Unearth The Voyage
There is a restaurant in Detroit where the pasta is never from a box, the views stretch across an international border, and the kitchen starts fresh every single day. The kind of place where you sit down, look out the window, and suddenly forget whatever was stressing you out before you arrived.
Tucked inside one of the most recognizable buildings on the Detroit skyline, this Northern Italian spot has built a devoted following by doing things the old-fashioned way, with handcrafted pasta, premium ingredients, and service that actually makes you feel like a guest rather than a table number. Whether you are celebrating something big or just treating yourself to a Tuesday that deserves better than takeout, this place delivers on every front.
Read on to find out what makes this riverfront restaurant one of Michigan’s most talked-about Italian dining destinations.
The Address, the Setting, and That First Impression
There are restaurants you visit, and then there are restaurants that make an entrance for you. Andiamo Detroit Riverfront, located at 400 Renaissance Center A-03, Detroit, MI 48243, sits inside the iconic Renaissance Center, right along the Detroit Riverwalk.
The moment you walk through the building and spot the glass-lined Wintergarden framing the Detroit River, you know the evening is going to be something worth remembering. The Canadian city of Windsor glows across the water, and on a clear night, the skyline reflection on the river is genuinely stunning.
The restaurant operates as part of the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group, a name that carries serious weight in Michigan’s dining world. The space itself feels polished without being cold, upscale without being intimidating.
Elegant furniture, warm lighting, and a buzz of conversation from happy diners fill the room.
The phone number is +1 313-567-6700, and reservations are easy to secure online. Hours run Wednesday through Thursday from 3 to 10 PM, Friday from 3 to 11 PM, Saturday from noon to 11 PM, Sunday from 2 to 9 PM, and Monday and Tuesday from 3 to 10 PM.
A Legacy Built on Scratch-Made Pasta Every Single Day
The headline is not just clever marketing. Every day, the kitchen at this Detroit riverfront institution starts from scratch, rolling, cutting, and shaping pasta by hand before a single guest arrives.
That commitment to fresh pasta is the backbone of everything on the menu. The fettuccine Alfredo, for instance, has earned a reputation that regular guests talk about long after the meal is over.
The noodles carry a texture and bite that dried pasta simply cannot replicate, and the sauce clings to each strand the way it should.
The Joe Vicari Restaurant Group built its name across Michigan on this exact philosophy, and Andiamo Detroit Riverfront carries that tradition proudly. Other locations in the group, including Andiamo Pasta and Chops in Clinton Township, follow the same daily scratch-made approach.
What sets the Riverfront location apart is how the setting amplifies the food. You are eating pasta made from scratch that morning, with a view of an international waterway outside the window.
That combination is rare anywhere in the country, and it gives every bowl or plate a sense of occasion that goes well beyond the ordinary dinner out.
The Menu That Covers Every Craving With Confidence
Northern Italian cuisine is the foundation, but the menu at this spot reads more like a greatest-hits collection than a rigid regional study. Appetizers set the tone immediately, with options like Chef Aldo’s Roman Style Rice Balls and the Gamberetti di Andiamo, a dish of colossal shrimp in a lemon-tomato broth with garlic, leeks, and toasted sourdough.
The calamari and pepperoni starters have both earned consistent praise from guests who visit for special occasions and casual weeknight dinners alike. Salads are handled with care too.
The house salad, dressed with a creamy garlic dressing, is the kind of simple thing done so right that it becomes a reason to return on its own.
Main courses span the full range of Italian-American comfort and fine dining ambition. Lamb chops, surf and turf, and a ten-ounce filet sit alongside seafood Alfredo loaded with lobster, shrimp, and scallops.
The Bolognese lasagna and pepper chicken with angel hair pasta in a cream sauce round out a menu that has something genuinely worth ordering no matter your mood.
The kitchen’s confidence shows in every plate, and portion sizes reflect a generosity that keeps guests coming back long after a first visit.
River Views That Turn Dinner Into an Event
Few restaurants in Michigan can claim a view as genuinely impressive as the one here. The Detroit River stretches out beyond the glass walls of the Renaissance Center’s Wintergarden, and Windsor, Ontario sits just across the water, its lights shimmering in the evening darkness.
The patio seating during warmer months takes the experience up another level entirely. Guests who have sat outside overlooking the river on a summer evening describe it as one of the most beautiful dining settings in the entire state.
The combination of fresh air, city energy, and water on both sides creates an atmosphere that feels celebratory even on a regular Tuesday.
At sunset, the light catches the river in a way that makes the whole room glow. The glass-lined Wintergarden design means that even indoor tables enjoy a generous slice of that view, so no seat in the house feels like a bad one.
For anyone planning a birthday dinner, anniversary meal, or any occasion that deserves a backdrop as memorable as the food, the river view here does a lot of the heavy lifting. It is the kind of setting that makes people reach for their phones mid-bite just to capture the moment.
Service That Actually Makes You Feel Like the Only Table in the Room
The service culture at Andiamo Detroit Riverfront is one of the most consistently praised aspects of the entire experience. Servers here are trained to guide, not just deliver, and the difference is noticeable from the first interaction.
Staff members take time to walk guests through menu options, explain daily specials with genuine enthusiasm, and offer thoughtful pairings based on what each person actually wants to eat. When a dish is not quite right, servers respond with care and solutions rather than defensiveness.
A guest who received the wrong salad had it swapped out immediately and cheerfully, without any fuss.
The attention to detail extends to the small moments too. Birthday plates decorated with fudge, pink napkins set out for Valentine’s Day, rock candy stirrers tucked beside a cappuccino.
These are the kinds of touches that signal a kitchen and front-of-house team that genuinely takes pride in the full experience.
Groups of twelve have been accommodated with the same attentiveness given to couples celebrating anniversaries, which says a lot about how the staff manages both scale and intimacy. The service here is the kind that turns a first visit into a standing reservation.
Seafood Dishes That Steal the Spotlight Every Time
The seafood program at this restaurant has developed a devoted following all on its own. The seafood Alfredo, loaded with lobster, shrimp, and scallops over fresh handmade pasta, is the kind of dish that makes first-time visitors immediately start planning their return trip.
The Gamberetti di Andiamo brings colossal shrimp seared with assertive confidence, bathed in a lemon-tomato broth fragrant with white wine, garlic, and softened leeks. Toasted sourdough comes alongside to catch every drop of that sauce, and the combination plays beautifully between bright acidity and rich, savory depth.
Surf and turf is another standout, pairing premium beef with carefully prepared seafood in a combination that guests have described as nearly impossible to find fault with. The scallops that accompany the filet are seared to a tender, golden finish that holds up as a main event rather than a side thought.
Crab pasta with fresh tomatoes has also drawn consistent praise, with the sweetness of the crab balanced against the brightness of the tomato in a way that feels effortless. The seafood here is not an afterthought.
It is a full argument for why this kitchen deserves its reputation.
The Filet and Chops That Give Steakhouse Fans a Reason to Convert
Italian restaurants are not always the first choice for guests who think of themselves as steak people, but Andiamo Detroit Riverfront makes a compelling case for crossing that divide. The ten-ounce filet, cooked precisely to order, arrives with fingerling potatoes roasted to the edge of crispy, asparagus kissed by heat until its bitterness softens into something sweet, and a meaty portobello cap that holds its own against the beef.
The lamb chops have also earned serious attention from regulars, appearing on the menu alongside the kind of pasta accompaniments that make the pairing feel intentional rather than incidental. The kitchen treats its meat courses with the same precision it applies to pasta, which means nothing arrives overcooked, under-seasoned, or rushed.
What separates the protein dishes here from a standard steakhouse experience is context. Every plate arrives within the framework of a Northern Italian meal, which means the accompaniments are considered, the sauces are made in-house, and the overall composition of the dish reflects culinary intention.
Guests who came in expecting to order pasta and ended up following a server’s recommendation toward the filet have consistently left glad they made the switch, which is the best kind of menu surprise.
Desserts That Land the Final Note Perfectly
A meal this carefully constructed deserves a finish that earns its place, and the dessert menu here does not coast on the momentum of what came before. The strawberry cheesecake has been called out by guests celebrating Valentine’s Day as a highlight of the entire evening, arriving with enough elegance to feel celebratory without being fussy.
The mocha cheesecake is another standout, rich and dense in the way that only a well-made cheesecake can be, with coffee notes that cut through the sweetness and keep each bite from feeling heavy. Birthday dessert platters, decorated with fudge and finished with care by the kitchen, turn the final course into a moment guests talk about afterward.
Raspberry sorbet offers a lighter option for those who want something bright and palate-cleansing after a multi-course meal. The cappuccino here deserves a mention too.
Dense crema, deeply roasted flavor, and a delicate rock candy stirrer that arrives as a small but considered flourish.
These are the kinds of details that separate a good restaurant from a great one. The dessert course at Andiamo Detroit Riverfront is not an afterthought.
It is the punctuation mark on an evening that was already going very well.
Celebrating Special Occasions on the Detroit River
The list of milestones that have been marked at this restaurant reads like a highlight reel of life’s best moments. Anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine’s Day dinners, pre-show meals before a night at the Fox Theatre, and first married Valentine’s Days have all found a fitting home in this riverfront dining room.
The staff here takes celebrations seriously in the best possible way. Reservation management is smooth, and the team makes a genuine effort to ensure that guests who book for a special occasion feel that the evening was designed just for them.
Birthday decorations, personalized touches from attentive servers, and a room that already looks like it was set up for a celebration all contribute to the atmosphere.
Groups of twelve heading to a show downtown have found the restaurant easy to book at that size, with service that keeps pace across a large table without losing the personal touch. Couples who have visited multiple times consistently return for anniversaries and holidays, which is the clearest possible signal that the experience holds up.
The river view at sunset, the handcrafted food, and the service that remembers the small details all combine to make this one of Detroit’s most reliable addresses for any evening that deserves to be remembered.
Halal Options and an Inclusive Menu Philosophy
One detail that sets Andiamo Detroit Riverfront apart from many upscale Italian restaurants is its availability of halal options. For guests who require halal-certified food, finding a fine dining establishment that accommodates that need without sacrificing quality or variety is not always easy.
The restaurant’s willingness to offer these options reflects a broader philosophy of hospitality that prioritizes genuine inclusion. Guests who have visited specifically because of the halal menu have praised both the quality of the food and the warmth of the service, noting that they felt genuinely welcomed rather than merely accommodated.
This approach aligns with the restaurant’s overall service culture, which emphasizes making every guest feel at home regardless of the occasion or dietary need. Servers are knowledgeable about the menu and can guide guests through their options clearly and helpfully, which takes the guesswork out of ordering.
For Detroit’s diverse dining community, having an upscale Italian option with halal availability at a location as prominent as the Renaissance Center is a meaningful addition to the city’s restaurant landscape. It broadens the audience for a style of dining that has historically not always been accessible to everyone, and the kitchen handles it with the same care applied to every other dish.
