Luci and Ethel’s

You have to have the right frame of mind to like this place. Yes, at 1am on a Saturday night you’ll find the trickling of City Club’s crowd making their way in. No, it’s not sparkling clean.
I, however like the food and company. You’ll meet interesting people and enjoy the old diner experience. The veggie burger, patty melt, and fries are great to sober up on.

I was reluctant to go here. I survived. I am reluctant to go back. That is probably just my OCD talking.
I’ve only eaten breakfast here. The fare is typical hole-​in-​the-​wall, greasy spoon, divey diner stuff.
Perhaps my rationale for eating breakfast here is more telling. I theorize that eggs are a safe bet when I suspect a place is less than Spic and Span. You see, the shelled egg is cracked onto the hot griddle. Then, flipped on your plate via a turner (it is not a spatula!). Human contact should be minimal.
The best time to go is after a rave. The coolest thing about this place is that scenes from Low Winter Sun were filmed here. Oh, plus I ate here.

Tasty food and large portions at a cheap price. I got the day’s special: grilled cheese sandwich, pop, and a generous portion of fries for $ 4.50. You can’t beat that price anywhere!!!
Service is average. The biggest drawback is the clientele — this place is very close to the bus terminal so it attracts some interesting people. Cheap food + cheap transportation = cheap customers. If you are hungry, on a budget, and can tolerate a horde of boisterous teenagers, then there is no better place to dine downtown.

Umm yeah, this place wouldn’t be so bad if they actually cleaned in the last 4 years. it was disgusting. Please Luci and Ethel! Hire a crew to go through it!
Food was fair. straight up diner food, no frills, nothing special.

Meh, is about right. Typical greasy spoon. Ok place when you only have a few bucks to spend. I did have some pancakes one time which were ok, the downside was the syruyp which had absolutely no flavor. The place could use a fresh coat of paint and some new menus. I gave it an extra star because the place does have wifi and the staff is really nice. Stop in for some cheap coffee and a muffin.

The burgers here are basic and basically good. Fries made exactly as they should. Great coffee. Very reasonable prices. Good service. Good people.
The place itself has little to offer. You have to go «next door» to the hotel/​night club for the use of a restroom that looks like the grunge crew may return at any second to defend their territory from intruders. The restaurant was once a quaint «50’s» style diner but it looks like they’ve given up any hope of keeping the theme alive or even interesting. Honestly, who cares about the 50’s anymore? Especially in Detroit.
The shattered glass décor coupled with a natural Detroit urban blight decay theme leaves one speculating as to when exactly the demolition ball will end the misery of this once obviously grand building. Yet, they endure.
You’ll be hard pressed to find any place even remotely like Lucy and Ethel’s which is swimming in local flavor and character as well as characters. Perhaps a great place for a burger and coffee for the adventurous Avante-​guard that seem to discover these little gems of the soul of a dying city.
Too few places like Lucy and Ethel’s that deserve to be thriving but not. Too many swarm to the comfort of complacency that is offered with the likes of Slows or Small Plates. What happened to the adventure, the danger, the romance? Was it neutered by Royal Oak? Did the Casino’s destroy our sense of who we are as a city?
Go to Lucy and Ethel’s and experience life, not plastic. And while you’re there, flip the waitress a good tip. Anyone that works there must really need the money.

Greasy food prepared by tattooed drunkards. They sometimes sneak off, probably to smoke blunts or something. The sloth-​like service makes the Secretary of State look cheetah-​like in its speed. Plus, the regular waitress is as dumb as a bag of hammers. The clientele consists of insane old people, and drunk, obnoxious club goers, goth and otherwise. It’s the End Of the World Café.
I eat here all the time.

Searched around for a hearty breakfast while in Detroit for the music festival and found that this is pretty much the closest where I stayed.
Ordered 2 eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, w/​wheat toast. Nothing special at all since my only purpose was to fill up my stomach. Place isn’t very nice or clean but I wasn’t expecting anything nicer being it is Downtown Detroit.
I’ll go back again if I ever go back to Detroit.

A pretty bare lil diner, but breakfast served at all hours is definitely a win. Sure, the drunk coney is an experience to be had in Detroit, but after a few consecutive weekends of chili-​slopped dogs I find myself looking elsewhere for sober-​up food.
Enter Luci & Ethel’s.
Not sure if I would seek out L&E’s on a weeknight, but 3am on a Friday night after a hours of boozing at D’Mongos or City Club? Yes pleeeease. The breakfast burrito is cheap & tasty, def hits the spot.
L&E’s is open 24 hours on weekends & big bar nights, not sure of the weekday close time. CASH ONLY!

Eh… this place is alright. Friendly service but it’s awfully slow at times. Food is nothing special but I suppose it’s worth trying out if you’re in a pinch.

Great décor in a cozy Detroit nook, basic diner fare, cheap prices.
An unassuming diner («and more» as it says on its awning) at the base of the Leland hotel (Cass Ave & Bagley St.), Luci and Ethel’s has a lot of potential to be a phenomenal joint. The strangest quality about the restaurant is that they’ve obviously spent some time making the interior look and feel like a real retro-​diner… think late 50’s Detroit… cushioned twirly chairs, wood paneling and chrome trim, Elvis and Coke memorabilia hanging about the walls. Even the exterior street-​side veneer half-​glistens in its marble and chrome as you drive down Cass Ave. And, unlike 80% of downtown Detroit eateries, they have some seriously great windows… a corner joint with windows from edge to edge… so tons of light.
The menu is classic diner food. Burgers, BLTs, Philly Cheese Steaks, Soups, Chips, Fries, Soda, and all-​day breakfast. The food is fine. I ordered a BLT and it was simple and to the point. The bacon was really good and piled much higher than most BLTs… but it was served only buttered and with no mayo… the tomato and lettuce a little skimpy. The physical menus themselves are a little ratty and torn around the edges… in slight contrast to the kind of «new“ish looking gloss of the place. The service was super fast and friendly, but also a little eccentric… like, Cass Ave-​eccentric… meaning the server and two regulars were talking a bunch of strange nonsense in a way that seemed oblivious to the non-​regular sitting in on this strange conversation. I kind of liked the oddity, but, then again, it was like crashing someone’s three-​person basement chill-​out.
The LOOK of Luci & Ethel’s is perfect… and the menu is predictable but appropriate. I think they just need to advertise and get a more constant stream of people circulating through so it doesn’t feel like you’re dining in someone else’s kitchen. Definitely worth checking out at least once.
**CASH only** … and bring two or three quarters for the meter…