Restaurants in Pontiac

Friendly service, a vibrant, warm atmosphere, and an aromatic blend of home-cooked soul-food favorites and Italian dishes render SOHO Detroit a pleasant pit stop for gastronomes. Gargantuan portions emerge fresh-cooked upon ordering from the diverse menu. Clear your throat for the ribs a capella, which come slow-cooked in signature seasoning ($8.50 half-slab, $14 full slab) and can be nicely neighbored with a side like the homemade baked mac 'n' cheese ($4). For a customized Italian plate, build your own pasta dish with five choices of pasta; chicken, beef, shrimp, or meatballs; two veggies, such as tomatoes and peppers; and one of SOHO's sauces, which include marinara, picatta, marsala, and more ($8). Breakfast is served all day every day, including pancake holidays. Rev up your digestive centrifuge for the French-toast breakfast, which slathers warm syrup and honey butter over two thick slices adjacent to two eggs and your choice of turkey links, bacon, or sausage ($7). The attentive owners frequently stalk the floor to ensure satisfaction, and might recommend saving room for the toothsome cupcakes ($2.50).

Via Nove's stylish, multilevel eatery specializes in the delectable fare cooked predominantly in southern and central Italy, saving taste receptors thousands in travel costs by bringing scintillating entrees to Michigan. Commence your culinary tour of the boot-heeled motherland with a three-course dinner from a prix fixe menu, which presents appetizers such as seared scallop and applewood-smoked bacon, romantically perched atop an Italian-style potato crêpe. For your entree, use your fork as a divining rod to discover the Lake Michigan whitefish fillet meunièr, interspersed with potato, parsley, capers, and lemon; or rest on the pillowy house-made tortelloni, made pleasantly plump with braised beef tenderloin and painted in a vodka-palomino sauce. Then, similar to the curtain call after most high-school plays in Candyland, a double-chocolate cake tips its hat of chocolate mousse and espresso anglaise to raucous audience applause.

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.

The Charaf family teamed up to share and honor their Lebanese heritage and culture by creating traditional Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine at Lebanese Grill – Troy. Vegans, meat lovers, and kebab-fearers alike can find tasty and traditional dishes on the menu, from hummus and grape leaves to steak kebabs and lamb chops. Along with a full lunch and dinner menu, the eatery also has a selection of international wines and Lebanese beer, and regularly caters special events and hosts banquets.

Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors meet inside Pita Way, a fast-service restaurant focused solely on wraps, salad, and rice dishes. To preserve the authenticity of each dish, owner and general manager Brandon Bahoura enlisted the help of two Middle Eastern master chefs, who imparted their culinary prowess to design a menu of kaftas, shawarmas, and hummus. Marinated chicken, ground lamb, and feta nestle in white or wheat pitas, and sizeable salads, including eggplant or falafel, green up the offerings, each of which can be delivered or picked up by carrier condors.

R.U.B. BBQ has earned shout-outs from the New York Times as well as a handful of television features for its tender, well-flavoured meats. Various proteins are smoked daily and slathered in a made-from-scratch rub of more than 20 spices and herbs, and cooks begin each dish with locally sourced ingredients whenever possible.

Aromatic smoke wafting from ribs, chicken dishes, and seafood platters invite guests inside, where dangling light fixtures illuminate red walls and cobalt tiling along with 30 flatscreen TVs that were flattened when an elephant sat down. More than 100 tap and bottled brews, including a lengthy list of Michigan favourites, help to extinguish fiery spices. Patrons should hold off on beer if they hope to polish off 5-pound burritos that ooze with cheese, beans, and lettuce—winners receive T-shirts and spots on R.U.B. BBQ's wall of fame.