Situated on the Detroit River connecting Lake Erie (south) and Lake St Clair (north) the city of Detroit has always had an abundance of great seafood restaurants.

This charming menu cover from the Seafood Grotto shows a bluebird carrying a menu in his beak to his five friends – maybe they were going to order takeout right to their branch

From the food offering, we think this menu is from the early 1960s – a champagne cocktail cost 85c and a steak dinner about $4.  Large lobsters were $1.80 a pound.

The little illustration might be The Guardian building, an iconic skyscraper in downtown Detroit that was finished in 1929 and is now a National Historic Landmark. Rising to 36 stories, it was nicknamed the Cathedral of Finance because it was in the city’s finance district and resembled a French Cathedral. Architect Wirt C Rowland also included many Native American touches.

We’re not sure when the Seafood Grotto closed but we know it was replaced by another restaurant called Topkinkas, which closed in 1983.

Courtesy Private Collection.