Resy One To Watch Award 2025

Ladder 4

Detroit

Playful wine-centric bistro with community spirit

Since opening in a converted 1910 firehouse in 2022, Ladder 4 has become a defining presence in the Detroit dining scene: part wine bar, part neighbourhood hub, always alive with the sense that something electric might happen each night. Now, its reputation stretches far beyond the city.

Founded by brothers James and Patrick Cadariu, Ladder 4 was created with wine at its heart. The beverage programme leans into low-intervention bottlings and rare one-offs. It's not as exclusive as it sounds – Ladder 4's One Bottle Only concept allows the team to pick a special bottle from the cellar each day to serve by the glass, giving guests a chance to sample exceptional wines at a more affordable price. The team also collaborate with Hospitality Included, an organisation that brings together hospitality professionals across Detroit, to run a monthly wine club, gathering Detroit's creative community for evenings that are just as focused on connection as they are about what's in the glass.

Food under executive chef and wine director John Yelinek is firmly seasonal, often drawing on produce grown across the street by his wife, Charlotte Gale. Menus mix bistro staples with inventive touches: vitello tonnato with Ortiz tuna dressing, branzino with grape leaf and green olive tapenade, burrata with Hungarian-style lecsó, or salata de vinete – a Romanian-inspired aubergine dip with feta. The restaurant's burnt Basque cheesecake has also become a signature, popular for its rich, tangy flavour and custardy finish. The final flourish? Upon request, it comes topped with a generous spoonful of Kaluga caviar.

High-summer Sundays bring one of Ladder 4's most beloved traditions: exactly 86 smash burgers griddled at noon, dressed with cheese, house sauce and locally made pickles. They rarely last an hour among a crowd of dedicated local diners, forming a ritual that proves popular every year.

Accolades have followed in quick succession – Restaurant of the Year from the Detroit Free Press, a spot on Bon Appétit's Best New Restaurants list and The New York Times' roundup of 50 restaurants shaping the way America eats.

Now, as recipient of the Resy One To Watch Award 2025, an already brightly shining Ladder 4 steps into an even greater spotlight. The mix of craft, community and joy that the team has curated marks the firehouse as a restaurant not just of the moment, but one to watch for years to come.

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