Over-the-Rhine is Cincinnati’s Restaurant Hot Spot

Posted by OTR Matters on February 25, 2012 · 1 Comment 

Over-the-Rhine is staking its claim as Cincinnati’s restaurant mecca with a variety of high quality dining experiences. The long waits just to be seated at these establishments tell the story. OTR is in high demand.  Wine Me, Dine Me has the scoop on Cincinnati Magazine‘s Top Ten restaurants of 2012 as well as Best New restaurants:

Top 10…

1. Orchids at Palm Court (Downtown)
2. Jean-Robert’s Table (Downtown)
3. The Palace (Downtown)
4. Bouquet (Covington)
5. Nicola’s (Over-the-Rhine)
6. Cumin (Hyde Park)
7. Senate (Over-the-Rhine)
8. Hugo (Oakley)
9. Boca (Oakley)
10. Sichuan Bistro (Mason)

Best New:

• Abigail Street (Over-the-Rhine)
• Enoteca Emilia (O’Bryonville)
• A Tavola (Over-the-Rhine)
• Taste of Belgium (Over-the-Rhine)

Two of the Top 10 and three of the 4 Best New restaurants are located in Over-the-Rhine. Nicola’s leads the way and has been established the longest (15 years). Senate is also in the Top 10 and just celebrated its second birthday. The three Best New winners from OTR are Abigail Street (same owners as Senate), A Tavola, and Taste of Belgium’s bistro.

Nicola’s:

Senate:

Senate, photo credit: 5chw4r7z

Senate on Vine Street, photo credit: Jake Mecklenborg

Abigail Street:

A Tavola:

Hand-forged A Tavola logo made by A Tavola's own bartender, Aaron Strasser

Taste of Belgium bistro:

Taste of Belgium Bistro, photo credit: ColumbusUnderground.com:

Taste of Belgium Bistro chef's table, photo credit: Nicolas Wayne

What is perhaps most remarkable about Over-the-Rhine’s epicurean offerings is their proximity to one another. With the exception of Nicola’s (which is on Sycamore Street), all of the ranked restaurants are on Vine Street. What’s more, there are number of neighboring bars, cafe’s and other eateries that compliment the aforementioned restaurants. Some of those options on Vine Street include The Lackman, Lavomatic, Bakersfield OTR, 1215 Wine Bar & Coffee Lab, among others.

A year ago Jared Wayne, co-owner of A Tavola, foresaw what Vine Street was to become when he told Soapbox Cincinnati:

“There’s a renaissance going on down here you know, it’s kind of like this whole culinary boulevard.”

That’s a vision of Vine Street worth celebrating.

Filed under Over-the-Rhine Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine photos · Tagged with A Tavola Pizza, Abigail Street, Gateway Quarter, Nicola's, Over-the-Rhine restaurants, Senate Restaurant, Taste of Belgium