Ann Arbor International Restaurants: Where to Start

Ann Arbor international restaurants cover a lot of ground for a college town: Ethiopian food served on injera, tabletop Korean BBQ, Jamaican jerk dishes, North Indian cooking and a Japanese sushi bar. Pick a cuisine you have not tried and rate the dish.

This page describes the cuisines rather than naming restaurants, because hours and menus change. It covers what to order, how to eat each style and how to plan an evening downtown. Look before you go.

Which Ann Arbor international restaurants should you try?

Ethiopian food is a good first cuisine to try downtown. Meat or vegetarian dishes are served on injera, a soft flat bread, eaten from one shared plate, and patio dining is common in summer. Ethiopian restaurants often serve Ethiopian tea and coffee too, so ask what is on offer. Tear a piece of injera, pinch some stew with it and eat the whole bite; the sour bread is the spoon, and sharing from one plate is part of the meal.

Injera is both plate and utensil, so you tear a piece, pinch up some stew and eat with your hands. If you are with a group, order a combination to share and note which sauces each person liked.

Where is Korean BBQ in Ann Arbor?

Korean grills in town offer table-top BBQ and classic Korean comfort dishes, and some have a noodle bar or a drinks list. If noodles are the plan, call ahead to ask whether that part of the kitchen is open. Order meat for the grill by the plate and share banchan-style side dishes, then note in your rating which cut and which side stood out.

A tabletop grill suits a group of three or four. Order a mix of meats and vegetables, ask the server how long each cut needs, and rate the side dishes as well as the meat.

What is Jamaican food in Ann Arbor like?

Jamaican food in town takes the Caribbean widely, with made-to-order specialties from Jamaica and other islands, in small dining rooms. Typical dishes are jerk chicken, jerk pork, curry chicken and roti. Ask about the heat before you order, since jerk spice ranges from warm to fierce, and write the level into your note.

Jerk is a seasoning and a cooking method, so the same chicken can taste quite different from one kitchen to the next. Order the plain jerk chicken first, then rate the heat, the smoke and whatever comes on the side.

Where can you eat Indian food in Ann Arbor?

North Indian, tandoori and Mughlai dishes are served on Main Street, with biryanis and both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options at lunch and dinner. A shared order of a biryani, a tandoori dish and bread lets a table of three taste the range in one meal.

A biryani is a good test dish because the rice, the spice and the meat or vegetables all have to work together. Ask which dishes are mild, and note whether the kitchen adjusted the heat when asked.

What about Japanese and other cuisines in town?

The Japanese choice downtown is a restaurant with tempura, udon, teriyaki, bento boxes and a full sushi bar. Other rooms serve Polish, Hungarian, Austrian, Italian and Mexican food, and are worth a look too. Sushi bars sell by the piece, so a first visit can be two or three pieces and a roll.

How do you plan an international food night in Ann Arbor?

Choose one cuisine per outing instead of trying to cover everything, and walk between stops downtown where you can. Main Street, State Street and Liberty Street are close enough that two stops in an evening is realistic: a main course at one place and tea, coffee or a sweet at another.

Ask the server what they would order for a first visit, and say so if anyone at the table is vegetarian or has an allergy. Many of these kitchens have vegetarian options, but menus change, so ask.

How do you track Ann Arbor international food with Mosey?

Rate the dish, not only the place. Mosey needs only the place and stars; after that you can name the injera combination or the jerk chicken, add tags such as Group Dining, Great Value or Vegetarian, and attach a photo. A rating that says "jerk chicken, medium heat, good with the plantains" helps the next person more than a score.

Make a list called Ann Arbor around the world with one dish per cuisine, then send the invite link to a friend so they can add their own. Follow friends to see what they rated and saved, and tag the people you ate with so each of you can rate the same meal. The lists page explains sharing.

What else should you read?

For more of the city, the Ann Arbor guide to Kerrytown and downtown covers the market, and the Zingerman's guide covers the famous local food family. See the Ann Arbor page, the Michigan page and the US food guides.

On your next night out, open the Mosey app, rate each dish by name and save your favorite cuisines to a list.