Had the pleasure of doing the market lunch with the chef that was given away as part of their Indiegogo campaign and I loved it! Food was fresh, innovative and delicious! I'm really excited for this place to open for real, it is going to be a much needed spot for vegan food in the area! read more

(Disclaimer: I know the owners so I may be just a tad biased:) This place is awesome. A cozy little vegan lunch counter in Over-the-Rhine near Findlay Market, serving up healthy plant based meals. The food is made from scratch with a lot of integrity, and the dishes are creative. My favorite thing is that they give you an actual MEAL, served in a box, with little compartments. So you get a main dish, a side (maybe a starch), and a vegetable (maybe a salad). My favorite dish so far is the Jerk Tofu sandwich, which has a nice creamy mayo and a sweet bun. Delicious! Overall this is an awesome place with a young creative chef situated in an adorable little building off of Findlay Park, and they are doing great things! read more

Since last year I watched Essen's food plummet and it's prices skyrocket. They seemed to have changed recipes to make food taste more bland. Their food used to be inspiring, just scroll through pics to see. Now half the menu is essentially one thing: fake meat burgers. I wish the prices would reflect what you're getting. read more

I picked up lunch from ESSEN with a couple of my coworkers. Their website has a nice feature where you can specify the order time you would like to pick up. I ate the burger with the portobello patty and yucca fries, which looks exactly like the photos. It was delightful! I'm a veggie burger snob, but this one had the perfect balance of flavors and great texture. The yucca fries were room temperature but they still held their shape nicely and a had a good crunch. There was also a salad with little balls of dressing that were quite inventive. ESSEN is located on the far north side of Over the Rhine but worth the drive up there. The restaurant is only open for lunch and is pick up only with no inside seating. Highly recommend! Although the restaurant is vegan, it's perfect for plant lovers and meat eaters alike. read more

ESSEN Kitchen - Vegan Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

The Pumpkin Chili was excellent and we really enjoyed the Grilled Italian Sausage as well. Loved the creamy vegan Mac a lot too. Ready to go as requested when promised. read more

Everything from here is AMAZING! I ordered for lunch/breakfast and had to try the dinner menu that same day! I've had three times since and recommend this place to everyone. Packaging is eco-friendly. Love the vegan menu! Thank you ESSEN! read more

Ok DAMN, I've heard the hype about this place for months and I finally got around to trying it. 100% hands down best vegan restaurant in Cincinnati. I got the veggie burger + tomato bisque and everything was perfect. I have never been more satisfied with a takeout order in my life & I'm stoked to try out the rest of the menu. Other vegan places in Cincinnati could NEVER do it like this. And thats on baby. read more

Charming little gem hidden around the corner amongst beautiful historic buildings on a fascinating intersection across from a jazz club. Lively energetic neighborhood (OTR) bursting with life. Great vegan food with outstanding service. Nicest staff ever. Behold the Mac n Cheez, it'll knock yer socks off! The executive chef who created it is extremely gracious, humble and caring. After the meal, a small but mighty chocolate chip cookie made my walk along Vine all the more pleasurable. Definitely a cool place!! read more

Food is good! A great selection of food. Flavor is the key. If your serving health food without flavor you will not survive. I order something different every time and they have not failed yet! read more

I order all the time . Tad more costly but I would say the quicker you eat it the better the taste . I get it delivered and I feel I am missing out on freshness. However the food is great if you are vegan . Not a fan of the cheezcake personally . But overall decent food read more

the food was so delicious and the service was excellent! we were given free vegan tiramisu. i recommend the mac and cheese!

I ordered the grilled cheese dinner for two and was very impressed with the quality and the value! The meal deal came with tomato bisque, grilled cheese, cesear salad and a cookie. The meal was all wonderfully and sustainably packaged. I'm not a vegan, but do enjoy dabbling in vegan meals, and this one did not disappoint! There vegan cheese was incredibly prepared, but the best part was the amazing creamy salad dressing. It was a wonderful amount of food and created a cute meal to share with the sides and dessert! read more

My partner has been on a kick to try all the vegan mac and cheese and find which one actually taste anything like mac and cheese. We had heard really good things and went down here to check the spot out. The coronavirus ordering system is pretty smooth, I appreciate that they don't let people in except for to physically pick up their orders and their menu is available digitally and on the window. Serving is pretty good size for the products, which all tasted pretty good. Now the mac and cheese was not fantastic, but it is the closest to actual mac and cheese we've tried so far. I wouldn't go out of my way to compare it to good mac and cheese, but if you're vegan you start to get used to things like that. I like mac and cheese to almost be a casserole style, baked with layers of cheese and breadcrumb topping. Fixing that would help the weakest aspect of the box. But I would also like to see a "main attraction", or at least an option for one. Pulled jackfruit, portabella mushroom cap, cauliflower "wings". Something that takes it from 2 sides + biscuit to "bbq meal". The greens and the biscuit were both great! I'm personally knocking a star because I don't feel like they really put out a cohesive meal so much as a BBQ style plate of sides all added up together, I think they can do better than that. read more

The food was very excellent and even though you had to knock on the locked door to get it. I understand the neighborhood, but I would definitely recommend the food and will go back next time I'm in Cincy. read more

Dump...period. Bad part of Shit-N-Nnappi. No good place to park. Litter everywhere. Filthy. Need I say more?

First stop in my 24hrs in Cincy, this is a 100% plant based menu and I'm about as far from vegan/vegetarian as it gets. This food was incredible, I highly recommend the Reuben. Flavor was amazing. The Chef is super friendly and took the time to explain each ingredient to me because I was intrigued by how much I was enjoying food I would normally ignore on a restaurant menu. This is a small location right now but they will be expanding soon! read more

ESSEN is a hidden gem in Cincy's food scene, which is crowded with bar style bites and overpriced basics. Essen serves up some of the most flavorful and high quality meals in Cincy. I'm not even vegan but highly recommend everything on their menu. read more

This is the type of vegan/plant based restaurant I wish was all over the place. I'll be back every chance I get. Had the Reuben (spectacular), Chili (ok, though not a chili person in general), and pastry wrapped, fennel 'sausage' (excellent). For real though - every thing about that Reuben was on point. Hot damn! (#B99) Eat here and discover a new favorite spot :) read more

10/10!!! Visited Cincinnati from Columbus and this was an amazing Vegan spot. Not very many options in the city on a Sunday morning but the owner did not disappoint! Very quick, she was very nice and the food was great! My boyfriend isn't vegan and doesn't typically like most vegan dishes but he loved this place. Will visit again! Pictures do not do it justice! read more

So, as a tour manager for a major recording group, I'm tasked with many obligations... Not the least of which is finding great food for them. As most members of this 6 member group are eating strictly vegan of late, I was tasked with finding a suitable vegan chef in Cincinnati , OH. A referral for Essen Kitchen came across my desk. I soon spoke with the owner Patricia. After hearing the menu I wasn't exactly watering at the mouth. However, once I tasted the BBQ Jack fruit, Greens and Beans and the creamy mac, I was absolutely sold. What a delicious treat. Thank you for introducing NE to a different and delicious way to do vegan. They absolutely loved it and so did I. read more

I'm not Vegan, so I may not be the best person to judge whether this is really good Vegan food or not, but I tried two of their boxed lunches recently and they were great! Our entire office ordered from here, and they were so appreciative (and we were close by) so they delivered the lunches to us without charge the first time we ordered. More than anything, I have been impressed with their customer service. This isn't the type of place where you would eat at - they do have a tiny table where you could eat in if necessary, but it's pretty much a small, pick-up and go type of place. read more

I've had good vegan food. this is not it. I have been to Essen several times and each time I am disappointed (some times less than others, which is why I keep going back). the menu items all sound great but the execution is poor, and the average price is wayyy too high for the quality. the food is always SO bland. don't even get me started on the biscuits and jam. just eat sand. like please for the love of god guys, add some salt!!! I'm not sure if people keep coming here because it's one of the only vegan options around, but today was probably my last time visiting Essen. :( read more

Essen kitchen is amazing vegan food! I have ordered lunch from here many times and have never been disappointed! The box options and the chef specials change seasonally. After ordering the food, you will receive a text message when it is ready for pick up! Prices are slightly higher than average due to the high quality foods. read more

Delicious, healthy, vegan food! This is my go to place when I want to treat myself! My favorite menu items are the Comfort Dinner, Grilled Cheese Dinner, and the Bacon cheeseburger. read more

Decent food, really good especially for vegan fare. Expensive! Oh my goodness. I suspect they make each order from scratch, which takes time. I don't know that I'll go again. I'd probably go for a different place if only because the food takes a minute and it's $$$. read more

Visiting from out of state; while walking up Findlay street I saw this cute kitchen and wanted to stop in. First I notice how clean and organized everything was. Then I ordered the veggie burger with chips, it was delicious. One of the best veggie burgers I've had, the spicy aioli and tomato jam really complimented the black bean burger base. I'm very satisfied, it was a lovely lunch. read more

I got the grilled cheese dinner box and mostly everything tasted great. The salad was mediocre. This vegan restaurant has many options on their menu so I will be getting food from here again! read more

I have been to essen twice now to pick up breakfast and both of my experiences have been positive on all fronts. simple online ordering, chefs who make evident the love they have for what they're doing, and delicious plant-based food! I have had the biscuts and gravy, breakfast burrito, potatos and tofu scramble and it is worth the drive from mariemont! Now I can't wait to try lunch! Also, their instagram @essen_kitchen is very aesthetically pleasing and frequently updated with their weekly specials, etc. read more

Food quality is a little inconsistent but when it's good it's really good, the pick up system isn't very smooth and staff are sometimes stand off ish but never extremely rude. read more

This small, nondescript, vegan restaurant reminds me of the unrecognizable but superb restaurant in cities like NYC. It may not look like much on the outside (or inside) but don't let that fool you. The food is savory, flavorful, filling (portions are great) and best of all it's all vegan. The icing on this vegan cake is the professionalism and friendliness of their employees. Quick, efficient, courteous and extremely helpful (wait a minute, did we teleport back to NYC). 5 stars indeed. Bravo and keep doing what you do! read more

Never been disappointed here! Show your friends that cruelty does NOT have to be an ingredient in their food. read more

Delicious food! I'm not a vegetarian or vegan and tried the jerk tofu sandwich. It was perfectly seasoned, the right size "patty" and great consistency. Filling and delicious. Can't recommend enough! read more

So delicious! My husband and I just picked up our order. We shared the pumpkin stew and the Reuben sandwich. Everything was perfectly seasoned and prepared. Thank you, and we'll be back! Can't wait to try more! read more

The food was AMAZING!! Some of my family is vegetarian/vegan and full-on meatatarian. My meatatarian son LOVED the hamburger!! a must-try food! read more

The service is awesome. I am Vegan and pregnant and this is my go to spot. They are all so friendly and everything is so clean as well. Check them out you won't be sorry. read more

Great service, even better food. This place is a class act. Delicious and inclusive to all diets and lifestyles!

Wanted to eat here couldn't as they are not really open till 7 on Wednesday don't know how long this "review" has to be to count I know you will judge me for not having many reviews but trust me call this place before you go on Wednesday read more

Essen absolutely does not miss! It's hard to find a restaurant that tackles the challenge of vegan comfort food and consistently does it so well. I've yet to find an item on the menu that isn't phenomenal. It's my go-to place for vegan cuisine in Cincinnati. read more

Good vegan food in Cincinnati! The black bean soup is very tasty! Love that everything is vegan. I wish they had more seats for dining in. It's a grab and go type place. read more

Amazing food!!!!! Vegan or not give this place a try. Mac and cheese is the best vegan Mac and cheese I've ever had.