Campau Tower

I’ve been to Campau Tower for lunch 4 times now. Whenever I’m meeting up with people for lunch on a work day, this is my first choice. I’ve tried their burgers 3 different ways, and gotten their mac & cheese once. The burgers are great, the fries are excellent — gotta get either the waffle fries or tater tots, personally, but their regular and curly fries were also excellent. Everything is cooked to order right in front of you, served hot right off the grill or out of the fryer — including the mac and cheese. The Mac is made with tortellini and, if you want it to be perfect, drizzle the siracha all over it. One small drawback to the place is no tables — just two counters with stools for 5 – 7 people each. So there’s only total seating for about a dozen people at most. The guy who works the counter is really nice, happy to answer questions, and does a good job of pulling the food together pretty quickly.
What keeps it from being 5 star? Well, it is a cheap, divey, convenient place. The burgers are not cooked to order, as in well done or medium rare, etc. I’m fine with all this, it’s a great place, just not the best burger you could find in the metro-​Detroit area. Other points against it: they have a huge TV right next to where you sit, usually showing Supernatural or X-​Files or some such show. I have been in there when there was a young kid eating with his dad, and they offered to change/​turn off the X-​Files episode, which was really polite and showed awareness on their part. But I personally find the TV to be a bit large, loud, and distracting when I’m having lunch with friends, since it’s like RIGHT next to where you eat. It’s also a bit slow if there are more than just a few people in there — which, is understandable, considering there’s usually only one person running the whole place! But it can be a little tight if you don’t have too long for lunch.
Overall, great burger place, excellent lunch spot, and for anyone who works in the area, a place you have to go to every couple of weeks and satisfy your burger/​fries craving.

The food is better when prepared during the day by I think the owners younger brother. Nonetheless, great value anytime of day. Too bad hours are somewhat unusual and there are times they have been closed prior to the actual posted hours and days of operation.

Oh yea, This place did it for me. Good tasting cheeseburger nothing over the top about it with extravagant toppings or extra in size. I really can’t explain how good this simple cheese burger with lett, tomatoes, onion, cheese made me feel very happy… But it did. I also ordered the Chicago dog and waffle fries both were great. I love love love hot dogs and Compau towers has a good tasting hot dog that u can eat plain and would still be great tasting. I’m sure u all know it’s small in size inside but that’s another cool factor about the place. (The old diner type close feel) I dined in. Everyone was a regular. They all pitched in an made suggestions of what we should get. Another cool factor. I’ll be back soon to try the veggie options and Mac and cheese.

Big fan of this place as everything is made fresh to order.
Had the Detroit Dog and a fried chicken Bao Bun, also wanted to order a burger but I didn’t…wish I did.
Dog was good, Bao Bun was only OK, the chicken was little dry and overcooked but I liked the condiments.
Service can be a little slow as there was only one guy doing everything but if that doesn’t bother you at all, the food is pretty legit. otherwise.

Great spot for a late night bite. Centrally located in a dense bar happy neighborhood. Had a couple of their hotdogs that are filling and competitively priced. Waffle cheese fries were perfect! Not the quickest serve time, but only because everything was made fresh.

Great late night food. Healthy choices are available.

I had been to Campau Tower before it was reinvented. I was sad to hear it had closed, because it was a short walk from Whiskey In The Jar, where my evening always necessitates a greasy burger or a slice of pizza.
In early September I had what I thought was successful job interview at Quicken. To prematurely celebrate and calm my nerves after driving on the Lodge, I embarked upon Scotch and Sodas at my favorite Hamtramck bar and later several cans of Miller Lite at Erik’s house.
Erik did homework while I read A Study In Scarlet before I dozed off to Miles Davis at nearly 11 PM. I woke up at 2:00 am after Erik and Scott had gone to bed.
Going to a bar was out of the question because of intrusive government regulations that ensure early closure, so I finished my warming Miller Lite and went to New Tower.
Almost every seat was taken even though it was past 2:00 am after a Monday evening.
As Zoolander played on the newly installed flat television, there were four policeman from Hamtramck P.D. who looked like they were barely old enough to drink pitching ideas for custom Homemade Hot Pockets to the server-​cook. She obliged by constructing one filled with Mac & Cheese, which is off the menu.
Others in attendance included a sextigenarian Polish man and an otherwise innocuous gentrifying hipster.
I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with an over-​medium fried egg and a vanilla milkshake. I would normally go for chocolate, but they were out. I had never enjoyed a vanilla shake before, but I did this time.
Not only was my burger superior to what the old Tower offered, it is the best cheeseburger I’d had in a very long time. It wasn’t particularly complex, but it was an excellent, satisfying burger. I entered hungry and left happy; I will return.

Stumbled upon this place looking for a late night snack– The hot dogs were on point, but all the other food coming off the grill looked amazing. This isn’t your standard coney– lots of tasty options! They even had a «city that blows» dog (Chicago dog) I will be making another visit, with a bigger appetite.

I went in here one night a couple weeks ago, and the cash register wouldn’t open. Apparently, I came in when the woman working the register was in the middle of a complete breakdown. I asked if we could still order if we had cash, and added that I didn’t really care about change. At this time she started yelling at me. She ended her rant with «sorry, I ruined your entire night!» Uh, yeah, okay lady.
Needless to say, I have absolutely no idea what the food here is like, but the service is absolutely f***ed. I won’t be giving it another chance, as I’m used to visiting places where people are happy to take my money. Even though I’ve heard this woman has since quit.

A group of friends and I went here late last night and were greeted with the worst customer service experience I have ever had.
Upon arriving one of the staff started publicly complaining with loud expletives about how «no one prepped tonight’s food» or left her any money and that she would have to use her own. At this point she is basically screaming. A friend of mine in our group said «wow» and then she screamed at him across the restaurant to «Get the f*ck out» repeatedly and then told him to «Suck my d*ck.» During this time we all sat dumbfounded that someone would do this without being provoked. When we were leaving someone said «We’ll just take our business elsewhere» and the worker screamed at us again «I don’t give a f*ck! It’s not my restaurant.»
Never go here. Our experience was comically bad, but this employee’s level of professionalism was probably the worst I have ever experienced.

For a long time, I wasn’t a Campau Tower fan. They’re open weird hours, the vibe is pretty hipster, and the milkshakes aren’t too good. Really the only reason I kept coming here was the aforementioned weird hours. But a couple of months ago, I started to change my mind.
If you want a burger after 9 pm, Campau Tower makes a much better one than McDonald’s, and you get a ton of tater tots (enough that you really should share them). I’d still pass on the hot dogs — the themed hot dogs are too messy to eat without a knife and fork, and I think that’s really too much work for what you get (you’re still just eating a hot dog).
Plus, the staff is friendly and honest. My friend left her wallet here and we got it back with everything, including cash, inside.

A lot of these other reviews are accurate, so I’ll keep this short. Food is decent, little pricier than I had hoped, considering previous to opening, in most of the promotional interviews I read, Nikita insisted he would be keeping it cheap. However, the food is of a little higher quality than the greasy sliders previously served, so I’ll give them a pass. He also said he’d clean the rust stains off the front of the building, and that never happened either… Guess that’s just the Hamtramck way.
My gripe:
The line cook. I’ve been there multiple times, so I know it wasn’t just a fluke. So. Slow. It’s like this person is incapable of cooking more than one item at a time. The line cook needs training in multitasking and cook times, or needs to be replaced. The wait times for food, even when it’s slow are unacceptable.
Small thing that probably only bothers me:
Bao = bun. It is redundant to have an item called «bao bun». And to take that even further, baozi are filled steamed buns, mantou are just straight up steamed buns. So when I get served a mantou (very similar to David Changs’s style) with meat and veggies on top, I can’t help but laugh and shake my head that this thing is called «Bun bun».
Oh and one more thing, to the lady that wrote the review that is at the bottom of this page in the «currently not recommended» reviews: Give the waitstaff a break lady, since you’re from Warren, maybe you don’t understand, but things get weird in Hamtramck. It can be really grating on your patience working at an establishment like Campau Tower.

Stopped in a for a burger and fries and although the place was moderately busy, the cook was seriously taking his time! It took forever to get my food. And it was WAY over –cooked, well done almost burnt. I decided to eat it instead of asking for another. Didn’t want to wait 20 minuets for a new one cooked the way I asked for (med).
The place is surprisingly very clean and I don’t think it’s over priced like some have mentioned. I WILL GO BACK but expect improvement or at least someone on the grill who understands what ordering Medium means.
The guy cooking might have been the Owner as he looks like the guy I see on TV or in the various Ad’s. If so, he should know better about cooking temps (I was not the only one complaining about stuff overcooked).
And on a side note he was pretty rude and condescending to some customers like the Soup Nazi and the staff seemed scared of him. Not the best vibe to give off.

This place is very pretty decent. The pricing is a tad on the high side, but that isn’t the reason for the only above-​average review. My biggest gripe is that the burgers are uninspired. They use high quality ingredients and the burgers and fries are cooked to perfection, but the burgers are just… burgers. I expect more since the owner is a super gourmet chef (I’m looking at you, Nikita). For an amazing burger, go to Vinsetta Garage in Royal Oak. For a high quality burger with no frills late at night, check out Campau Tower.
Gripe Number 2, where the hell are the pies? Nikita made a name for himself by selling Detroit’s most delicious pies back when he had Rock City Pies in the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale. How a late night diner does not serve pie is beyond me. Remedy this huge oversight please. Thanks.

This is the perfect late night spot for me. Being a vegetarian in Hamtramck is hard sometimes. Having the option for a veggie burger patty or tempeh tacos just makes me so happy. The staff here is incredibly nice and have always been welcoming to me even when the place is packed. Would be 5 stars except they wrap to-​go orders in aluminum foil and when you finally get to eat it, the food is soggy. My only complaint. I recommend bringing your own to-​go containers to avoid this.

I came in here decently late on a Saturday after drinking a few at a bar nearby. My wallet was particularly light after my bar endeavor earlier, so I thought Campau Tower would be a good place to fill up my stomach before passing out.
Instead of trying the typical burger+fries combo, I felt adventurous and went with a pulled pork bao bun sandwich. To my dismay, the «sandwich» was no match for my hunger and at about $ 4, I felt pretty ripped off. Taste-​wise, it wasn’t terrible, just really thought I’d be getting more than a little steamed bun with some meat on top.
The server seemed nice though and was quick to fill up my coffee. I saw some other people order a poutine special that looked pretty insane.
Next time I’ve got the late night munchies, I’ll probably head to D-​1 so that I’ll actually leave satisfied.

Campau Tower was new to me and Rock City was the original plan but redirected for lunch here.
I ordered the famous Mac and cheese with onions and mushrooms. The sauce is the same from Rock City which is tasty. I felt guilty not ordering a decked out dog or banging burger or something as the place is designed for but I loved my order. I do advice tossing some Sriacha sauce with it.
Cooking time was slow so take friends into a very cramped eatery and enjoy the fact that you are in Polish Town for lunch!
The folks running the counter were awesome.
Enjoy!

Chicago veggie dog was great!
Black bean burger was ok — it’s a frozen Morningstar patty but the fresh ingredients were a nice addition (I would have preferred a fresh bean burger).

After a much anticipated take over of the Campau Tower, I decided to take my daughter out to lunch here. Nikita Sanchez has cleaned the place up some and overhauled the menu. Thank goodness!
It’s still the Campau Tower is some respects. It only has counter seating for about 6 people. Everyone else either has to eat standing up, outside on the planter or get it to go. We were fortunate enough to catch a couple of seats at the counter.
I ordered a coney dog and a Philly cheese-​steak style dog with a side fries and a Dr. Pepper. My daughter order a plain hot dog and a chocolate milk shake. Hot dogs are good ¼ pound Dearborn brand beef hot dogs that are split and grilled on the flat top. Having been a long time consumer of Dearborn brand products, I enjoyed them. The coney is Nikita Sanchez own chili blend with a twist on the spices. It’s a little different flavorwise but very good when topped with the onions and yellow mustard. The Phillystyle dog came with sauteed peppers and onions with the Whiz. I loved it. My daughter didn’t so much care for hers so we ordered a plain cheeseburger for her. Her chocolate milkshake, she noted, was a winner. 4 year olds can be fickle.
Service should be graded in two categories here: cook and server. The young lady who works the counter is fast and friendly. She obliged me with my many questions regarding ingredients and allergen warning. ALLERGEN WARNING: Anything deep fried is cooked in peanut oil. However, the ice cream and syrup used is both peanut and tree nut free. Back to the service. The server is fast with drink refills and clearing dirty plates, napkins, etc. The cook is good but could use a boost in the area of multitasking perhaps from an old Army cook. Orders come out kind of slow and one at a time. Expect wait times during peak lunch service. In terms of execution of each order, he’s great.
The menu explores a half dozen hot dog choices, burgers, fried items, beverages and bao buns. I’m neither Korean nor a hipster, so this was new to me. They looked good and I’ll try them next time.
Visa/​MC is accepted as they have the Square.
One thing I didn’t like was that they have a large flat screen TV on the wall. The show Blacklist was playing and no one had the sense to change the channel considering the show’s content is not age appropriate for young children. I know, their market is hipsters and not families but common decency notes that to consider the customer sitting before you.
Keep up the good work. Keep it simple. Keeping it real.

the patties are fresh and hand-​formed. The problem lies in the flavoring and crust formation– a little more salt and pepper on that patty would be a huge attraction. And I’m sure the folks that run Rock City Eatery understand the importance of the maillard reaction! The option to get it cooked at a temperature other than medium is offered on the wall– but I’m not sure that this is what would help. A good medium for these small patties should be perfect. Instead of doing their own thing for these patties, which is awesome and encouraged in every other respect, a call back to the roots of cooking this style of burger may help things rise up from just «OK» to «fantastic».
Don’t get me wrong — I enjoyed this experience and the ones I’ve had before. They do a lot of really good things, the service is awesome and their concept is spot on. The bao buns and specialty hot dogs are fantastic, the toppings available for everything are super high quality, and I won’t stop talking about the pickles that they use. This is still a damn good burger! But there’s room for improvement.
(read the rest at
)