Medusa, chef Anthony Lombardo’s new Sicilian restaurant in Midtown, is already acting as it belongs in the same conversation as his buzzed-about SheWolf. Since opening this winter, the Selden Street spot has been drawing attention for seafood-driven plates, a roving cannoli cart and a trapanese-style couscous that has diners and critics fussing over the fine details. A review published Sunday suggests Lombardo’s second neighborhood venture could be a real contender in Midtown’s increasingly stacked dining scene.
In a recent review for the Detroit Free Press, critic Lyndsay C. Green singles out classics like panelle and sfincione, then zeroes in on a pesce spada built on chickpeas in a harissa stew. Green notes that Lombardo invested in custom equipment so the kitchen can steam couscous to order, a behind-the-scenes flex that helps explain why the trapanese couscous di pesce keeps landing on must-try lists. The write-up frames Medusa as an “ambitious” second act rather than a safe sequel.
Early local coverage has largely backed that up. First looks from Daily Detroit and Midbrow praised the panelle, a seafood salad loaded with grilled octopus, shrimp and calamari, and the couscous as early standouts. Those reports also point out that Medusa leans harder into seafood than SheWolf’s Roman pasta playbook, suggesting the newcomer is carving out its own personality on Selden Street instead of riding the coattails of Lombardo’s first hit.
Sicilian Plates With Detroit Leanings
The menu blends Sicilian street staples with a few winks at Detroit comfort. There is panelle and sfincione, the latter evoking a personal pan nod to Detroit-style pizza, alongside saffron arancini packed with beef-and-pork ragu and a lamb-belly starter that gets a harissa marinade. Seafood is the throughline: the kitchen serves a pesce spada in a harissa-spiked stew and a couscous described on Medusa's site as milled to a super-fine texture and steamed to order. The result is a menu that swings Mediterranean while still feeling tailored to Detroit appetites.
From SheWolf To A Sicilian Spin
Lombardo’s reputation in Midtown was built on SheWolf Pastificio & Bar, which opened in 2018 and quickly became known for house-milled pasta and meticulous technique, according to SheWolf's site. With Medusa, he has shifted from SheWolf’s Roman focus to a coastal Sicilian lens, keeping the detail-obsessed approach but applying it to crudo, seafood and couscous instead of just flour and water.
Reservations And The Night-Out Math
Medusa quietly began service in January and has since settled into a groove built around a central wraparound bar and that eye-catching tableside cannoli cart. Early coverage and the restaurant’s own pages describe a steady dinner rush rather than a sleepy second address. Hours, contact information and Tock reservations are available on Medusa's site, and local writers have pegged Selden Street as a growing spine of Midtown dining. Prices lean special-occasion, but reviewers note that the menu’s shareable plates can make a multi-course meal feel more like a group strategy than a splurge gone off the rails.
Medusa is not just a victory lap for an already acclaimed chef; it is Lombardo betting on a tighter, seafood-forward vision of Sicily in the middle of Midtown. If the kitchen keeps the consistency critics are already pointing to, Medusa looks poised to join the short list of reservations Detroit diners jockey for on Selden Street.
