations are available via Tock.

The franchise Paradise Biryani Pointe has become an examination of the ways that halal cuisine can span cultures with dishes like za’atar naan, Indian falafel, and paneer tikka kabobs. In 2023, owner Ali Wazne, who is Lebanese American, partnered with Srinath “Ziggy” Kalmadi, who is Indian, to launch Paradise Street Eats, a food truck situated in Greektown. Select from a variety of street snacks, including butter chicken chaat, lamb keema samosas, and a variety of savory dosa rolls. Be sure to wash down your mobile meal with a refreshing mango lassi and keep it moving. Online ordering is available.