My wife is taking our daughter (20) to see the Lion King at Aronoff Center in downtown Cincinnati a week from this Sunday and needs a good restaurant close to the center for a good but early dinner. She hopes to park and walk wherever.
The show is at 1 so it will probably be over around 3:30-4 I assume. If anyone has any suggestions for a decent place within walking distance (they are both very fit so it can be a little way away) it would be greatly appreciated. They are also not picky eaters at all so anything is fine.
I haven’t been there in the better part of a decade, but for my money the best restaurant in Cincinnati isn’t in Cincinnati, it’s just across the river in Kentucky, The Hofbrauhaus. It’s about a mile and a half from the Aronoff, so depending on weather may or may not be walkable. It’s close to the Purple People Bridge, and that’s a nice walk.
I can’t believe the OP lay there like a dead thing for a whole day while I tried to avoid jumping in with old information, then when I finally give some advice I get ninja’d.
I moved away in 2010, so my information is also old. The local celebrity chef is a guy named Jean-Robert de Cavel. When I lived there, I went to his super expensive place and his moderately pried place, and they were both damned awesome. Those places have since closed, but he has a new fairly expensive place and a new moderately priced place. Unless he has forgotten how to cook in the past five years, either of those would probably be quite good. And they are close to the Aronoff.
It’s not super-close to downtown proper, but the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood has some great restaurants. We had very good meals at both Senate and Abigail Street.
Nada is probably at the top of the list right now. I found it just looking at google’s explore nearby thing but it is good to know someone has some experience there.
Jean-Roberts places sound great but they aren’t open on Sunday so that is out. My daughter goes to school there though so it may be something to try another time.
My wife comes from a very German family so the Hofbrauhaus sounds like something we need to try as well.
I don’t know where the over the Rhine neighborhood is but I’ll see if my daughter knows and if that would be an option.
When I was in college I loved it when my parents visited because I knew I would get a good meal for a change… now as a parent I’m finding it fun because I get to explore the culinary scene in a new city.
Here’s Google maps’ outline of Over-The-Rhine (or OTR as the kids call it these days). The gentrified area with all the fun little restaurants is right along Vine Street.
About 10 years ago j had the worst Chinese food of my life in downtown Cincinnati, a couple of blocks from the convention center. Wish I could remember the name.
We have Skyline here… I’ve been there many many times. It is like recommending Wendy’s after a Broadway performance. I like Skyline and Wendy’s… but not as a special dinner.
