The New York Times has unveiled its 2026 Restaurant List, highlighting 50 of its favorite restaurants across the United States — and two Detroit restaurants made the cut.
Tacos Wuey in Southwest Detroit and Roses on the city’s East Side are both featured on this year’s national list.
The selections put two relatively young Detroit restaurants in the national spotlight, with the New York Times highlighting everything from family recipes and Mexican culinary traditions to Polish-inspired diner fare.
What Detroit restaurants are among the 50 best in the nation?
The 2026 New York Times Restaurant List includes Tacos Wuey and Roses, both in Detroit.
Unlike a traditional ranking, the list is not numbered; the Times describes the restaurants as its “50 favorite places in America right now.”
A team of 16 New York Times reporters and editors traveled around the country to scout restaurants, with the Times saying its staff paid for their meals and experienced restaurants as ordinary diners.
Tacos Wuey, located in Southwest Detroit’s Mexicantown, opened in July 2025 and is led by chef Eddie Vargas.
Roses, on East Jefferson, is the latest iteration of Molly Mitchell’s restaurant and reopened in September 2025 with a more Polish-focused dinner menu.
What makes Tacos Wuey and Roses so special?
At Tacos Wuey, the New York Times focused on Vargas’ family roots in Jalisco and his father José’s birria recipe. The restaurant puts that birria to work in unconventional dishes, including birria egg rolls, quesadillas, and birria ramen with a dark consommé.
The Times also highlighted Tacos Wuey’s housemade salsa macha, which can be made with ingredients such as cranberries or hibiscus, as well as its lard-fried chicken Milanese with spaghetti verde.
At Roses, the Times highlighted the restaurant’s transformation from its previous breakfast-and-lunch format into a dinner destination with a distinctly Polish influence. Its menu now includes pierogi, kluski, and kielbasa, while the longtime burger remains a staple served on sourdough.
The Times also singled out the restaurant’s Polish nachos, combining potato chips and smoked whitefish with pickles, trout roe, and crème fraîche.
The Times also called attention to Roses’ circa-1964 dining room, describing its green walls, colorful curtains, candles, and flowers as giving the restaurant a nostalgic feel while maintaining a fresh, modern atmosphere.
How can you make a reservation at Tacos Wuey and Roses?
Both Detroit restaurants offer ways to plan a visit online.
Tacos Wuey recently began accepting reservations, making it possible to book ahead rather than relying solely on walk-in dining. It is primarily a dinner restaurant during the week, with later hours on Friday and Saturday.
Roses also accepts reservations online and currently operates as a dinner-focused restaurant. Its listed hours are generally in the afternoon and evening, with later service on Friday and Saturday.
With both restaurants now featured on the New York Times’ 2026 national list, reservations may be particularly useful for Detroit diners hoping to experience the two spots for themselves.
