Empress Chili

First time here, last stop on my Cincinnati Chili trail review. Average coney and 5-way. Service was super friendly and quick. Atmosphere was dated. Strong 3.8. The red cream soda was nice.

Empress chili is where it all started. You have Empress to thank for Cincinnati chili. Had to go to the last remaining one open. Coneys were my favorite menu item. Glad to see chili pizza on the menu and interesting takes on classics like chili and spaghetti coneys. They also had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and a variety of sandwiches. The building itself was very large inside and very clean. I was surprised how nice it was. Awesome restaurant, definitely check it out and pay your respects to a chili legend.

I'ma bit closer to the empress in which is kinda convenient as ther competitor I kind of favor because of its meater an a bit thicker ima think 🤔.. as I leave a empty plate at both!

Had an absolutely horrible experience. My daughter was so excited about getting a chili pizza and the dough was so raw it was sticking to my fingers and the plate. I asked them to remake it and they came out with it not even a minute later and said “it’s cooked” it was absolutely not cooked. Still very raw. I then just asked for a refund and Evan said he would not give me a refund because it was cooked. I ended up just leaving the pizza on the table. Me and my family have gone to this restaurant for years and travel almost an hour drive to get there every time. We will not be going back after this experience.

I love Cincinnati style chili. There are a lot of chili parlors close to my house. I choose to drive 30 minutes to the only remaining Empress Chili. I think most of the chili parlors taste similar. As does this one. The portion on my four-way was a bit larger here though. The prices are definitely better here than it's competitors. So, what you get for your money is definitely more here. The staff was wonderful. You absolutely need to drive here to try this food. 8/1/2023 we ate there again. Just wow. The portions were humongous. This is some of the best tasting food I've ever had. I absolutely love this place.

Back on the Coney Trail! Eight down with three to go. I believe Empress is the original Cincinnati chili brand. 101 years old. Please correct me if I’ve got that wrong. This was a good but not great experience. The chili was good but not real flavorful. (I prefer something a bit spicy like Dixie). The 3 way was very big for a regular portion and the chili cheese sandwich w mustard and onion was served on a nice steamed bun. The dining room was a little pedestrian and I think their self serve soda fountain needed tuning. Both our drinks were a tad watery. We didn’t try the Spagoney. Only place I’ve see that one! (Bun, spaghetti, chili, cheese, mustard and onion)

Food was good, service was friendly and fast. The spaghetti was a bit overcooked and the chili was lacking any pronounced flavor - it was good but just seemed to miss something. The coneys were good and the Spagony was different as well.The interior of the location needs a update. The inside reminds me of a early/mid nineties Taco Bell. I would not go out of my way to eat here again, but if i was nearby I would easily stop for a quick bite!

This is my favorite restaurant in the world. I come here every year on my birthday. Their Chili Pizza is my favorite item, but you can order anything… and it’ll be good. What I’m also impressed with… is the staff. Always polite, always friendly, and more than anything… they make the experience truly terrific! ❤️ 5/5

I ate empress chili parlor in the late 50s in Cincinnati at the original pallor! . Back then they had waiters that took your order and brought it to you. That is long gone, but the taste of the chili and cheese coney are the same. The facility is much cleaner and more modern than the original chili parlor I really enjoyed my meal there. One other thing, the coneys was $.25 each they're over $2.50 now but still worth it I will return!

Lifelong Cincinnati guy, and Empress was my favorite back in the day that every neighborhood had an independent chili parlor and the chains weren't yet dominate. Empress was the original Cincy chili and locations once dotted the city, though Alexandria is now a unicorn, the last of its kind. I made the trek from Cincinnati to have it one last time recently. It had been decades since I'd had it, so I can't say for sure whether the recipe has changed or my recollection is faulty, but it didn't taste the same, in particular the spices, which were noticeably more restrained. I believe Camp Washington Chili bought the chain some years ago, and the influence was apparent. It's good and the staff was friendly, but it's not the Empress I remember.

I thought the cheese coney was great. The chili by itself was runny, lacked salt and additional sweetness. By the way I love chili with cinnamon and make it myself at home. I also add maple syrup to sweeten a little more. The 3 way my wife and son loved. I wasn't crazy about the runny chili by itself but that does not mean I did not like it. I just thought it lacked certain ingredients to make it spectacular, but that's just my palette talking.

Still my favorite chili in Cincinnati. Wish there was more than 1 location. On top of everything, it's Cincinnati Chili Week. Great deals!

I have recently developed a curiosity for Cincinnati chili. I figured, why not start with the originator. To my surprise, I had to drive 30 minutes from the city over to Kentucky to experience the original Cincinnati chili. That's a shame but the location was nice. They still have their dining room closed so I had to order from their app and eat it in my truck. It's pretty cool they have their own app. I ordered a 5 way and a coney. Everything was good. I sort of expected more flavor but what I had was tasty. I would love it if these types of places would offer an all beef dog as an upgrade. I would gladly pay for it. This was the start of my Cincinnati chili journey so I have many more places to visit. I'm not sure when I would make it back here as it is way off the beaten path of my usual travels. If I owned the originator of Cincinnati chili, I would do my damnedest to have a presence downtown.

I love this place. Super good chili and very good services. It's got a retro style and I like it.

Empress has continued to be one of my long-standing go to of the Cincinnati style chili parlours. This one flies under the radar as there isn't many Empress locations left (this is actually the only one that I know of. Please tell me if there are others.) In any case they have all of the basics like Coney's, Ways, as well as deli sandwiches. They also have some unique menu items such as Chili pizzas as I've raved about in the past and the "Spa-goney" which I got this time. It comes with chili, cheese, (and onions if you prefer. I left them off mine.) It's just like a coney only instead of the hot dog thry put spaghetti on there. It's very messy but very delicious and is definitely worth checking out. I also got 3 Cheese Coney's with Extra mustard and no onions. They have above average tasting chili here as well as what I'd call the best shredded cheddar cheese of any chili parlour (or anywhere else for that matter.) The service was satisfactory and the restaurant was clean so with the delicious food this was a great dining experience at Empress once again.

This is one of my favorite chili joints around. It feels and taste more authentic than the other top chains around. So I like it, but when I'm up this way with my children they always ask for Empress vs the others.

Always the best service and the Chili is awesome. The 5 ways and Coney are just as great.

Have to get the chili cheese pizza and the chicken salad here!! A nice, small business that always has great customer service

This one of the older chili parlors in the area, but it's tasty. A no frills eatery that serves honest to goodness food. My father in law brought us here and we ordered chili 5 ways and a chili 4 ways - no onion. It came out quickly and very hot. Their coney's are tasty as my father in law can attest. I have to admit to me they tasted just like Skyline.

I've always been impressed by the food and the service that I've received at this location. Food is always receiced quick and to order. Their shredded cheese is superior to many other chili restaurants. They also have a chili pizza which is certainly unique. Staff at this location is super friendly and I've always received orders within less than 5 minutes. I would give this location 5 stars, but there are just a couple of issues. First, the decor and seating in this restaurant is somewhat dated and may need some upgrading to possibly look more modern. Second, their menu is very limited and certainly doesn't compare in size to other Cincinnati chili restaurants.

I am not from the area of Cincinnati area so I'm not a huge fan of the chili, 3ways , 5ways or whatever ways. My daughter came here to meet some friends and I decided to take my other daughter on a lunch date here. The restaurant is adorable and clean. A little 80's feel, but charming. I ordered a coney island, which is your typical hotdog and bun onions, mustard, and cheese. It was pretty darn good. You can order this and a side of chips for $2.77. Not too shabby.

Best chili ever & great sweet treats. Perfect place for a simple date night or family night.

I enjoy going to Empress. Unless I get a large chef salad with ham that turns out looking like this. First, I would not call this a large chef salad it barely covers the container bottom. Second, there is no ham. Third, upon trying to call them there was no answer only leave a message which I was not about to do knowing full well there would be nothing done about it. I included the receipt so that it couldn't be said that this was a salad not requesting ham.

Best Buy for your buck. Great menu selections. The service is great and they give you a heap of very good food.

Finally! The original Cincinnati Style Chili...Empress Chili! We came down to the zoo to see the baby hippo Fiona and we jumped at the chance to get to a Empress. The signage outside had the older look and feel to it. The building is obviously fairly new and unfortunately very blah inside. Almost zero signage or fanfare which was incredibly disappointing. I'm was hoping for a history lesson. To the food...very inexpensive! Very good presentation! The bun for the Coney and Spagoney was top notch, very soft and filled with food! The Chili Pizza was almost impossible to eat with your hands...but I figured it out, lol! Overall very good experience and very good food. I will say after trying all that I have, Skyline Chili still had the best flavor imo.

Empress is the BEST ! There were several articles written in the 70's and early 80's that consistently had Empress beating out Skyline as well as Gold Star. I agree. They are the only ones I know of that actually put chili peppers in their chili. Their misfires include serving it "Cafeteria style" in their restaurants instead of using waitstaff and generally poor marketing. It is because of this they have 1 or 2 restaurants left. My hope is someone would buy what is left of it and turn things around. The product quality has ALWAYS been there.

Tried Empress Chili for the first time. Not sure what took me so long. They blow away the competition by a long shot. The cheese coneys rocked! Next time I'll check out some of the other menu items. They are drive thru for right now and the service is fast.

This is one of, if not the original Cincinnati style Chili parlors. It was my first introduction when I was a kid and the taste is still the same, still reliably delicious. Inside dining is closed, I guess due to covid. I look forward to sitting down when able; but right now I'm just minutes away and can enjoy at home before the cheese melts.

Empress Chili created what is known as Cincinnati Chili. Skyline may be more popular, but this is the original. The original location is long gone, but you can still enjoy the taste. They offer cheese coneys, chili spaghetti, and double decker sandwiches along with other unique dishes such as chili pizza. It is pretty similar to the chili offered at other restaurants, but it's fun to try them all out.

So today after a long day of watching football i decided to head to Empress Chili. And i got There around 5:30 and they workers were very nice. They made my food very quickly and look like they were busy and still made time for the costumers. If you haven't eaten a empress then you need too. The only thing they need to get back is there shake machine back. I remember as a kid coming there and getting a shake and i miss that a lot.

I love this chili! It is so much better than gold star or skyline. The seating area is much more clean and well keep than the other chili places as well. The staff is always very nice and fast. I go here for lunch sometimes and always have plenty of time to sit and enjoy!

Best coneys you can eat! I've never not had a perfectly made coney from here. My go to spot whenever I'm feeling Cincinnati style chili. This place is extraordinary and I'd honestly eat lunch here every day.

This is the starting point of all Cincinnati chili from which every other place has stemmed from. While I prefer some of its descendants over Empress, this is definitely a good place to go. Their chili has a distinctively good taste that I can't quite place what it is that gives it that taste. Since I got the chili to go, I can't comment on the inside or service since I didn't pay attention to it.

This is my favorite restaurant, everyone here is so great. If the whole world was like empress, there would be no need for empress because we'd already be there. Best coneys ever, best staff ever, best ambiance. Come for the chili, stay for the friends and the memories.

I'm from Northeastern PA and I had no idea what to expect. I'm really not a fan of chili on hot dogs to begin with but was told this is a specialty in the area. The hot dogs are small and come on a regular sized bun with the chili and the cheese. I wasn't too big of a fan on the "coney" but like I mentioned earlier I don't really like chili dogs up here anyways. However I did have a Turkey Club sandwich that was fantastic!

Good stuff. The hot dogs aren't tiny and the chili isn't runny. You get tons of cheese. It's the busiest restaurant in Alexandria during lunch because it's so good. The sandwiches are awesome too