Restaurants in Auburn Hills

Every guest who steps into Kalamata Greek Grill smells it—the warm, comforting aroma of freshly baked pita bread. Made from a closely guarded recipe—the one thing Caesar saved before burning down the Library of Alexandria—pitas serve as the foundation of Kalamata's made-to-order Greek cuisine. The kitchen staff lines the pocketed bread in full view of customers, stuffing it with ingredients such as steamy gyro meat and each guest’s choice of toppings. They can also make house-style pitas, such as the Greek Cowboy, which includes green pepper, red onion, and greek barbecue sauce.

The dining room invites patrons to relax under its latticework ceiling, and the patio offers alfresco seating. Kalamata's combination of fresh Greek food and a welcoming atmosphere—plus its enthusiasm for helping out with fundraisers—has won it Best Greek Restaurant from 2009 to 2012 in WDIV's Vote 4 The Best awards.

Carved wooden pizza chefs stand sentry outside Georgios Pizza and Pasta's white-brick storefront, heads tilted back as if tracking the trajectory of the dough their human counterparts mix fresh each day and hand toss for each order. A brick oven toasts the crusts and melts ricotta and fresh mozzarella over toppings such as kalamata olives, pine nuts, and philly steak. Sicilian-style pies transform their components into thicker, four-cornered mozzarella monoliths that slide neatly into a standard briefcase, and complementary flavors unfold in overstuffed pastas and subs.

It’s A Matter Of Taste re-creates rustic Italian meals with a menu that showcases the nation’s three most prominent food groups: pasta, seafood, and steak. From the tender gnocchi to raviolis filled with chicken and veal, chefs fashion many of the pastas in-house to ensure fresh, authentic flavors. Grills decorate sea scallops and Angus filet mignon with smoky lines, and the bone at the center of the osso buco–style lamb imparts a rich flavor to its barolo-wine sauce. The upscale cuisine matches an elegant interior with wrought-iron accents, exposed wooden beams, and a patio overlooking Union Lake that opens the dining room to natural sunlight and tugboat calls.

Fresh Mediterranean feasts unfold beneath the crystal-touched gold chandeliers of a cream-colored dining room as chefs in the kitchen blend chickpeas, fava beans, and fresh herbs to forge housemade falafel. These flavor gurus then sauté lemon chicken with oregano and garlic as well as stuff chicken kafta sandweechet with tomatoes and garlic sauce before grilling them both panini-style. After enjoying the chefs’ creations, diners can enjoy a sweet slice of baklava as they linger in the dining room to watch TV or practice coquettish eyebrow lifts in the large mirrors framed in rustic wood.

Cedar Grille's staffers can also pack up dishes for takeout. To satisfy their fans' demands, they also bottle up their housemade fattoush salad dressing for customers to take home. Customers sometimes stop in just for one of the raw blends, such as the energy booster packed with carrots, apples, and parsley or a smoothie with strawberry, banana, and honey.

'Wiches outshines the average deli, and locals have taken notice. Since the shop’s opening in 2009, it has been repeatedly crowned a top contender for Best Soup and Sandwich by WDIV Detroit and Best Deli in Oxford by the Oxford Leader.

‘Wiches stacks its sandwiches with layers of deli meats and cheeses, crisp veggies, and flavorful condiments atop freshly baked bread or gluten-free bread. Signature sandwiches include the Chickenthenian with hummus and cucumbers and Porky's Revenge with house-smoked pulled pork, apple-smoked BBQ sauce, and coleslaw. Soups, salads, cookies, and other baked goods round out the menu, and most can be made gluten-free. The sandwiches and sweets also profit the people that purchase them, since ‘Wiches has donated more than $7,500 to local nonprofits.