Bistro Romano

The bar in our upstairs lounge area has its own charm and is, quite literally, ship-shape. The bar was originally a fixture aboard the luxury liner City of Detroit III – a side wheel passenger steamer that was built in 1912 in Wyandotte, Michigan and operated by the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company. In its day considered the finest inland passenger steamer afloat, it featured grand salons, staterooms, and a Gothic Room finished in hand-carved oak. The flowing form and luminous, jade green color of the bar capture the feel and endless expanse of the open ocean. Besides the bar, midway on the gently curving stairway to the dining room, hangs a picture of a sea nymph. The painting graced the Forward Salon of the ship. As you sip your drink, you can almost hear the ship’s orchestra playing elegant waltzes and see the couples dancing. The ship was dismantled in 1957 … but we’re happy to say that its remarkable bar and painting have survived, to grace Bistro Romano with its unusual beauty.