Sweet Lorraine’s Cafe & Bar in Southfield, MI

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Telephone:	+1 248-559-5985
Website:	www.sweetlorraines.com
Address:	29101 Greenfield Rd, Southfield, MI, 48076
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:	520 ft12 Mile & Greenfield 630 ftGreenfield & 12 Mile 0.9 miGreenfield & 13 Mile
Categories:	American (New) Gluten-Free Vegetarian

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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations	Yes
Delivery	No
Take-out	Yes
Accepts Credit Cards	Yes
Good For	Dinner
Parking	Private Lot
Bike Parking	No
Wheelchair Accessible	Yes
Good for Kids	Yes
Good for Groups	Yes

Attire	Casual
Ambience	Trendy
Noise Level	Average
Alcohol	Full Bar
Outdoor Seating	No
Wi-Fi	No
Has TV	No
Dogs Allowed	No
Waiter Service	Yes
Caters	Yes

Today

Today	11:00 am – 10:00 pm Open now
Local time (Southfield)	11:15 Wednesday, 23 April 2025

Business hours

Monday	11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday	11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Wednesday	11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday	11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Friday	11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Saturday	8:00 am – 11:00 pm
Sunday	8:00 am – 9:30 pm

Description

Specialties

World Beat Cuisine with a consistent dose of creativity, an ever-evolving, unique & mouth-watering menu of completely satisfying items that will have you counting the hours before you return.

A fantastic selection of daily specials, house-made soups, pastas, seafood, steaks, vegetarian and gluten-free offerings — inspired by exciting ethnic cuisines.

Favorites include Five Spice Calamari to Avocado Crab BLTs, and Pecan-crusted Chicken breast as well as a wonderful selection of fresh-baked desserts including Apple Brown Betty… Delicious!

Think about Sweet Lorraine ‘s for brunch, lunch, dinners and special events (from family gatherings to social & business meetings — we’re happy to accommodate your group).

History

Established in 1984.

This thing we call Sweet Lorraine’s and its roots can be traced back to, of all things, a cheesecake! Perhaps we’re being a bit literal, yet that is the first thing consistently sold by the company — a Russian Cheesecake. Starting in 1980 Lorraine sold these and other baked goods to restaurants and caterers out of her kitchen at home.

It was in 1984 that Sweet Lorraine’s, Inc. took the leap of opening a full service restaurant. The spot chosen was that of the old Raven Gallery, a coffeehouse known nationally for spotlighting some of the greatest folk singers and comedians of the 60’s and 70’s. It was here at Sweet Lorraine’s Café that our creative and healthful «New American Cooking» grew into notoriety.

Throughout time we have come to be known for creativity, uniqueness, and both consistency and change. These are our themes. Together we will write the next chapter of this story … we welcome you!

Meet the Business Owner

Lorraine P.

Business Owner

Chef Lorraine Platman was born in Southend-on –Sea, Essex, England. She emigrated with her family to the U.S. at the age of ten. After developing an interest at an early age in watercolor, as well as woodblock and pen-&-ink drawing, she won recognition for her abilities and a National Art Award. In college, at Michigan State University and Grand Valley State Colleges, her studies included environmental science and wildlife ecology.

After college, she managed local art galleries, and moonlighted as a caterer and wholesale baker out of her home. In 1982 she opened her first restaurant — and in 1984 Sweet Lorraine’s Café was opened (casual fine dining) in Southfield, Michigan becoming the first of a series of expansions that now include a Sweet Lorraine’s Café & Bar in Livonia and Sweet Lorraine’s Fabulous Mac n’ Cheez! «fast-casual/quick serve» spots that continue to grow.

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29 reviews of Sweet Lorraine’s Cafe & Bar

No registration required

Nathalie C.

Place rating: 4
Peachtree City, GA

This place had fantastic food. I had the chicken quesadilla. It was delicious. It did not have too much chicken to the point I couldn’t hold the slice, I really liked that. It also had great presentation. The ambiance of the place is dark and a bit eclectic. I did not like how dark it was, but thy is just my preference. I also wish it had outdoor seating. The staff was friendly and provided good service.

Alex R.

Place rating: 2
West Bloomfield Township, MI

Took 40 min to eat dinner and there were only 4 ppl in the restaurant, food was ok, beer tasted old.

Jennifer W.

Place rating: 3
Redford, MI

I’ve only been to this restaurant twice. On the first visit, I had the calamari for an appetizer, and it was very good. My entrée was the Jazzy steak and sweet mashed potatoes. Meh. The steak was covered in some type of sauce. Steak smothered in sauce should be a warning to stay away. I’ll heed this warning next time. I had the eggnog cheesecake for dessert and really liked it. The calamari was so good that I had it again on my second visit. The crab wontons were also good. My entrée this time was the fish and chips with fries and coleslaw. They were as good as any I’ve had from other restaurants. I had the brownie with White Russian ice cream for my dessert, and it was just ok. I did enjoy the peach and strawberry lemonades I had. Service was good considering we were in a party of six during lunch hour both times I’ve been here.

Jordon H.

Place rating: 4
Downriver, Detroit, MI

Hugging the sidewalk along Greenfield is what I’d consider a gem. Walking in, my girlfriend and I didn’t know what to see and it ended up being a wonderful experience with a New Orleans flavor. The food was fantastic and priced accordingly. The server was super friendly and they all were extremely professional.
Check it Groupon for a deal here!

Briana R.

Place rating: 3
Commerce Township, MI

The pecan chicken is good. The service was slow and we waited thirty minutes for our table after our reservation time. It took 20 minutes to get drinks and thirty for them to bring bread. If the company we were with hadn’t distracted us from the time, we would have left. The bathroom floors were sticky and they were kind of dirty.
I would only get a carry out for the pecan chicken IF I were to return… But I doubt it.

Shawn J.

Place rating: 2
Sterling Heights, MI

Started with the red pepper humus for an appetizer. It arrived with a small amount of broccoli, a very small amount of humus, and some olives. It was ok, not worth $ 9.00 though. For dinner I ordered the SLC hamburger medium, it was well done. The chips which the burger comes with were ok, but nothing special. Not the best dinning experience today.

L D.

Place rating: 3
Detroit, MI

Have been a few times of the last ten years and tend to agree with others that service can be slow and food not consistent as time goes on. Latest visit convinced me that a microwave or two, or three are in operation full-tilt in the kitchen! Great coffee. Tilapia entrée was good, nicely plated but a while into eating the dish I bit into a very hot isolated spot, burning the side of my tongue — while the other portions were not as hot: hallmark of unevenly microwave heated food.
My guests rice was cold while the rest of the food was hot. Our crab cakes were excellent!
My main criticism is that Sweet Lorraine’s needs a FACE-LIFT, NOW!!! The carpet throughout is OBVIOUSLY worn and soiled, particularly at the entrance way! This gives the place a decidedly BAD ODOR, SOUR SMELL noticeable ‘immediately’ upon entering!
Close for a week. Take up the carpet, replace — including the padding. Remove some of the old décor. Reduce wait time and ditch the microwave brigade going on in the kitchen. Relaunch, and the regulars who’ve not complained will for sure notice and new customers will come as well!

Cathie H.

Place rating: 5
Dorchester, Canada

Lovely little spot!
Booked on Open Table 30 minutes before the reservation.
Welcome was warm.
Seated is in a lovely booth with mood lighting!
The cocktail menu was substantial and delicious.
The menu was also large and varied.
We each had the Wedge salad which was creatively done with romaine.
She had the Lobster Mac and Cheese and I the Pecan crusted Chicken with Mash and carrots.
Both absolutely delightful!
Priced right for a really great dining experience!

Stephanie S.

Place rating: 4
Cincinnati, OH

Great food and atmosphere. Efficient service and food arrived quickly. Delicious vegetarian meatloaf. Would come here again!

Joe G.

Place rating: 3
Farmington, MI

My wife & I had dinner there on ⁰¹⁄₁₆. Creative menu bur mediocre service at best & décor very out of date. There was a restaurant review on the wall from 1984, before most readers of this review were even born. Wow!

Jeff K.

Place rating: 4
Beverly Hills, MI

This place is super solid. The only problem is that I always forget about it in spite of it being very close to my house. It is sort of a strange location. I am not a regular so I dont have any great staples to recommend. However, Sweet Lorraine’s does have a few things going for it that you need to be aware of:
–First, the obvious… their Mac and Cheese is ridonkulous! I mean really… get it. They have many varieties and I have never had a bad one.
–Sweet Lorraine’s caters to vegetarians. They have a number of Veggie /Gluten free items on their menu. Back in my practicing vegetarian days, this place would have made me very happy indeed.
–The bar is great. They have a great variety of craft cocktails and a beer list that every restaurant should try to emulate. I missed looking at the wine list but it looked reasonably large.
— Michigan sourced food! Sweet Lorraine’s makes a real effort to keep things fresh and LOCAL. I know this is a thing these days but the folks at Sweet Lorraine’s were doing it before it was cool and this Unilocaler appreciates that!
I don’t give it 5 stars because I just don’t have 5 star experiences there. The wait staff is just average (at best… they could use more training if the owners read their Unilocal reviews) and the meals I have had there are way above average but not mind blowing. The pricing is moderate so it all makes sense. If Unilocal had a .5, Sweet Lorraine’s would get the bump from me.

Pamela B.

Place rating: 5
Waterford Township, MI

Love love love! Best Mac and cheese ever! Speciality cocktails every day. There isn’t anything on menu that hasn’t been amazing. I take all friends and family here when in town!

Matthew G.

Place rating: 2
Saint Louis, MO

I don’t understand why this Southfield restaurant is so popular and highly rated. First off, it is a good thing the lights were dim because the place is dirty. The food was overpriced, lacked excitement and was not well executed. In my experienced opinion, I could not recommend this eatery to my friends. Despite being very hungry, I was not able to get halfway through my entrée before pushing it away with disappointment. The other diners at the table were all in agreement, we will not return to this over glorified establishment.

Ashley T.

Place rating: 4
Detroit, MI

This place is always packed (nice crowd) upstairs or downstairs… Either way it goes this place is lovely and the food one of a kind for sure… They even have a daily updated menu (that displays new eats daily).

Christina O.

Place rating: 2
Novi, MI

funky décor and decent brunch. the restaurant wasn’t particularly busy but it took over 25min to get our meal. the waitress brought jam and butter to our table right away. we expected some bread or something while we waited especially with the jam and butter sitting right in front of us. but nothing. i was hangry! and the portion sizes were small and nothing you can’t make yourself at home. once we had our meal our waitress didn’t check back with us with the exception of bringing the check at the very end.

Mike G.

Place rating: 4
Royal Oak, MI

The chicken and waffles with bourbon syrup?
GTFO! Too good. I wanna dip my balls in it.

Ernie M.

Place rating: 4
Northville, MI

We had an early dinner here in September and had a great meal. I started with the soup de jour which was a Thai corn chowder and it was one of the best corn chowders I have ever had. I then had the Monterey salad and it was very good. My wife had the Nicoise salad and loved it.
The Brancott Sauv Blanc was excellent.
Cheanne did a perfect job serving us.
We’ll be back!

Natasha P.

Place rating: 4
Farmington, MI

Sweet Lorraine’s is one of my favorite restaurants in the Greater Detroit area… My husband and I have been there a few times now, with friends, with family, and alone and we have never been disappointed. I usually order off their rotating special’s menu and have had a couple of great things off the regular menu as well. The pecan chicken is amazing, as is the avocado crab cakes and the rainfroest tilapia. I’ve had a couple of their Mac n Cheeses and they are always good too. My husband has had several burgers and steaks here and has enjoyed all of them.
I am however going to dedicate this next paragraph to my favorite thing at Sweet lorraine’s — The Scottish Pudding (or maybe cake??). It is this huge piece of warm cake that is accompanied by some lightly sweetened cream, and when you put a bite into you’re mouth orchestras play and kitten purr to tune. It feels like Fall in your mouth; the warm, rich, sweet caramel flavor with a hint of spice dimmed by the very slightly flavored cream. I dream about that Scottish Pudding and just writing this review makes me want to go there tonight for dinner.
They are always busy but we’ve never had to wait too long for a table, and the customer service isn’t bad most of time. We always find that our waiters/waitresses are very attentive about the food and drinks but take a really long time to bring us our check at the end and return our credit card to us later. It always makes us feel like we’ve been there for a little longer than we want.

Jeremy M.

Place rating: 3
Southfield, MI

The place is OK but I do not think it is as great as some folks say it is. It is always busy, and somewhat overpriced for what they offer. The food is good but not great and the menu is somewhat limited, The servers make the place what it is, and are always nice and friendly. I would suggest you try the mac and cheese varities since that is what sets this place apart. Otherwise it is just a bit of the «see and be seen» type of establishment.

Veronica M.

Place rating: 4
Southfield, MI

If ur looking for a quaint place to sneak away n grab a bite then this place is it. There is an upstairs n downstairs, Sweet Lorraine’s is located just off Greenfield n Berkley Mi. The staff are hospitable n kind they keep your water glasses filled n your table free of dishes. All while asking «How was everything», which I really appreciated. Because I decided 2 try a new dish n it was not all that I expected. But the staff was extremely accommodating n quickly brought me out a Maple Cured Salmon dish; I had the last time we came here. But even though there were a few misses this trip I would still recommend Sweet Lorraine’s. 1 because of the atmosphere, 2 the creativity n presentation of the food/drinks, 3 the kindness of the staff n 4 a groupon for the food on
ain’t bad either check them out u won’t regret it, bring the kids they will luv it 2

Jasmine D.

Place rating: 3
Waterford Township, MI

I’ve been to this place before and it’s always good. The service was just ok… Our server Mckenzie, just ok… Very dry and not a lot of personality. She was acting like she didn’t know what to do. Maybe she’s new or a desk job would suit her better.

Danielle W.

Place rating: 5
Boston, MA

This restaurant is one of my family favorites. We went there for my Mom’s 75^th Birthday. The staff is incredible, very attentive and kind. The food is really delicious, I always order the pecan chicken but there are so many great things to choose from.
I can’t wait to go back. Please ask for Patricia as a waiter. She is the BEST!

Mike R.

Place rating: 3
Rochester, MI

I dislike writing a poor review for poor service alone. I waited tables throughout my college years so that technically makes make an expert at judging table service. Please don’t judge my judging. You will never see me questioning a Chinese man with his review of the best sweet and sour chicken.
Anyway, let’s focus on the food here: it’s good, but not very good or great. The local ingredients perk my attention until the food is served cold. When the execution is on track the food is flavorful. However, the lackluster service and inconsistent food quality on top of the overpricing makes this place nothing more than convenient.

Gary A.

Place rating: 3
Wixom, MI

I had lunch last week, its been some time since I went to this location. Arrived at 11:30am and only 3 – 4 tables were filled, but by the time we finished lunch, 12:30, the place was packed and people were waiting to get in, on a Thursday afternoon. And it was incredibly noisy — you almost had to shout to hear someone across the table.
So I don’t think I’m their demo, maybe. They do have an interesting menu, and its certain has a good vegetarian bent, but it just didn’t click for me. To certain extent it feels like they are being weird to be weird.
I had the Twisted Cobb salad, that was tasty, but different. I thought the BBQ sauce on top was a miss and the sweet potato chips, didn’t have that sweet potato flavor.
The service was okay, a little slow, but I think they were overwhelmed.
Parking can be tricky, its behind the building, and you exit via the dollar store.
So its a change of pace.

Wisdom H.

Place rating: 2
Los Angeles, CA

My friends tell me this is one if their favorite places. I can be a food/service snob, but I seriously don’t see what the hype is about. I have tried Sweet Lorraine’s on 3 separate occasions and each time my order was catastrophically messed up.
My last trip involved a half frozen, half warm pesto grilled cheese with flavorless soup. When I asked the waiter to ask the kitchen to actually grill my grilled cheese, he explained that the sandwich was difficult to cook all the way because of the different consistencies of the cheeses, thickness of the bread and required cooking time. He broke it down into a science. So when I asked him why, knowing all this, was it still on the menu, he gave me a blank stare for a while, then asked me if I still wanted to try and eat it. Again, we blank stared for a while. But I think he got the point.
Luckily, the gorgonzola chips appetizer is off the chain, so I gave them a star for that.

Mac R.

Place rating: 2
Seven Fields, PA

Beware when a server doesn’t come to your table once your food shows up to ask how everything is (especially when you’ve already had quite a wait for that food). It may just mean she knows you’re not going to like any of it. She fake over-raved about each dish as we placed our orders, too. When a diner leaves over 90% of their food on their plate, shouldn’t you acknowledge that? If you ask if anyone wants a box and no one does — it means the food isn’t good!
To say we got minimal attention at dinner is an understatement. A 10 minute wait at the table for service & ice cold bread was our start.
Then came our dinners (45 min. after being seated):
I ordered a crab & avocado BLT. It was actually a lettuce & bacon sandwich with a heavy emphasis on the lettuce. Crab & avocado undetectable. The homemade chips on the side were inedible. So thick you could break a tooth. Yum!
Hubby was the clear winner with the ribeye hoagie. The ribeye was actually good but it was minimally there.
One of our girls got the veggie meatloaf that she couldn’t wait to try. It showed up overheated in the microwave. We’ve all done that to stuff at home — you know the texture. Sides of under seasoned potatoes & broccoli rounded out her plate.
The worst by far was the Pesto Mozzarella Polenta with a root veggie stew from the specials menu. Sounds pretty good, right? Actually looked good, too. Not much taste as it turned out & a big ring of grease started forming around the plate. My daughter gave up after about 4 bites. She’s not a person who would raise a stink & preferred to leave it up to our server to notice her mostly untouched plate. Nope, she glossed over & raced away when she heard she didn’t want a box.
Clearly our server showed up with the check & checked out. If you’re considering going here, perhaps you should check someplace else out. Unless you like underperforming service & food.

Lindsay B.

Place rating: 1
Ferndale, MI

My wife and I, both vegetarians, have been looking forward to trying Sweet Lorraine’s since we moved to the area. This weekend we are entertaining carnivores from out of town, and I thought that was the perfect opportunity to check this spot out. We made a reservation on Open Table and arrived for an early Saturday night dinner. This is where the disappointments began.
We were seated promptly, and the space was relatively cute. Over 10 minutes later, we were finally greeted by our waitress. Usually when it takes so long to be greeted, I’m out the door. But we had all checked out the menu and were excited by some of the options. Our waitress took our orders before we had even been given waters. Ok, maybe an oversight. But this set the tone for the evening for sure. I should have listened to my gut and run out of there.
Our drinks took nearly 15 minutes to arrive. We were then given some herbed focaccia bread with a tomato basil sauce. Sounds tasty, right? Well then you’d be disappointed too. The bread was cold and dry. The sauce was ice cold as though it had just been taken out of a jar in the fridge.
Over 40 minutes after we had been seated, our entrees arrived. I ordered one of the specials, a pesto and mozzarella polenta with stewed root vegetables. Sounds delightful, right? WRONG. It was inedible. It was flavorless and inexplicably greasy. I took three bites and sat down my fork. You couldn’t pay me to finish that thing. And the most disgusting part about it is that my entrée was $ 20!!! For $ 20 I expect a certain quality of ingredients and a certain depth of flavor. No amount of salt could save this dish. So. Bad. And now my stomach is upset from the grease.
My wife was so excited about her vegetarian meatloaf. Until she tasted it. Bland. Boring. Chewy in a way that wasn’t pleasing. And the final insult? It had clearly been microwaved! A $ 17 microwave «meat“loaf?!? Ridiculous. The mashed potatoes weren’t anything you’d want to waste calorie consumption on. Even the broccoli was nasty. How do you screw this up?
Our carnivorous friends faired no better. I tried some of the homemade potato chips that were offered as a side to some lackluster (I was told) crab cakes. They were bad. But admittedly I ate more of those chips off of her plate then I did my own dinner. I was hungry. Our other out of town guest got a ribeye hoagie that didn’t contain more than 5 bites of actual ribeye (they disguised this fact initially by throwing way too many onions on top). Even the fries served with this sandwich were terrible.
Now the kicker… OUR WAITRESS NEVER ASKED US HOW ANYTHING WAS. She was a ghost from the time we walked in the door. Never told us her name. I was gearing up to send back my entrée (something I’ve NEVER done), and she never even gave me a chance. Not only am I still hungry, I’m beyond angry. What should have been a great night out with guests turned into the four of us bitching about the food and service the entire evening. And my stomach is churning from my three bites of grease.
I will under no circumstances return to this place. If you decide to brave it, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Gary R.

Place rating: 1
Mars, PA

I hate giving one star reviews. I get no joy out of it. But sometimes you have to warn people so they don’t get taken advantage of. So it’s my duty. You are hereby warned.
Our party of 4 was seated promptly with our reservation. That’s where the good news ends. 10 minutes go by, no water, server, acknowledgment of our arrival, nothing. I notice the other tables and everyone is either waiting for food or waiting for their check. Common thread — waiting. Seems to be their main product. Once we did get a server, she didn’t introduce herself and wanted to take both our drink and dinner order. OK. I can do that. Water finally comes. She buzzed by later and said that there was a backup at the bar and we’d get our drinks in a bit. How long does it take to open 2 beer bottles?
45 minutes in, our dinner arrives and we see our server again as she places our food down and flies off. If it were only the service that was pitiful, this wouldn’t be a one star review. The food was AWFUL. My rib eye hoagie had almost no meat, was covered in marinated red onions that soaked the bun to the point you couldn’t pick it up. The fries were cold and tasteless. Disgusting. My wife’s crab avocado dinner was an embarrassment to both crab and avocado. Neither were evident. Our vegetarian companions had veggie meatloaf and an order of root veggie polenta. The «meatloaf» with garlic mashed potatoes was nearly inedible. The polenta WAS inedible and served with pooled grease on the plate. Where does THAT come from?
No one checked on us, came by to see how things were, nor questioned why our plates were nearly full and we didn’t care for a takeout box so we could enjoy this mess tomorrow at home. And none of this was cheap. It would have been terrible at half the price. And service? Among the worst I’ve experienced in years.
So yeah, one star. Stay away. Far away.

Gus M.

Place rating: 5
Livonia, MI

Spicy chicken and shrimp Creole from Sweet Lorraines is fantastic.
Heaven for a spicy food fan! This restaurant has impeccable service. We ordered a large carry out and left. While we were in our car on the way back to our destination they called us and let us know they had forgot certain items. Not only did they identify the problem before we got back but they called us two more times and gave us a $ 15 credit for the next time we come and dine. That A1 customer customer service so far that has been the best we have seen in a while!
We have been to many restaurants but never have we gotten a call and a credit for which the restaurant made mistakes. I must admit I am extremely satisfied and can’t wait to go back the food tasted amazing. Be sure to check out Sweet Lorraine’s for their Sunday brunch!!!
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Sweet Lorraine’s Cafe & Bar

Southfield, United States