Where to Eat in Royal Oak and Ferndale
The inner-ring suburbs north of Detroit worth a day trip from Ann Arbor.
The case for Royal Oak and Ferndale is simpler than it sounds. They're not Detroit. They're not the suburbs people move to for school districts and square footage. They're two inner-ring cities (Ferndale sits at Eight Mile, Royal Oak is directly north of it) that have spent the last decade building a restaurant corridor that would be notable even without the Detroit framing.
From Ann Arbor, the drive is 45-55 minutes on I-94 East depending on where you're starting and what traffic does near the interchange. On a weekend afternoon, no traffic, it's under 50 minutes. This is a day trip worth making.
The two cities are distinct. Ferndale's dining runs along Nine Mile Road and Woodward Avenue and tends toward the casual and irreverent: tacos, craft beer, a Japanese robata bar, a diner that has been the beating heart of Woodward Avenue for years. Royal Oak is slightly more polished, with a walkable Main Street scene and a few restaurants that require reservations. Together, they form a corridor you can eat through in a single day.
Ferndale
The Fly Trap (22950 Woodward Ave)
The Fly Trap has been operating on Woodward Avenue long enough that it functions less as a restaurant than as a neighborhood institution. The menu bills itself as a "finer diner": scratch cooking, seasonal specials, a full bar, and a brunch program that draws crowds on weekends. The housemade hot sauces and jams are on most tables before you order. Popular dishes include a crab cake appetizer, a Red Flannel hash (beets, corned beef, potatoes), and a lemongrass pho bowl that sits alongside the standard diner fare without apologizing for it. Bottomless mimosas on weekends. The room is small and loud when it fills up, which it does by 10 a.m. on Saturdays. Cash and card, no reservations. Food Network has covered it; the regulars do not care.
Pop's for Italian (280 W Nine Mile Rd)
Pop's for Italian is named for owner Brian Kramer's late grandfather. The restaurant runs Neapolitan-certified, wood-fired pizza alongside daily handmade pastas. The kitchen makes everything from scratch. An Hour Detroit review identified what may be the most ambitious wine-by-the-glass program in the metro area, and that's the distinguishing detail: this is not a neighborhood Italian with a perfunctory list. Chef James Henry runs the kitchen. The pasta is the thing to order; the pizza is serious enough to stand on its own. Entrees run $18-$32 based on current menus. On Nine Mile at the center of Ferndale's restaurant corridor.
TigerLily (231 W Nine Mile Rd)
TigerLily opened in 2022 in the former Antihero space, and Hour Detroit reviewed it as an "epicurean paean to Japan's vibrant cuisine culture." The kitchen runs robata-grilled skewers over binchotan charcoal alongside Edomae-style sushi and an omakase program ($150 per person). The Japanese street corn (robata-grilled, with fried garlic, chili threads, yuzu, miso, and shiso aioli) appears in most accounts as the dish that clarifies what the kitchen is doing. Chicken tsukune bao, harami wagyu skewers. The interior, designed by Birmingham-based Ron & Roman, has kimonos displayed alongside a hidden tiki bar called Mai Tiki in the back. It is one block from One-Eyed Betty's, across the street from Pop's for Italian. The three together form a stretch of Nine Mile Road that would hold up in most cities.
One-Eyed Betty's (175 W Troy St)
One-Eyed Betty's is a craft beer bar with 44 rotating taps that also happens to have a kitchen worth eating at. The Betty Burger and the fish and chips show up consistently in what people describe when they talk about the food. The beer list goes from award-winning Michigan small-batch production to nationally distributed favorites, all rotating. The room fills up on weekend evenings and does not take reservations. Weekend brunch runs late. This is the kind of place that anchors a neighborhood: it's been there long enough that people plan things around it. One block off Nine Mile.
Imperial (22828 Woodward Ave)
Imperial sits on Woodward Avenue and serves street tacos with rotating fillings: roasted cauliflower masala, blackened shrimp, carnitas, beef barbacoa. Alongside those, Sonoran hot dogs (bacon-wrapped, pinto beans, onion, tomato, mayo, mustard, jalapeño sauce) and margaritas made with some care. It's casual, it's loud on weekends, and it's the most value-forward option in Ferndale. Vegan options on the taco menu. Ranked among the top restaurants in Ferndale on Tripadvisor as of early 2026. Open daily from noon.
Blue Nile (545 W Nine Mile Rd)
This publication has already covered Blue Nile Ferndale in depth. It's the flagship of the Blue Nile family: founded by Seifu Lessanework, winner of the 2025 Detroit Free Press Restaurant of the Year Classic award, and the most immersive Ethiopian dining experience within an hour of Ann Arbor. If you're making the drive, it belongs in the itinerary. Full account in the Ethiopian Food in Southeast Michigan guide.
Royal Oak
Beppe (703 N Main St)
Beppe is a New American restaurant with Italian bones, run by owner Dominic Morelli and chef Michael Bartoluzzi. Bartoluzzi worked in Ann Arbor before joining Beppe in 2022. He came from Slurping Turtle and Mani Osteria, which means he has a specific set of skills around pasta and composed dishes that are recognizable to readers of this publication. The menu is short and focused: house-made pastas, a pork belly with braised cabbage and Calabrian chile, short rib croquetas, a Wagyu ribeye, and a burger that people mention repeatedly in reviews. The ricotta cavatelli has a following. The room is small and covered-patio-in-season. Hour Detroit reviewed it. Open Tuesday through Sunday, with Saturday and Sunday brunch.
Alchemi (215 S Main St)
Alchemi runs an eclectic dinner menu that does not fit neatly into a single cuisine. The short menu includes dal, chicken tikka, salmon with Thai sauce, Michigan lamb ragu, a New York strip ($49), and a spinach-egg farfalle. The Metro Times described it when it opened as occupying the former Mr. B's Gastropub space on South Main. The cocktail program is the other half of the operation: owner Prepolec reportedly stocks around 600 spirit labels, and the $17 cocktails are elaborate. It is a date-night restaurant with a high-ceiling bar and a menu that rewards adventurous ordering. Dinner only, Thursday through Sunday.
What to Know for the Drive
The practical approach from Ann Arbor: I-94 East to I-75 North toward Royal Oak. Ferndale exits first (Eight Mile Road, then north on Woodward to Nine Mile). Royal Oak is about three miles north of Ferndale on Woodward or Main Street.
Parking on Nine Mile in Ferndale is street and lot; Royal Oak's Main Street has a structure behind the storefronts and street parking on the side streets. Neither city has a downtown parking problem.
The geography makes a day trip structure easy. Morning at The Fly Trap. An afternoon walk through Ferndale. Tacos at Imperial or a beer at One-Eyed Betty's. Dinner at TigerLily or Pop's. North on Woodward to finish at Beppe in Royal Oak, or in reverse order depending on reservation timing.
These are not Ann Arbor restaurants. They don't need to be. The corridor has its own logic and its own regulars, and the restaurants are better for it.
The Fly Trap: 22950 Woodward Ave, Ferndale. Pop's for Italian: 280 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale. TigerLily: 231 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale. One-Eyed Betty's: 175 W Troy St, Ferndale. Imperial: 22828 Woodward Ave, Ferndale. Blue Nile Ferndale: 545 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale. Beppe: 703 N Main St, Royal Oak. Alchemi: 215 S Main St, Royal Oak.