Opened in September 2022, the Venue by 4M is not just a restaurant; it’s a community gathering spot designed for both work and play. With a modern aesthetic and an inviting atmosphere, it boasts a free co-working space, a coffee shop, and even a podcast studio. Chef Thad Gillies leads the culinary charge, crafting dishes from scratch using locally sourced ingredients. His commitment to quality is evident in every bite—from the meticulously prepared sauces to the hand-rolled masa tortillas. As you explore the diverse menus ranging from Americana to brunch delights, you’ll discover that each dish tells its own story, inviting you to savor not just food but also the experience of dining in a truly unique venue.

Thank you to Venue by 4M for hosting our meal. All opinions are mine.

As a corporate traveler who often worked 60 hours a week, I never wanted to figure out what’s for dinner after a long day. I only wish I’d had an option like the Venue during those days. I could have continued working in the free co-working space while getting a scratch-made dinner each night from a different cuisine.

The Atmosphere

While the menu variety is reminiscent of a counter-service food hall, the restaurant atmosphere is nothing like that. Venue Restaurant in Ann Arbor is a full-service dining experience. The restaurant entry has a wall of overhead garage doors that can bring the outside in during the right time of year. The doors also bring light into the space that sports sky-blue ceilings and white walls complemented by white grid dividers and concrete floors. Live palm trees add a subtle outdoor island vibe. The décor is modern, with hip paintings and digital screens rotating through some classic pieces. On the weekend, live music, frequently jazz, lends itself to an upbeat, fun atmosphere.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Reserve a table on the patio for outdoor dining during the warmer months.

Chef Thad Gillies

The young chef began creating his new-American recipes when he was 17. From then on, he’s continued growing as a chef, working in top two and three Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, working in well-known local restaurants like Zingerman’s, and owning his own local restaurant, Logan’s, for over two decades.

He owned the beloved Logan’s restaurant, named after his son. While many were disappointed that they would never taste the delicious food from Logan’s, an Ann Arbor hometown favorite, don’t despair. I felt this way when I discovered Logan’s didn’t survive Covid. The chef now offers Logan pop-ups at Venue.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Watch Venue’s social media accounts for announcements on these specials.

His passion for cooking is evident. Even before the chef began developing the sourdough starter, pasta, and pizzas from scratch at Venue, he was serious about finding the best ingredients.  For example, he tasted 20 varieties of garlic from a local garlic farmer before picking two to incorporate into his kitchen.

Venue offers a weekly soup that Chef Thad makes himself. He uses these specials as a teaching mechanism for the restaurant’s sous chefs. This careful instruction on various techniques helps his sous chefs grow and ensure his guests have consistent quality in their dining experiences.

In training, he advises that if something is wrong with the flavor of a dish, look to the flavor triangle—salt, sugar, or acid. Ask, “Where is the balance off?” If the problem lies with the cooking process, it’s either the time or temperature.

The Menus

Venue Restaurant and Bar has five menus in one — Americana, Mesa Taqueria, Pasta Forum, Pizza Forum, and Brunch. They also have a cocktail menu featuring Bar 19 drinks. The host will present you with one physical menu with five sections. Let’s get into some of the details of each.

Americana

On the Americana menu, wings are a top pick, where the secret is the 48-hour brine in salt water, keeping them moist and tender after frying. You can have them naked like the crispy, salted wings or tossed in a sauce, whichever you prefer. You can choose from several sauces: Carolina, BBQ, Buffalo, sweet chili, oven-roasted garlic, and dipping sauces like ranch and blue cheese.

Another outstanding starter is the Japanese mushrooms. The chef braises local shiitake mushrooms from Stoney Creek Farms in a dashi broth for two hours, then deep-fries them in panko breadcrumbs. They come five to a serving with a sesame cabbage slaw that starts with purple cabbage, sesame seeds, and tamari combined with a sesame vinaigrette. Katsu sauce, a combination of sweet and tangy, decorates the plate so you can drag the mushrooms through to taste that big flavor. This dish is an umami bomb, simply the essence of umami. While the star of this dish was mushrooms, I kept eating the sesame cabbage slaw long after the other dishes appeared. It was deliciously unlike others I’ve had.

The tempera-battered Brussels sprouts also appear on the Americana starter menu. Each leaf was carefully peeled away from the head into single leaves. They deep-fried them for a perfect salty, sweet, and crispy blend. They top the vegetable with an Indonesian soy sauce glaze and plate it on top of a surprise foundation, which remains hidden until you really dig in. Then, you find it—the magic dipping sauce at the base of the dish. Once you find it, you’ll use your fork to dig in deep. That sauce is magic, no kidding, from a sour cream and tamari sauce blend.

Piper’s Pro Planning: While they offer a variety of burgers and sandwiches on the Americana menu, plan and order the whole roasted chicken they prepare on a rotisserie. To enjoy this dish, order it 24 hours in advance. When you make your reservations, note that you want to order one of these moist, tender birds.

Pasta Forum

Venturing into the Italian side of the menu, you’ll find pasta and pizzas. Both are made with double-zero flour imported from Italy.

I sampled the goat cheese ravioli with rosemary and thyme mixed with a German Riesling and cream reduction then, garnished with a sprinkling of chives. But most of the dish was gobbled up by Mr. Follow the Piper, who finished it after a sample. I paired the pasta with the classic Italian tri-color salad of endive, radicchio, and arugula, which they top with a 30-year-old sherry vinaigrette.

Pizza Forum

The sourdough bread mother is a story unto itself. It is a local Ann Arbor sourdough mother starter that began three and a half years ago. A natural, local yeast, creates a unique flavor with the bread and pizza dough. With love and tending, it continues to be the basis for their rosemary table bread. The same sourdough starter is the foundation for the restaurant’s Neapolitan pizza dough, which means it’s 70 to 80 percent hydration. They bake the pizza at 800 degrees in their pizza oven imported from Italy. The sourdough pizzas are made in an 800-degree oven and cooked for three minutes. They can turn out 60 pizzas in an hour.

I sampled the Pizza Margherita, the traditional Neapolitan pizza whose colors represent the Italian flag. I just returned from a pizza-making class in Milan, Italy, and I can vouch that this is authentic. They even use double-zero flour for the dough, just like in Italy. And, of course, there’s the sauce from San Marzano tomatoes and Buffalo mozzarella cheese; you don’t need to ask.

Piper’s Pro Planning: The most significant issue you’ll have with the Venue is restraining yourself from ordering everything on the menu. I’d advise taking a group of friends and sharing the plates so that you can taste a wide range of dishes. Barring that, order a reasonable amount of food, and then resign yourself to a return trip or a to-go box. I mean, it’s just that good.

Mesa Taqueria

Mesa Taqueria showcases the cuisine of a region in southern Mexico called Oaxaca. I love tacos and had one of each on my taco flight plate. The lineup included chicken tacos, a vegan taco, al pastor, and birria.

The foundation of each of these tacos is the same: the fresh house-made corn tortillas. First, I prefer corn over flour, so I was excited to learn that was their only option. They make them by hand, 300 tortillas at a time. Once you have these, there’s no return to store-bought or factory-made tortillas. The masa dough creates a remarkably tender taco yet doesn’t fall apart when you pick it up. So, they don’t have to double up on the tortillas to prevent them from coming apart in your hand. That means you save calories!

Taco Types

These vegan tacos are so satisfying. I almost laugh as I write that because I’m a carnivore regarding tacos, and I can honestly say I’ve never had a vegan taco before. These were a combination of potatoes, roasted cauliflower, poblanos for a bit of smoky flavor and some zip, and onions braised in a classic mole rojo with a hint of chocolate. They garnish it with cilantro, onions, and a lime wedge. I topped mine with some of the guacamole they served on the side.

Chef Thad’s unique green mole made with pumpkin seeds and added to the pulled chicken.

Birria beef tacos are the classic birria tacos. They start with three grilled handmade masa tortillas. Then, they mix them with rich, savory braised beef, top it with traditional Mexican cheese, and pan-fry them. A broth dipping sauce comes on the side for a conventional birria taco.

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Try the chile relleno or the chilaquiles from the brunch menu for a traditional Mexican breakfast.

They offer three house-made sauces to accompany the tacos: a mild green with tomatillos, a red which was one step ahead on the heat scale from the green, and finally, the hottest, which had heat, but it wasn’t a burn-your-mouth type of heat. I typically choose the middle of the road regarding salsa, and I still found the hottest one pleasant.

Piper’s Pro Planning: It costs $50 to park in Venue’s parking lot on a Michigan game day Saturday, so you may want to get dropped off if you plan to work there while someone goes to the game. Alternatively, Venue is within walking distance of Michigan Stadium, so go ahead and park there, grab lunch before the game, or have dinner afterward and wait for the traffic to clear. In any case, you’ll want to arrive early; the lot fills up fast. On any other day, parking is free.