Where to Eat in Ann Arbor Over Memorial Day Weekend
The students have left. The patios are open. The restaurants are not booked solid for once. A short guide to making the most of it.
Memorial Day weekend is the one weekend in May when Ann Arbor's best restaurants are actually easy to get into. Commencement cleared out two weeks ago. The summer session has not started. The town belongs to the people who live here, not the graduation crowds of spring or the art fair crowds still weeks away, and the dining is better for it.
Go to the restaurants you have been meaning to try. Book now, but not in a panic.
Book Ahead
Bellflower (209 Pearl St, Ypsilanti). The patio overlooking the Huron River is open by late May, and a Memorial Day dinner there (river below, string lights above, wood-fired menu going full summer mode) is one of the better holiday tables in the county. The kitchen sources from local farms and the menu shifts with the season. Book ahead; the patio tables fill even with the students gone.
Aventura (216 E Washington St). Tapas and Spanish wine on the patio on a warm Saturday in May. The format suits a holiday weekend: order across the menu, drink slowly, stay as long as you want. It is a better experience without the semester-end crowd.
Mani Osteria (341 E Liberty St). Wood-fired pizza and housemade pasta. The room has short reservation windows during normal weeks; Memorial Day weekend is when you can usually get in. The patio opens when the weather cooperates.
Miss Kim (415 N Fifth Ave). The Zingerman's family Korean restaurant is one of the better warm-weather restaurant experiences in Ann Arbor, and the spring menu runs on Michigan's early vegetable season. A good time to finally get in if you've been meaning to.
Walk-In Patios
Frita Batidos (117 W Washington St). The small patio is first-come, but the line moves fast. A frita and a batido is the right holiday weekend lunch: inexpensive, fast, and good enough to bring up the next time someone asks where to eat downtown.
Jolly Pumpkin (311 S Main St). First-come seating, including the rooftop when it opens. House-brewed sour ales and Belgian-style beers. The rooftop is one of the better outdoor spots in the city.
Jerusalem Garden (314 E Liberty St). Counter service, falafel fried to order, pita made in-house. The outdoor tables are available. Under $15 for a full lunch and no wait for a table.
For a Bigger Group
Zingerman's Roadhouse (2501 Jackson Ave). On a holiday weekend, the Roadhouse does what it does on every other weekend: fried chicken from a specific farm, mac and cheese with a stated provenance, an outdoor space that works for groups. It has the capacity to absorb a table of eight without feeling crowded.
Bellflower also qualifies here, but reserve ahead. Walk-in seating on a holiday weekend is less predictable than a reservation.
One Weekend, One Meal
If you are making one reservation for Memorial Day weekend, make it at Echelon Kitchen & Bar (200 S Main St). The wood-fired kitchen is in full form by late May, the patio is open, and the James Beard recognized restaurant is easier to get into over Memorial Day than it will be during Art Fair in July or on a typical Saturday in June. The tasting menu rewards a table willing to do it together. After dinner, the basement Hunã Tiki Bar is ten feet away and doesn't require a second reservation.
What to Know
Check hours. Memorial Day is a federal holiday. Some restaurants keep normal hours, some close, and some run reduced menus.
The farmers market runs. The Ann Arbor Farmers Market at Kerrytown is open Saturday morning. Start the weekend there before the lunch crowd hits. Zingerman's Deli is a short walk from Kerrytown and the line is shorter on a holiday weekend than during the academic year.
The students are mostly gone. Parking is easier. The sidewalks are quieter. The bartenders are less slammed. Memorial Day weekend in Ann Arbor is one of the quieter weekends of the year, and that is the whole recommendation.