Dominick’s

Yup, great patio, amazing sangria, good selection of Michigan beers, and loving their frozen cocktail «The Constant Buzz.» Summer Friday afternoon out there? Doesn’t get much more Ann Arbor. Not the cleanest place (I’d avoid using the bathroom there), not the friendliest staff (everyone has to absolutely show ID before walking in, any time of the day, and they are VERY particular about not bringing in food — be it a grocery bag from the super market or the apple you’ve eaten down to the core, it HAS GOT TO GO). The food isn’t fresh, at least you can see them unwrapping pizza from plastic wrappers and pop them in the oven. Somehow, the quesadillas are surprisingly delish though.
Overall, I’d say go for the sangria/​beer/​Constant Buzz and to enjoy a nice summer afternoon outside in Ann Arbor, not for food.

This place is CLOSED. Drove out on a cold January night for Italian and was disappointed. Sign says closed until March

The sangria is pretty amazing. I always split the large mason jar with my friend. Sitting outside at the picnics tables makes for a great vibe and atmosphere too. Sometimes I go with a few friends, and other times with more. Whether it’s a little or a lot of people I still leave with a smile on my face!

This is one of the Ann Arbor summer staples. The crowd is a bit older than it used to be, but the Sangria and pizza are still tasty.
There never seems to be enough seating, and they close off large sections of the seating for private parties, but if you can get a seat, it’s a great place to drink out of mason jars and be able to hear the person next to you talk.

Good place for high quality beer (Bell’s on draft) and food. It’s probably more expensive than it should be.

I normally don’t write ratings but I have to for this place:
Environment: initially greeted by a man sitting outside asking for ID. I felt like I was in a cafeteria or something. Order food from desk, select your own seat on a picnic table, wait to be called on a loud speaker. Get food, eat drink, leave tray on table for someone to come collect. Barbed wires on fence? Weird.
Food: nope. Portions don’t really match up to plate size. I got the pasta with Alfredo sauce (add chicken because they don’t go together). I can taste better from a canned meal than this… Also ordered chicken wings (spicy) which was not as expected. They we’re soft and fell off the bones. How long have they been sitting there before reheating? The best thing I had was the garlic bread. It deserved a star. Soft and garlicky. (Btw I’m sitting on the toilet and venting about this place… It must be a sign)
Price: college town prices I guess…
Alcohol: I think this is what people come here for! Definitely not the food. My pale ale was good but how could u go wrong with that?
Overall will not come back. Not sure why this place gets so many hits. Good luck.

SETTING:
Right by the Law school. Dominick’s has an outdoor patio with benches and inside seating as well. If it’s raining the seating area of the patio is covered, so you can stay dry. Although it does not feel like the cleanest place, it’s typical of a bar spot. Don’t worry, I’ve seen worse.
DRINKS:
Shared a pitcher of Sangria and the Constant buzz with a small group. The drinks came with mason jars instead of cups, which was a cool touch. Sangria was pretty tasty, but my favorite was the Constant buzz. It was like a sweet strawberry cocktail smoothie, and the name speaks for itself… probably because it’s so awesome that you just want to keep drinking. It was so refreshing that I drank more of it than I should have! And it showed. On my face :(. Mixing sangria and constant buzz together = dangerously delicious. Try it!
SERVICE:
Not much, other than the staff asking if they can take empty pitchers, mason jars from you. Pretty much what I expected for a bar scene.
IMPRESSIONS:
Try to sit outside if you can. Seriously, it feels much more liberating after a tough week. Get that good fresh air while you sip on your adult beverage. AND RELAX!!! On the pricier side, but it’s good times especially if you split costs with a group.

I lived in Ann Arbor for 4 years and used to see so many people at Dominicks all the time. I didn’t know it was just a quick stop for drinks. I made the mistake of trying to have a meal there. Don’t eat the food. I had a tuna melt and it was a bad combination of canned tuna, provolone cheese, tomatoes, onions, and some oily/​sour liquid that they claimed was Italian dressing.
The indoor environment was small and runned down. The back patio was beautiful, though most of the seats were reserved for various organizations.
USE THE BATHROOM AT HOME. The bathroom was old and dirty. The paper towel apparatus was designed to REUSE the towel that someone else had used. It’s right next to the kitchen, you you can hear all of the workers conversations and surely they can hear you pee as well. The window is also opened to the outside, right next to the front patio, so it feels like they are right next to you as well.

The joys of drinking outside…
So this place is a really nice place to go to on a hot day. When the sun is out, the Sangria will start flowing.
They really have 2 kinds of Sangria, the good stuff (pricy) or the bad stuff (cheap).
I would recommend the good stuff, but have a friend buy a gallon jug of it. This way you get the best of both worlds, Good Sangria at the cheap price (free).
The pleasant surprise is the workers here. They all look like some kind of murderers, this adds that charm to the place. Maybe not if your a lady.
Do not go here when its raining. Rainy days are no fun here.

Don’t ever come eat here. The owner doesn’t care about anything. The cooks will mess with your food. Called the health department because of the comments made by a cook that could be over heard in the dining room. Disgusting. This is why the business is failing and is dead.

I haven’t been here since 2007 when I got my grad degree at UM, but I have the best memories of Dominick’s. Is this a completely subjective review of Dominick’s that has been rose-​colored by time? Yes, yes, it is. But if the worth of a place can be gauged by how it sits in memory and withstands the weathering effects of periodic remembrance, then Dominick’s scores a 10. Sitting on a bench in the back porch area, waiting for the sun to go down on long summer evenings, nursing glass after glass of sangria. I mean, how can one even put a rating on that, when it continues to bring a smile almost a decade later?

The sangria and constant buzz are quintessential Ann Arbor summer drinks. The courtyard and roof both provide great outdoor seating options, which are perfect for the sunny Michigan spring. Since Doms closes for the entirety of the winter, visiting during the spring and summer becomes a novelty.
That being said, crowds are almost invariably unbearable. It gets noisy, there are no tables and chairs available sometimes, and hearing food announcements blared over the loudspeaker can get irksome. The food is overpriced, unhealthy, and generally just gross.
BRING CASH FOR THE CASH-​ONLY BEER AND SANGRIA LINE. It will save you a lot of time.

Sadly, as much as I have loved this Ann Arbor institution, I’ll have to say that I believe they’ve changed the Sangria recipe. It now has the flavor of a bad punch and not much of the kick it used to have. For 30 dollars per half gallon, I expect more. We ordered the grande chicken quesadillas and with it came the tiniest plastic cup of salsa and sour cream. When I went back in to ask if I could get one more salsa I got a gruff older Asian woman who told her employee, «that will be extra cost!» Go for the social seating, but not for the food and sadly not even for the Sangria now.

Great drinks at Dominicks. Food was also good, but not the reason to come here.

Fun and family-​like atmosphere! Great sangria! A perfect place to catch up with friends in the warm weather. Unfortunately, that is only a short time in the mitten, so get it while it’s HOT!

This place is a campus staple. Locals love it. It’s a great summer after-​work hangout.
You go for the Sangria or the beer period. The food is just an add-​on and is not good by any stretch.
They are pretty much known for the buckets of Sangria that keep flowing.
if you don’t get into the beer garden in the back, sitting on the hard, metal chairs can become a pain throughout the rest of the place. But, you take the good with the bad.
Overall this is a good hangout place and especially if you have a large group of work mates that you need to pile into one spot.

A bit over-​hyped, at times. The food is pretty good, and the fabled sangria is mostly manichewitz with some spices, fruit and, I believe, a little more alcohol. The outdoor seating area is very pleasant, but really, I think any place that has friendly outdoor confines gets a local love-​boost because the weather is … tough … in Michigan (read: cold).
There’s nothing BAD about Dominick’s. I’d go there all the time if someone was paying my way, but it’s just not quite as earth-​shatteringly awesome as folks may have you believe.
A definite 3-​star worth visiting for yourself, but go in with the right expectations.

I really want to give this place a 3.5 … I’m new to Ann Arbor and it gets a lot of hype for the ‘nice atmosphere, good sangria and it’s in demand cause it’s seasonal (closes in winter).’ I’m not one to believe in hype.
Went here with a group of grad students from UMich, we reserved one of the long tables out back by the fountain. The atmosphere was okay. It was busy, a good sign for a bar on a Friday from 4 – 7. It took at least 20 minutes in line to order my sangria (around $ 5 half-​pint) and pizza bread (~$ 5). While in line I noticed the bouncer (?-old man checking IDs outside) was smoking and the smoke appeared to blow back a bit to the front patio which seemed unprofessional to me. Pizza bread was okay – definitely not bad. And the sangria was okay. And I hate to sound hipster but I’ve been to Spain and had better made in home kitchens. But A for effort and B for taste. It’s fairly loud and bustling and I had a good time. Glad I went and would definitely be okay with going back, I’m just not sure how often I would.

Go here for the atmosphere, not necessarily the drinks. I like Dominick’s because on the off chance you don’t have a super cool patio with lots of seating, you can drink your sangria here instead.
Plus, you know things in mason jars are very instagrammable.

This has been one of my favorite beer gardens to visit since undergrad! I go here mainly for the outdoor seating and sangria! Best sangria in Michigan! Easy to get in to and good service! Their pizza is also good!