Your Favorite Cincinnati Restaurants

[Gunner44]

Hey all, I've been reading here for years and don't post a whole lot, so I want to start by saying thanks to all the great posters here first. I have never actually lived in the Cincinnati area, even though I've lived in Ohio all my life. Until recently, my girlfriend and I bought a house on the Northeast side of Cincinnati. We love to try new restaurants and it seems we mostly only have chain restaurants around, which aren't terrible necessarily, but we'd like to try new places. So I'd love to here all of your guys favorite places to go in the Cincy area. Doesn't matter what part of town it's in. Thanks ahead of time and can't wait to read what you guys post.

[Chip R]

There's a couple in Kenwood I really like. Embers and Trio. Ferrari's Little Italy in Madeira is good too. Pitrelli's in Mason is a bit old-fashioned but very good. Barresi's in Deer Park is very good. Everyone likes Montgomery Inn.

[Gunner44]

Awesome, I'll definitely check these places out. Thank you. And I have had Montgomery Inn, yes its great.

[dabvu2498]

Eagle OTR for fried chicken/comfort food
Eli’s for low-frills BBQ
Walt’s Hitching Post for BBQ with frills
Parker’s Tavern in Blue Ash is a great place
Amerasia in Covington for all manner of Asian food (no sushi though)
Lots of good sushi places but none that really blow me away
For steak you can’t beat any of the Jeff Ruby restaurants.

[bounty37h]

Eagle OTR for fried chicken/comfort food
Eli’s for low-frills BBQ
Walt’s Hitching Post for BBQ with frills
Parker’s Tavern in Blue Ash is a great place
Amerasia in Covington for all manner of Asian food (no sushi though)
Lots of good sushi places but none that really blow me away
For steak you can’t beat any of the Jeff Ruby restaurants.

Out of curiosity and not knowing, what is the style of BBQ when you mention that in Cincy? I am assuming maybe a Memphis style?

[Sea Ray]

Out of curiosity and not knowing, what is the style of BBQ when you mention that in Cincy? I am assuming maybe a Memphis style?

It varies greatly. Walt's is the rubbed type, I think St Louis is the term. It is tough coming off the bone. Mt Inn is slow cooked and falls right off the bone. Eli's is also slow cooked and is a casual joint.

[bounty37h]

It varies greatly. Walt's is the rubbed type, I think St Louis is the term. It is tough coming off the bone. Mt Inn is slow cooked and falls right off the bone. Eli's is also slow cooked and is a casual joint.

Thanks SeaRay. Is it pork or beef? I live in NC, and BBQ to us is whole hog cooked over wood, usually chopped but some people prefer pulled with a vinegar based sauce-its my preference when I think of bbq but I am obviously biased as that's what I grew up on. I do like other styles I have tried throughout the country though.

[Sea Ray]

Thanks SeaRay. Is it pork or beef? I live in NC, and BBQ to us is whole hog cooked over wood, usually chopped but some people prefer pulled with a vinegar based sauce-its my preference when I think of bbq but I am obviously biased as that's what I grew up on. I do like other styles I have tried throughout the country though.

Pork at Walt's. Pontiac has both. Their pork belly is yummy and deadly. Beef brisket is pretty good too.

[Sea Ray]

Admittedly my wife and I spend way too much $$ on restaurants. We generally go out every Fri and Sat night. Although I live in the 'burbs I'll gladly drive downtown or wherever for a nice dinner at a Ma and Pa place. Here what I have to say:

My top overall restaurant in Cincinnati which includes value, quality, service etc is Jean Robert's Table on Vine in downtown Cincinnati. We are very privileged to have a chef of his caliber in this small city. He is like a mad scientist in the kitchen. He's an expert at blending flavors. The definition of that is when you take a bite of something and you say "wow, that tastes wonderful but I can't make out what all the ingredients are". When you're looking at his menu, don't worry about it if you don't like all the ingredients. Trust him to flavor it right. He won't let you down. If you see a picture of him you'll see that he's like a culinary Einstein. I will say that his menu needs an update and I hope he does that soon. I think he's putting his energies into his highest restaurant, L, which I have not been to.

https://www.jrcincy.com/

One of my personal favorites is Pontiac in Over the Rhine. It's a place to go for piles of pork. It works well to do it family style. You'll never walk out of that place hungry and it's not terribly expensive.

http://pontiacbbq.com/

Any of the Ruby places are outstanding for steak but they're really pricey. Count on about $100 a head by the time you do a side dish, tax and tip as everything's ala carte. My favorite place for value on steaks is Firebirds in Deerfield township

https://mason.firebirdsrestaurants.com/

Best spot for sushi is Ichiban in Mt Lookout. They're pretty much always open (late nights 'till 2am) and the sushi is second to none. Their sushi folks are authentic Japanese and they know what they're doing. My tip is to ONLY order from the half price menu. There are tons of choices on that menu and you can't go wrong. You will likely stuff yourself on only about $20 worth of food there.

http://www.ichibancinci.com/

Best German food and beer is Mecklenburg Gardens. It's rarely crowded and very authentic.

https://www.mecklenburgs.com/

Breakfast:

Perkins is always good. I also like a diner off of I-71 at exit 32 called Country Kitchen.

It's hard to find Sunday buffets anymore that don't break the bank. I think the best value is at Matt the Millers at Kenwood and Union Centre. Lots of food for about $18.

The best buffet overall is probably Parker's in Blue Ash and a very close second is 18 which is atop the Radisson Hotel in Covington just east of the Brence Spence bridge. The reason Parker's wins out is because it's about $5 cheaper ($25 vs $30). Both have shrimp and roast beef.

http://18dining.com/

Frisch's used to be the gold standard for breakfast but their quality has dropped in recent yrs and their prices have jumped. Their eggs are pretty much inedible. They're not good about keeping the buffet line stocked and the quality of the breakfast meats are also suspect.

Now a bit about the worst run places, both chains:

IHOP and Steak & Shake. This is based on numerous experiences. They're poorly run and poorly staffed. The food is pretty good especially for the price once you get it but management is a huge issue.

There's my 2 cents and then some. Bon Appetit!

[Chip R]

IHOP and Steak & Shake. This is based on numerous experiences. They're poorly run and poorly staffed. The food is pretty good especially for the price once you get it but management is a huge issue.

Steak & Shake: The shakes are great. The steaks are lousy.

[Gunner44]

Davbu and Sea Ray thank you guys for input. Specially the great long write up Sea Ray, it's appreciated.

[Sea Ray]

Gunner, any gems you know of in Dayton? Anything worth the drive? Last time I went to a Dragon's game it was slim pickin's on where to go afterwards

[Gunner44]

Sea Ray I would second all the restaurants Dabvu stated. And I would add the rib house in Vandalia. They have some of the best broasted chicken I've ever had. Also bunkers is one of my favorite places in Dayton. Tons of beers on tap and all the food is amazing. But their Sunday breakfast and brunch is where it's at.

[Sea Ray]

Sea Ray I would second all the restaurants Dabvu stated. And I would add the rib house in Vandalia. They have some of the best broasted chicken I've ever had. Also bunkers is one of my favorite places in Dayton. Tons of beers on tap and all the food is amazing. But their Sunday breakfast and brunch is where it's at.

Sounds great...but Vandalia...that's a long trek from Cincinnati. I'll definitely keep those places in mind if I'm in the area. Thanks

[dabvu2498]

Dayton:

Thai Nine
Pine Club
Hickory BBQ
Coco’s
El Meson
Paragon Supper Club