Started going to Ron's three or four years ago with a client to have lunch periodically. The chicken, sauerbraten and hot slaw are to die for... I am also a big fan of the mock turtle soup. The food is always good, well valued for the price and the servers are always friendly and attentive. I wish there were more locations especially closer to my home! read more

My family enjoys dining here about once a month. The food is tasty and the service in the main dining room is good. You could get a rushed feeling in the bar seating. However, the main reason I am now taking the time to write a review is the smoke. In the last few months, many of the servers have taken to catching a smoke break at the front corner of the Bldg near the parking lot. If there's more than one of them (common) it's really off-putting. I don't want my family to walk through a cloud of smoke to get to the front door. Second, I don't want my server to stink like smoke as she serves our food, and finally, their new patio is not airtight. So when the smoking ensues out front, the entire dining area catches wind of it, literally. I don't have a problem with people smoking, but your employees should be encouraged to smoke somewhere other than the front of the building and they should be more careful about washing their hands and not wreaking of cigarettes while serving our food. read more

Had this as a back up option but wow! Very pleasantly surprised! Had the ribs and fried chicken and both were very good. I usually go to Maurys for ribs but I'll definitely be back for the fried chicken! read more

This was a really cool place we found in Cheviot. It's a bar/restaurant place that I was told had some fantastic chicken. Those rumours definitely were true. I got the Half Chicken Dinner which was four pieces of fried chicken that came with two sides which I got a baked potato with sour cream and butter and delicious seasoned rice. The potato was a potato and the rice was very good also. But tge fried chicken was something special. Great flavour and crispness in the breading and the middle was so juicy. Definitely in the top echelon of fried chicken that I've ever had. We also tried their Buffalo Wings. They were on the small side and their sauce was kind of not spread very well. However the sauce was a pretty good one better than pizza joints but not as good as wing joints. Good for an appetizer. All in all service was excellent, atmosphere was excellent, and food was excellent. In a word um ....excellent. read more

See all

Delicious homemade fried chicken, very fresh and crispy. I had the fried chicken and ribs platter and my friend had the fried chicken leg and breast meal. The mashed potatoes were just ok, but the green beans were very good. The chicken was outstanding! The ribs were very good and their BBQ sauce is homemade. It tasted very brown sugar/maple-y. Definitely delicious if you like sweet BBQ. They also have yummy homemade pies! Banana cream - yum-O!! Don't expect a high class joint, it's like a family diner. Lots of choices, including German staples. Try it! read more

Ron's Roost - Cozy and homey - Burgers Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

best chicken on westside. pickup chicken meal for dinner. i smell so good we ate it early dinner. great job. love this place. excellent place to eat. 5 stars. thank you for being there. sue read more

Ron's Roost - Burgers Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

The fried chicken is the only item that is good here. As in really tasty. But you will be unhappy with any other menu item. Stick with the fried chicken. read more

Great food! This is a favorite restaurant of mine in Cincinnati. A very full menu. Fried pickles as an appetizer. Fried chicken is very good. Atmosphere is comfortable and inviting. read more

Season your food what happened with the green beans they have nothing in them anymore and fatty chicken now

I would not recommend this restaurant to anybody I would give zero Stars if I could the service was terrible the food was terrible we had to wait several hours before we can even get appetizers and rolls. We had to go get our own refills on drinks and the waitress had an attitude the whole time. read more

Me and my fiance got the fried chicken buffet . I would say the buffet was average. The sides were bland and the service was not great. The best part of the trip was when my babe got the gold egg. read more

Ron's Roost - Burgers Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Had Saratoga chips with bbq sauce. BBQ sauce was great! Chicken was good. Lemon meringue was good. Service was a little slow.

Everything about this place was ok. Went mid afternoon on a Saturday, wasn't crowded at all. Decor inside is pretty out of date, the outside patio is a little bit more remodeled, but pretty unimpressive. Service was again ok. Our waitress was fine, just not overly friendly. Came around here and there. At one point I saw her smoking out on the balcony where we were, and didn't even wash her hands after. Not something I want to see or can believe happens in a restaurant, I guess I shouldn't be so naive. Food yet again ok. They're known for fried chicken, it's what they do. So naturally it's what I got. Chicken was cooked just right, but there wasn't much for flavor, even in the breading. The sides as well were pretty bland. Overall not very impressed, they're definitely many other really good fried chicken options.. I'd pass on this one, you're not missing much. read more

Hard pass. The food is very bland. Like void of spices. It's nice inside but the food is really bad. The friend chicken is so plain

Just not great. Service was fine, which is why i am giving thee stars. Breakfast buffet was average, lunch fare was below par. Nothing stands out, though nothing was just terrible, either. Won't be returning. read more

Mediocre food, service, and atmosphere. There is a giant chicken statue on the roof, so you can't miss the place. If going on the weekend I would recommend making a reservation. There is a covered patio which looks nice and there is also a drive by drop off area to combat the fact that the parking lot is in three distant sections built into a hill. There are also certain days where a buffet is offered. The two times I have gone to this place were for family birthdays, so perhaps having a large group played into this, but nothing, not even the chicken, is special about this place. Most recently, with a group of 12 on a Saturday for an early dinner around 5 they had one server assigned to our table who ignored our empty glasses and later after we hunted her down she dropped a few pitchers of water on the table and disappeared. The food is so-so, mostly chicken and German dishes. It is nice to find a place with things like kielbasa, red cabbage, fritters, and sauerkraut, but the execution is not there. The hot slaw is not what I consider a hot slaw, this is more of a raw cabbage mix with sparse warm dressing and a few bacon bits on top. Some of the food is good, especially the fried chicken, and the prices verge on affordable but creeping into the not worth it range. Atmosphere: the place looks like it had could have had a past life as a very successful sports bar/restaurant, but now it caters to the early bird crowd. There is a nice patio and some room for waiting on a table, but overall the restaurant is cramped and the tables are very close to each other. So, while some make think this the gem of the Westside, I think it is a polished turd. read more

I'm afraid I'll lose some west-side friends for this but after working on the west-side for 10 years and hearing for those same number of years how wonderful the fried chicken was at Ron's Roost I finally went. It was bland. And a touch dry. Not awful, mind you, and far away from the worst I've ever had. I came on buffet night. I made one trip and the bland and dryness I chalked up to the pieces sitting out but on my second trip (how bad could it be if there was a second trip, right?) a fresh pile of crispy poultry was waiting. Still bland, still dry. I'm not a hot sauce guy. I don't enjoy fire-y spice. There was a jar of Frank's Hot sauce on the table. I almost never put that sh#t on anything. But with this fried chicken I did. Just to liven it up. It's almost as if someone brought the mindset of German food to fried chicken...oh, wait. The buffet also had mashed potatoes which I thought may have been instant and rolls which may have been from the day-old discount store. I've never been insulted by so many carbs before. The decor was typical suburban Cincinnati restaurant decor: multiple tvs blaring sports, sports junk on the walls, neon lights and liquor signs posted as decorations. read more

Okay - I am updating my last review. I originally was kind in my review of Ron's Roost and tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. But, I have gone back yet again, and I must say it is not good. The food is horrible. This is not the place I remember growing up - or else my pallet has gotten more sophisticated. I hate giving bad reviews, but this place is really bad. They really need to get a new cook. Bottom Line: Bad read more

I've written this review as so-so there's a lot of improvement in the customer service aspect of this restaurant that needs to be worked out. The fried chicken is just a step above KFC or Lee's. It's crispy. Very crispy. I decided to go there with my girlfriend's family, and to be completely honest I'm not sure what the hype is about. The fried chicken is good, but it is lacking something regarding the flavor. The cole slaw was not something I enjoyed personally; out of four people trying it, only one enjoyed it. It was extremely watery, it tasted bland, reminded me of soup as opposed to a slaw. It was the German Hot Bacon Slaw. I wanted to like it, I kept trying it and trying it - it just didn't make the cut. Mind my review, this place is an icon on the Westside of Cincinnati. Just about everyone I know has eaten here at least once in their lifetime, I've had a family member work here when they were a teenager a zillion years ago and loved the job. I just think that there is a lot lacking regarding the customer service at this place. It's almost as if this place has training on how to be rude to customers. They don't make one feel comfortable, I feel like I'm bothering them them by stopping by to eat. For example one occurrence in waiting to pay and someone goes, "You need to wait. I'll get to you whenever I can." Mind you, I didn't complain about waiting, I stood there very patiently for over five minutes. That just made me feel uncomfortable. There's more expensive places in Cincinnati to get better fried chicken with better service, but go ahead and try this place is you're looking to try something new. Not saying it's great, surly not saying it's awful either. Just needs to work on small things. read more

Just went to pick up food and none of the staff are wearing masks or gloves. I asked the manager and she said, I'm going to be honest no one is wearing those not even in the kitchen. I'm actually appalled. HOW IS THAT ALLOWED RIGHT NOW? WE ARE IN A PANDEMIC. Even when not in a pandemic, isn't that a health violation? Total disregard for the safety of your customers and a slap in the face to health care workers read more

Chicken was good. Fried crispy like you like it. Very down home. The food was not rushed as we all like. 2pm on a Sat. Not busy at all but seems the service was a bit rushed. Was that petty? Lol Homemade applesauce was great! The fries not so... read more

Ate here for the first time. I had fried chicken and the wife had a fried chicken sandwich. The chicken was meaty with a good texture. Lacked seasoning and flavor. The texture of the mashed potatoes appeared to be instant also lacking flavor. The wife said the chicken sandwich was very good, prepared good and was large, but again lacked seasoning and flavor. The German potato salad was overly sweet but overall good. The green beans and the hot bacon slaw we're great. Extremely friendly and efficient wait staff. Decor was a combination of a 1990's steakhouse / bar theme. Lots of big screens and beer signs and sporting decor, but also the feeling of a casual family restaurant. The overall experience was just OK. read more

Pretty dang good chicken. Perfectly seasoned and cooked. Awesome meatloaf. Finally found a place that's close that sells meatloaf. Pork chops are yummy. All of their sides taste great. The staff is very friendly and helpful! There's an option to order your carryout meal online which is a plus! Fast service. I've been here 3 times in a week so you know this place rocks. read more

Ordering online was very easy, easiest in awhile. Food was ready on time and the takeout staff was very appreciative of the business. The food was the usual high quality- hot, delicious. and crunchy. The price was outstanding. The best fried chicken around! The read more

Best fried chicken on the west side! Especially love when they have the buffet out! Staff is always fantastic I have been going there for years! read more

First know, there is no longer a chicken on the roof. The chicken has instead been fashioned into a parade float that sits in the parking lot. Initial impression: A generic off-brand (low cost I am sure) bottle of ketchup alongside the salt & pepper shakers. I can't think of a better way to say: "We don't care enough to serve the very best (or even what most folks expect)." The menus appeared to be the product of the same design/print house that does Denny's menus: Large slick, plastic laminated pages covered with photos. The large variety of menu items led me to postulate: either the Executive Chef has an army of Sous Chefs at the ready to freshly prepare everything from Hot Bacon Slaw to Sauerbraten. OR There are a couple of cooks pulling all manner of prepared, frozen, or otherwise pre-cooked and assembled food out of bags, boxes & cans and "doin' em' up right" with the help of a microwave, flattop grill, deep-fryer and oven.. The latter proved to be the correct assumption. The hot slaw and dinner salad were fine. The loaf of fresh baked and warm white bread was wonderful. My guest ordered the 4 Chicken Leg dinner with mashed potatoes; and as she placed the order asked: "are the mashed potatoes real or instant?" The waitress replied that "they start with real mashed potatoes but add potato flakes to increase the volume." The fried chicken was a bland deep fried version of what mom used to fry in a cast iron skillet. The breading in both cases was/is plain and simple: FLOUR. What made mom's better was she understood the importance of things like SALT and PEPPER. You know . . Seasoning. At best, the fried chicken legs were pedestrian, not at all special, and certainly nothing to base a life long childhood memory. The mashed potatoes came in the form of an overflowing ice-cream scoop full served in its very own little bowl, covered with brown gravy out of a jar or can. And given the ketchup situation, I doubt if the jar or can was labeled Heinz. The potatoes themselves . . . well, pretty much low end buffet quality. My fish sandwich, a featured item they are quite proud of, was just OK. A couple of thin non-descript breaded and frozen fillets given a hot oil bath and placed on rye bread with some shredded lettuce. The fries were ok, but would have been better with red sauce ala' Heinz or Hunts. Service could not have been better. The waitress was very nice and cheerful. No complaints there. All tolled: $37 (including 20% tip) for an uneventful, yawn inspiring, lunch. Folks, I'm sorry. I "get" that this place is an institution, and that your family has been celebrating there for years (in fact there was a birthday group seated right next to us), but it's just not that good. read more

Obviously this place has great chicken. I mean there's a huge chicken on top of the building! The fried chicken is just like grandma used to make (well, not my grandma.) In fact, the menu is all about down home cookin'. By which I mean it's a meat and potatoes type of place. They also have these apple fritters which are great. Definitely order some, because you won't regret it. Ron's Roost can get crowded and the demographic skews elderly, but it is great food. read more

I live on the east side of Cincinnati, but Ron's Roost is definitely worth the drive all the way over to Cheviot if I am really craving some fried chicken. The atmosphere: as other people said, don't expect a cramped, hipster-designed space like many OTR favorites; it definitely has a hometown diner feel. And honestly, it is kind of refreshing to have room at your table, unlike many of the OTR/downtown Cinci joints I frequent. And it definitely has the excellent and friendly service you would expect from a hometown diner. Now, the food: the fried chicken is the star. It has excellent crispy skin, without too much grease, and juicy meat inside. I also really like their hot bacon slaw. This is seconded by my significant other, and thirded by my mom. Ron's is actually one of my favorite places to grab dinner when my family is in town, because we all agree that their fried chicken is excellent. We also appreciate their open face roast beef. The German potato salad is another good side, and their fries are good, with some kind of crispy exterior; however, I usually don't order them because I find fries/fried chicken to be a bit too much fried food at one time for me. I usually order the mashed potatoes when I get fried chicken (and hot bacon slaw, of course). The mashed potatoes aren't anything special, they are plain, smooth mashed potatoes with gravy, but good. The chicken dinners come with dinner rolls, and they usually bring slaw or salads out when they bring those to your table. Their menu is extensive, and unfortunately, I haven't tried much outside of the fried chicken, because it's so good. Hopefully at some point I will get around to trying some other items, but we'll see. Ron's also does a great job with carry-out, and is reasonably priced. I will definitely be continuing to visit Ron's Roost! read more

Ron's Roost - Fried chicken breast and leg. Side of mashed potatoes. - Burgers Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

Another all American experience. I had the fried chicken buffet here. I would say that I'm pretty indifferent to fried chicken. It's nice to have it once in a while, but it's not something I'd miss if it would disappear completely. The buffet was made of some vegetables (warm corn, green beans), pasta, mashed potatoes, buns, fried chicken and fritters. MMMMMM, fritters. I didn't know this American delicacy, but man is it yummy! I'd almost give this place 4 stars just for them. However, in my second round the fritters were cold and the place overall just didn't impress me. It was ok, but I wouldn ride out there to go back. read more

Chicken, chicken, and more chicken. So what did I order? The pork roast, of course. Inside the place I was entertained by the sports theme throughout the place. Old stuff, newer stuff, and a whole lot in between. I'm still trying to figure out why the locker of the Mayor (Sean Casey) was in the sitting area. There was a certificate of authenticity, but it wasn't autographed with, "Hey, all, gobble up the best chicken of all time...Sean." When the warm bread arrived I thought we were in for a great mom-and-pop meal. Hmmmm... Our waitress was right on, and offered to replace the hot bacon sweet and sour cole slaw that she really suggested, but I clearly didn't like. Could be an acquired taste. She brought a replacement house salad. The sides were generous in size. There was a mountain of smashed potatoes. But the rest of the meal? The stuffing could have been Stove Top and the pork roast - today's special - was overcooked and fairly bland. Yes, my friend had the chicken. His reply, "It was pretty good." To be fair I'll be willing to go back and try...the chicken. read more

It is a long time staple of family dining that has a very strong following. Folks can be picky around here and if they don't like something then they will not spend their money time and time again... so what does that say about Ron's They have been here a long time, are wildly popular and they have great food and good service at a decent price. It's a win, no other way to say it. read more

More west side of Cincinnati adventures. Always have heard about this place for years Another lunch excursion! The hot bacon slaw was just ok. My partner is from the south so I've had much better. Seems like they need to let it marinate for a bit The potato salad was really good one of the best German potato salad I've ever had & yeah. The chicken is cluckin good! We both really enjoyed it read more

It was alright, not the best. Nice atmosphere. Service is good. I think some of the food comes GFS behind them, which is fine, but then I can make the same thing at home and spend less money. read more

Ate here recently for lunch. Good home cooked style food. Great service and great food. I had open faced roast beef sandwich. Very good. They are famous for their chicken. read more

We've loved Ron's Roost for many years and recently my husband and I found ourselves looking for a "homecooked" takeout option to send to friends who's home had flooded. With short notice we weren't able to make a homecooked meal for them ourselves, so we sent Ron's, fried chicken, mash potatoes, green beans and rolls, via DoorDash! It took no time to order on-line and had it sent right to our friends front door. Our friends & their kids raved about it so much that we ordered it for ourselves the next night. If you're looking for a good homecooked, take out meal option, I highly recommend ordering Ron's Roost! Eating in is great too!! read more

I hadn't had their fried chicken or hot slaw for quite some time. I had forgotten how delicious they both are. I'll definitely order again. I would like the mashed potatoes to be real. They definitely tasted like instant. But everything else was so good I'll let it slide. read more

"Ron's Roost has been family owned and operated since 1960. What started out as a 20 seat diner in 1960 has grown to a full service restaurant & bar that now seats 220 customers along with a separate carry out area. Ron's Roost is very proud to have been voted Cincinnati's Best Fried Chicken(Cincinnati Enquirer) and also winner of the Best Dish at the annual Taste of Cincinnati." Also the German Sauerbraten with mashed potatoes was great! The value, service and place is all together great. Will come again, when in town. read more

Just had lunch here today with my son. I have eaten there once before & had the wings. It was good then & good again today. I had the mushroom & Swiss Burger. It was good but for some reason the mushrooms weren't the greatest so I ended up picking most off. I really liked the Fries the most out of my meal. Tasted kinda like Long John Silvers Fries, so good. That pie case looked mighty tasty too but I was too full for dessert. I love how they have a lottery machine in there. Got some scratch off's & won $16. So that kinda made my day a little! This place has been a Westside favorite for years & I can see why :) read more

Ron's Roost - Burgers Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Our first visit and most likely out last. Food was ok (nothing special) the service was poor. Might have been the time of day, there were several groups there (looked like weekly groups) and we felt like we were intruding. read more

I don't typically venture on the west side of town, but my husband wanted to check out a camera shop and a brewery. So, we decided to get something for lunch since the camera shop was unexpectedly closed. And it seemed a bit early for a beer, being 11am and all, regardless of being on a rainy Saturday. My husband mentioned this place as having good fried chicken. I have my favorite place on the east side of town, so I am always up for trying another local place to compare it to. When we got the menus, I noticed it said "20 minutes to prepare chicken". So we decided to get chicken to go for when we were at the brewery and for dinner later today. For lunch we got their Sauerkraut and met. This was FANTASTIC and incredibly tasty. The sauerkraut was warm and complimented the mett and mashed potatoes with melted butter. The mett had a crispy skin and juicy on the inside. The mashed potatoes were silky smooth and tasty and OH MY the butter................. I almost forgot the applesauce. DEFINITELY homemade in house. Chunky and not sugary tasting. It came with a little thimble size cup of cinnamon sugar, in case you wanted to add some. My husband and I couldn't eat this fast enough. I will DEFINITELY keep this place in mind when I am on the west side of town, as rare as that is. read more