Savant Midtown, a French-influenced diner and cocktail bar, has opened at 51 W. Forest at Woodward Avenue. The 99-seat restaurant is led by Chef Jordan Whitmore and Bartender Rebecca Wurster, both of whom previously worked at the Apparatus Room’s Chef’s Table at the Foundation Hotel in downtown Detroit.
The new restaurant’s menu offers French onion soup, a range of salads, calamari, a foie gras éclair, waygu steak-frites au poivre, several gourmet burgers, crispy potato and rutabaga hash, popovers served with European butter and French jam, escoffier scramble and croissant biscuits with gravy, and crème brulee, among other offerings.
The cocktail menu includes creative offerings with a scientific spin, including a clarified Bloody Mary with horseradish foam and the “In A Snap,” which features tiny green pearls, gin, and Benedictine.
The star of the cocktail menu is a drink called the Center of the Universe. It’s made with Cachaca, smith and cross, orgeat, felernum, passion fruit, Campari, and lemon. The offering is for two people.
Savant’s interior includes works from Detroit artist Lisa Spindler, Niagara, Ron Zaccaria, Armageddon, and others. In addition, the restaurant will host pop-ups and feature guest DJs on Monday nights. There’s also an outdoor patio, while an alley on the east side of the restaurant will be renovated and offer event programming starting next spring.
The restaurant is located on the main floor of a parking deck accessed from Forest (one-way street heading east). Hours are Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight; Friday-Saturday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; and Sunday, 5-11 p.m. The bar opens at 4:30 p.m. daily. Lunch hours will be added soon.
