Local restaurants honored by Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator, a leading authority on wine, has unveiled the winners of the 2025 Restaurant Awards, which honor the world’s best restaurants for wine. Launched in 1981, the Restaurant Awards are judged on three levels — the Award of Excellence, the Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award. Of local interest, 19 area restaurants earned honors in two different levels. Wine Spectator’s criterion for the “Award of Excellence” goes to restaurants which offer at least 90 selections and feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers, along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style. The “Best of Award of Excellence” is given to restaurants with wine lists that display excellent breadth across multiple wine-growing regions and/or significant vertical depth of top producers, along with superior presentation. Typically offering 350 or more selections, these restaurants are destinations for serious wine lovers, showing a deep commitment to wine, both in the cellar and through their service team. The Best of Award of Excellence award was given to: Prime + Proper, Detroit; San Morello, Detroit; The Capital Grille, Troy; and Vertical Detroit, Detroit. The Award of Excellence was presented to Alpino, Detroit; Brentwood Grille, Novi; Cantoro Trattoria, Plymouth; Coeur, Ferndale; Eddie Merlot’s, Bloomfield Hills; Eddie’s V’s Prime Seafood, Troy; Five Steakhouse, Plymouth; Fogo de Chao, Troy; Gaucho Brazilian Steakhouse, Northville; Highlands, Detroit; Morton’s Steakhouse, Troy; Seasons 52, Troy; Streetside Seafood, Birmingham; Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Detroit; and The Wine Grotto, Plymouth.