Wahlburgers Detroit

The highly anticipated Wahlburgers of Detroit officially opened its door on Monday, August 15. Wahlburgers Detroit is situated in Greektown where you can find the hustle and bustle of casino goers and those visiting downtown for special events such as Lions games, Tigers games, concerts, and more.

The first Wahlburgers restaurant opened in Hingham, Massachusetts in 2011. It was Donnie Wahlberg (brother of actor Mark Wahlberg) and chef Paul Wahlberg who opened the first restaurant. Since then restaurants have opened in Florida, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Canada (and the newest location -DETROIT).

Their menu is simple and consists of burgers, sandwiches, and salads. They also have a full bar including seasonal specials. As far as sweets, they have frappes, floats, grilled banana fluffanutta (peanut butter, fresh banana, fluff & Nutella), and locally baked cupcakes.

Three friends and I ventured downtown today to visit Michigan’s first Wahlburgers. We arrived just before the restaurant opened at 11 am and there was already about 30 people in line. The line moved very quickly as they started seating people either upstairs or downstairs in the restaurant. Yes, it’s two stories just as many restaurants in Greektown.

The first thing I noticed when walking into the restaurant was that there wasn’t much seating. The restaurant is very narrow so seating both upstairs and downstairs is limited and cramped. Not only were the tables cramped but the sound of voices echoed through the building, which made it difficult to have a conversation.

My friends and I decided we would start our meal by trying all four sides – thin crispy onion rings, tater tots, sweet potato tots, and Yukon gold fries. We all liked the sweet potato tots the best with the Yukon gold fries placing second. We were not fond of the onion rings and the tater tots were comparable to those you buy and bake.

For our main dish, we each chose a burger…Wahlburgers specialty! I choose the Dad’s Basic Burger which is a 1/3 lb. burger topped with onions (none for me), Paul’s signature wahl sauce & housemade pickles. It was a delicious burger. VERY tender and juicy!  I devoured every bite of it. It is what I’d come back for!

As far as prices, the burgers run between $7-10 and the sides are $3 each. The mixed drinks are pricey – the two at our table were $9 and $11 each! Check out their online menu for more pricing options.  My bill for lunch was about $20 which I consider a bit expensive.

When we left Wahlburgers at about 12:30, the line was very long. Expect to wait, especially if you go during peak hours or over the weekend. Things will calm down after they get through the first few weeks. If you decide to visit Wahlburgers anytime soon, you can expect a wait time, a yummy burger, and hopefully really good company! Enjoy!

Location and hours:

569 Monroe Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226

Sun-Thursday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Fri-Saturday 11:00 am – 12:30 am