Checkmate

Last night I went to dinner with my Sister and Daughter, this was my 2nd time at Checkmate, I went for the food, but let's say the service this time will have me being a frequent patron.Dreisha(Eisha) was my server, I'll start my saying she never let out water glasses get low, she was the only server on the floor the entire night and she was managing 9 tables, and even with 9 tables, she was still attentive to each table, how do I know? Because I watched, she was engaging and personable with each table. She gave recommendations on cocktails and it was just an overall great experience.Moving forward for my reservations, I'll be asking to sit in Eisha section, if she's not working that might, I'll be going elsewhere.Make your reservation and ask for Eisha, you won't be disappointed, good food and great service is a perfect combination.

Super cute restaurant! I love the chess theme and decor. The inside is taken care of very well; still looks brand new. It definitely wasn't as crowded as I expected. We parked right in the front. There's also two parking lots on each side of the building.The menu is viewed online via QR code. The atmosphere is dimly lit and very intimate. The R&B music is a perfect touch. I even saw a table with hookah but I couldn't smell it at all. We all ordered drinks to start and let me tell you, that mango martini is great! Ended up ordering multiple. We then got appetizers to share: jerk wings, cauliflower, and shrimp. When I see cauliflower listed on menus, I've always wondered how they tasted. Both flavors of the cauliflower were fantastic! We all were impressed! I highly recommend those!We ended up venturing upstairs and seeing the cute chess set up for pics. It's a nice spot up there for a celebration and/or small gathering. The security told us to come in Thursdays for ladies night, so we just might do that in the near future.

My bestie booked reservations here to celebrate 3 birthdays at once and this place is definitely a place to be able to do that! Very upscale feel, good music, food and drinks! We got the Checkmate Burger for $25, worth the money, as the burger was double patty, well seasoned and the fries were garlic with REAL Parmesan cheese slices on top. The lobster Fried rice was really good, almost like a teriyaki glaze in it- it was the most expensive item on the menu but very tasty. We had a great time here and the bartender was pumping out the drinks that were heavy pours... this is my first time in Detroit so I would definitely come back when I come back to visit!!

Overall, the restaurant left us all with a lot to be desired. With a name like Checkmate- I expect a lot of Chess related decode beside the building inside and out being painted back, 4 or 5 pictures of chess pieces hanging and along the back wall, smaller chess pieces lining the booths. The name could have been anything with this kind of décor. In the bathroom there're was one wall mural of a chess piece but again, I expected something way different and I was disappointed. There was only a few tables occupied when we came in yet the service for drinks was slow and we had empty glasses for a while before our server came back. We ordered the fries (they are a copy or exactly like Cosmic fries from HopCat), cauliflower thing - it was half the head, still raw and one side quickly caramelized. The sweet and raw cauliflower was not a good combo. I assumed it was steamed or roasted first before caramelization so when I cut into it to divide it for our group, my knife had to chop hard through it. Three of us had the rib-eye and it was cooked as requested. The seasoning on top was extremely heavy handed- which would have been really good if it wasn't so salty. The mustard concoction that came with it was good on its own, on the salty side but the combo was just too much. The flavors were not complimentary and the salt was overloaded. The winner dish was the lobster fried rice - again on the salty side but a bit more tolerable. The next day I was massively retaining water from all the salt. Every dish and drink was so expensive, more so than so many other big winners in the D. The prices did not deliver on flavor, service or decor. With a bill of almost $500 (gratuity auto included) for 4 people we almost fell off our chair. Go to BARDA, Besa, The Statler, Downtown Loui's for similar price range and killer food, drinks, atmosphere, service.....

Amazing new spot ... the Lobster fried rice was delicious!!! We also had them general Tso cauliflower and the Garlic Udon noodles... chef's kiss.. The staff was very nice. Fati was beautiful and accommodating!!! Thank you for a very nice outing!!!

Everything at checkmate was AMAZING! The ambiance was great and they have a Dj on Thursdays. My food was delicious, their jerk chicken wings are some of the best wings around. The only thing that was better than the drinks and the food was my service. Dreisha was personable, attentive, knowledgeable, and fun. She really made our girls night out great. I will definitely be requesting her as my server the next time I go. If you're in the area looking for somewhere fun with great food stop here and see Dreisha.

We made reservations for this restaurant 2 weeks in advance. Once there our party of 5 was seated upstairs, which were several steep steps. We were told to wait up there until our table was ready. Come to find out our table was upstairs in the lounge area with a coffee table. So we basically had to bend down to eat our food. Service was very very slow, as the waitress and bar tender were the same person. Let's get to the food. First everything came out separately. No one got their food all together. They actually forgot some of the orders and one of our guests didn't even get her order and all she ordered was French fries. The Lobster fried rice was delicious. The oysters were small with barely any meat in them. The jerk and lemon pepper wings were extremely small but ok. The lollipop lamb chops were so small we jokingly called them dum dums lol. The potato cakes were nasty and the stuffed chicken breast was ok. Some felt the chicken tasted rubbery. It seems that the quality of food is cheap but their prices are ridiculously high for that poor quality of food. Spent $400 for 5 people for terrible service and food. The ambiance was okay. I can see the vibe they're striving for, but they are missing the mark. I will never go again. If you're interested, just stick to drinks, they were just okay too.

We ordered the ribeye steak ($65) A burger ($25) ....and for our appetizer, wings ($20) ...Well, I ordered the wings, and ribeye.... before my friend could order his burger, the waitress zoomed off..... After about 10 mins, she came to the table to bring our silverware... At that point,he placed his order for his burger. After about 40 min, the burger ( the last thing we ordered) came out first... When she noticed the misshape, she came over to ask what items we were missing... .She profusely apologized for the mishap, and said the food should be out shoon. After about another 20 minutes, my ribeye came out, pre cut. The steak wasnot precut in the picture...On the picture,the ribeye "sauce" was displayed over the full plate.. . When it arrived , it was only a dallop of "sauce" and seemed like the plate was sitting for a while . (Food wasn't hot) Fast-forward 15 mins later, we asked for our APPETIZER, to just be put in a To go box. On top of that , an automatic 20% gratuity is placed on the bill. I'm in awe, these tiny wings are $20 ... Personally, the food,"atmosphere" and experience, isn't worth the price. The menu is very limited, so I thought the dishes they chose to display would be the best they could offer.Unfortunately, that was not the case. Our waitress did give us A complimentary item for our trouble.

Where Should I start, Family night out, the service was absolutely terrible. They don't train their servers to know anything about their menu. We inquired about one of their craft cocktails, and the server had no idea that they even made that and then she suggested a cocktail and didn't even know what was in it, no clue to anything! As we sat there I made a reservation at wright and co. where we're headed now? that was the absolute worst experience ever. Train your servers to be better and not say huh and write down the orders if they can't remember what customer ask for . Totally clueless! as we waited for the drinks my brother ordered chicken wings that came out the size of pinky fingers (SMH). Now we do like our wings to be regular size, but the fact that they were that small for that amount of money was ridiculous and they were lackluster. They had no flavor. They just were spicy, needless to say we will not be back. It gives a very urban feel to a place that looks like it should be upscale. And they are def struggling with a professional upscale restaurant, because that they are not.

The restaurant has a nice ambiance and is clean, with good drinks that we all enjoyed. We had the Torched Mango Martini and Checkmate Old fashion. The Asian cauliflower was absolutely delicious, but the chicken wings were disappointingly small. The lobster fried rice was overcooked and a bit too salty. The checkmate burger was good, but nothing special. The ribeye was ok, but not worth $65. Overall, it was a decent experience, but we probably won't go back.