Iridescence
2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48218
Iridescence Menu
Sorry, We are updating this restaurant menu details.
Visit below restaurant in Detroit for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Detroit for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Detroit for healthy meals suggestion.
Sorry, we don't have Q&A for this restaurant.
Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.
-
Address :
2901 Grand River Ave
Detroit, MI, 48218 - Phone (877) 777-0711
- Website https://www.motorcitycasino.com/Iridescence.aspx
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Tue
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : No
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Garage
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : No
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Dressy
Ambience : Romantic
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
Looky Weed - Buy Marijuana Online
Looky Weed is here to help you navigate the maze of legalized marijuana. We provide you with a complete dispensary directory.
Caleb Y.
I really like this place. I like the high ceilings. I like the bright ambiance. It is modern-appearing, but still not uncomfortable. The view of Detroit is very nice (as nice as a view of the "current" Detroit can be). My meal was fantastic: Chilled Seafood Platter poached jumbo shrimp, west coast oysters, seasonal shellfish saduchi lime cocktail sauce, sparkling wine mignonette, green goddess dressing --the standout of this dish was the seasonal shellfish which was lobster - it was tender, sweet - just perfect!! Braised Short Rib Picatta-Style risi bisi, fried capers, lemon powder, chicken glace, lemon verbena --unbelievable! the short rib was soooo tender and flavorful. Yuzu Salmon* forbidden black rice, yuzu marmalade, poached salmon fresh roll, yuzu beurre blanc --I was most disappointed with this dish. Not bad, but just not great. The black rice was okay, but just way too much. Definitely give this place a try! Every dish is made a lot of detail and it shows. Pay attention to the plating - they are artists.
(4)Ashley Z.
Excellent food and excellent service. You definitely have to have an adventurous palate to get the most out of the experience but there are "safe" options too. I would definitely recommend Iridescence if you are looking for a high quality meal with a great view (inside and out). Nicely done!
(5)Missy W.
This was the most amazing dinner I have had the pleasure of eating in quite some time, but I must say the highlight of my evening was Jamey. I'm a foodie so I can't say there are many places I've been to that haven't received accolades of some sort but in this case my expectations were surpassed. The menu was both informative but also visually dynamic. And Jamey was the frosting on my cake. She was patient and didn't flinch when my date and I tasted about six different wines before settling on a Malbec that Jamey suggested. She was attentive and knowledgable and truly made me feel very special. (I work in a restaurant by trade and I don't even think I'm that genuine haha). I ordered the filet for dinner while my date ordered the Chilean Sea Bass which came highly recommended by Jamey. The filet was savory and tender and in fact paired expertly but you couldn't top that Chilean Sea Bass. The marinade that was used and the light feeling of the fish led to me eat half my date's fish!!! If you follow reviews even slightly, you just try it. And if you're celebrating something (or in general) ask for Jamey (apparently you can specify who you want when you make the reservation), your special day just becomes that much more.
(5)Blaise B.
All I have to say is, WOW. I have never been to a nicer place than Iridescence. My boyfriend and I came here for our 4-year anniversary, and we have decided that this will be our anniversary place for as long as we're together. First, the view is amazing. We were seated in a huge round booth, but we could still see out of the window across the room and will definitely request window seats next time. The make a point of pouring all of the water from Fiji bottles, which I found funny. And they must have a certain line that water can't get below in the glass, because they were constantly refilling it. We felt like we drank 20 glasses of water. We came for dessert, but of course my boyfriend was hungry, so we shared a New York strip dinner. Fair warning: The New York strip takes 40 MINUTES to cook! So we had a nice long chat and bread and butter. The steak and carrots were outstanding, and the mashed potatoes were average. After the entree, we got an amuse-bouche for the first time in our lives- this little plate of tuna and peppers to cleanse the palate before dessert. We also got hot towels. I have never felt so fancy! Finally, the reason we came here: the $30, four-course dessert sampler. This was SO unbelievably amazing that words cannot do it justice. Each dish was plated like it was on the Food Network. There were so many different parts to each course that it was like a food adventure! I absolutely can't wait to do it again next year!
(5)Natalie D.
One of my favorite 5-star restaurants in the city! I've been going since they first opened and when they were located at the "temporary" casino. I love that the menu changes 4x a year so I get a different experience practically every time I'm there! Worth the splurge!
(5)J S.
Jamey- thank you for making my birthday special- you are a great waitress! This restaurant is definitely one of my favorites- my husband and I shared the crab cake- amazing- we split a Caesar salad- they split for us in super chilled bowls! We each ordered a different steak- filet and the New York strip - both were fantastic- but the New York strip was definitely my favorite- we didn't have room for dessert- wish we would have- but they brought me a treat for my birthday- good selection of wines- as well- amazing views-
(5)Chance R.
The meal we had last night was amazing. I ordered the bone in ribeye and it was the best steak I've had in a very long time. It was seasoned perfectly and the side dishes were unbelievable. Everyone else in my party enjoyed their dishes and the service was first rate. Very surprised there wasn't a longer wait on a Saturday night given how good the place is. Highly recommended and a great option for dining near downtown Detroit. Views from the window tables are very nice.
(5)Beth H.
- A Transcendant dining experience. - Walking in the entrance, I recall thinking that if St. Peter had a favorite hang out, this would be it. On the 16th floor of the MotorCity hotel; walking into Iridescence sky high dining room was ethereal. The white d
(5)Ben C.
Went for the 2nd time last night, and it was an amazing experience. Our group had the "American Kaiseki" menu and let me just say that Chef Benjamin Meyer is an asset to the city of Detroit. Course after course were crafted to perfection. Every dish seemed better than the last. The atmosphere and ambiance of the restaurant is one of the best in the city. The view alone is worth trip. While every trip to the restaurant has been with a vendor that picked up the bill, I would gladly visit again on my own dime just for the view of the city. Sitting atop the MotorCity hotel/Casino the restaurant isn't in the heart of the downtown area, but offers a view of the skyline that isn't available anywhere else I've been. Food- On my first trip, I had a great steak. My experience last night, with the American Kaiseki menu was unbelievable. The menu describes it as a "seven-course tasting based on Senso's version of kaiseki, focusing on progression, seasonality, simplicity, and playfulness". There were actually 9 courses when you count the amuse bouche and the decaffinated tea palate cleanser. In our group of 12 we had a vegetarian and a person allergic to shellfish, and they accommodated them with fish, vegetable, and other plates that followed the theme of the main meal progression. Highlights of the sampling: The deconstructed Oscar. The Chef prepared a merus piece of Alaskan King Crab, wrapped in a beautifully marbled slice of Kobe beef, left raw "to admire the marbling" with a great white asparagus, all atop a wonderful bearnaise sauce. It was out of this world good. - the desert course (somewhere around the 4th course) came at a point the Chef said "We just felt like dessert fit right here" and he was right. And it was amazing. The plums were unbelievably delicious, paired with ice cream, and two small bites of cake. With so many courses, I could go on forever, but let me just say it was an experience I will remember and the food was beyond great. I will be returning as soon as I can.
(5)Carolynn F.
This is one of our favorite "date night" places. The food is always amazing. Although they switch the menu up they generally always have some version of a short rib appetizer which is always amazing. I also always have to get the mother sauce appetizer which is just plain scrumptious. The lamb two ways is great but I'm not sure how long that will be on the menu. Although honestly I have never had a bad meal. The atmosphere is serene and chic. The wine list is extensive and they have the best method of housing the wine. Helios is the best server anywhere he's knowledgeable, professional, and charming.
(5)Cari M.
I went to Iridescence on a first date - and it wowed me! Sitting next to the huge windows overlooking downtown Detroit and the river & bridge I had to force myself to look at my date instead of out the window! The lights are a sort of soft fuscia and blue and of course their signature hanging bulb light fixture and the large sort of stained glass on the back walls made it feel like I was in a fairytale! The things I liked most about Iridescence are first off- the look I just described with the view and light fixtures ... next is THE STAFF .. they were fantastic. We decided to check out Iridescence spontaneously so we showed up about 8pm on a Saturday night and the man at the front desk thought we were hilarious for thinking we could get in anytime soon without a reservation... his name was Frederick ... then we told him that it was our first date and he got a huge smile on his face and said he would help us out as long as we invited him to our wedding ha ha ha ... needless to say he was amazing and got us right in and seated at what he called "the best table in the house" ... LOVED Frederick. All the staff was phenomenal, our servers name was Aretha and she helped us out with menu options and was a delight! There were a handful of other men who were constantly refilling our waters - from Fiji water bottles!!! We really took our time and the whole dining experience was over 3 hours and yet I was never looking around to wave someone down for more water or anything in all that time. At the end of the meal they bring you warm washcloths to clean your hands with. Very impressive! (to me!) Now onto the food ... I personally did not love it as fancy food is not really my thing.. but I had a BLAST trying new things. We ordered several small things to share ... First we got their sandwich plate which came with 4 mini sandwiches each of them different ... these were fun to taste but not super memorable. Next we had their grilled baby octopus and it was probably my favorite part of the meal !!! I DO NOT eat seafood ... it has weirded me out my entire life ... I've only recently begun to eat tilapia and thats as far as I can go ... but I was on a first date so I basically I had to try it or else I looked pretty silly, and I'm very glad I did as I now highly recommend it! We also got crab cake which I tried but did not care for, my date didn't like it very much either. Lastly we ordered some kind of pear salad which I was really excited for because I love trying fancy salads but ... it was disappointing and I didn't like it at all! So pretty much only the sandwiches and octopus were good, and even then they weren't amazing. In the banquet area next to the resturaunt there was a huge wedding going on and my oh my what a fabulous venue!!! We went over and peeked in and it looked like a blast! What a great place for a reception! Fellas take note -- we saw 3 different couples around us making out so you have a pretty good chance if you bring your lady here ;) I'm sure their menu is a lot better than the items we experienced ... so the stars it earned are for its overall atmosphere, the view and decor, and service. I'm not anxious to get back simply because the food doesn't draw me in.
(4)Maria A.
What happened to this place? It used to be a "best of" and now it's more of an average. I was recently here and I used to tell everyone they need to try it out but not anymore. The food is missing that "WOW" factor. I would rather spend my money somewhere AMAZING. This is a place to experience though for those who haven't been. They do have a nice atmosphere and their service is great.
(3)Lynn H.
Iridescence was our final restaurant of Detroit Restaurant Week, and we liked it a lot. First things first: the space is gorgeous. It lives up to it's name - all sparkle and white. The service was impeccable, and the food was excellently prepared. For appetizer, I had the caprese salad, which was fresh and appetizing with a touch of mint. Hubby had the crab po' boy which was delicious with a zingy mustard mayo. For entree, I had the lamb osso bucco, which was tender and juicy. Hubby had the roasted chicken, which was... well... roasted chicken. His entree came with grilled asparagus which was very fresh and tasty. For dessert, the cappucino ice cream and chocolate brownie were decadently rich and complemented each other quite well.
(4)Tanya M.
One of the best meals I've had in Detroit!! The presentation was amazing and comparable to restaurants in San Francisco! I loved that they had wine flights! The variety was great and we were each able to sample flights we enjoyed with me trying the old world vs new world whites and him going with a flight of reds. I had the tale of two chickens and it was delicious!! It was presented with a play on fried chicken, corn bread and watermelon and the other version was coq au vin with pork belly....yum!! hubby has the lamb and grits, which he said he enjoyed. I'm not a big grit fan, so it wasn't for me. The dessert was big enough to split and we went with an ice cream sampler..another great presentation along with great food! Next time I want to try the cake, which includes slices of 3 different cakes and comes with ice milk....cannot wait!!! We went in the evening and were sat by a window where the views were amazing. We were even able to see the fireworks at Comerica Park :)
(5)Violet S.
Iridescence is an amazing experience to dine in. It's located in Detroit inside the Motor City Hotel casino. You can park in the attached parking garage. You have take to take the elevators upstairs.The restaurant itself is so beautiful inside. The décor is plush and perfect for a romantic, upscale date. Dishes ranged from $25+. The menu is on an ipad. We started with the west coast oysters and the caviar (it's $120). I had the South African Lobster Tail and my date had the Alaskan Halibut. Everything was superb. I especially enjoyed the caviar and oysters. It also came with an oyster shooter. We had martinis/cocktails all night (around $10-12/glass) The waitress was attentive and informative. Good service/staff. We only had a 2 hr time frame bc we had to catch a theatrical performance nearby so the waitress was nice enough to let the cooks know and to inform us which entrees would take the least amount of time. We finished with the hazelnut cake and the peanut butter mousse. The total was around $300. The food and dining experience was excellent. Dress for the occasion and check it out!
(5)Todd M.
This place is not cheap but the food is incredible and the service is amazing. We have been here a couple times with the most recent on Thanksgiving for Thanksgiving dinner. I had the turkey breast and my wife had the filet. Both melted in your mouth. Highly recommend the peanut butter bar. It may be my new favorite dessert. Ask for Helios as your waiter and a table facing the kitchen. It's amazing to watch the chef and his staff perfect every dish.
(5)Carol S.
I've been wanting to try Iridescence for some time, but have never been able to get a table during Restaurant Week, so my husband made a reservation for a Saturday night date. We arrived a little early, so we had a seat in the lounge and I ordered a cocktail. When the hostess was ready to seat us, she asked if we wanted a window table or a booth. She said the window table seating was rather uncomfortable for a long evening, and that she was able to get us the most-requested booth tucked into a corner. Since I wanted to enjoy my meal, and the window seats were high-top tables with low-backed seats, we chose the booth. Why in the world would the designer put high top tables in front of the window? Any one sitting at the 'regular' tables, or booths away from the window would get a view - of table and people legs. And since I wanted to relax, I sure didn't want a chair with a very low back. Then we opened the menu and holy cats and kittens - talk about sticker shock! The wine list pricing was typical, but the food was crazily overpriced. $18 for a crab cake (just ONE) and I saw an entree priced at $75 !! After we placed our order, our server brought us an amuse-bouche of dashi with micro greens. It was very tasty, although I could not identify all the ingredients. Our server, Oretha, was charming and very attentive to all her customers. The assistants servers - not so much. Perhaps it was a language barrier, but they barely cracked a smile. I did find the table setting to be verging on pretentious - there was a charger plate, flatware, glassware and linens - and as soon as we were seated and had placed our napkins on our lap, the charger was removed. What's the point, really? A clean plate, never used for anything, was removed - and then what? Did it go back into the "decorative plate" pile? Did it get run through the dishwasher? Either was, it's not a very "green" practice - even in a fine dining establishment, it seems as though it just adds cost, without adding value (or function). We each ordered a cocktail - I had a Cosmopolitan, and he ordered a Bellini. Both of them were very tasty and perfectly mixed. My drink was as fragrant as it was delicious. The prices for cocktails were on a par with any good restaurant, or bar. On to the food! I order the Roasted Clear Water Lobster Tails (I'd hate to think of a non-clear water lobster), and my husband ordered the dry-aged New York Strip. The steak was 14 ounces - who eats that much in one sitting? Since my dish was served with a cream sauce, we ate all of my dinner, and had the majority of the steak packaged to take home as leftovers. Everything was prepared perfectly, and I did enjoy the corn cream and olive oil popcorn served along with the lobster. There were 3 pieces of lobster, which was 1 too many. I'd rather a smaller portion and smaller price. We had no room to order a dessert, but we did order coffee, which was a delicious rich blend, made in a French press. We were served two macarons - mocha and pistachio - as a little sweet treat, which was just enough to satisfy. Overall, I can't really recommend this place unless you don't mind spending $200, or more, if you order a bottle of wine. It better be a pretty momentous occasion. You're paying a lot for a so-so view, depending on where you sit, and an overall design concept that has a number of hits, but also a number of misses.
(3)Kevin E.
My wife and I went for our 10th wedding anniversary. When I made the reservation (online), I indicated that it was our anniversary. Upon arrival to the restaurant, as well as by the server we were greeted with 'Happy Anniversary,' which was a nice touch. We got a window table, and the view was as good as a Detroit view gets. The service was friendly, and they were quick to refill water (from the Fiji bottle) when needed. The food was wonderfully prepared, which makes up for the fact that it took a long time between ordering and being served. The cut of filet that I had was served with a steak knife, but that wasn't necessary as it was so tender. The Caesar salad was prepared tableside, with dressing made in front of us. I had never been asked to taste test Caesar dressing before. The only downside was that it wasn't the easiest restaurant to find, given that all the signs only pointed to 'Restaurants,' with an arrow, rather than naming it. Once you find the elevators, there is a pair of express elevators, whose only stop is the top floor for the restaurant. Overall, I'm happy with my experience. It's not a place to go for a normal everyday dinner, but certainly suitable for those celebratory occasions.
(4)Andy S.
Between the ambience, service and menu it really lives up to the hype. My wife had the pear salad first which was unique and had marinated pears stuffed with bleu cheese. I had the old world wine flight which was served with a nice cheese, nut and sausage platter. Entrees were phenomenal -- filet for me and chicken breast for the wife. Sounds boring, but all of the food has very unique, bold flavors. There are plenty of adventerous choices on the menu which I'm sure really kick up the bold flavors. Desert was a peanut butter bar which was phenomenal. We will be back!
(5)Lisa J.
My boyfriend and I decided to check out iridescence while staying at Motor City Casino last night. We wanted something light and a few drinks. We did not have a reservation, the hostess was friendly, ambiance was modern, clean, and sexy with a great view. The cuisine however, left much to be desired. We came in at 8:45 on a Sunday, they were closing at 10:00. Both my boyfriend and I have worked in the service industry so we were sensitive to order promptly as to not be there much past close. We ordered a few specialty martinis, they were good. Then we ordered three appetizers, grilled baby octopus, mother sauce, and sin-full shrimp. I asked our server to space them out a few minutes so they didn't all come at once. He looked at his watch when I asked this. Rude. There were other people with menus open and more people being sat. 15 min later all three arrived at the same time. I tried to hide my anger. Our table was so crowded that we had to set our drinks on the window sill. The food itself was bland, very bland. We sent the octopus back, which I NEVER do. It was inedible, tasted burnt and bitter. Maybe it would have been better if we could have enjoyed it while it was hot but by time we got to if after the first app it was cold. Maybe our server should have listened. For $20 appetizers we were defiantly expecting more. We are both "foodies" and accustomed to being wowed, as snobby as that sounds if you are a "four diamond" restaurant charging top dollar you should really step it up. We love Motor City Casino but we will save our money for the black jack tables next time we visit.
(2)Justin R.
You can't find better service. Food is great too. I find their menu to be typical of a fine dining establishment, ie nothing terribly unique, however they treat you like a GOD. View is great too. Good martini menu, very unique wine rack, and very attentive staff make this place stand out among other Detroit restaurants. Michigan doesn't know upscale like other cities have it, and this place is one that would fit in any cosmopolitan city. Multiple servers, multiple water selections from multiple assistants. I especially appreciate how they thoroughly explain each dish as if I were critiquing it for a review...brilliant! I can easily spend 2 hours here just on one meal. They make it a slow paced, relaxed occasion where I don't mind spending the money to be in such a place, with such a great view.
(5)Rajeev S.
Best restaurant in the metro area? No way. The food was fancy looking but very bland. I was 0 for 4 of the things I tried. Flavorless is the best word to describe the food. Not terrible, but neutral in every respect. Worst part was the service, however. Total amateur hour. I don't mean to be an elitist, but if you're paying $50+ a head for a meal at a nice restaurant, the service should be great. Problem is that the servers / bus staff were untrained. I'd bet they are rotating staff from the other areas of the casino/hotel and using them in the restaurant. Most of the staff appeared clueless. View and room are nice and impressive.
(2)Nicole K.
Great view and good service. The braised short rib appetizer and Cioppino in Thai Broth were perfect dishes. I will definitely be back!
(4)Ashley H.
This was our first time to Iridescence and we came as part of Restaurant Week. We arrived while it was still daylight. The ambiance was nice, but boy did it become snazzier as the sun set and the lights were on. My favorite thing about this place was the selection of wine flights. Each flight offered four wines. I just love broadening my wine horizons. We had the asparagus and shrimp as appetizers, both were good. For dinner I had the salt and vinegar chip encrusted perch and my fiance and friend had the Kobe burger. I loved my fish. They liked their burgers but my fiance commented that it isn't worth its usual $28 pricetag. He liked our burgers at Basement Burger Bar better at half the price. But then you don't have the view, ambiance, or service of this place. The service, by the way, was great. Sure it was slower, but not inattentive by any means. We just weren't rushed and that was nice. Overall we enjoyed our experience here. I don't think we'll be back anytime soon, maybe the next Restaurant Week.
(3)Mike S.
Amazing experience every time we go. The restaurant is clean and chic. The service has always been top notch. The food always impresses me (presentation and taste). I am happy there is a true 5 star restaurant that is an enjoyable experience. Keep up the quality Iridescence!
(5)Matthew M.
This restaurant has it all: delicious menu, ambiance, panoramic views of the city, and an abundance of class, sophistication, and grandeur. I love taking my wife there for special occasions. The absolute destination for fine dining. Period.
(5)Joe T.
3 stars because value-wise, I didn't see anything noteworthy and was not overly impressed. Started off with drinks at the bar. My gin martini was all gin. Guys, vermouth please? I asked for it to be dirty. Not even close. Olives were lousy. One even had a pit in it despite being stuffed. Nearly broke a tooth. Service was on the slow side. We were seated for 2.5 hrs. A bit much. We sat in the corner. No views to brag about. I had the filet cheeseburger tribute. Very interesting and tasty way to serve something like this. I liked it and would recommend. GF Had the New York strip. Lousy cut. Tough with lots if gristle. Had to send back as it came out a bit on the cold side. They just threw it in the oven and dried out the meat as a remedy. Dessert bread pudding was cold and a little dry for $10. Would have preferred it served warm. Still tasty though. . Oyster Rockefeller were tasty and prepared well. But quite expensive for what you got. The experience wasn't altogether bad and I'm not a cheapskate as I am perfectly happy paying for a great experience. Just not worth the money for what we got. The food didn't Stand out compared to other places I have been. And if you don't sit at one of the tiny raised tables (with low back chairs) for two by the window, forget about 16th floor views.
(3)Erin M.
This is the best restaurant in Detroit. If you have a special occasion with a loved one, or an important business meeting where you aim to impress; this is the place to go. It is beautifully decorated, has an amazing view and the food is impressive to both the eye and the palate. Top notch and will definitely leave a great impression of you to your guests.
(5)Nickie P.
We had an excellent meal! I had the filet of beef, and it was excellent - perfectly cooked, and absolutely delicious. The portion was also pretty large...I didn't even bother eating the vegetables on the side because I wanted to make sure I got every last bite of that meat! My dad had the halibut, which he really enjoyed and my mom liked the Wagyu burger. My sister wanted to try something new and had the fish chowder, but I don't think she was thrilled with it. We finished with the red velvet cake and the panna cotta, both of which came beautifully decorated and were pretty tasty, as well. This is a great place to go for a special occasion, I would definitely recommend it to others. The wait staff were friendly and attentive, and we didn't have any problems with them being slow like some others have mentioned. Plus, the restaurant is beautiful inside and the view of the city is amazing!
(5)Eva S.
Great food ... they can work on the lights and the decor!
(3)Stephen H.
Great food, ditto to all the people who have reviewed here positively. Slow service, great views! definitley overpriced though. Pamela B, your grammar is unacceptable. Correct punctuation et al. Please rewrite your review.
(3)Reed E.
This food is incredibly overpriced, poorly seasoned and faulty at best. I have had many good meals all across the country, and I think that since this restaurant won "restaurant of the year" in 2011, it speaks more to the poor quality of Detroit cuisine rather than the quality of the restaurant itself. The views are undeniably grand, and the service is above average. But, save yourself lots of money and eat somewhere that doesn't charge $48 for a bowl of Thai seafood soup
(1)Ted N.
Went there for our anniversary. As has been reported, the view was good. The staff was friendly and helpful. Didn't order the canned 3 course or 5 course set menu. The Lump Crab Cakes were very good, so too was the bleu cheese/pear salad. The escargot was ...meh. Wife had the ciopino, I had the lamb with sweetbreads. Both were good. All in all, a pleasant experience - though not sure what all the fuss is about "Best Restaurant in Detroit 2011"...or whenever. Notables: a) raspberry mojito was good b) peanut butter..something or rather dessert was good c) the sampler dessert with mango, passion fruit and coconut was excellent. Best part of the night...winning about $100 on the tables downstairs.
(4)Chris Y.
I've been here twice. Both times for special occasions. First time was for wife's birthday. Second time was for a friend's birthday. It seems that this restaurant is very overrated based on my experience. The waiter barely spoke English at both visits. The hostess that waited to seat us at the front was very rude and never smiled. The second time we went she initially wouldn't seat us until everyone arrived. When they did seat us, they put us in a seat with no view despite there being open tables next to the window. When my wife requested her dish without garlic the waiter said it was not possible and to pick another dish. He then informed us that if she is allergic to garlic, she would have to have the salad because everything on the menu had garlic and it could not be taken out. I was very surprised. For a restaurant that claims to have a great chef, it would seem like an easy thing for the chef to do. The food was probably 3 stars but the service was awful and I suspect the food is pre- made. At the end of the night my second time there, we asked them to split the check and they refused stating because we had a party of 7, there is a 20% mandatory gratuity that could not be split. The bill was $450. Overall, I would not go again for the money (their main courses range from $25 - $100) and would choose a nice steakhouse for better food and service or perhaps coach insignia in GM towers for a better view.
(2)Chiwei L.
I've been avoiding this place for a long time mostly due to scathling reviews on this site. As a huge skeptic, I walked into this place with very low low expectations. Maybe because it was restaurant week. Maybe because it was a Tuesday. Maybe Don is doing something right since he's become head chef. Maybe we were just damn lucky... Either way we had a wonderful meal. The amuse bouche had me expecting the worse, because it reminded me of a bad wedding appetizer, but it got better after that. The appetizers were serviceable. The kobe burgers were well seasoned and tasty (if not a bit boring) and the shrimp ravioli was... a bit sweet, but well cooked. The mains really surprised me. I HATE asian fusion, but the salmon on top of a crunchy, soft rice cake right out of a beep bim bop bowl just totally amazed me. It tasted like the best of asian and korean all at the same time. The chicken two ways, was a perfectly roasted chicken with crispy skin and a chicken pot pie. Although well executed, and tasty was just lacking a little pizazz. My wife did really like it... I wont kid you, the deserts felt like an after thought, so we really didn't eat much of it, but for 2 three course dinners for $54 minus tip... Well I'm a happy camper. As a quick note, I think the menu has become much more affordable as of late, due to the economy. The restaurant itself is tastefully designed and breath taking. It is a little hard to see outside, but nothing that was horrible. The biggest disappointment was the service, which felt a little rough and unrefined. But that did not rain on our parade.
(4)Rebecca B.
Book your reservation well in advance, because this place is in high demand.. I reserved a table for 4 on a Saturday night three weeks in advance and was very limited on seating times. We ended up with 8:30 when we wanted 7.. Who knew 3 weeks wasn't ample time?? I also requested a table near a window, but ended up with the worst seat in the house..right in front of the kitchen.. Our view was each server going up to the window to fetch their orders. Not great. We started off with three appetizers.. Shimp Cocktail, Coquille St. Jacques, Oyster Rockefeller.. This would have been ok if I liked eating large quantities of salt. The shrimp was fine, but the other two were awful. I complained about them, but nothing was offered. The four of us ordered different steak dinners. My filet was lacking flavor. My friends said theres were good. No tap water is served, they make sure to open each and every Fiji water bottle in your prescence before pooring. The decor is modern/contemporary while comfortable and the service was for the most part great. Presentation was lovely. Three of us had 2 drinks each, one wasn't drinking at all. For $550.00, this should have been one of the best, if not THE best meal I've ever had!!! I was told they change the menu each season. I honestly wasn't overly impressed with their selections. How about a house salad? Or some Risotto, pasta, something for us carb lovers!!! I don't think I'll go back, I can't justify the cost for the value..
(3)heather t.
Our service was superb .... And the food was excellent. ensure you secure a reservation. I enjoyed the tale of two chickens, I honestly did not expect what I got by reading the description. By far the best fried chicken I've ever tasted and the other chicken was not appetizing by the looks but was definitely delicious. My significant other had the seafood stew and he was not impressed, he also mentioned how spicy it was. I would definitely recommend iridescence for special occasions.
(4)Seoung L.
Before they relocated to the top floor, Iridescence would easily be 5 stars from me. But since it's move, they changed a lot and not as good as it use to be but still good enough for me to be a fan! I will start with the good stuff. - Great view and very nice decor. - Price is actually cheaper then when it was downstairs! - Good service. - Tasty meals The bad: - the seating by the window is dumb. you have to half way stand up to look out the window. (try to sit in the 2nd tier in the middle for better seating - some of the previous great entrees and appetizers are gone from the menu The old Iridescence had some amazing appetizers such as Hunan Shrimp where the chef comes out to your table and cooks it for you in front of you. So tasty. The old menu also had Porterhouse that was probably the best steak I ever had. Now it's a pick from NY Strip or Filet and they cut the steak in slices for you. I'm not a little kid. I can cut the steak myself! So that's few gripes I have about this new Iridescenes but even with the changes some good things happened. The prices are actually better! My NY Strip was around $30 and it included a side dish. The old menu the Steak use to be $35 to $40 with no side. I added a side of crab legs for $6 and it was delicious but again it was out of the shell as if I need help eating. What's their deal? My steak was cut into many strips which I didn't like but damn it was so tasty that I couldn't be mad. The zip sauce was excellent and I was also surprised that they put this on top of my steak without asking. Some steak connoisseurs would be pissed with the pre-cut and sauce on top of their steak. (see my uploaded pic of this) Lucky for them that I liked the taste so much, I forgot all about it. The square potato side dish was tiny and okay tasting. My girlfriend got the roasted chicken and she liked it a lot. I got a taste and it was juicy and very good. Hoewever, I think she liked my steak better. She actually got their special which was 3 courses for around $25 or $30 which was Salad, choice of the limited entree and dessert. The dessert was awesome. It was beautifully crafted and tasty. Some kind of banana-chocolate concoction. We got a $50 gift certificate that came with Motor City Casino Hotel's Special when you rent a room. The $50 actually covered most of our bill. If you are staying at this Hotel, look for specials like this. I still miss the old Iridescence which was my favorite restaurant for steaks. This new one isn't the same but it still makes some delicious meals!
(4)Darlene A.
We stayed at the Motor City Casino Hotel, and while I rarely eat at hotel restaurants, I decided to give this one a try because it was cold and windy and we're from SoCal and we don't do "weather" well. We are so glad we didn't hop in the car to go looking for a restaurant. We absolutely loved our meal, our server, Shaun, and the ambiance. The location atop the tower affords a fantastic view of the city. The decor was spectacular. We really loved the lighting and the wine cellar was impressive to look at. I, the vegetarian, was really impressed that they had a dish for us veggies. (Believe me when I say that it is hard to impress this veggie, but they did just that.) The fried green tomatoes and the stuffed red tomato were fantastic, and the plating was great, as well. My dish also came with a shot, not an alcohol drink, but kind-of a bloody mary tasting clearish liquid. Let's just say it made my taste buds dance. The idea is that you down the shot first, and then enjoy the meal. It was out of this world flavorful. My partner said that the grilled salmon was the best. It was served on a cake of rice, that had been slightly browned. (Think Persian Rice with a golden crust.) I can't tell you much more about that dish because I don't eat fish. (Sorry.) Our server, Shaun, was very helpful, professional, and attentive. He know the menu, and he understood how the food was prepared, including how the sauces were reduced, etc. He was also very wine savvy and glad to share his knowledge. The timing was perfect. We had plenty of time to decide on dishes, order drinks, enjoy the bread, which was so fresh and flavorful, and our food arrived just when we were ready to eat. No waiting for water to be refilled, and he checked-in regularly. Perfect service. Save room for desert. We rarely have desert, but we saved room. My partner had the cheesecake and thought it was the best she'd ever had. I ordered the a sampler and it was worth every calorie. Thankfully I got full before I ate the whole thing. I was able to eat a bite of everything and I did down the petite pineapple float. If we head back to Detroit, you can bet we will be making reservations here, again. When I download pictures from the camera I'll try to update this post with photos. (Yes, we took pictures when no one was looking.)
(5)Debbie Z.
Everything is excellent in this restaurant located at Motor City Casino in Detroit, Michigan. From the moment we got there the Matre'd was very professional. We sat at a table on a platform overlooking the city of Detroit - hey at least we didn't see any robberies!!! The food was excellent - quite expensive, but it was well worth it. Very very romantic especially if you are next to someone who is special in your life. Loved it - it is a do again restaurant - not for everyday, but for special occasions.
(5)Nycole K.
If you're looking for a place to celebrate a special occasion or turn an ordinary night into an extraordinary night, try Iridescence. We tried this for Detroit Restaurant Week, so I wasn't paying "full price", but for the right occasion I think it's be worth the spend for sure. My husband and I tried 4 different restaurants during Restaurant Week and we both agreed Iridescence was the #1 best overall. (yes, we like to pretend we are foodies, so we did rankings on overall best, food, atmosphere and service - watch for list to come!). First, the service was truly amazing. Free valet parking and courteous staff guiding you along the way. All of the service was perfect from start to finish. The atmosphere is also spectacular. The view of the city is really beautiful and they've set up the space so almost everyone gets a view. Even with the view out the windows, the lighting and decor inside is top notch. And last, but certainly not least, the food was incredible! I had the caprese appetizer, braised lamb entrée and chocolate mousse dessert.. Big thumbs up all around. Full of flavor, well prepared and beautifully presented. The only downside is the location of the Motor City Casino - not the most beautiful section of Detroit - but worth the trip!
(5)Tom R.
The view is awesome. The word that describes it is SLOW!!!! Took a prospective client there. He happens to be the VP of Food and Beverage at a major East-Coast Casino. It took forever for the waitress to finally make it over. Luckily, we had a round of beer from the bar, and were ok. She gave us the wine list and disappeared for 10 minutes. Then she brought us the menus and disappeared for 20 minutes. In the meantime, we had finished our beer, and she didn't ask if we wanted anything else. Anyhow, when she reappeared, we placed our appetizer order. She wanted the complete order, and was a little put off when my prospect didn't have his entree chosen. She moved on to the rest of us, and then to me with the wine list. She was helpful there. Finally my prospect ordered, and it was a good thing he did. It took another 20 minutes for our appetizers to arrive. Which was only about 1 minute before our wine arrived. Remember, this is a TUESDAY evening. After the appetizer, our entrees showed up approximately 30 minutes later... My prospect ordered the Filet, medium. Came out MOOING....it was very purple with a very cold center. After trying to get the waitress' attention, we finally flagged down the manager. He took it back for additional cooking. It took another 15 minutes, while the rest of us were slowly eating (mine was supposed to be Med-Rare, and it was rare too). I saw the cook put it up, and it sat under the heat lamp for 5 minutes while our waitress was doing who knows what RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS MEAL! Finally came to my prospect, he ate it, and did admit it was a very good cut of beef. Anyhow, once we finished, and told her we did not want dessert, it took another 15 minutes to get the check....oh well, so much for a nice 2 hour dinner. We got there at 7:30 and finally left at 10:45. Probably won't be back....
(2)Sol C.
Last time I was here the place had vastly changed in a positive way. The service was more than outstanding and the food was impeccable. I would highly recommend this establishment and cannot wait to go back myself. However, this is one of the more expensive restaurants in the Detroit area so make sure you bring your credit cards.
(5)Rick M.
Iridescence really impressed me. We went here for our anniversary dinner and they didn't disappoint. We knew going in that it was expensive so I was hoping everything else would justify the cost and I feel it did. First thing you notice is the view and it does add something that very few other places can offer. In addition to the view the restaurant is very modern. It's bright and light with multi-story tall ceilings. The wine rack is quite a marvel by itself. The staff was friendly and knowledgable and service was very good. As far as speed goes I thought they were perfect. This isn't a place you go hoping to get out quickly but you also don't want to be waiting and waiting all night. I thought they balanced that very well. The food was marvelous. Perfectly cooked and the presentation was super classy. Overall I would come here again for special occasions or if I ever get some money burning a hole in my wallet.
(5)Debbie H.
So disappointing... I was very excited to go to Iridescence, last night, to celebrate Restaurant Week. Everything sounded great and I had trouble choosing. After all, it was voted Hour Detroit's Restaurant of the year (based on other winners in other categories, I'm becoming suspect of who, exactly the voters are. But I digress). They brought out a basket with two homemade, warm, chewy pretzels and two Assiago cheese dinner rolls. And olive oil. And butter. For the life of me, I could not figure out what in the world to do with either. The olive oil did NOT complement either of the breads (both were tasty) and the butter seemed out of place, too. Here's what I got. 1. Spring Pea Soup - Purée of spring peas, glazed pearl onions and bacon. The soup was lovely, light and delicate. Until you got a piece of bacon. The bacon took over and was so strong that the soup was lost. I tried to pick around it (don't get me wrong, I love bacon) but wanted to taste the lovely, fresh soup. Also it was cold. 2. Braised Lamb Osso Bucco - Served with Moroccan couscous, harissa, cucumber and mint yogurt. If by "braised" you mean overcooked ahead of time, kept under a heating lamp until chewy, then served room temp, okay, they were braised. I really should have sent them back but I was absorbed in conversation and paying more attention to my friend than to the food. At a restaurant of this caliber, they should have been tender and juicy. Also, the sauces were just meh. 3. Dark Chocolate Mousse - Chocolate crumble, cappuccino cheesecake and ice cream. Chocolate Reddi Whip might have been the equivalent to the mousse. The cappuccino cheesecake was okay, but dry and the dessert was unremarkable. This was from the kitchen of "the 2007 Pastry Chef of the Year, Patricia Nash." In addition, I got some coffee served very nicely in a French press with rock candy sticks and shaved chocolate. The chocolate and rock candy - great. The coffee, not good. Not once did I bite into something and say "Mmmmm, oh my gosh, this is sooooo good." That's unfortunate for the restaurant of the year. The view was nice but the decor was bland and uninteresting. As a matter of fact, I posted a picture of my friend and my husband's comment was - is that an emergency exit behind you with the industrial doors? Yes. Yes, it was. I think I'm glad I got to go. However, I'm hoping that it was an off night or I just got some off food because everyone I've talked to goes on and on about how wonderful it is. Sorry, based on my experience I will not be going back and, unless you want to shell out a significant amount of cash for a mediocre meal with a bland atmosphere, I suggest you don't go, either. Sorry, Detroit. I love you, love you, love you, but this is definitely not your crown jewel.
(1)Dina B.
Only OK. We were there last year for my husbands 40th. The food was good; solid, enjoyable, but not memorable. Meaning, a year later I have no clue what I ate. What I do remember was the obnoxious, chatty waitress. Oh we heard all about her fatigue, her hunger, the difficulty she has in bringing food to the table for others to enjoy when she herself hasn't had but a morsel...for realz!!! She may have been trying to get adopted. From her orphanage-kitchen of starving waitstaff. WTF??? And this is after the doorman asked my husband to remove his hat as he entered. I don't think we left her much of a tip, but I think there was enough bread and maybe some dessert left on the table for a snack for her when she cashes out. Good Lord.
(2)Kate L.
The service was fine and the food was quite good. Everything was well prepared. The only thing that I didn't care for was that it's difficult to judge what the dishes would be like from their description. I ordered potato chip crusted perch with carrots and peas. I got three massive pieces of perch that seemed to be hiding the 5 pieces of the smallest carrots I have ever seen, surrounded by a pea sauce. When I ordered what was being called "fresh berries with vanilla mousse," I got three chocolate doughnut holes filled with melted chocolate, a small pile of strawberries covered in chocolate sorbet, and a disk of vanilla mousse that was covering some kind of cake and covered with a chocolate sculpture. Not quite what I had in mind.
(3)Maria B.
I was very pleased with my first visit to Iridescence : ) Not only is the decor, view, service, and ambiance here awesome, but the food and the way it's presented are equally superb! For starters, i ordered a beet salad which was very good, and i tried the crab cakes which were AMAZING! I don't care for crab, but those little cakes were soooo delicious & sooo fresh, that it really has changed my mind about those scavengers of the sea. Our appetizers were followed by the entree of braised beef with a side of dandelion greens & polenta (i was in foodie heaven with this dish, incredible!!!). Then for dessert it was sweet potato custard with a side of house-made pecan ice cream & cinnamon mousse!!! All in all, it was an incredible dining experience and i'll def be back =)
(5)Steve K.
A fancy restaurant for people who don't know anything about eating in fancy restaurants. Not worth it for dinner-- maybe for a cocktail, an appetizer, and the view. We went on a Thursday night for no special reason other than we had never been there before or the casino, and since we live over 30 miles away, this was a "destination restaurant" kind of visit. Heck, that's probably true for anyone. It's not like anyone is heading down to the "neighborhood casino and hotel," right? And if you *are* a regular at the casino, it's probably not for the fine dining. Anyway, on the plus-side, the view is spectacular and the airy space is modern, cool, and comfortable. We each had a good cocktail-- the Mrs. a passion fruit concoction, and I had a cucumber/ginger "martini" that made me think I need to experiment with more cucumber-based cocktails at home. The service was pretty good-- not particularly knowledgeable about any of the food or wine or anything else, but. The meal itself is where we and/or Iridescence went wrong. This place presents itself as a high-end, gourmet restaurant, and they prominently feature two tasting menu options. In my experience in the past at these kinds of places (I'm thinking of West Bloomfield's Lark, Ann Arbor's Logan, some places "up north," some places in Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, etc.), the tasting menu is the way the restaurant wants you to eat to best experience the place. Tasting menus are never the cheapest option, but they are supposed to be the chef's idea of the best selections on the menu prepared as a well-composed and complete meal. And usually, the wine pairings with these *are* a good deal because a) they give you a chance to try different wines that are (supposedly) expertly chosen to match up with the courses, and b) they allow you to have different wine instead of the same bottle for the whole meal. And again, since this was the kind of place that prominently featured its wine "cellar" (behind glass in the front), we figured they must know what they were talking about. So even though it wasn't cheap-- $55 each for the three course tasting and an additional $30 each for the wine-- we decided that's what we would do. We each had the crab cake, and that was well-done. It was a good-sized portion, probably the same size as the appetizer on the main menu, very tasty. The wine pairing was good, but nothing at all interesting-- a Conundrum white blend of the sort I see in the grocery store all the time-- and not very much, like 3 ounces at best. Not so much a "pairing" but rather a "tasting." But hey, the appetizer course, maybe that's just what it is. After a cleansing sorbet (I always like that), the main course. I had the Dover Sole, which was good-- not spectacular, but good. The fish was slightly over-done, but the broth was lovely and the shellfish that accompanied it were nice. The Mrs. had the filet, which she described as good though she asked for more of the glazing sauce, I suspect to lend a bit more flavor. It looked way overdone to me. For wine, they served me a forgettable chardonnay and the Mrs. some kind of cab, and again a tasting rather than a glass of wine. Desert was the often-noted peanut butter bar, which I thought was great though the wife thought it was too sweet (she often thinks that of deserts). And again, a completely pedestrian port of the sort I see in the grocery store, and another small pour (though of course with port, that's what it should be). We complained to the manager about the lack of wine, and while she was nice about it all, she said there was nothing she could do about it. She told us she couldn't comp us for the wine because of gaming laws, which I suppose is possible, though I've never heard of a casino that wasn't giving away booze. To sum up: lovely atmosphere, but ridiculously over-priced and for the love of God, don't get the tasting menu. I don't mind spending a lot of money for a really good meal, but if a restaurant is going to charge customers $100 a head (once you throw in tip and such), they sure as hell don't want to leave people thinking they got ripped off. In hindsight and as I study their menu a bit more online, I guess we should have known better. We could have split a crab cake appetizer, each had the similar entree, split a desert, and either bought a $50-60 bottle of wine or bought wine by the glass and we probably would have spent more like $140 instead of $170 (not counting tip_. On the other hand, isn't that the job of the server, to steer you in a direction that makes more sense? So I won't be back for dinner-- well, unless my winnings in the casino justify it, and that's not likely since I tend to be a super low-roller when it comes to gambling. If I found myself back at the casino and I could get a table for a cocktail and an appetizer, that'd be worth it.
(1)Mary M.
This place was terrible! My guest and I went here night of the Charity Preview for the Auto Show. We started with drinks which were great and we ordered two appetizers; crab cakes and sashimi. The crab cakes were good but nothing to write home about. Now the sashimi was absolutely disgusting. It smelled like dead fish and TASTED like dead fish. Any fish that tastes and smells like that is NOT fresh. We sent it back it was that bad. So then we ordered dinner which was the Potato Skins for him and the fresh cod for me. The potato skins had absolutely no flavor. Its like they didn't want to bother seasoning any component of the dish! The potato lacked taste, the filling was bland. It was very disappointing. I, on the other had, was graciously given a 2 inch bone in my serving of fish. TWO INCHES!!! It's not like it was just a pin bone but a HUGE bone. Are you kidding me Iridescence?! At that point we were just pissed off and I didn't bother finishing my meal. The bus boy took it away because the waitress never came to check on us. When she finally came by to see if we wanted dessert, I explained to her the bone situation and she "apologized" but then asked me why I didn't show her and instead let the bus boy took it away. Excuse me but I don't believe its my job to hunting for you to show you the giant bone in my fish. She left to apparently speak to the chef who didn't bother coming to our table and she proceeded to explain to us that "since it's a fresh fish, that will happen." I'm sorry but I disagree. Completely. They ended up taking both of the appetizers off of our bill but that is NOT enough to make us want to come back. Ever.
(1)Shanda S.
There are a couple of things that are worse than a bad appetizer. The first would be a bad appetizer sampler (more bad for your buck); the second would be a shockingly ill-described bad appetizer sampler. Which is what I had at Iridescence, in the form of the "Seafood Delice." Short answer-- don't order it. If you mistakenly order it-- don't eat it. If you accidentally eat it-- don't think about it. Just pretend like it didn't happen. One of my companions had the roasted shrimp with polenta flan, which was a much better choice, as would have been the crab cakes (although not amazing). Okay, now that I've gotten the bad stuff out of the way, here's the good stuff: I had the Cioppino for an entree, which was delicious and well-portioned (but coupled with terrible, old baguette-- skip it and stick with the cheese rolls, which are addictive). For dessert, I shared both the peanut butter bar (excellent) and a raspberry chocolate concoction (not bad at all). Also good-- the space. If you're on the ground floor, the ceiling height is a little disconcerting, but not unpleasant. The volume level is lovely. The service was good, if not great. The wine selection was spot on. And, though it is in the Motor City casino, it is not of the Motor City casino. Which is probably the most important detail, at least on a Friday night.
(3)Samir N.
What a beautiful and elegant place. I mean really beautiful. The view of downtown (and the tacky Windsor casinos) is sublime. You have to get the cake sampler. For like eight bucks, you get a slice of carrot cake, red velvet, and chocolate fudge (from least sweet to ridiculously decadent). By the time I got to this (my second dessert at this sitting), I ran out of gas but the cake was still spectacular the following day. The first dessert was a French chocolate and white chocolate mousse - whose greatness encouraged me to get a second dessert. I have mixed feelings about the ginger cucumber martini, but that grew on my with each sip. I also loved the beef short rib as an appetizer - hooray for restaurant week. The raisin bread they bring to the table was also awesome! Man, I will definitely be back!
(5)Michael U.
Full Review Here: chowhound.com/topics/523… For the three of us we shared the Goat Cheese Croquttes with Basil and Oregano reduction, the Study of Crab 4 Ways, Chicken Peanut Sate with Spicy Peanut Sauce, and Soup flight with sandwich consisting of Yellow Tomato Bisque, Lobster Bouillabaisse, Coconut Melon Parfait, and a Foie Gras Panini with Eggplant and aged Balsamic. Standouts included the Spicy peanut sauce, the baked saffron and truffle section of the Crab, the Foie Gras Panini, and most of all the Coconut Melon Parfait which was warm, creamy, and salty sweet in perfect balance. Misses included the Lobster Bouillabaisse which tasted far too briny and the cilantro inundated selection of the crab study. Dunking a Foie Gras Panini in Yellow Tomato Bisque was divine and the leftover peanut sauce spread on the raisin toast would make a great tapas item, as well. For our mains, I selected the Applewood Organic Chicken with pan sauce, Shallots, Carrots, Parsnips, Beets, Creamy Brie, and Morel Pilaf which arrived in impressive fashion as the server removed a tie from the cornhusk wrapper in which the risotto was baked to reveal the amazing scent of fresh morels and saffron. As expected, the pilaf stole the show and was the best rice dish to ever grace my palate. It truly is unfortunate that morels are only available for limited parts of the year. Like the risotto, the vegetables were delectable, fresh, and expertly prepared while the soft chunk of brie, although out of place, was wonderful both with the vegetables and spread on a piece of sourdough. With all the accompaniments the chicken was almost overlooked, but in reality it was perfect and tender with a wonderful apple tone, but the skin served on the side was a little too salty for my taste. My mother, not normally a fish eater, selected the Blackened Chilean Sea Bass with Asparagus, Crab Grits, and Micro Greens on my recommendation and was very impressed with the dish from top to bottom. Fortunately I was given an opportunity to taste and can certainly say the bass was stellar with hints of olive oil and spicy/earthiness that complemented the mild natural flavor. The Asparagus was similarly delicious and expertly prepared while the crab grits were good, albeit somewhat flavorless aside from the large chunks of crab (not a bad thing, but why not give the grits some potency of their own?) All told, mom was very happy and that is what matters. My Aunt opted to go with the Iridescence Caesar (Baby Hearts of Romaine, Reggiano Black Pepper Tuile, Fried Quail Egg, Roasted Tomato, Caesar Dressing) and a Jumbo lump crab cake with leek Fondue and fire Roasted Red Pepper Coulis for her main and was thoroughly content with her option. While I am not a Caesar fan, I will admit that the size and quality of the salad was impressive and the Tuile was stellar. The crab cake too was sizeable, delicious, and contained nearly no filler while the leek fondue was perfect and nearly managed to steal the show from the crab with its creative and aromatic presentation. Feeling quite stuffed already from the impressive portion sizes and number of dishes, we all still made room for dessert and were richly rewarded. While I was disappointed that the Michigan apple dessert and Key Lime Souffl from the website were absent, there is no doubt that the Iridescence Pastry Chef Tricia Nash has earned her title of 2007 Pastry Chef of the Year. Along with dessert I opted for coffee which I can say without any hesitation was the best I've had at a restaurant ever. While the pricetag for the individual French press was steep ($9) the coffee was served with an ounce of high quality chocolate shavings, two spun sugar stirrers, cinnamon stick, and cream. While the coffee itself was amazing, the addition of chocolate and cinnamon was delectable. The desserts selected included mom's "The Lantern" with Tahitian Vanilla Bean Mousse, Lavender Crme Brle, Champagne Peaches, and Raspberry Sherbet (complete with happy birthday sign and song,) Aunt's "Iridescence Sampler" with Obsession Layers, Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich, Chocolate Cheesecake Lollipop with Raspberry Sauce, Warm Chocolate Cake, and Vernors(tm) Milkshake, and my Chocolate Fritters with Marinated Cherries and Peanut Brittle Ice cream. All said, Iridescence is a 5-star chef and pastry chef preparing meals with 5-star ingredients in 5-star surroundings foiled from perfection by a less than stellar and far too serious support staff, a little too much seasoning in some dishes and not enough in others, and an online menu bait-n-switch (of sorts.) While not QUITE perfect, the evening was wonderful and the vast majority of the foods were on par with any fine dining experience I've had. I would certainly not hesitate to recommend this restaurant to anyone in Detroit or visiting for a great meal at a great price in beautiful and elegant surroundings.
(4)Lauren P.
Tried this restaurant during Restaurant Week last year while I was visiting my sister and her husband, who always have rave reviews for it. City views are gorgeous! Staff was incredibly attentive and friendly. I had the corn ravioli, which sounded pretty weird, but were insanely delicious. The shrimp appetizer was also very good. It's easy to see why they enjoy this restaurant so much, with the city views and romantic ambiance and creative, delicious menu items. Will definitely eat her again the next time I visit Detroit!
(4)Michelle P.
Very rude wait staff! From the minute you see the hostess to when you pay the bill. The food rates 4 stars!! Expensive for what you get but the ambiance is nice.
(2)Joe B.
My wife and I ate here as part of the MotorCity package deal. We both had the three-course "sampler." Quite simply, it was one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. As a testament to the filet that my wife and I both ordered, we thought about going to Outback two days later and changed our minds because we knew the steaks wouldn't be as good. We'd been spoiled by Iridescence. Outstanding time. We will certainly be back!
(5)Theresa U.
My husband and I were just leaving Noel Night with growling stomachs. Since we don't frequent Detroit, we wanted to make our stay worth while, so we called up the Whitney to see if they had any table openings... All booked. We decided to venture out to Wolfgang Puck. I heard rave reviews of that place at my old job, so, we walked into a casino in search for it! We looked everywhere! No luck. we asked the concierge where it is, and he literally pointed out the window and said it's over there, at the MGM. We went into the wrong casino! The Motor City Casino! As you can clearly see, we're not big gamblers! haha. We were so hungry at this point, we didn't care where we ate. So, they sent us to the top at Iridescence. The place looked pretty posh and had a nice bar area. We had 1.5 hours to kill until the first table opened, so we ordered some drinks and appetizers. I had the raspberry mojito.. Very good, not too sweet like some others make it. My husband tried a meritage. I forget what it was called, but it had a nice peppery taste. But, when it came to the food served, if I could give them one suggestion, it would be to FOCUS ON THE BASICS! These chefs try to fancy everything up, they forget to check the simple stuff. For example, we ordered the sliders, they were good and all, but the buns were dry. We also had the shrimp on the ravioli, which was very tasty, but the cost and quantity didn't match up. I literally could breath those things in! Put at least 3 or 4 of them on the plate why don't ya!? Our bar bill came out to be $10 more than our dinner bill. .... Is something wrong here??? Our main course was nothing spectacular. Well, it was supposed to be spectacular, but the flavor wasn't. My husband ordered the NY strip with crab legs and I had the (supposed to be halibut, but they ran out) sea bass and artichoke heart dish.. Now, I am not a picky eater, and it takes alot for me to send a dish back. -found hair, other foreign objects, not cooked all the way, etc. But I had to send this back solely on flavor. It was completely tasteless! For how much it was, I certainly could not bring myself to choke it down. So, I ordered the filet instead. It was alright... (sorry I sound like a snob. I'm really not a snob). lol. -maybe a food snob, yes. The only saving grace was our dessert. We shared the peanut butter chocolate bar. I'd come back here just for drinks and dessert. oh, and the view is pretty awesome, until you sit in their overly cushy seats. The window was way above my head after I sad down. Couldn't see a damn thing. Pointless....
(3)Julie A.
yes still great food..I hope my previous review is still up! however I had to ask my waitress that a certain table cleaner not come to our table due to offensive B.O... it was the beginning of the shift.. I feel bad, but I want to enjoy my yummy food. My waitress took care of it. No worries no one was fired, however this is not a place when body oder can be tolerated. Update - What's up with the low ratings. I have had only the best experiences here. The menu changes, so I usually always get to try something new. The maitre D' is sweet and the cocktails are yummy. The food is full of flavor and looks fantastic. I have eaten there 4 times and never a bad experience well one.. but it was fixed immediately. One of the workers had bad BO so I asked that he not be our server's helper.
(5)E. J F.
We had our anniversary dinner there and did the 5 course meal. Fantastic experience with the food, service and setting. Only critic would be for the wine pairing, which I thought expensive for the quality of the wine served. We should have ordered a bottle of white wine and one of red instead and do our own pairing.
(5)Jonny P.
I had never been to Motor City before last night. After arriving and finding parking I was a bit lost. Two really nice ladies in the coat check directed me towards the usher who put me in the express elevator to the 16th floor. Service for the entire night was world class... Iridescence has that 'WOW' factor. Sky high ceilings with "Dale Chihuly" stylized light fixtures extend downwards. The dining space Is very open & free flowing. I decided on the 5 course, while my partner in crime settled on the three course. I enjoyed: 1) Sashimi of Yellowtail Hiramasa 2) Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras 3) Sheppard's Pie (roasted boneless rack of lamb, braised beef short rib, wilted spinach, potato purée) 4) Cheese Assortment (roquefort, panna cotta served with pine nuts, apple and apple syrup, grilled cheese with brie, raisin-walnut bread and raspberry jam, tomato rellenos with petite basque and chorizo) 5) Peanut Butter Bar (caramelized banana, chocolate peanut butter ice cream) - Server's Suggestion The evening flowed very well, It took two hours. I ended up being extremely satisfied, totally willing to make a go of it again. Minor criticism, the Cheese Assortment was a bit much (very rich) & felt out of place. (Yes I'm being picky) No major complaints, fullest compliments... You should go!
(5)Mike D.
Pretty good experience overall. Took the entire family and wanted to have one nice, formal dinner this year and we chose to eat here. It was between Roast, Coach and here and we decided to try this place since it had the casino attached and we could spend some time there after the meal. First challenge was, "where in the heck is the restaurant at"? We got into the casino and saw a sign pointing to "Restaurants" I don't even think it named Iridescence, just an arrow pointing to elevators. We asked an employee and he confirmed it was accessible via the elevators. There was a sign pointing to elevators with Iridescence in the description but the elevators appeared out of order. No problem we would catch another elevator. We finally get on and there are no signs or indication as to which FLOOR Iridescence is on!! We assumed the top floor (16th) but we could not select this floor in two different elevators. WTH?? After missing some elevators we found a cleaning person who said you need a room key to get to the 16th floor. Really? We just want to eat. We went back and fourth longer than necessary and he finally agreed to swipe his card to get us up to 16. Whew!!! The atmosphere was REALLY nice. We had 4 in our group and all the seats by the window were tables for two. No biggie - but the view is amazing!! We had a table near the chefs station. Service was VERY good and our waitress did a great job explaining the menu. The menu to me seemed over-priced. We were looking to spend a good amount that night but I was honestly surprised at the costs of the entrees. Once served the food was really good - I had a Sea bass special and it was awesome. The fatoosh, not so much especially for the price. I don't think I will be going back - just a bit too expensive for what you get.
(3)Jennie S.
Make reservations, and be sure to get a table on the 2nd level so that you can actually see the city. If you sit directly next to the window, they are too high up to see and you'll be next to a weird heater thing. The food is excellent, and beautiful presentation. For appetizers, we got the roasted shrimp (best thing every time), a salad (really good, especially with the warm goat cheese ball encrusted in nuts), and pork belly with figs (excellent flavor). If you see any dish with the potato and white truffle ravioli, ORDER IT. Those ravioli are some of the tastiest things I've ever eaten in my life. Their lobster mac and cheese is delish, and their seafood lasagna carbonara was really interesting -- there's a poached duck egg served on top, and when you slice into it the yolk pours out on top. Just make sure they don't overcook your egg....if the yolk is anything but runny, it's just not the same! Some advice: ORDER DESSERT. Seriously, their sorbets are so good. The peanut butter bar is really good, but so is the Bailey's dessert and the piña colada dessert. If it's your birthday, they bring out a complimentary special dessert. The menu changes, but you can always expect an excellent meal.
(4)Keyon W.
beautiful view, great service, food the works. Pricey but well worth it. My wife and I had the quail and the lamb.. they got my vote in my top ten places to eat...at least in detroit ;-)
(5)Jen F.
Finally - A restaurant with outstanding customer service, amazing food and beautiful surroundings! The Kabocha Bisque, Filet of Beef - A Tribute to the Cheeseburger, and Peanut Butter Bar were all incredible. We also really enjoyed the Yellow Fin Tuna Carpaccio appetizer and Cyclical - Four Linked Salads (so unique and delicious!) If you go, (and you really must go!) you have to request Chelsea as your server. She was fabulous - truly the best server we've ever had.
(5)Krupa U.
Iridescence is a fabulous AAA 4 diamond award winning restaurant on the rooftop of Motor City Casino in Downtown Detroit. The ambiance is very chic and elegant. The view is amazing looking over the Detroit skyline. I have never in my life been to a place like this before.... The food is amazing... I was there for a business dinner so unfortunately I can't judge based on price, but i'm sure it costs a pretty shiny penny! We were served a 5 course meal: -Amuse Bouche - Salmon mousse on top of an edible flower petal -First Taste - Filet Mingon - served on individual mini sizzler plates, with a savory gravy and a dollop of goat cheese ( i think it was the best piece of meat i've ever put in my palette) -Second Taste - Ceasar Salad - baby hearts of romaine, reggiano black pepper cracker, fried quail egg, and caesar dressing -Crescendos - Halibut on a bed of creamy rice and baby shrimp -Dessert - The Lantern - vanilla bean mousse, pistachio cake, milk chocolate crème brûlée, and raspberry sorbet This was the most satisfying and taste-bud tickling meal I've ever had... I can definitely say that i savored every morsel because it was just that delicious!
(5)Darrell F.
Iridescence is easily the best of the Detroit casino restaurants. It easy to come and go without getting anywhere near a smoky casino. The food is excellent, if somewhat pricey. There are several reasonably priced wine options, which is a welcome surprise. The service is somewhat strange. The 'bus boys' are all older dark Asian men. The waiters are predominantly women who come across as if they were working in a diner and want to be our pals. Water is constantly replenished and there is good team work. I just wonder why the staff seems so segregated. Valet parking is easy as long as you follow the signs for the hotel. Leaving seems to put us on circuitous route following the signs for freeways.
(4)California B.
The first time my wife and I went to Iridescence was for a special event. We wanted a gourmet dinner, and thought the menu looked good. The Wagyu Beef Sliders (appetizer) were great. The foie gras was terrible. The soup course was vile (split pea with mint[??!] and bouillabaisse). The entrees were forgettable. Indeed, I have forgotten them. But the desserts were really great. So why did I only give them one star? Up till a couple nights ago, we had been telling ourselves "We should go to Iridescence just for dessert sometime." So after a great performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, we headed to the Motor City Casino. We arrived at 10:35 p.m. First, the bouncers in front of the elevators told us that Iridescence wouldn't serve us, because they close at 11:00. But when we explained that we only wanted dessert, they let us go up. We arrived at the restaurant around 10:40 p.m. The hostess told us the dining room wasn't seating guests, because they close at 11:00. We told her we only wanted dessert, and she said "Why don't you wait in the bar, while I check." We could see that 80% of their tables were empty. When she came back, she told us we could order dessert, but only if we sat in the bar. Which was loud. And had tons of people going by, headed for the club. What kind of self-respecting fine dining establishment won't take money from people who want to eat, let alone, order dessert 20 minutes before their closing time? On a Saturday night, no less! We went home instead. Iridescence really put a damper on our fun.
(1)Wendy T.
Excellent, knowlegable staff. Very attentive service. Beautiful view of the city lights. Fabulous food. I plan to return.
(5)Tracey C.
Very nice place to have drink. Skip dinner it is expensive and very underwhelming. Many more great restaurants in Detroit with much better food for the money. I ordered oysters Rockefeller that were in a shell about 1 inch in diameter. A couple weeks ago I ordered the same dish at Joe Muers seafood and there were 6 shells the size of a fist for the same money.
(2)CrazyforMakeup M.
SAVE YOUR MONEY... the very bad reviews in this site are 100% accurate. I was "attended" by THE WORST seating/reservation staff EVER in Michigan (if not in my entire life). It was very hard to even appreciate the food and everything else. Frankly, I feel really silly to have to pay for "huh" attitude and pretentious staff. Maybe it is just me. The people in the front of the house (maitre diem and company) should be fired. I'll NOT come back because of them. Our night started with what we thought it'd be a 8:30pm dinner. We arrived 5min earlier and were informed that we had wait. Okay, that happens sometimes, BUT we had to wait for 45min! Our party (of four) along with a huge crowd of at least 28 people shared this confined space that was so called the "bar". Secondly after getting overpriced drinks at the "bar" in our 45min wait, we were seated in the only table in the entire restaurant that had no views ... oh well, considering the high ceilings, we could see the sky. But it only gets better, because while walking to our fiasco table, we went by an empty table with a real view, so I've dared to ask if our party could be seated in the empty table. What it seemed to be a simple and logical request in a REAL nice restaurant, was obviously not the case here. I was told that if I wanted a table with a "view" of the city I had to wait longer, because our name had to be put back on the waiting list!!! Excuse me??? Wait even longer? What about seating us on the empty table since we're next in the calling list? But no, I was completely ignored and frankly if it wasn't for the late time and the fact that I didn't want to ruin the night for the rest of my party, I would just walked away at that point. Rude and bad service is a compliment to this place. By the way, AAA must be dreaming to rate this as a 4diamond... maybe the restaurant gets staged when the review period is up or AAA has a very biased reason for the good rating. Also, because they were so overbooked, we didn't even get a wine menu... even PF Chang's gives you a wine menu... unbelievable! So our waiter sort of said what they had and gave me a "suggestion" which turned out to be a bad one. Surprise (sarcasm)! But finally the food...although there were several options that looked ok, including the 5course fixed price menu, I wasn't hungry anymore, just plain disgusted. I've got the cheapest item in the menu, a 3course fixed price, with a choice of appertizer (shrimp with corn ravioli and buerre blanc sauce or kobe beef sliders with bacon). The appetizers were good. The bread basket was really nice (finally one reason for a half of a star). For the entree we've got a choice of salmon with rice cake/craker or a 2-way chicken (one way was a pot pie, the other just roasted chicken). We all got the salmon, it was cooked well, and the rice cake really good (reminded me of sushi rice and got the other haldf of my star). For desert, I've got a cheese course with a very generous piece of a Roquefort, 3 nicely thin toasted baguette slices, chocolate sauce and cherries. Everybody else got the roasted pears with poundcake and cinammon apple ice cream. It was dry. No wow factor, as one of the people in my party said... anybody could put this together from scratch... and this was from an award winner pastry chef? I'm sure she was on vacation when we went there.... So my night was memorable, in very bad way. I will recommend this place for my enemies but for friends, please save your money or spend well on a real nice place like Coach Insignia, Wolfgang Puck and even Seldon Blues if you are in Downtown.
(1)Julio L.
Went up for dinner after Tony Bennett concert. No reservation. No problem. They were half empty on a Friday Night. Waitstaff was indifferent at best. Our waitress seemed to not really care whether we were there or not, even though I would think that a AAA diamond award winner would have the top of the food chain in terms of service........it didn't Wine list was OK. no complaints Amuse-bouche was disgusting. Like snot in a shot glass. Salad was good, for Applebys. Bleu cheese, walnuts, lettuce. Big deal. Wellington was inedible. Complained to the manager who was just 3 days on the job. He seemed to be in his early twenties . He was type of manager I'd expect to see running the ropes at a night club, not a restaurant that advertises itself as magnificent. He made excuses, even though he appeared to have no idea what was going on. Kept going on about how I liked my salad ! ( forgetting that everything else was terrible ) We'll go back though. I liked some of their decor, and when it's liquidated in the next year or so for their going out of business sale we hope to snap it up. This place was a joke. I've dined all over the world. I'd expect better service at Bennigans or California Pizza Kitchen. Given the fact that the Casino was PACKED and other restaurants were also PACKED, I think the dining consumers of Detroit have made their point known. Pretentious crap served by inattentive waitstaff, at AAA 4 diamind prices = half empty dining room on a Friday night
(1)Chris P.
Iridescence is at the very top of downtown fine dining and in terms of menu and overall experience, it is the best of the casino restaurants. The only better view in town is Coach Insignia and the atmosphere at Iridescence is better. This is a place worthy of a two hour dining experience. You'll often enjoy complimentary appetizer samplings from the chef and every dish is exquisitely constructed. The servers are friendly and conversational and can make great recommendations on everything from the massive wine list to the full menu if you're unsure or feeling adventurous. If you haven't been here, you're missing out.
(4)Michael A.
Overpriced and terrible on almost every level. Taking a brief stop through Detroit, my wife and I wanted to celebrate the last day of our vacation in style. Read about Iridescence through Yelp members and decided it was the best of Detroit's meager offerings. Located in the recently renovated Motor City Casino, we had difficulty finding parking. Called to the restaurant to say we would be a little late and they promptly informed us they did not have our reservation. Fortunately we did not need to wait very long, but this was the first sign of mediocrity which haunts this restaurant on basically every level. The interior is spacious and beautiful. I enjoyed it very much. Couch-style dining was comfortable and romantic. At one point a waiter accidentally turned on all the lights in the restaurant which earned a stomp out from the executive chef who burned a hole in the guy's head with his laser beam eyes. Our waiter informed us that this happens a few times a week. For the love of all that is good: Get a different light switch! That bump on the wall absolutely destroys the ambiance in a millisecond. Our waiter was polite and pretentious. The water steward literally splashed the water into our glasses. The other members of the wait staff seemed disinterested and some were dressed sloppily. The tone and appearance of the staff is not commensurate with the prices. Okay now to the food. Although the final product comes out with an intricately constructed presentation, we found that nearly every item ordered was either under-prepared, undercooked, tasteless or just plain wrong. The chef prepares an amuse of mini-Wellington served cold. Gross. Who wants to eat a morsel of cold beef Wellington? And what type of chef wants to put that bad foot forward first? We tried to stick with tapas in order to get the broadest experience possible. I sent back the Mai Tai duck satay because the meat was raw. Pork and beef are usually better enjoyed a little underdone but never poultry. Terrible. This represents only the 3rd meal I've ever ordered (ever) that needed to be sent back to be finished. Naturally it came back overdone, but at least I wasn't worried about getting salmonella poisoning. Somehow the chef managed to prepare a mushroom and cheese risotto that was 100% tasteless. Don't waste the $12 on this tapas. The mini-fillet served table-side was amusing and fine. Nothing special. And now to the absolute worst: the foie gras. My best foie gras experience was enjoyed in a Zagat-rated restaurant on the Gulf coast of Florida which was literally an entire goose liver pan seared and served with the perfect palate accompaniments. This foie gras was cut from the kind of log you'd get at a cheap supermarket SERVED COLD ON A STALE CRACKER. Disgusting and reprehensible. The executive chef should be sacked for this quality and presentation. And, to make the experience even less palatable, the restaurant tried to pull a fast one on the bill by charging $22 rather than the stated $18. READ YOUR BILL VERY CAREFULLY. Desert was the only saving grace of the experience. Iridescence has a renown pastry chef whose "Blueberry Pot" was exquisite. A wonderful mix of blueberry cobbler in a miniature pot topped with just a dab of ice cream and sugary-fried filo, accompanied by a slice of blueberry pound cake topped with a creamy lemon frosting. Presentation was picture-perfect. But alas you're not forking over $50pp for just desert. Stay far away from this choice. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the steak knives they use are fashioned after switchblades. No kidding. They even have the little fingernail indentation on the blade. Who is the clientele this restaurant is catering to? I am not familiar with other restaurants in the Detroit area, but there must be at least one other non-thug eatery you can go to and enjoy a real, high-end experience.
(1)Katie b.
Last night I went to this restaurant and found it completely not worth it. I chose to write a review to hopefully stop future patrons from spending an obscene amount of money for mediocre food and slow service. First off, we had reservations and they couldn't accommodate us so we had to sit at separate tables. Secondly, it took the servers a long time to take our orders for entrees. Thirdly, when we received our food it tasted as if it had been sitting under a heat lamp for too long. The food was NOT worth the price. If you want to pay 35 bucks to see some nice presentation of food then this is the place to go. But if you're looking for great tasting food, good service, and an overall great dining experience then I suggest you go some place else!
(1)George S.
Great food, but service was a bit slow. We easily waited a half hour for our main course after the first and second came out very quickly. They refilled our water glasses everytime they were even half-empty which is a big thing for me. They even have a plethora of breads to choose from when you first sit down. The ambiance was great, especially the lighting, however I feel like the architecture was a bit off for the view: The windows were too high (people like to view the city when they're up that high) and the part of the city you can see it less than desirable. Overall the experience was nice, I would highly recommend stopping in if you're looking for a fine-dining experience.
(4)Denise H.
This is my first review on Yelp because I have to remark about the wine here. I am a huge wine drinker because I was living in Paris where wine is like water, and I have never been served old wine until I came to this restaurant. I understand most of the Detroit residents cannot tell the difference after gambling for 10 hours, but I can taste if a bottle has been opened and oxidized for over a day and was disgusted that I went through 2 taste tests before landing a fresh bottle. The first glass was a 2006 Bordeaux from Chateau Le Fleur, and they poured it with 1/3 of the bottle remaining, so I knew it was already opened, and the first sip confirmed that it was at least 2 days opened. I told the server about it and asked for the Pinot Noir only to get a 2006 Delta that was down to 1/6 leftover and at least one day old. Third times a charm is what they say, and the 2007 TAZ from Santa Barbara was finally fresh and newly opened, but by this time, my taste buds were disturbed and even though the short ribs appetizer, seafood lasagna, and bailey's dessert were delicious and atmosphere was nice, I couldn't accept the wine service. They obviously don't have a lot of turnover for their red wine, and this may be exactly the reason why.
(1)Tony K.
Went here for our 2nd Anniversary. Beautiful location, great entry bar, very romantic. Great food, though the prices are fairly steep. Worth it for the occasional spoiler. Wasn't overly impressed with their Kobe steak, but everything else was excellent.
(3)Lizzy N.
I want to preface this review by saying that I am very open to different dining experiences. I'm not picky in any way and will try anything once. My husband and I frequent new restaurants and especially on vacation try the top restaurants in the area. Since we live in MI, of course we visited Motor City Casino. I heard about the place and saw ads for it so we decided to try it out. Many of the ads boasted a spectacular view of Detroit. It was a great view.... standing up. Once we were seated the view was very poor. It would have been nice to have floor to ceiling views without obstruction or having higher tables. Our waitress was very nice and accommodating. We ordered an off the menu item that our dining companions knew about at the "old" iridescence (prior to the renovation of Motor City). The shrimp dish was over sauced and frankly not that great. The Amuse Bouche, a cold under seasoned bite of tuna with veggies. I ordered the prix fixe meal and had onion soup (ok, kind of salty, nothing special), and a chicken dish with morels (horrid, the meat was not cooked properly, and it tasted and smelled rotten but it was not undercooked) I sent it back and ordered the salmon, which was cooked properly, but it was atop a vegetable soupy broth which was not very flavorful. Dessert was the only thing keeping this review from one star. My husband had read about the pastry chef, who is one of the best... and she did not disappoint. The dessert was a banana, chocolate and peanut butter extravaganza. The bananas were caramelized to perfection, the ice cream was divine and the nuts were the perfect accent. My husband enjoyed his seafood lasagna and salad to start. They need a better chef and a better menu. I would return, but just for dessert.
(2)David S.
Not good.
(2)Pasha A.
The aesthetics are a 4 here with great decor and views, however i don't understand if you have floor to ceiling windows why you would have 4 feet high ac/heating vents obstructing the great views. The service was 4 with very attentive service, our waiter even held the door when we walked out of the restaurant. The food was a 3. I had the seafood pasta which had a very small portion size with a taste that was slightly above your typical fare. Three of us got away with a 110 bill with 1 round of drinks, entrees and a dessert. I would go back for the ambiance but not for the food.
(3)jerry p.
This would be my vote for restaurant of the year. It is the most amazing space in Detroit, I hate to wreck it by describing- very modern, well designed- I would put it up against anything in NY or Vegas- it blows anything in Detroit away. The view- it is on top of the Motor City casino- so you get a city scape you haven't seen before- Ren Cen is in back instead of front and center, plus the twinkling lights of the houses, businesses and streetlamps in the foreground like you see when you view a city in a valley- a mini hollywood. The thinest crystal and heaviest forks- all sleek and modern. The food pushes the envelope- the chef is fearless- we are talking big flavors. Lavender Cinnamon Pheasant with morel risotto. Lobster, scallops, sea bass and shrimp in truffle sauce. The desserts are amazing- kind of like a tapas for the sweet tooth- a bunch of tiny creations all put together on the same plate. It is worth the drive even if you don't gamble. It's pricey but I figure you guessed that already.
(5)pamela b.
visited casino. went up & were told no res no seating. over board bitchy hostess. OMG. went to concierge in lobby & got 8 pm res. went up at 7:50. were seated at 8:35. read menu while sitting at bar so knew what we wanted and were starved. asked server if we could place our order. let her know whe had read menu already. he asked to show her the entree he wanted and she says"well,... i thought you already knew what you wanted!" no. she wasnt joking. caught her mistake and tried to laugh between her teeth. ummm. NOT. placed our orders and left. hostess wanted us to talk to mgr, but, honestly, we didnt think it was worth it. this had already consumed 1.5 hours and we just wanted to eat at this point. we went to the new parthenon in greek town. great food. great service. immediate seating. nice ppl. no way will i make that effort to eat at a 'better' detroit restaurant again. like anything else in detroit - it's just not worth it.
(1)Dee T.
I loved every bit of this restaurant! It's so beautiful and the view is awesome!! My husband order the 3 different meat appetizer It was good but I'm not a fan of rare meats I forgot the name of the dish that I ordered but it had some baby potatoes and it was beyond expectations!!
(5)doug r.
Nutshell: An excellent experience! We ordered the seven course, chef's choice, tasting menu. Not included among the seven courses are the Amuse and dessert. Chef Andrew Alscid over-achieved. He visited our table a few times himself, to introduce various courses. The ingredients were excellent. The tastes & aromas were devine. The preparation was spot-on. The plating was exquisite. Bao Ly was our primary server, assisted at various times by Brandi and Chelsea. All are attentive and knowledgeable professionals. La Ron did a good job in keeping water glasses full and empty plates cleared. The restaurant is an imposing space - 3 (4?) story high ceilings? The dining room itself is not that large. We scored a 2-top along the windows. Weather was moving thru the city so our view varied from inside-a-cloud to "Oh! Rainbow!" Only two downsides experienced, neither were Iridescence's fault. Almost all the surfaces are hard, so the noise level was a above average. I could not hear my wife, seated across from me, because of the foul-mouthed, loud-mouth seated directly behind me. The more he drank, the fouler and louder he got. Only two stalls in the Men's room. Both were occupied for more than 10 mins. From one, I could hear chopping/cutting and snorting sounds typically associated with (that other) Coke. I gave up and took the elevator to the Lobby (restrooms). My descriptions cannot begin to do the various courses justice - see the food porn - the descriptions start with "Chef's Choice." Cost? $248 for two, including two drinks each. (20% tip is incl in this amount)
(5)Regina S.
It amazes me that there are people in the world who go their whole lives without ever experiencing nights like this! The BF and I get to have 4-6 of these types of really nice dinners a year. We use them for special occasions, reserve in plenty of time, and save money to go and not have to worry about what to order and not order. It's been worth it every time but 1 so far. This night was amazing!! The only regret I have was picking a booth over a window seat. It's a beautiful view of the city! First of all, the place is GORGEOUS!! Like OMG wow gorgeous! We were greeted and seated promptly. It was nice busy for a Sunday evening. Not too crowded. Our waiter was Moisi (yes, M-O-I-S-I) and he was very nice. The menus are on tablets, and you can click on any food item to get a full description and picture of what it truly will look like when you receive it. We had the Mother Sauce appetizer and it was so amazing!!! Please check out the pics for reference! Oh, oh, oh... seriously. Just amazing. Every bite. I had the South by Southwest Salmon for my entrée and the BF had the filet. Both were just so delicious and thought out. Like you could tell!! My salmon was perfectly cooked, and Moisi came over to make sure BF's steak was done perfectly. It was. We had the strawberry dessert which knocked it right out. It's amazing dinners like this that make me realize we should start doing this more often!! Maybe make 6-8 a year We had a seriously awesome time!! Thank you, Iridescence!! /Excellence!
(5)Rozalina B.
Iridescence, located on the 16th floor of MotorCity Casino, is a beautiful, beautiful restaurant. If you're trying to impress someone and have the means to throw a couple hundred dollars around, I would definitely recommend this place. The view is ridiculously gorgeous, and if I come back here (maybe in 10+ years when I'm an "established professional") I would love to get seating by the window/wall which overlooks the Detroit River! It's really something else. The menus are on iPads which is SUPER cool. Each item comes with a personal anecdote from the chef, which was a nice touch. The food was good, as you would expect at such a ritzy restaurant, but not great. My boyfriend ordered "A Tale of Two Chickens" and thought it was just okay, nothing spectacular. However the bacon on it was SO thick and AMAZING, I wish you could just get a platter of that! I enjoyed my Thai-style Cioppino but they forgot to add the mussels. We sampled a couple of desserts and they were all yummy! Portions were on the smaller side, but we were pretty full at this point anyway. I didn't get drinks but the people at our table who did seemed pleased with their wine and the waiters' helpful descriptions of the drink menu. Our waitress was a sweetheart. Although we had some problems with the service in general, she was bubbly and attentive throughout our dinner. The problems: -we came here as a group for a birthday party. The birthday girl had balloons with her, which she was told were not allowed inside the restaurant. I get it- balloons, extremely high ceilings- not a good idea. But I don't see why they couldn't hold them behind the front desk in the hostess area or tie them to the chairs. We had to take the elevator to leave the balloons on a different floor and then return after dinner to grab them. Ridiculous. -they wouldn't seat us until everyone arrived, which is weird because we had a reservation, so why would that matter? -Our waitress couldn't split the bill. She informed us that we should have told her before the bill arrived. I understand that, and she was very apologetic and polite. But, I feel like the waiters should *ask* the table when taking the orders because isn't it kind of weird to assume that one person would pay for a table of 8? That's like an $1000 bill. I would come back here and order a couple items off the dessert menu and some cappuccinos, if only for the beautiful view.
(3)Aboudi F.
Nice place, great service and the food is great. Not the greatest variety of food, but they have mastered what they make.
(4)Pimi W.
My boyfriend took me there for my birthday. We had a nice window-view seat . The ambience is very nice . I Love the high ceiling and lights decor.The wine storage kiosk is interesting . I ordered Sage and Grape cocktails, delicious drinks .. We started with oysters rockefeller, then Duck Salad , the presentation of both dishes are pretty . We ordered Ribeye Oscar style and Lamb . They both looked super delicious but they were both over-cooked, So sad . Our sever sent the manager Lelia over , she was very understanding and comp our food .. We didn't get anything else bc she told us it's gonna take about another 45 mins to remake them. We ordered dessert - Chocolate butter mousse . It was tasty. The service was great and impeccable. We will come back bc we really wanna try their 7 courses dinner .
(4)Kelly O.
Wow what an experience! I can see why this restaurant is named Iridescence. We had a February 5 PM dinner reservation for my bachelorette party. This restaurant is beautiful! It was barely daylight when we were seated at our table. Everything in the restaurant is white and they have these beautiful dangling lights from the ceiling. You look through one wall of all class over the city. As the sun begins to set, tones of blue and violet begin to illuminate all of the white in the restaurant. Everything begins to glow. It's really quite beautiful. Our waiter was a true king at his craft. He used poetic language to describe the food in an authentic manner. He had the perfect amount of presence at our table. He remembered the little details of each thing that the ladies wanted. He made sure to doublecheck everything was perfect for us. He was also funny. We loved him. The food was really delicious. I'm a sucker for beautiful plate presentation and you certainly receive that here. This is definitely five star worthy over many different criteria. If you're looking to have a splurge are beautiful romantic date night definitely go here.
(5)Brittany L.
I'm an absolute fan of the food and the view, but the service knocked off the last star. Our waiter was extremely intrusive and kept pushing us to order the top three most expensive entrees. I mean this restaurant is already very fancy and costly, so I didn't see any need to push us. He was also pushing the wine and cocktails and I was dining with my clearly pregnant friend who referenced her pregnancy - somewhat inappropriate in my opinion. Also, when she mentioned that she was pregnant, he did not respond - at all. It was awkward. Also, they have iPads for menus which I really appreciate because you can see photos of the food, but he kept leaning across my body to swipe the iPads and had his sleeves across my plate and silverware. It was just an odd experience. My friend and I both felt weird about our server. Anyways, the view was beautiful and the restaurant had a nice ambiance to it. For food, I ordered the beet salad with was huge and absolutely delicious. I also had the Filet Mignon which was cooked to order - and truly was what I wanted (medium). It came with creamed spinach and these fried potatoes which looked amazing, but I left them alone to avoid the "fried-ness." I wish I would of had room for dessert. Overall, a really good experience - just would have preferred a different server.
(4)Jessica M.
Another wonderful meal at Iridescence. The service is very good. Knowledgable and professional staff, but still approachable and friendly. I loved the short rib appetizer. My seseame encrusted Tuna was very good. My husband had the chicken done three ways. We enjoyed every moment here. Complimentary macarons at the end of the meal too! I am glad we chose to go here for a special date night.
(5)MyThy H.
This is our 2nd time dining here and the meal and service were even better (if thats possible)! First visit was 8/2013 for our Anniversary dinner and this visit was a community of foodie friends sharing our love of food. I'll start with our first visit as I stupidly forgot to write a review. 8/2013: Ambiance: Nice, modern, minimal decor. Go before sunset so you get to see the brightness inside with the iridescent light bulbs and what looks like a mylar/foil sheet along the kitchen walls. It get's back lit at night and the iridescent colors really pop. We sat at the counter seat tables next to the window so we could see the view of Corktown, Detroit, Ambassador bridge and my fave building in all MI, Michigan Central Train Station. Watching the sun set and the lights come on is just beautiful. Food: Started with Crab cakes and let me tell you it was 5/5! Comes with corn, leek, asparagus ragoût, arugula-herb salad, lemon vinaigrette, beet syrup. There are almost no fillers and just chunks of crab meat. Its big and I could've easily had 3 of these for my meal! The BEST crab cake I've ever had and I almost always order crab cakes when I see it on a menu. -Cioppino: Thai style-scallop, nishiki risotto, shrimp, watercress, prince edward island mussel, treviso. If you like a subtle asian twist and spicyness this is your dish. The coconut milk and spice adds a kick and I was using their complementary bread to slurp up all that broth! (Bread basket is so good too!) -NY Strip: 14oz 28-day dry-aged grilled prime strip steak, yukon gold potato purée, pearl onions, thumbelina carrots, potato chips, roasted shallot glace. Fiance loved this and was actually stuffed so I got to enjoy a few slivers of this steak. Some don't like NY strip but this is his fave cut of steak and always orders it if its on the menu. Perfect medium rare too. -Peanut butter Bar: banana pudding ice cream, caramel, salted peanuts. Now DF picked Iridescence doing a Yelp search for PB desserts (He knows me well and my love for PB. That's why I'm marrying him!) and this delivered! We all know PB and banana's are the best pre-run fuel. And we also know PB and chocolate is a winning combo. In fact, the only way I'll eat chocolate b/c I don't like chocolate. This PB has a nice thick peanut butter with rich dark chocolate ganache glazed on top. So good that DF got his own so I didn't have to share. (See? I told you he's a winner!) 5/4/14 visit: Party of 6 so rather than sitting at the rectangular table by the window we sat inside towards the kitchen. We all decided to do the American Kaiseki menu which consists of 7 small courses and is the chef's baby b/c it gives them an opportunity to let their creativity shine. Your entire party must participate and they are accommodating to diet restrictions. We had two that were pescetarians and we were served beef while they had fish for their entrees. Allow 2 hrs to dine as each delivered entree is brought out by the servers with the chef who explains each dish. Very nice touch! I've had Kaiseki in Japan before and its fun but expensive. The yen to dollar equivalent is $400 in Japan but at Iridescence its a deal for ~$75-100/person. Alcohol not included. Allow 2 hrs dining. We had so much fun as foodie's that we stayed for 5 hrs talking! This was the menu that night: Amuse: Oshinko, Watermelon & Hackleback Caviar Detroit Popcorn: 1. Kettle Corn, 2. Togarashi, 3. Detroit Coney, 4. Bacon Grilled Strawberry Shortcake: Grilled pound cake Macerated strawberry, vanilla bean cream Squash blossom: Crab Rangoon stuffing, tempura fried Surf & Turf: Scallop, housemade beef jerky, cauliflower puree, radish, carrot, edible flower, mustard oil Deviled duck egg: Duck egg, Duck confit, soba noodle nest Beets & Buratta: Beets 3 ways, buratta, arugula, rye chip Cheeseburger: Filet mignon, brioche, mornay, grilled romaine, tomato nage Tuna: sesame crusted, coconut rice, mango salad, passion fruit butter If you refer to my photos, you can see we also had 7 desserts brought out to us. These were not included but like I said, we were amongst foodie friends so how could we not order one of each? The best of the night was what looked like a baked Alaskan with soft vanilla cake inside and berry puree. We all swooned over this! Iridescence is definitely a place for special occasions. I also like that the restaurant is separate and you don't have to walk through the smoky casino to get there!
(5)Amanda A.
This place made me feel like I was going to what would have been a trendy restaurant circa 1998 (minus the use of iPads). The place itself and the view is the best part. But for starters, this has been the only time in my life I had to send a cocktail back. It was what our waitress called "the most popular one". Nothing about it tasted like it had fresh blueberries or that it was even mixed properly, or even close to the right ratio of ingredients. Terrible. And I wasn't the only one who agreed. The beet salad was good, and the entrees were as well. My side dishes were pretty much not edible. Worst mashed potatoes I may have ever had. So when you order a $90 lobster tail with crab and you can't even eat your side dishes.... A steak at our table that was supposed to be Rare came out medium well. Oh and the menus are on iPads. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but it just felt obnoxious. I feel like this place wants to be more than it is and act more pretentious than it is, but for the lackluster quality of the food, I don't think you really get to charge $84 for a ribeye that you can't even prepare correctly. I of course didn't want to stick around for dessert. Our waitress however was sweet, and none of the above should reflect on the staff who were constantly filling our glasses, clearing plates and being incredibly attentive. Come here for the view and a cocktail- just not the specialty blueberry tequila one.
(2)Susan N.
One of my favorite spots in the city! Presentation of food here is amazing! Nice city view! The service is outstanding! Menu is unique and ever changing. I love the four salad selection! Tale of two chickens is a favorite! Steaks amazing! They also will make things not on the menu here if you ask.
(5)Jiah C.
We showed up 5 minutes past our reservation time and the host staff had us wait another 10 minutes for our table. Luckily we were able to find a spot at the busy bar for a cocktail before dinner, which was well made and tasty. The tablet introduction was great and I love what they did with their menus-- especially the chef's notes/descriptions. The food was presented impeccably and with care, but it wasn't a complete hit for us. The 4 season/cyclical salad was pretty delicious actually, but overall was quite a bit too sweet as a salad course (the honey peanut butter, and the brulee, to be specific). It was like having dessert for salad. I ordered the thai style cioppino for my entree and the seafood and the sauce were both of great quality and quite delicious but it was very overly salted. As my husband eats very quickly and I eat very slowly, I declined on the server sending the food back because of the timing and picked through the seafood with as little sauce as possible, but I still had to drink another full glass of water afterward. Sodium overload. It could have been such a hit but flopped, unfortunately. My husband had the rare tuna nicoise entree and exclaimed that this was the first time he could actually enjoy olives. He loved it-- I tried it and thought it was wonderfully done. The service was pretty good. Our server was very nice and accommodating, and maybe I was slightly surprised that no management stopped by to see how things were going, especially after the over-salted mishap but I am aware that I did decline any further action on it. I would still try Iridescence again and hope for better.
(4)Allen L.
For me, this is the best restaurant in Detroit. I finally had dinner here and it was in the top handful of experiences I've had in any city. I may be using a few too many superlatives, but they fit. ===== The reception at the host stand with the hostess and maitre d' was super pleasant. They asked what type of table we wanted since they have tables, banquettes and taller tables right up against the glass (with a great view). The dining room has a beautiful ceiling and open kitchen. Menus are on tablets which I usually don't like but it works here. It's really nice to be able to click on an item and then see the dish. It was super helpful. It also works for the wine list which lets you sort by appellation or type. The wine list is well chosen and pretty well priced. It would be helpful for the maitre d' to briefly explain some of the features of the tablet at the beginning. ====== Three of us split a number of appetizers/salad which was both good and bad. They are clearly plated and composed for individual service. They were all fantastic. The grilled octopus was the best I've ever had. You could cut it with a fork. The duck app was astounding. 3 different types of duck. Each wonderful. The "mothersauce" app was PERFECT. One of the tastiest dishes I"ve ever had. Here's the description from the menu. Mother Sauce Hollandaise - white asparagus, preserved lemon, lemon powder Béarnaise - smoked salmon, fried capers, pickled red onion Charon - imperial kobe beef tataki, micro shiso ==== The entrees were fantastic. The sesame-encrusted tuna was incredible. The pasta made in house. They were all done on point. Every single dish has clear distinct flavors. Delightfully prepared with nothing overbearing. Every ingredient seems well chosen to play its part in the dish. Pr Desserts were a big surprise and this is where the the tablet menu was nice. You could see the deserts which are not done justice by the descriptions. The pastry chef has a deft hand. Very well balanced and super light deserts. The peanut butter based desert is a good example - you'd think it would be heavy and sweet but it is not. Again, the written description does not do it justice. ========= It's clear that the chef and his team are gifted. It's great food/ingredients that are well executed. Like restaurants of this caliber in NY, Las Vegas, etc. it is a well orchestrated team. The chef clearly knows where every table is at in their service. The maitre d' (from the Rugby Grill) is present and helpful when needed. The head chef, Ben Meyer, has been at some great restaurants in the Detroit area and he's clearly at his best in this beautiful restaurant. He's also surrounded himself with a great team all-around - pastry chef and front of the house. Pricing. It's a special occasion place. But considerably less than the "big name" steakhouses in the suburbs and twice as good. Pricing would be 50% higher in Chicago or NY. There were a couple of odd service blips that I wouldn't have expected but didn't detract from the experience. There isn't a restaurant in metro Detroit that is serving at this level.
(5)Yulia Y.
Absolutely the best restaurant that I have been within the Midwest area so far! Food and Service were extraordinary! My colleagues had steaks- and they said that it was even better than at any of Chicago's top steakhouses! Great views from 16th floor and ambient atmosphere! ...and the wine list was out of this world: "located at the top of the town, Modern American cuisine is complemented by breathtaking city views and a Wine Spectator Award-winning wine list. As the only 4-Diamond restaurant in the city of Detroit!" ( motor city web)
(5)Megan K.
My friend and I came to try it out. I have been wanting to go for quite some time. Iridescence is on the top floor so the view is spectacular. We were seated right by the window and they have double paned glass as well as heater vents so it's not cold even when it's -4 out! They have a great selection of wines and have one of my personal favorites, Caymus Cabernet. However, we decided to try an Argentinian Malbec which was wonderful. Our waitress was...interesting. She was very nice and attentive but she either has a super hyper personality or she had too many shots of espresso or something. I could have dealt with her taking it down a notch. The amuse bouche was a great beginner, endive with roasted salmon and grapefruit with a blood orange creme fraiche. We split the beet salad. It was huge! The waitress did warn us of this and she split it into two plates which was nice. The dressing was very refreshing and the beets were cooked perfectly. We had the Lent special which was a triple surf. It was a 10 oz lobster tail, 4 tiger shrimp and a crab cake. It was served with haricots verts and buttermilk whipped potatoes. I was worried it wouldn't be enough food but I was definitely full at the end. The lobster tail and shrimp were cooked perfectly. Despite the cocktail sauce looking very "horseradishy", it wasn't too spicy. I could have dealt with it being kicked up a notch (but I am Polish and we like our horseradish). The blood orange sauce was delicately flavored and very complimentary. The crab cake...wow, that was just on a whole other level. Literally zero filler, all crab and some peppers and corn in a creamy sauce. It was so delicious! I believe they have a crab cake appetizer so I would definitely get that the next time I come. We were too stuffed for dessert which was sad but they did bring us complimentary macaroons. They were buttery and oh so crispy, the coconut was dense and flavorful. So I can only imagine how delicious the desserts are. A few weeks back I had been in Vegas and none of the places I ate, including Michael Mina's restaurant that supposedly has Michelin stars came anywhere close to Iridescence in terms of service or quality of food.
(5)Tim F.
My sister and I had the pleasure of Mother's Day Brunch at Iridescence. Upon arrival, we were seated immediately (and how many places can say that on Mother's Day?) at a high top by the windows, with a beautiful view of the Detroit River. The brunch offering was a four-course meal, beginning with a small portion of scrambled eggs and Neuske bacon. For our second, my sister chose the Lobster and Shrimp Corn Dogs, while I had the Hot Brown. The corn dogs came with a house-made ketchup, and whole grain mustard--they were simply tasty: a heavier batter covering succulent bits of lobster and shrimp. The Hot Brown was Chef Meyer's interpretation of the classic: roast turkey, Neuske bacon, and Mornay sauce. over a toast round, accompanied by whipped Yukon Gold potatoes. Delicious! For our third, my sister had the Surf-n-Turf, a petit filet with tempura shrimp, while I had the strip loin. The shrimp were enormous. More impressively, they weren't overcooked. They were perfect. The filet, and the strip loin, were both cooked as ordered; beefy and rich. We were also able to sample the vegetarian option: an asparagus and morel frittata. Both the frittata and the accompanying sweet potatoes ALMOST made me regret ordering the beef. Dessert was a tray of miniatures and chocolates from Chef Nash, whose work is so effortlessly elegant I have become completely spoiled. From the dipped strawberries, thickly coated with both white and dark chocolate, to the cannolis and brittles, each piece on the tray is a perfectly executed sample of her work. The staff at Iridescence always delivers a top dining experience. From the kitchen to the front, each team member does their job, and does it quite well. They continue to set the standard for fine dining in Detroit. Sunday was Chef Meyer's last day at Iridescence, and he will be missed. However, we look forward to Chef Andrew bringing his menu and style to Iridescence's tables.
(5)Nick B.
Took my girlfriend to Iridesences for her birthday, it was a very nice and romantic place. The view blew our mind, so did the food. Waiter was very kind and made us feel very welcome. Some advice, salads are big enough to share and try not to get full for your main entree. Overall, wonderful service and wonderful food.
(5)Michelle N.
I liked iridescence and wouldn't mind coming back again should a friend or an out of town visitor want to. Food/drinks: -sage cocktail: recommended by our waitress, this was good but a bit too herb-y/plant-y/floral-y for me (I know, duh) -strawberry cocktail: wow this was strong. 1/2 a drink, 2 slices of bread, and a full meal later and I was still buzzed..delicious but it's strong and has a spicy kick to it -tale of 2 chickens: came with some really delicious chicken that was fall off the bone tender, bacon (both were drizzled with a foie gras gravy), fried chicken (so good!!), watermelon, and some corn bread -cioppino: seafood on top of some rice. The scallops were cooked well, and as our waitress described it, it's reminiscent of a Thai curry -trio of desserts: I honestly forgot the first dessert and skipped the second (pumpkin cheesecake), but the peanut butter bar was so good!!! I didn't ask if they made it individually but didn't see it on the dessert menu, just the trio. :/ Overall thoughts: -gorgeous ambience. I'm attaching a picture so you can see. My friend proposed to his wife here, and I see why he chose to do so! -staff was great, seriously. Everyone from our waitress (Bao Ly) to the hosts..even to the gentleman standing outside the security downstairs was so friendly and polite -you get macarons and warm towels at the end of your meal! -a previous yelper said it, but the plating is gorgeous. Truly a work of art. -Pepsi products only. Boo. However, the whole reason for my 4 stars is bc of Sophia. She was helping our waitress and was able to anticipate all our needs and requests the whole evening. She went above and beyond and even out of her way to make my evening enjoyable, and I will always be grateful to her for leaving such a wonderful impression of iridescence and its staff. When I come back, I will ask to be seated in her section. Thank you, Sophia, for a great first dinner at a Iridescence!!
(4)Yunmi O.
We had our first anniversary dinner and ordered tasting menu which was 7 course. The food was great and we loved the presentation. Service was great too. Iridescence made our day special!!:)
(5)Soyoung Y.
I had poptails, two cocktails they recommended, sushi appetizer special, Braised Short Rib Picatta Style, Oyster Rockefeller, Shrimp Campenchana and New York Strip. We had all of that between two people, and even though we entered the restaurant not so hungry, we weren't so full coming out of the restaurant. Still, we did not want to have any more food there since the food wasn't so good and was only expensive. FOOD - Everything we had was average of below average, and the only food that was about average or above was the Shrimp Campenchana. DRINKS - Poptails were really good! The idea itself is very innovative and the taste was amazing, but other cocktails they recommended weren't good and we drank only few sips. SERVICE - IT WAS HORRIBLE. I never want to come back. We were asking the server about this one appetizer, but the server kept telling us we should just order the other one. The server reached out to the table without giving us any notice. He would come too close to our face to talk, and would just grab plates out of our table without asking us. OVERALL - I would not only never go back to the restaurant, but also regret deciding to go there in the first place. After spending $200 at the restaurant for two people, we weren't full, satisfied, or happy. I would still give the place two stars because the place had really nice interior and a wonderful view.
(2)Raphie B.
I was really looking forward to checking out iridescence for my husband's recent birthday dinner. The service was good, but the food left a lot to be desired. Don't get me wrong... the food looked amazing. Check out the picture of my dish for some lovely "food as art". Unfortunately, presentation is only part of the formula, and the more important factor, taste, was severely lacking. Two different employees raved about the skills of the chef, but a chef who can't make a flavorful vegetarian dish doesn't impress me. My overwhelming takeaway on the evening was that the food was bland. My husband did enjoy is Wagyu appetizer, but that was the only thing he enjoyed. We over-ordered on all the amazing sounding desserts and were disappointed there too. Normally I'd think we just mis-ordered, but honestly, we tried 4 different desserts. None of them impressed. We spent $500 for 4 people, and all four of us came away totally unimpressed. My suggestion is skip this place, especially if you're looking for a nice place to celebrate. It's going to let you down and leave you wishing you'd planned otherwise.
(2)Kevin S.
I would like to take a moment to thank the staff of iridescence restaurant at the motor city casino. I attended the MBTA Holiday gala and this hotel/conference center is a class act. Every aspect of the eight hours that we were there was amazing. From the snacks in the boardroom to the friendly staff willing to do whatever it takes to help us out to be amazing and delicious dinner. If you are looking for a place to hold your next holiday event definitely consider motor city casino you will not be disappointed.
(5)Sierra H.
Absolutely superb. Beyond amazing service by Cristos - he takes amazing care of is every time we dine here. He takes such great care in everything he does, from remembering your name, taste preferences, and anniversary, to the perfect meal recommendations, his refined knowledge of fine dining makes our experience perfect every time. That's what Iridescence is - an experience! It boasts a gorgeous location over looking the Detroit/Canada border and the waterfront, atop one of the highest skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit. The lighting is gorgeous - small hanging orbs of light serve as the perfect soft lighting to enjoy the sunset, which you can watch from literally every seat in the house, as the walls are made of thick glass. The menu is ever-changing, bursting with seasonal treats and tastes that simply cannot be passed up on. The small plate desserts are always the perfect end to an amazing night. Paired with a (strong!!) sweet red wine, you can't go wrong. Love this place & can't wait for our next visit!
(5)Jeff K.
Took the lady here for her birthday and of course we had to try the kaiseki menu and it was fantastic! This is my favorite restaurant in Detroit so far, and I can't wait to make another trip! If you're a serious foodie, I HIGHLY recommend you opt for this option. You get a TON of food--all perfectly prepared and mind-blowing. I had to take my last course home because I was so full. Best dishes: Halibut--simple, yet so refreshing. It just had a clean taste to it that kept my mouth watering the entire night. Duck fat fried potato square with salmon and caviar--such a unique dish that was incredibly pleasing to both the eye and taste buds. Seriously, if you decide to dine at Iridescence, go for the kaiseki menu!
(5)Eddie M.
Absolutely phenomenal! I took my date to Iridescence for his birthday dinner on Friday, September 26th. I called the restaurant to confirm my reservations and also to clue them in as to the occasion. Matthew was absolutely wonderful at snagging me a window seat and assured me that all would be perfect. He wasn't kidding. When we arrived about 20 minutes early for our reservation, he greeted us warmly and wished my date a Happy Birthday. Matthew quickly accommodated our early arrival and seated us at the perfect seat in the restaurant, a beautiful view of Downtown Detroit. Chelsea was our server and was absolutely amazing. I actually work in the service industry and was just impressed with the quality of her service. She was absolutely amazing. She told us about the American Kaiseki offering at the restaurant. We were a little on the fence, but we were very pleased that we chose it. The 7-courses of various dishes were just splendid. Absolutely wonderful. Chef Benjamin and his team were fabulous. I can't remember the server assistant's name, but she was fabulous as well. The explanations of each dish, how intricate they each were, and the flavor each one packed was out of this world. You can truly see the joy and passion that the team places into the creation of each dish. The wine selection was second to none. I was impressed with the variety and range of wines. I enjoyed two wonderful Pinot Noirs from the Sonoma County region of California. Chelsea was knowledgeable and great at suggesting wines for my date. It was also lovely to see that there is a certified Somm on staff at the restaurant and available to answer any questions. I wanted this evening to be absolutely perfect and thanks to the top notch team at Iridescence, you made that happen. I can't thank you all enough for helping to make a memory of a lifetime. Thank you again!
(5)Mary Y.
Just really not that impressed. Went with my gal pals before the Rick Springfield (yes, you read that right) show. Had a nice glass of wine, beautiful view, but the food was just ok. I had the salmon. The chef sent over some appetizers comped which was swanky and nice of them but the food the rest of the night just wasn't awesome, especially not for the prices. My french press coffee was outstanding though. Being the DD, I sobered up for the show. I can't say that for the main floor "ladies" slurring the words to Jessie's girl. Skip it and go over to Slow's or Mercury Burger Bar.
(2)Connie L.
For appetizer, I tried the duck, duck, and more duck along with the octopus dish. Both were great. The taste of the duck mousse was good but the texture was a little weird, so I couldn't say I liked that. The lentils on the octopus dish was amazing. For entrees, I tried the sea bass and salmon dish. The sea bass was cooked to perfection, though the tapioca pearls seem a bit out of place. The salmon was also great. The puree on the bottom was delicious. Lastly, for dessert, the peanut butter bar was such a great top off of a great dinner.
(5)Tiffany G.
I'm in love with this place everything is to my expectations to the T, from the ambiance decor and overall feel not to mention the view. And most importantly the food is phenomenal. Our server Chelsea was beyond words great met all of our request and needs. This restaurant is my top places to have dinner. Not your everyday dining out experience def more of an occasion or when you need a nice get away, but def a must.
(5)Kelli B.
We decided to try the kaiseki menu, as it sounded wonderful. It started out well, upon our request we had raw oysters, absolutely delicious! The Cesar salad, also very good. Seared tuna..... chewy, overcooked; very warm in the middle. The courses went downhill from there. A female server stopped by our table and when we politely tried to tell her she said "oh I am getting the eye from the kitchen, gotta go" and left. The chef came out to serve a dish and we tried to talk to him, again no luck. It seemed like the courses were an assembly of leftovers; for example; lobster and bacon, rubbery lobster chunks, smoky, not good at all. We finally said no more and our waiter suggested a steak, which had a layer of gristle around it. We declined dessert. Our waiter was fantastic and tried to remedy the situation, unfortunately he had no control over the food/preparation quality, and no one else seemed to care.
(2)Farid S.
The most amazing culinary experience of my life! This restaurant is nestled on the top floor of the Motor City Casino hotel, which means you don't have to walk through the casino where most people are smoking to get to the restaurant. The service here was impeccable, I never had to open the door, tuck my chair or even lay napkin on my lap for that matter. During my meal I got up to use the restroom which was cleaner than any restaurant restroom I've ever seen and upon my return I had a freshly folded napkins, silverware and someone standing near my chair to tuck me in again and lay the my napkin on my lap for me. The Decour in this place is beautiful, from the iridescence wall (hence the name), cool subtle lighting, the gorgeous view of the Detroit skyline including GM building, the river front, Ambassador Bridge and even Corktown where the Roosevelt train depot still stands in all her glory. There were six people in our party and we ordered the Kaiseki Tasting Menu, which I highly recommend. The Kaiseki Menu is a seven course meal in which each dish is presented to you by the servers and the chef comes out to explains each dish before you indulge. Note that if you order the Kaiseki menu, you won't know what you're getting, the Chef prepares each dish keeping in mind any restrictions or allergies of anyone on the table and that's why each dish is presented by the chef, who comes out and explains the components of the dish and how it was prepared. The whole meal is based on Japanese cuisine with an American twist and executed perfectly! I couldn't help but feel like Anthony Bourdain on the TV show "No Reservations". There is no doubt in my mind that I will be dining here again in the near future and maybe see you there...
(5)Kera M.
Uhhhhhhhh-maaaazzzzeeeee-innggggg This is probably one of my favorite restaurants in the area! (Next to Wolfgang Puck inside the MGM Casino) Definitely worth the price, my boyfriend and I had such a wonderful time here, our booth was big and comfy, our waiter was super knowledgeable and friendly, the view was beautiful but hands down the best part of this place is their FOOOOOOODDD... My boyfriend got the filet and lovedddd it...I am pretty sure I ordered either the Salmon or their Tuna (this was about a year ago, so I apologize) I know we both lovedddd our meals, and yes....as I was feeling a bit gluttonous, I actually ordered the dessert SAMPLER -which is recommend for like..4 or more... =/ (((oh don't judge me...I dare you to try it if you ever go! hehe..))) anded boyyyyy was that something special, I could not finish all the samplers, but it was honestly the best desserts I've EVER had, ANYWHERE! I think there where like 7+ samplers, sp beautifully arranged, I didn't even want to eat them as it really looked like little pieces of art ! Options were anywhere from a chocolate cheese cake with a raspberry juice mmmm ohh em gees was that yummy, to lots of chocolate samplers..geez I wish I could remember all the choices, but hands down I've been itching to go back ever since, highly recommened :) I am drooling over their desserts now.....siiiiigh
(5)Jon S.
Bao Li and chefs are very accommodating. I've never put that type of request on anyone and they blew me away. Halibut with Bol Choy, Asparagus and Haricot Verts were great. I liked the Blantons and the view
(5)Stacy M.
Beautiful views, but the guests at the bar would never know it. A group of 5 friends and I stopped by for late night drinks and apps on a cold weeknight in january and were very disappointed that we were relegated to the viewless and chilly bar area, even though there were plenty of open tables in the 'dining' area. Our bartender was nice, but constantly interrupted to run credit card transactions for the table waitstaff. While the waitstaff stood at the end of the bar and argued among themselves and loudly gossiped about patrons in the restaurant. One of the apps we ordered was the bacon popcorn after receiving high praise from our bartender...and it was terrible. Tasted like old, stale movie theater popcorn that was soggy from old applications of fake butter and loads of salt, topped with greasy chunks of bacon (and just so you know, to rip on a dish with bacon is unheard of for this bacon-lover). Our drinks weren't much better, I've tasted better bottles of wine under $6 from trader joes and the mixed drinks seem to suffer from false advertising: they are laden with syrup-y fake flavors, despite their eloquent descriptions on the menu. Lastly, the prices are as if you are dining at a luxe 5 star restaurant with views of the city....but quite clearly we weren't that evening. Disappointing, to say the least.
(2)Randy G.
Iridescence sets the expectation for top-of-line-food with perfect execution, correct pairing of foods, sexy and playful presentation in an elegant atmosphere. We had a unique opportunity to have a private chef tasting thanks to the yelp staff, executive chef, and staff at iridescence. The chefs came out and did an excellent presentation on the evenings activities with their upcoming fall menu. We started the evening on an unconventional food with two sorbets. Vanilla Bean Strawberries and Creme Fraiche were sweet and designed to cleanse the palate. A nice textural surprise were the chopped pistachios at the base of the sorbet, give addition counter balance of texture and sweetness. Next dish was Yellow Fin Tuna Carpaccio with chili vinegar, mango coulis, rice crisp, and mango lime foam. The tuna was so smooth, cut perfectly thin to bring out all the flavor. There is a nice balance between heat from the chili oil and the acid from the lime foam. The sandwich dual off. DY Spindini with buffalo mozzarella and lemon butter against the Croque Madam with gruyere and quail egg. The spindini was nice, light, and smooth. The fresh herbs on top gave it the fresh earthy flavor. The capers was a nice addition to add the saltiness. Even though it was good, the Croque wins the challenge. Its the delicious and refined comfort food that I was hoping to get out of the sandwich. When you break the egg, it's yolk glazes the sandwich nicely and with the salty, nutty gruyere cheese, it adds the necessary balance. Potato and Mushroom Ravioli was next with bay scallop, enoki, lobster creme plated with their Croquille Saint Jaques. Oh, that ravioli haunts me to this day. I can't find another place to reproduce it. It was magnificently delicious with it topped with the light lobster sauce. The bay scallops also with the lobster sauce causes you to say mmmmm as well. Now, combining the two, what a disappointment. Why did they combined them? I sliced the bay scallop and placed it on top of the ravioli and together, they individually lost their flavor and didn't create some new unique taste. Now for their playful attempt for the Tribute to the Cheeseburger with sweet potato, tomato nage, romaine, sauce mornay. It is a fully deconstructed cheese burger. It of course doesn't resemble any cheese burger you'll find and if you taste the individual parts, you would come to the same conclusion. Now the genius of the concept, if you place each component on your fork together, you got yourself a full flavored cheese burger. Each element was executed thoughtfully and carefully. Each one was perfect, but the two at really stood out was the tomato nage and the mornay sauce. Those two were very delicate and individually, you would probably say to yourself, really, what is that. Then you had it to the "cheese burger", oh man, you have a perfect "ketchup" and "cheese". This was simply a wow. The staff did an amazing job to make the night perfect and the chefs did an excellent job in presentation to the group and on the plate.
(4)Adrienne D.
Had reservations but waited a long time to be seated. The prices were outrageous. I am vegetarian and I had very limited options. I had the curry tofu. It was awful.
(1)