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The interior of Lady of the House in Detroit, Michigan.

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Beloved Detroit Restaurant Lady of the House Is Back

Shrimp butter, potato doughnuts, and Ryan Gosling’s face have also made a return

by Serena Maria Daniels
Jacob Lewkow
Serena Maria Daniels is a Chicana journalist and the city editor for Eater Detroit. A recovering daily newspaper reporter with nearly 20 years experience, she is also the founder and Chingona-in-Chief of Tostada Magazine.

Lady of the House, the critically lauded restaurant helmed by Detroit chef Kate Williams, has returned after closing in Corktown more than three years ago. The new location at 4884 Grand River, Suite 1C, in Detroit’s Core City neighborhood, is welcoming its first guests this week during a soft opening phase. Beginning Wednesday, October 23, the restaurant will be fully open to the public.

The Detroit Free Press first reported the reopening date, noting that diners can expect many of the dishes that helped solidify Williams’s prowess as a chef, including the carrot steak, shrimp butter, and the popular whole roasted chicken. In addition, some of the menu items from her other venture, Karl’s — which, until late 2022, offered nostalgic takes on classic diner fare from the second floor of the Siren Hotel — will make a return, according to the daily. Williams tells the paper that her team is trying to determine the best format for the resurgence of a Karl’s menu at Lady of the House, whether it’ll be included on the brunch menu or possibly as a monthly Karl’s takeover. Whatever is decided, visitors will soon be able order items like the Barb’s Maurice salad (named for Williams’s grandmother), red hot chicken and waffles, and big orders of pancakes for the table.

A dish of food and a glass of wine set on a wood surface at Lady of the House in Detroit, Michigan. Jacob Lewkow
A dish on a round plate next to three glasses set on a wood surface at Lady of the House in Detroit, Michigan. Jacob Lewkow
A dining room with green walls and floral arrangements on the ceiling at Lady of the House in Detroit, Michigan. Jacob Lewkow

From the top, William’s potato doughnuts are among the dishes returning to the menu, as well as her popular beef tartare, left.

The majority of the Lady crew is returning to the newly appointed space, which features an interior designed to replicate Williams’s home dining room. In the months ahead of the reopening, the Lady team asked the public to donate their antique teacups and other pieces of china to help recreate the mismatched place settings that were a signature of the restaurant’s first iteration. But the new space has also taken on a slightly moodier vibe. The walls of the new interior come in burgundy and moss green, while dried floral arrangements, a wall of baby framed photos, and hand lettering signage on the doors with gold leaf decals by artist Mark Serra all help to complete the look.

One fun detail that anyone who’s ever used the women’s restroom at the former Lady location may recognize: the Ryan Gosling stool, which invited patrons of the lavatory to sit on his face. This time around, he’s in the dining area, “so anyone can enjoy,” Williams told the Freep.

Williams closed her restaurant in early 2021 after four years in the Corktown neighborhood. The critically acclaimed restaurant was named a James Beard Awards semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2018 and the following year Williams’s name appeared on the James Beard Awards’ semifinalist list for Best Chef: Great Lakes. Among its many accolades, Lady of the House was also listed among GQ’s Best New Restaurants in 2018, and in 2017, Williams scored an Eater Award for Chef of the Year.

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