The Buhl Bar Review & Bathroom Guide
Detroit, Michigan
A classy little reminder that Detroit knew how to drink long before any of us got here. Good cocktails, low lights and somewhere to disappear after work. A clean, private Shooki lands at 6/10 because there’s only one.
Source published September 2026
First-hand Shooki editorial
Shooki’s Review of The Buhl Bar
By Shooki · Source published September 2026
A classy little reminder that Detroit knew how to drink long before any of us got here. Good cocktails, low lights and somewhere to disappear after work. A clean, private Shooki lands at 6/10 because there’s only one.
There are bars you go to because they’re new.
And there are bars that make you wish you could’ve seen the city seventy years ago.
The Buhl is the latter.
Walk in off Griswold and suddenly downtown Detroit feels a little different.
Lights low. Music soft. Wood, brass, cocktails. The kind of room that feels like it should be filled with men loosening their ties after a long day downtown while somebody argues about the Tigers over a whiskey.
You can almost imagine Detroit roaring outside in another era.
That’s the charm.
You’re right in the heart of downtown, yet somehow tucked far enough away that the place feels private.
Intimate.
Like the sort of bar people used to meet at after work before happy hour became an excuse for neon signs and $18 vodka sodas.
And honestly, that’s probably when The Buhl is at its best.
Finish work.
Walk downstairs.
Order something brown.
Tell yourself you’re only staying for one.
We all know how that ends.
The bar itself?
A classy little reminder that Detroit knew how to drink long before any of us got here.
No gimmicks required.
Just a proper room, good cocktails, low lights, and somewhere to disappear after work for a while.
Best for
- A proper cocktail after work
- Low lights, wood, brass and old Detroit charm
- Telling yourself you’re only staying for one
Less ideal for
- Restroom capacity after everybody’s second Old Fashioned
The Shooki Bathroom Review
First-party restroom record · Source published September 2026
Restroom verdict
Very clean, spacious and private, and accessible from my visit. But only one restroom. Everything else was solid; capacity keeps it at 6/10.
- Restroom inventory
- 1 reviewed area — 1 private restroom area (designation unknown); total venue room count unknown
- Review coverage
- One private restroom interior was photographed and reviewed; its door designation was not confirmed. My caption reports only one restroom for the bar, but the building-wide room count is unknown.
- Room reviewed
- Private restroom from my visit
- Accessibility status
- Unknown · The restroom was spacious and accessible from my experience during this visit.
- Why this score
- 6/10. Everything else was solid, but only one restroom means capacity matters when everybody finishes their second Old Fashioned.
- Layout
- Spacious and private from my visit.
- Capacity
- My review reports only one restroom. For a small cocktail bar, that can survive until everybody needs it at the same time.
Very clean, spacious and private, and accessible from my visit. But only one restroom.
And unfortunately, that last one matters.
For a small cocktail bar, one restroom can survive.
Until everybody finishes their second Old Fashioned at roughly the same time.
Then we have a problem.
Everything else was solid, but capacity keeps it at a:
6/10 Shooki.