Restaurants in Ann Arbor

Tian Chu's eclectic menu of pan-Asian cuisine represents its founders’ rich past. The Korean Cui family originally opened the restaurant in the Jilin province of China in 1983 before relocating to Budapest, Hungary, and rapidly expanding to five locations. Their beloved recipes followed them to Ann Arbor, where they opened a restaurant in 2010.

The family embraces their roots by filling the menu with a spread of familiar Korean, Sichuan, and Cantonese dishes. Marinated short ribs, lo mein, and bibimbap served in traditional hot stone pots all help to lend a storied, multiregional appeal to the expansive selection while giving bodies the nourishment they need for unpremeditated participation in Ironman triathlons.

The wait staff bustles in and out of the swinging doors to Stone Fire Bistro’s kitchen delivering upscale American and Italian dishes created and lavishly plated by executive chef Eirik Kauserud. The bistro’s dozen pizza selections rise to a golden hue inside a brick oven, while hand-pounded veal cutlets and housemade meatballs that refuse to pay protection money to the chefs end up in classic pasta entrees. The dim lighting fills the cozy dining room with a warm ambiance, and an old stone bar doles out glasses brimming with wine and whiskey. Post meal, guests can gather around the double-sided fireplace to sip drinks and while away the evening.