The Whitney — Restaurant in Detroit

I had a wonderful dinner at The Whitney this evening. Unfortunately I will never go back. NEVER. I hope the current owner of this restaurant reads this review in its entirety.

When I first arrived at The Whitney, I was awestruck at the mansion. But I entered and saw a man I immediately did NOT like. I cannot explain it. His overconfidence and sense of belonging exuded a negative energy that repulsed me. I swear to God I’m being honest about this…

He then sat at the piano and my heart softened. I myself am a classically trained pianist & have been playing for over 35 years. I write my own music & have been published. I walked over with a smile & he invited me to play with him which I did. I told him of my experience. He did not ask me to sit at the bench and now I know why. He is a narcissist beyond compare. Stay tuned for the end of this story.

At any rate…my handsome husband & I had a lovely anniversary dinner. We were offered to keep an anniversary menu (which I was excited for) but it never arrived. No big deal. We also did not get the bread that was advertised on the menu. But it also was not a big deal because I didn’t want to fill up on bread. The dining experience was phenomenal & I was greatly looking forward to the tour of the mansion. We spent over $400 on our anniversary dinner & graciously tipped our waitress Alexis.

At the end of the dinner I was drawn to the piano in a way I cannot explain. I wanted to play Etude in A Major (The Coral Sea) by William Gillock, a song that I learned & mastered at 14 years old. I told our server Alexis to imagine the beauty of Michigan when listening to this song.

I was just beginning the song & already had a crowd of customers standing around me while my husband was recording me. It’s truly a beautiful & magical song, and when performed correctly it sounds like water. I was wanting to play this song all night. Before I opened the baby grand piano, I was told that Joel was extremely protective of the piano & that he had already left for the evening. I assured the servers that I had already played with Joel (the Whitney’s Pianist) and that he would be ok with it. Oh my goodness was I ever wrong.

Before even getting past the introduction of this beautiful piece, Joel scolded me while closing the piano. He stated that this was his personal piano & that I had no right to sit at his bench without his permission. I calmly reminded him that I had already played with him earlier in the evening. He said as a fellow musician, I should know better than sitting at another pianist’s bench without permission. In this, he’s absolutely INCORRECT. And I rightly told him so. I would gladly welcome him at my own baby grand piano bench. But I am a different person than him. I allow children to experience the joy of music at my piano.

What we are dealing with here is an extreme narcissist pianist who cannot handle another pianist playing his instrument better than he can. It’s truly sad. If he cared this much about his piano he would install a lock on the key cover to prevent other customers from doing the same thing. And he would also tune this sad piano because it has clearly been neglected.

Shame on you Joel. Shame on you, The Whitney restaurant. This is NOT was Mr. Whitney would’ve wanted. Do better. I will never return to your restaurant & I will advise all of my friends (and I have many in Detroit) to do the same.

You’ve ruined my beautiful anniversary dinner & because of Joel I did not take a tour of the home, which I was desperately wanting to do.

I curse you. And I mean what I said to you, Joel, before I left The...

Out of the hundreds of historic buildings in Detroit, the Whitney has an atmosphere that is reminiscent of when society valued things of beauty. If there was an opportunity to make even so much as cornice moulding a work of timeless craftsmanship, the Whitney has flawlessly executed.

We went to celebrate my partners' birthday, and this was the first time we had visited the mansion. Upon entering we were immediately taken by the boisterous live piano, which was unexpected but very welcome. Front of house mentioned that there was a historian present this evening who would be offering an attended tour of the manor. My partner, whom is enamored with the love of historic buildings suggested we attend after our meal.

Here's where the immersion of the experience was steadily broken for us over the course of the evening.

I understand the importance of ambiance but when your main source of light for your table is a single kerosene candle, reading your menu can prove difficult. Not to mention a faint yet strange oder that would occasionally waft.

Our captain introduced herself in a affable way that was lacking the refinement and poise that the mansion itself had introduced us to when we entered. The best way I can describe this and to be relatable to those reading, our captain had the same mannerisms as the waitress at your local burger establishment. Friendly yes, but stumbling over menu items, laughing an awkward moment away, and making unnecessary conversation are all things that are and should be expected from a family restaurant, not a distinguished name like The Whitney. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, assumed that she was a new cast member and held my tongue for the sake of not spoiling my partners' special evening.

We ordered a bottle of the Whitney's private label bubbly for the table. Our captain brought the bottle over and gave us an awkward spectacle after spending several minutes attempting to uncork. When she was finally successful, you would have thought she was the one celebrating an occasion. When our main course came we were asked for fresh ground back pepper. I ordered the seafood sauté and requested some to be freshly milled. A different captain assisting our main, came over and gave the mill a few twists. I gave a halting motion with my hand as to not overpower my seafood. He continued to grind and made comments on the evening. The sweet and delicate flavor of my scallops were muted and overpowered by the immoderate amount of black pepper.

After our desert, we discussed if we wanted to partake in cocktail hour. We forwent the ghost bar due to having our fill of interactions with the front of house staff.

After meeting with the historian we felt our night would be concluded with a individual with expertise and high level knowledge about the history of the manor. As we went through each room it felt more as if the historian memorized a few individual facts about the home and pointed out the information that she was familiar with when the tour came through that particular place of the home.

The Whitney is a gorgeous manner preserved with the efforts of the staff and executive organizations. However I must asseverate that the front of house cast felt lacking. This establishment attracts discerning guests from around the world and first impressions are much more important than most realize. Our evening missed the congenial interaction we were hoping for.

Would I consider coming back? Yes, but only if someone else foots the bill.

The body is present, but the...

I brought my best friend to The Whitney to celebrate her birthday, and we had a really disappointing dinner. From start to finish, almost everything went wrong -- we will not be returning.

Our server, Madysen, was inattentive and unprofessional. She brought someone else's entrée to our table after we m received our appetizers. When we told her it wasn't ours, she didn't apologize--just took it and walked away. That was the only brief chance I had to ask for salad dressing since our salad didn't have any, which she acknowledged but never brought. She then disappeared for about 20 minutes, until she returned with our entrées -- still no salad dressing. I had to remind her again. We also had to repeatedly ask for water because she never checked on us or kept our glasses filled -- basic service was completely lacking.

The salad itself was just a handful of spring mix with a few sliced cucumbers and onions -- no dressing unless you asked. We ordered a bone-in ribeye steak, asked for it medium and for it to be sliced before being brought out. Before ordering, I specifically asked the server several times if the ribeye was very fatty -- I know ribeye naturally has fat, but I don't like cuts that are overly fatty. She assured me there wasn't much fat at all and she has never had anyone complain about it. When the steak arrived, not only was it medium-well instead of medium and uncut, but it also had more fat than meat. It was extremely disappointing, especially after I went out of my way to ask about it in advance. When I reminded her it was supposed to be cut, she said "Oh yeah" and left. Five minutes later, she returned with the steak chopped into small bite-sized chunks -- cold, and completely inappropriate for a bone-in ribeye. My friend even said it looked like it had been cut for her child at home. The steak itself was tough and chewy -- I swear I could have grilled a better one from Kroger on my backyard barbecue. It was nothing close to what you'd expect from a restaurant that calls itself fine dining.

Another surprising and disappointing detail: there were salt and pepper shakers on the table. For a restaurant that presents itself as upscale, this felt totally out of place. Even worse, I had to use the salt on nearly everything, and I don't even normally like salt -- the food was that bland. The espresso panna cotta was topped with stale marshmallows so unpleasant we had to spit them out.

To top it all off, the birthday celebration I had planned was mishandled and cheapened. When the check was brought, the server loudly announced that a birthday discount had been applied and that gratuity was already included. I hadn't even mentioned a birthday discount and didn't know one existed. When I asked what she meant, she seemed confused, then eventually explained it was a $50 discount. It was incredibly awkward and embarrassing -- I chose The Whitney for a special evening, not to save money, and the way it was handled completely took away from the moment.

We had been looking forward to trying The Whitney for years, and I really wanted to give it a fair shot. The mansion itself is beautiful -- that's the one redeeming quality -- but we came for the food and the experience, and both were a huge letdown. It seems like the restaurant has really declined. Definitely not worth the hype, the price, or the frustration. I would not recommend it for a special occasion -- or...