Ferndale is located not far from Royal Oak and while smaller, has some good stuff going for it!
There’s a unique little mysterious looking indulgence – The Oakland is a cocktail bar with a Prohibition-era speakeasy ambience and impressive (and pricy) cocktail list that makes it at the top of our list of places to check out on our next visit. It’s a bit hard to find – if you see a door that says “The Oakland Art Novelty Company” you’re at the right place. Inside is a comfortable, classy lounge with a unique feel.
Rose O’Gradys – This is your typical sports/irish bar, but it has a better beer selection than you might expect in a sports bar type hangout. We ordered the fries and onions rings and found the fries to be very good, while the onion rings were mostly batter. It was a really pleasant place to hang out with lots of big screen TVs for the sports fans.
Via Nove – We would definitely not recommend Via Nove – one of our meals was mediocre while the other was bad enough to be sent back. Our server was polite, but we got a very distasteful response from the manager/owner when the meal was sent back.
Assagi Bistro, Cork Wine Pub, and Maria’s Front Room are places we looked in at and plan to check out in the future!
If you’re into resale/vintage clothing there were several stores you might want to check out. We also enjoyed the variety at the artsy looking Rust Belt Market which could certainly hold your attention for some time. There was even live music with comfy seating when we visited.