Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails Puts Vegetables at the Center and Dares You to Miss the Steak
In Midtown's Park Shelton building, a small-plates restaurant with a cocktail program that changes fast enough to keep regulars guessing.
Chartreuse made a beet dish part of the case for driving to Detroit for a vegetable-forward meal. The point is not a single permanent plate: Sandy Levine's Corktown kitchen changes with the season, so current menus and the restaurant's own channels are the source of truth for what is being served now.
Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails sits at 15 East Kirby Street in Midtown, on the ground floor of the Park Shelton building, one block from the Detroit Institute of Arts.1Chartreuse occupies a ground-floor space in the Park Shelton building at 15 E Kirby St, as confirmed by the restaurant's website and local media. The restaurant operates around a small-plates format, and its menu rotates with the seasons. The kitchen takes creative swings and keeps the focus on produce, technique, and a compact cocktail program.
The Food
Roasted beets with goat cheese and pistachio is a representative Chartreuse combination: concentrated sweetness from the beet, tang from the cheese, and crunch from the nut. Because the menu changes, confirm whether the dish is currently offered.
Seasonal vegetable plate rotates based on what the kitchen can source, giving Chartreuse's vegetable-forward identity room to change. Past menus have included charred carrots with miso glaze and toasted sesame or roasted cauliflower with romesco.
Duck confit has appeared as a richer protein option, typically served with lentils and a sharp vinaigrette. Wright & Company, formerly on Woodward Avenue, served a comparable version before closing on July 3, 2026.
Burrata is paired with a seasonal base that has included grilled peaches, heirloom tomatoes, or roasted squash with chili oil. The combination tests ingredient quality and restraint.
The Cocktails
The cocktail program at Chartreuse changes seasonally, with house-made bitters, infused syrups, and fruit. Past menus have included an Old Fashioned and mezcal drinks with grapefruit shrub; current cocktails and prices should be checked directly.
If you are not a cocktail person, the wine list is short and well-chosen, with enough variety to match the range of the food.
The Room
The space occupies a corner of the Park Shelton, a historic building that also houses residential units and a lobby that feels like a different era. Chartreuse's dining room is smaller than you might expect. Tables are close, the bar draws its own crowd, and on a weekend night the room fills and hums. Lighting is low and warm. The ceiling is high enough to absorb some noise, but not all of it. It is a good room for conversation, as long as you do not need silence.
Dinner for two with cocktails and four or five small plates runs $80 to $110 before tip. For Midtown Detroit, that is competitive with Selden Standard a few blocks south, though the format here skews lighter and more shareable.
The Neighborhood
Midtown's density is the thing. Selden Standard is a short walk south on Second Avenue. Jolly Pumpkin is on Canfield. Republic is on West Grand Boulevard. The DIA is a block away, and a day that starts with the museum and ends at Chartreuse is one of the better ways to spend a Saturday in Detroit.2See our Midtown dining guide and Detroit dining guide for more on the neighborhood.
As noted in our Midtown guide, Chartreuse is a useful introduction to the neighborhood's small-plates and cocktail culture, one block from the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails is at 15 E Kirby St, Midtown, Detroit. Lunch and dinner. Reservations recommended.