Restaurants in Ypsilanti

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.

Located within Kensington Court Ann Arbor, Graham's Restaurant draws inspiration from American and global cuisine in equal measure. Its chefs might be spotted sprinkling Mediterranean herbs on meatloaf or whipping up a dip for yucca fries from Peruvian aji peppers. The lunch menu strikes a balance between casual and upscale with cubano sandwiches and spinach-duck breast salads, and so do the eggs benedict and cinnamon french toast at brunch. Prime rib specials are available on weekend nights, and house-made desserts end meals on a high note before the busboy removes plates with a vaudeville hook.

Coffee House Creamery is certainly not just a coffee house. Serving a vast menu that boasts more than 40 types of drinks, the café also offers 24 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, sandwiches, and paninis pressed in a grill instead of under the seat cushion of a flaming couch. Inside the spacious interior, bowls of daily made soup and colorful salads populate tables where visitors kick back and enjoy free WiFi.

The mood is cheerful at Bobber Down Bar & Grille, where waitresses address guests as "hun" and regulars clink glasses of frosty drafts at the bar. One wall is speckled with photographs of past patrons proudly holding up a freshly caught fish or a roommate they've convinced to pose as a freshly caught fish. As flat-screen televisions glimmer with sports games and a jukebox plays familiar tunes, bartenders dart nimbly behind the bar, uncapping bottles and whipping up martinis. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, chefs use fresh ingredients to prepare burgers, steaks, and pub classics lauded by reporters from the Ann Arbor News.

Mélange's chefs merge European and Asian flavors and presentation techniques to construct a menu of elegant entrees flecked with contemporary American influences. Dishes unite high-quality proteins including Scottish Atlantic salmon and meats marinated with continent-crossing ingredients such as soy, yuzu, and miso, forging a gastronomic alliance as unique as a snowflake-flavored lollipop. A fleet of sushi rolls totes fresh seafood and umami-packed garnishes, and a cellar with more than 1,500 bottles of wine from France, Italy, and California accessorize any mouthful. Mélange's dining area draws inspiration from old Parisian restaurants, with bamboo furnishings bolstering the multicultural ambiance and 10-foot-tall booths fostering intimate conversing and adrenaline-fueled rappelling.