When a golden opportunity comes knocking, you seize upon it, right? There is an old saying somewhere that goes something like that, but there are few restaurants in Michigan that have seized on opportunity quite as flawlessly as Black Pearl has done in their recent expansion to the corner of Main and Liberty.
Black Pearl is a long established seafood restaurant on Main Street, just one door south of the former café they have now consumed. The high end location was a bit easy to miss though – sandwiched between Le Dog and the former Starbucks. But times changed and that particular Starbucks shut down. Black Pearl took this opportunity to greatly expand their business into the storefront.
It is dark and ornate inside. They chose during the remodel and expansion to stick with black everything – chairs, tables, waitstaff uniforms, the floor – all of it there to provide a minimalist effect highlighting the décor’s one exception – the soft wood shelving displays In the middle of the bar, where accent lighting lights up all of the drink options.
What they have achieved is a cool, classic effect. But it would have felt oppressive and somber if it had not been for the location they expanded to. In the part of the old Starbucks that they expanded into houses banks of big, old fashioned, oddly shaped windows facing north and east onto Ann Arbor’s most prominent intersection. With those windows, light pours in like water enveloping the cabin of a ship through a suddenly massive gash, and the illumination adds just as much brightness and height as the rest of the place embodies the dark luxury esthetic. What could have been cramped up and insular instead feels cosmopolitan and sophisticated and welcoming.
This is doubly good as a big part of the appeal of Main Street dining is the people watching, and these windows make the new half of Black Pearl one of the best perches to do that in Treetown. It provides ample light, even when it is raining – and provides so much light that you could probably even forgo artificial illumination in winter.
The newly expanded Black Pearl is still on the pricier side of Ann Arbor’s sit down restaurants. That being said, big prices bring big portions here, and the cocktail menu is generally excellent.
The Barramundi for example dominates the plate like a superhero dominating the middle of the loading scene to a fighting game or a movie poster, and comes out perfectly tender, on top of a sauce made out of lemon and capers. It is hard to think of another thing you can order in Ann Arbor that balances the flavors quite as well; especially given the saffron rice and peas, providing a filling meal.
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Their scallops are also a good choice. They are served with a creamy risotto, along with a check-shaped dab of blackberry dominated sauce. A case of a culinary decision that sounds really odd until you taste it and realize that it is actually really, really good; even for someone who, like your correspondent, has a touchy relationship with shellfish.
The menu is rather short, but this is a case where brevity suggests quality. The same goes for their Pegu Redeux – a gin-based cocktail that tastes like fruit punch with a bit of alcohol in it. It’s worth getting, and it is worth checking out the new side of Black Pearl for your next special occasion meal.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
