Shires has inspired me to write. My experience was fit for a foodie and exceeded my expectations…read more The food, service and ambiance were all spot on. Upon arrival, my friend and I received news that there would be a short wait for our table, so we grabbed a seat at the bar. I appreciated their variety of craft cocktails and decided on the Smokey Harvest. Composed of Mezcal, apple cider and a delicious spiced demerara syrup, omgoodness! It was interesting, well-balanced and tasty. My friend ordered the Raven with rum and ginger beer as its main ingredients. A little before both cocktails were ready, we were notified that our outdoor table was available. Immediately stepping onto the rooftop, I knew that's where I belonged. The view of the riverfront was stunning! It also helped that the weather was absolutely perfect. Now for the food. We ordered fried green tomatoes and spinach dip to start. For our entrees, my friend ordered a burger and I, the mushroom tagliatelle. My dish was phenomenal. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the hint of truffle sealed the deal. The Reds won that night, so our experience ended with the beignets for dessert and fireworks. What a perfect night.

2/5 Unfortunately,…read moreour experience was very disappointing, especially since this was supposed to be a special night for my partner's birthday. The food was okay overall, but the chicken was still visibly pink in the middle, which was concerning. When making the reservation, I specifically requested outdoor seating with a nice view. Instead, we were seated in a back corner where you cannot see the view at all. You're literally tucked away in the corner, and that area looked very raggedy and completely different from the atmosphere we were expecting. When we asked if we could be moved, we were told no. What made this even more frustrating was hearing another party ask to be moved shortly after us and being given the table we had requested. I also included in the reservation that it was my partner's birthday, but that was completely overlooked. Meanwhile, the table right next to us was celebrating a birthday and received recognition, which made the experience feel even more disappointing. Between the seating, the undercooked chicken, and the lack of attention to a special occasion we had specifically mentioned, the night was honestly a complete bust. I expected much more from this restaurant and unfortunately left extremely disappointed. the seating is also very close together and crammed, I literally heard the conversation happening next to me by the other table more than I heard my own conversation.

Fantastic service. Cheap price. Great, fancy/casual vibe. Food was fantastic. Cheese board was so…read moreso good. My flatbread was delicious. Ordered a bottle of wine and got the cheese board for free (only on Wednesday's). Found out on Thursday's they offer $2 oysters! Make sure to get there early.

went to ripple for the first time last night and had a great experience- up until we had to deal…read morewith sarah. one of my girlfriends has a nut allergy which we specified to our server (not sarah) while ordering but when our food was brought out (by sarah) we realized there was pistachio on one of the items. the rest of us don't have a nut allergy and said we could eat it but sarah made a small fuss about how she couldn't leave it bc then she would have to charge us for two dishes, never mind that it was due to their error. whatever, no big deal. halfway through our visit, our server came to say that his shift was ending but that we'd be taken good care of by sarah. that's when we learned that sarah is the girl who brought out our food and thought eh, maybe the last interaction was a one-off and everything would be fine. sarah then proceeds to try and clear our charcuterie board even though we still had a decent amount of food left and were still picking at it. comes back AGAIN (mind you we all have drinks that are still half full) ten minutes later, takes the board and asks how we'd like to split the check. given that we'd had such a pleasant experience with every other employee we'd interacted with up until then, it was incredibly disappointing to have our visit end on a sour note by sarah trying to push us out the door (i'm not even kidding, i think she was our server for maybe a grand total of 20 minutes) when these are girlfriends i hadn't seen in months. it wasn't even close to closing time, there were still multiple other patrons present, and we weren't being loud or disruptive, so im really not sure why sarah was so anxious to send us on our merry way. all this to say, i highly recommend ripple- just try to avoid getting sat in sarah's section if at all possible.

My husband brought me to Baker's Table for my birthday dinner. I first became aware of this place…read morewhen I started getting ads for the chef's sourdough book on social media--got the book for Christmas, and apparently talked about that enough that he decided I needed to experience the restaurant! What's striking about the restaurant itself is how quiet and calm it feels. With limited nightly seatings and every dinner table doing the tasting menu there's a sort of orchestrated flow that permeates the space. Not to say energy is low or it's so quiet you feel self-conscious talking; it's just that nothing about the experience feels rushed or accidental. As expected, the bread course was phenomenal as was all the food we enjoyed! We opted for the wine pairing along with dinner, which results in about 1.5 or 2 full glasses over the course of the meal. The sommelier did an excellent job introducing and explaining each wine, as well as why it was selected to pair with each course. All told, a lovely experience and one worth repeating--and not just because the menu changes every season.

Update- October 2026. We did, indeed, dine every month since Nov. 2025. Our excitement for this…read moreplace after a year is the same as it was on our first visit. We love the seasonal dishes Chef does every month. The two of us still order one of everything on the menu, and rarely does a dish not line up with our tastes. We have noticed that the amount of food in each dish has decreased over the year, which is not surprising given the increasing price of food. But we still feel it is worth it.

Tonight we had the...best...meal...EVER! We sat at the bar and it was nice and quiet. The seats are…read morecomfortable and Greg took excellent care of us. If you prefer a quieter setting, then eating in the bar is your best bet because the dining rooms do get loud. We started with the east/west coast oysters and they were so fresh. The passion fruit mignonette was the perfect compliment. I kept scooping out tiny spoonfuls and drinking it after we finished the oysters. The Fluke Crudo was fantastic. The combo of flavors and textures was a delight for the palate. The scallops over the miso leek risotto was one of the best scallop dishes we have ever eaten. The scallops were huge and cooked perfectly and there were plenty of pieces of leek in a lovely, smooth risotto. We're not a fan of hijiki, so the chef prepared the risotto without it - Thanks Chef Jose! And you would think chicken schnitzel would be basic, but not this dish. The chicken was so moist, perfectly seasoned, and pan fried in butter. We asked for the sauce on the side because we knew we wouldn't finish the big piece and wanted to heat it up later and still be crispy (which we did). We were amazed that eating the chicken, almond, asparagus, and some sauce in one bite, was SO good. The best two meals we have had in Cincinnati so far in 2026 have been here, and Mita's. Chef Jose is a real talent.

First time trying this spot after the old Salazar closed - used to be one of my favorite places…read more Overall had a great experience, most of the food was fantastic. Loved seeing some menu throwbacks to the previous restaurant. The rigatoni, beets, bread service, squash & fish were all delicious. We only had two sour notes all night - celebrating a birthday (directly told our server when she asked), and no birthday dessert was offered. Normally wouldn't expect that, but TWO tables next to us got a cake slice with a candle. It felt a bit rude to have our special night missed when others were acknowledged. Our table ended up ordering the chocolate cremeux which had the worst, over-smoked ice cream flavor any of us ever experienced -- mother of god. Not sure why that exists.

Atmosphere is like a little cozy house and wait staff like your friends. The flavor and execution…read morewas 10/10 on meals and pleasantly appropriate portions. We split a bunch of appetizers and salads (recommend only 2 to split per) and I was able to finish my entree in full. Definitely not a leftover place but totally worth it

First of all. If you like pickles then the pickle platter is a MUST. Our entire table opted for the…read moretasting menu, which were very generous portions. I highly enjoyed the foccacia as my starter and enjoyed my crab cake. The steak was very tough and chewy and overall I was pretty disappointed in it. The rhubarb cake was so fluffy and delicious. The whole experience ended up taking about 2.5 hours, which I'm glad we weren't rushed, but by the end it felt lengthy.

Tonight I stumbled into Ripple looking for a glass of wine and ended up finding exactly what I…read moredidn't know I needed. From the moment I sat down at the bar, owner Matt and the bartenders made me feel genuinely welcome. They took the time to learn my name, offer recommendations, and check in throughout the evening without ever being overbearing. It's a rare gift to make a solo guest feel seen while still giving them space to enjoy their own company. The food was outstanding. I ordered the baked brie with the honeycomb (trust me, get the honeycomb) and every bite was delicious. The combination of warm brie, puff pastry, honey, and nuts was incredible. Matt's wine recommendation was equally spot on. What impressed me most, though, was the atmosphere. Ripple strikes the perfect balance between sophisticated and comfortable. Whether you're on a date, catching up with friends, or simply enjoying a quiet evening alone, you'll feel right at home. I arrived as a first-time guest and left feeling like a regular. Covington is lucky to have this place. I'll definitely be back.

Had a lovely Saturday afternoon here courtesy of a gift card I received for my birthday. My husband…read moreand I sat at the attractive, comfortable bar and enjoyed two nice glasses of red - a Barbera and a red blend. We split the six item charcuterie board. Our server was attentive and guided us expertly on cheeses to complement our meats and the assorted goodies, that include nuts, herbed butter and fig spread. The bread from Allez Bakery that comes with the board is outstanding. Look forward to visiting again.

I came here for a work dinner on a Saturday and was greatly impressed by this place…read more For a brewery, you would not expect the food to be as good as it was, but boy it was. I am still dreaming about the pork belly skewers. We had a reservation for our party, so we were seated quickly. The inside of this old church is very sleek, modern, and clean. It is more upscale in feeling than other breweries in the area. We ordered the pork belly skewers, cheese curds, squash croquettes, and jalapeno poppers as appetizers for the table. The pork belly skewers are probably one of the greatest things I have ever eaten, as i said above. The squash croquettes are so different and so good as well. The cheese curds are standard and sure to please a crowd. And lastly, the jalapeno poppers were not for me. They stuff theirs with chicken, not cream cheese, and that flavor combo with the super smokey bacon wrapped around it did nothing for me. If you are more of a carnivore though you would probably love it. I got the chicken marinara sandwich and split a side of the brussels sprouts with a friend. The sandwich was huge! It looked much larger than some of the other plates people got. The marinara had great flavor, the cheese was fresh, and the chicken was perfectly cooked. I was so stuffed from my appetizers that I only ate half the sandwich. The sprouts were also very well done and the cheese/sauce on them was so so good. We ended the meal, even though we were all so full, with their citrus olive oil cake. Now some people find that name off-putting, but let me tell you as someone who loves baking, this cake is one of the best desserts I have ever had in my life. It is so light, with the perfect amount of citrus, and the fresh whipped cream is so delicious. It truly is a perfect dessert and I would go back only for that. Overall we had a great dinner here and left so stuffed that we all went home to lay down. The beer is also good but I would go for the food before anything else. If you are downtown and need a great meal, do not hesitate to come here!

Mellotone does it right. First off, unbelievable ambiance inside a historical church in OTR…read more We visited during brunch before a Reds game. The service was friendly and attentive. We ordered the chicken and waffles. Amazing! My son who is super picky devoured his share. The other dishes we ordered were equally delicious. My wife thoroughly enjoyed her espresso martini. I was really wanting to try their Bloody Mary, but they had ran out over the busy 4th of July weekend. I tried one of their craft beers. I believe it was called the big red. It was served ice cold and very good. Mellotone is worth a try if you have never been. We will be back soon to try that Bloody Mary and more chicken and waffles.

Love this place. Great environment for kids or couples. Shrimp burger is to die for! We have done…read morethe outside and inside setting. The burgers are also terrific.

Hoping to upgrade my review next time, because I really like it here and expect to be back many…read moretimes! I'm disappointed that I waited for so long to try it. Great menu and vibe. Great music, and location! Service was really slow but TJ food was great! Had the chicken sando with the cobalt fries. Shared both an it was a good thing, as TJ sandwich is large!