Troy is having a very good month. In addition to Troy being named the fourth best city in the U.S. to start a small business, Troy Restaurant Week begins Sunday, August 16 through Friday, August 21. Restaurants will present a three course prix fixe menu from $15-45 depending on whether you order dinner or lunch. This dining format is a low stakes way to sample from every part of each restaurant’s menu.
Troy is a suburb with the bulk of its fine dining centered around Big Beaver Rd., with luxury mall the Somerset Collection serving as a kind of epicenter. Two of our entries are even located inside Somerset. Restaurants have not yet released their Restaurant Week menu, but based on my previous dining experience, here are the top five Troy restaurants worth checking out.
1. Ocean Prime
2915 Coolidge Hwy, Troy, MI 48084
The large white curved architecture with strategically accented lighting looks like the place Poseidon conducts power lunches. The staff are so suave and so good at upselling, you don’t know it until it’s time to pay for the steak and seafood. Enjoy fresh oysters sitting on ice as you listen to live music at the Blu Lounge piano bar. The extravagant experience is why Ambassador Magazine named it “Best Seafood” in 2012.
2. The Capital Grille
2800 W Big Beaver Rd, Troy, MI 48084
You know you’re entering somewhere swanky as soon as you step out of the car and give your keys to the valet. It is located inside the Somerset Collection North, so it mixes high fashion with fine dining. This steakhouse is where senior partners reward their top performing financial officers with $40 steaks using the firm’s expense account. The rich interior furnished with dark leather and dark wood screams money, which is what you need, if you want to feast on steak so good it almost melts in your mouth like butter.
3. NM Café at Neiman Marcus
2705 W Big Beaver Rd, Troy, MI 48084
Not many people know there is a full-service restaurant inside Neiman Marcus, because let’s face it, not many people can afford to shop on the luxury department store’s third floor, where one swatch of Chanel leather is roughly the price of a roommate’s rent. The cafe has an interesting entrance because the circular bar is smack dab in the middle of the foyer. It leads out into a spacious dining room that lets in a lot of natural light through its wall-length wood blinds. The menu is classic American fare faintly inspired by French and Mediterranean ingredients. Who knew quinoa spaghetti was a real thing?
4. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse
755 W Big Beaver Rd, Ste 151, Troy, MI 48084
This steakhouse for the well-to-do is housed in a building that looks better suited for a mid-level corporation, especially since it has the same feel as the PNC skyscraper it shares a parking lot with. Ruth’s Chris is the type of place you save for special occasions, and the staff knows it too. Decadent dessert plates with celebratory messages written in chocolate sauce topped with an artistically placed candle are the norm.
5. Sakura Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi
3635 Rochester Rd, Troy, MI 48083
A huge player in Troy’s restaurant scene is the haul of diners Benihana attracts almost every day. Here’s another option for you. There is no wait, as it is not usually packed but it’s very good and the service is great. The best part is the Teppanyaki cooks who entertain around the hot hibachi steel flattop. They are genuinely fun and goofy. They like their job, and they like putting on a show as they make diners laugh around the squat Japanese-inspired communal table.
Where else is participating in Troy restaurant Week 2015
Don’t let my suggestions be the end of your journey. The nineteen participating restaurants include: 2Booli, Bahama Breeze, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Kona Grill, Kruse & Muer on Wilshire, Lakes, Loccino Italian Grill & Bar, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood and Steaks, Morton’s The Steakhouse, NM Café at Neiman Marcus, Ocean Prime, Papa Vino’s Italian Kitchen, Picano’s, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Sakura Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi, The Capital Grille, The Melting Pot and Tre Monti Ristorante.
For more information involving Troy Restaurant week, visit their main website and Facebook.