Reviews

Dining out: It's worth driving to Dexter to dine

Moly Abraham / Special to The Detroit News / Wednesday, July 8, 2009

'Tis the season for mini-excursions. The town of Dexter, 10 miles northwest of Ann Arbor, is just far enough from the Metro area to make it an appealing getaway, and it offers an appealing glimpse of small-town America.

Dexter boasts two very nice restaurants, including Bistro Renaissance... offering chef-driven, seasonal, contemporary cuisine with virtually everything made in-house.

Dexter's Bistro Renaissance's ambitious menu is worth the drive

From the Detroit Free Press, June 12, 2008

Long days and good weather make this the time of year restaurant lovers enjoy hopping into their cars and driving an hour to some small town for dinner in a good restaurant. But making a trip like that on spec with gas prices so high? When it's a place you've never tried, you can't help hesitating. Still what little I knew about Bistro Renaissance in Dexter, 10 miles northwest of Ann Arbor, suggested it was worth a gamble.

First, the menu on its Web site was suitably ambitious, from rack of lamb and polenta-crusted scallops [shown on the right] to Delmonico steak and seared Artic Char.

And there was its location in Dexter, an absolute picture postcard of a town with a manicured central park, brick sidewalks, perfectly painted historic shops and homes, and even an ornate clock tower.

Unfinished wooden beams across the high ceiling lend rusticity, while white-on-white tablecloths, a well-dressed staff and an eclectic collection of works by local artists add modern polish.

It's a nicely balanced blend of classic and contemporary—an approach that flows seamlessly onto the concisely edited seasonal menu of nine appetizers and 10 entrees.

Bix Engels, Community Observer 2007:

"...The centerpiece is a well-aged tangy Delmonico exceptionally tender and cooked perfectly medium rare. The French fries (pommes frites) are real classic unadorned hand cut potatoes. This dish on its own is worth the drive. Lamb chops, more delicately proportioned, are textbook examples of what lamb should be: double cut and French trimmed with a mild, ungamey flavor and perfectly cooked-seared outside, rosy within. We took friends the next week and sat on the deck, which is one of the most romantic settings around...A restaurant is a complex machine with a million little pieces. It's a marvel to one work well as this one has from the beginning."

From Trip Advisor Feb 09:

Bistro Renaissance in Dexter Michigan; an Italian Restaurant "My husband and I often eat out and it was getting frustrating to be spending $25-$30 an entree for mediocre fare at area restaurants... until the Renaissance Bistro opened in Dexter. I can truly say we never leave disappointed. The food leaves us feeling happy, the wine list is versatile and the service is friendly... While we certainly will eat out at other places, a mediocre meal will always leave me longing for the consistently high quality food at the Bistro Renaissance."