My fiancee and I are going to be in Cincy this weekend. We will get there Friday evening and leave Sunday afternoon. Looking for a few restaurant recommendations. Would like to do a real nice meal on Saturday evening and something good, but more casual Friday. Lunches, would like something simple or specific to the area.
Also, any recommendations on what area to stay in?
Thanks in advance!
Matt,
Daveed’s at 934 (934 Hatch) in the Mount Adams neighborhood (where I also recommend staying, if you can) would be a good spot for your nice meal. For a nicer casual place, I’m at a loss. If you have never been to Cincinnati, however, then I’m going to suggest you try Skyline Chili. You should also visit a Graeter’s Ice Cream shop. Although you can buy packaged Graeter’s here in Minnesota, it’s worth visiting in person.
You may want to make the trip to Jungle Jim’s (original store in Fairfield, or their second store in Eastgate).
Skyline is most definitely the place to visit! Yum.
Be warned, however, that it is a very divisive sort of food… people tend to be about 50-50 between loving it or hating it. Try not to go into the experience expecting chili, and you should be okay.
Orchids - For a really nice meal
I’ve tried Skyline, albeit in Columbus.
I am interested to see what else, if anything, develops here. Other than Abigail in the OTR, I can’t think of much. Five responses and three mention Skyline. Not good. I am not saying that Skyline is “not good”, it is beyond “not good”, but saying that it is not good that a greasy drunk-food chain like Skyline is even being mentioned. It shows how sad, I think, the Cincy restaurant scene is. Don’t want to get political here, but it does seem that the more conservative a town is, the crappier the dining choices are. If you travel North on '71 from Cincy to Cleveland, the food scene keeps getting better.
Mitch, the only reason I suggested Skyline is as a “when in Cincy…” “once in a lifetime…” “now you can say you’ve done it…” thing. I’ll never eat Skyline again, but I still like being able to say I’ve done so.
Matt, OTR = Over The Rhine/Mt. Auburn neighborhood, bordered by US 42 to the south and US 127 to the west.
I’d second this–in the old Cincinnatian downtown (now run by Hilton). Extraordinary art deco with room, with soaring ceilings. When I was there, admittedly a few (3-4?) years ago, the food really came through and the wine list was viable.
Boca and Sotto (same ownership) were both very good in the last 6 months of so. Skip The Precinct Steak House.
JD
Ended up getting lunch at Eli’s BBQ, which I thought was very very good. Ate at Boca which I thought was good and the Eagle in OTR. Eagle was really good fried chicken. Also had Vietnamese at the Findlay market which was good.
I just spent three days in a jury trial in Cincy. While we were waiting for the jury to deliberate, I asked the judge and the other lawyer about the local restaurant scene. The court reporter and the bailiff overheard and chimed in. The names that came up were Bocca, Sotto, Salazar, and The Precinct. The court reporter gushed over Ruth’s Chris while conceding it was a chain restaurant. When I mentioned that the kind of food I was interested in was more edgy farm to table stuff, both my elderly judge and elderly adversary chimed in, “Oh, you have to go to OTR for that kind of food” without being able to give specific names.
Emilia’s Enoteca on Madison Ave borders Hyde Park and they have very nice Italian food and a decent wine list. Their wild boar bolognese is killer but they do everything well. Alfio’s in Hyde Park does a nice blend of South American and Italian food and is also worth a visit.
I’m sure your trip to Cincinnati has come and gone, but just for future reference, here are a few I’ve enjoyed. Senate in Over the Rhine has interesting takes on pub food and a pretty good beer list. Can’t speak for the wine since I wasn’t into wine yet when I went. It has a pretty bustling atmosphere and is a more casual place to eat. A good place to visit during the day is Findlay Market. Blue Oven Bakery has fabulous bread (and a long, but brisk line to go with it). Pho Lang Tang was recommended for Vietnamese, but I didn’t have a chance to try it. Of course, they also have all the fresh, in season produce you could possibly ask for!
I enjoyed Tela Bar + Kitchen on the north end of Cincinnati (Wyoming). Gastropub with a nice take on comfort food, and a decent selection of wines (including Dirty and Rowdy, Bedrock, etc).