Midnight Temple is a family-owned Indian gastropub in Detroit's Eastern Market, built on Amma's recipes and a founder's dream of sharing them with the city.
Midnight Temple is a family story before it's a restaurant. Its founder, Akash Sudhakara, grew up Downriver in Detroit with Indian immigrant parents whose roots are in Bangalore, surrounded by the smells of cardamom, turmeric, and slow-cooked curries.
Amma's kitchen
Amma didn't use recipes. She used memory, instinct, and love. Every meal was made from scratch, with fresh ingredients and no shortcuts. "Health is wealth," she said, and she meant it. Those dishes, like okra pulya and chicken curry, are the heart of the menu today.
Why Eastern Market
Midnight Temple calls Detroit's historic Eastern Market home. The family shops the market every week for fresh halal meat from the butcher, local produce, and spices, because quality ingredients and supporting the community matter most, no matter the cost.
From pop-ups to a restaurant
Before the doors opened, Midnight Temple served Indian street food at weekend pop-ups in Eastern Market, which Eater Detroit and Deadline Detroit both covered in 2020. In 2021, Akash and Chef Bharath Reddy previewed the menu at a test-kitchen dinner at Frame in Hazel Park.
Come meet the family
The best way to get to know the people behind Midnight Temple is to pull up a seat. We're open until midnight Tuesday through Sunday.
