Joe Muer Bloomfield Hills — Restaurant in Bloomfield Hills

At the end of December, I came to eat dinner here on the 22nd with my boyfriend and his father. Having always wanted to try this place out because it's only a 30 second drive from the house, and has good reviews online with gluten-free options, I was excited to enjoy dinner here! As soon as I walked in, the whole atmosphere is classy and upscale so I did love that aspect. I have multiple severe food allergies including celiac disease and get very sick whenever I (accidentally) ingest it, so I have to be very careful when dining out. My boyfriend informed the server at the beginning of the meal that I have a very serious gluten allergy. I enjoyed a glass of wine, the Beet Salad as the appetizer, and the Broiled Lake Superior Whitefish as the entree. Our server, a gentleman in his 60s, was very polite and animated, but this is where the great experience ended sadly. Our menus had already been taken away, and another member of my party decided to order the creamed spinach for the table to share. I asked the server if it was gluten free, and he responded with a resounding "Yes, of course! It's just spinach and milk!" As he brought the food to the table, my boyfriend's dad exclaimed how delicious the spinach was and asked what the secret was. As it was extremely loud in there, I did not hear what was said but man oh man, am I glad my boyfriend did. He thought he had overheard the server telling his dad that he thought the secret ingredient was bread crumbs. He said to the server, "Excuse me, did you just say bread crumbs?!" and told him that he would check with the chef and took off to the kitchen. Thankfully I had not taken my first bite yet. Two seconds later, the server came out literally running out and told me that it DID indeed have bread crumbs in it and to order some of the fingerling potatoes instead because those were "definitely gluten free for sure." Again, not having the menu to check and see if it was gluten free myself for myself, I trusted him at his word and was ASSURED by him that it would be gluten free this time. The food was all delicious, but when I got home, my stomach told me that it was not, in fact, gluten free, and that it would be a very long night ahead. When I got home, I looked up the menu and saw that it was NOT listed as gluten free. I was unfortunately gravely ill for the next few days. As a former server in the food service industry, I am extremely understanding that restaurants cannot promise that food will not be cross contaminated with other allergens of course, but patrons should not be guaranteed that something is safe to eat when it isn't. This could have been a great dinner, but unfortunately because I was assured incorrect information, I don't think I will come back ever come back at this point. An apology from management would be appreciated. Please get your staff better trained on the menu, to at least ask the kitchen when they are unsure of something before someone goes into...

Came in for a nice light late evening dinner with my husband. The evening started out ok. While the waitstaff was attentive…to start (the busman was great and consistent). Things began to go downhill after I started chewing on what I thought was a breaded piece of onion in our calamari, but it turned out to be a piece of breaded plastic. After using my flashlight to confirm, my husband got the attention of our waiter, who apologized and offered for it to be remade. Ok, you might say…or at least we did. We have enough stress going on and just wanted a nice evening to forget about all that life has been throwing at us. Well, our calamari was “remade” by refrying the original dish and then bringing it back out on the same plate. How do I know? There was a smudge on the side of the plate when it was taken away, and still there when it came back. The calamari was extremely greasy the second time and didn’t taste as well as it did the first time; after a few bites, we just pushed it to the side. In addition, the dish came out with two lemons, and we left one on the plate when it was taken away…guess what came back? The same one lemon; the only thing they bothered to do was refill the sauce. Then the soup, the lobster bisque, was a thick, acidic, canned soup with chunks of lobster. Probably the worst we’ve ever had. Next came the creamed corn, freshly shucked corn with the silk (lots of it), topped with a lukewarm cream sauce and pappadew peppers. Every bite took a good 8-10 chews to get it down. We let our waiter know about the dishes we were disappointed and dissatisfied with, and we got an “Oh, I’m sorry” that was it. My husband gave his card to pay so we could leave. We get the final bill, and they didn’t even bother to remove the calamari. We just left our tip and left. They did box the remaining corn because I wanted to see if I was tripping, and there wasn’t that much silk left in it. Get home, and there was so much silk in the corn that it made a small pile. It was still bothering me the next day, so I figured I would call the GM and make him aware of our experience since we really did want to enjoy the restaurant, especially since it’s a fine dining restaurant that isn’t far and is open late. I asked for the GM and was put on hold for a moment. A gentleman answered but didn’t even bother giving his name or any introduction, just hello. Taken back, I asked for his name and explained our experience. He told me that he was sorry I felt that way and that they would never do anything like that. Sorry, I “feel” like that?!?! Yeah, never going back here. Shame! It would have been nice to host our 20th anniversary here or one of our...

TLDR: Nowhere near as nice as the Detroit location. Food is brilliant in places, uninspired in others. Staff needs more training. Maybe just go for happy hour, but don't expect to fill up on apps.

My wife and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the Detroit location and it was one of the best meals I've had in my life, the staff was excellent, the sommelier recommended a perfect bottle and really made sure it was the right fit with a few small samples first, even a small scoop of ice cream at the end to celebrate, a magical night. Naturally we wanted to try a different location for our 2nd so we went to this one. We started at the bar with a great drink and two very nice appetizers.

Then we moved to a proper table and we were excited. The server read us the specials and wasn't very knowledgeable about the food. Then when it came time to order a bottle we were told the sommelier had the night off. Odd for a Friday night, but it happens. She did her best and recommended an alright wine that did not end up matching what my wife was looking for in flavors. It was OK wine.

As for the food we ordered rock crabs for an appetizer, these were excellent. A divine lobster bisque, and two entrees.

The first was a pasta dish with octopus, it was the best cooked octopus I've had, tender, juicy, and subtle. The pasta it came in however was just a flavorless red sauce. It tasted like it was made by someone who got used to cooking for someone with no pallette and gave up on their art. That being said, I picked out all the octopus which was perfect and focused on having a nice evening out instead of sulking. My wife had a King Crab topped Alfredo pasta, she attempted to add mussels but she was told they were out. Her food was good not great. It tasted too much like white wine and not much else and unfortunately completely masked the crab. She loves pasta and we both agreed we would never order pasta again from here.

In the end, this place felt like a place I would go for a quick happy hour or a place you would take a client if you wanted to wow them a bit on the company dime. If I had never been to the Detroit location I would not have been so disappointed. If you are going to spend 300 to 400 dollars on a dinner for two it really needs to be spectacular. This...