Best Restaurants in Cincinnati (2025)

Open-fire Mediterranean cooking in Walnut Hills’ Art Deco Paramount Building, where chef-owner Jordan Anthony-Brown pairs mezze and seafood with elegant, herb-forward cocktails. Featured in The New York Times and praised by local food critics for precision and warmth.

Downtown’s grand dining room delivers polished, European-inspired cuisine with a deep wine list and theatrical hospitality. Regularly lauded by CityBeat readers and critics, Boca anchors special-occasion dining while staying seasonal and inventive.

In a moody, subterranean space beneath downtown, Sotto turns out soulful Italian—grilled branzino, handmade pastas, and those ricotta doughnuts. Consistently named Best Overall Restaurant by CityBeat, it’s the city’s go-to for memorable Italian.

Chef José Salazar’s love letter to Latin America and Spain brings paella, ceviches, and a standout sherry program to a beautiful corner room downtown. Repeatedly recognized by CityBeat for its tapas and small plates.

OTR’s pasta atelier channels Ohio farms and foraged ingredients into expressive dishes, offered à la carte or at a 12-seat chef’s counter. Named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants and celebrated by local critics for creative, place-driven cooking.

By day, an Asian American bakery known for ube halaya croissants; by night, yoshoku comfort like ramen and curry katsu. Named one of America’s best bakeries by The New York Times, it’s a joyful expression of Cincinnati’s evolving palate.

Reborn in Clifton, Kiki blends ramen, kushiyaki, and an upbeat izakaya spirit from the James Beard–nominated team of Hideki and Yuko Harada. Crowned Best Japanese by CityBeat, it’s lively, personal, and unmistakably Cincinnati.

Near Findlay Market, bowls of long-simmered pho, crisp bánh mì, and Saigon-style coffee anchor a bright, bustling room. A perennial CityBeat favorite for Best Vietnamese and Best Noodles, it’s a community staple with depth and soul.

Picnic-table barbecue with tender pulled pork, smoky ribs, and classic sides at the laid-back East End original, plus a Findlay Market outpost for carryout. Profiled by CityBeat and beloved by locals for straightforward, deeply smoked flavors.

An essential taste of the city since 1940, this parlor’s meat-and-spice chili is ladled over spaghetti or coneys in true Cincinnati style. Recognized by the James Beard Foundation as an America’s Classics winner, it remains proudly local.

Chef Jeff Harris channels Southern roots—New Orleans to the Carolinas—into inventive plates and a chef’s-counter tasting. A James Beard Best New Restaurant finalist and praised by Esquire, Nolia brings modern Southern hospitality to OTR.