Ten Cincinnati Restaurants That Have Stood the Test of Time

Running a restaurant is tough, even under the best conditions. Throw in a pandemic and the resulting supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, fuel hikes and inflation costs, and it's a miracle any restaurant manages to keep the lights on.

With that in mind, we salute not only the businesses that are somehow making ends meet in the midst of unprecedented adversity, but particularly those reliable Cincinnati mainstays that have been around for many years.

Here's a look at ten Cincinnati restaurants that have (knock on wood) stood the test of time:

Forno

3514 Erie Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45208
513-818-8720
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Cristian Pietoso, the son of Nicola Pietoso who'd opened the acclaimed Nicola's restaurant in 1996, established himself in the industry with the launch of Via Vite in 2007 along with his father. In 2012, Cristian ventured solo with the opening of Forno Osteria + Bar in Hyde Park and Americano Burger Bar downtown (later sold in 2020). His second Forno location launched in Montgomery in 2018.

Forno offers a tight menu of homey Italian favorites, including wood-fired pizzas and the whole wheat pappardelle cinghiale, featuring a rich, almost chocolatey, wild boar ragout.

Mita's

501 Race St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-421-6482
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New Yorker Chef Jose Salazar first hit Cincinnati's radar when he took over The Palace restaurant in the Cincinnatian Hotel back in 2008. By 2011, he'd been awarded a People's Choice award by Food & Wine magazine. Mita's, which opened in 2015 and is named after his Colombian grandmother, is Salazar's second venture outside of The Palace. It easily remains our favorite of his restaurants. The Spanish and Latin American-themed dining experience includes tapas, entree plates, paella, exotic Spanish cured hams and cheeses as well as some of the best (and strongest) cocktails in the city.

Baba

3120 Madison Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45209
513-321-1600
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Opened in 2003, Baba continues to belt out some of the city's best North Indian-style dishes out of a former Hardee's restaurant on Madison Road in Oakley. Their crispy vegetable samosas and spicy vindaloos are legendary, and every mouth within a mile radius of the building will water at the intoxicating smell of garlic wafting in the air as Baba's chef bakes naan in a fiery clay oven.

La Mexicana

642 Monmouth St.
Newport, KY 41071
859-261-6112
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For more than 15 years, La Mexicana has been the standard by which most other Mexican restaurants are based. Big-name area chefs and restauranteurs are known to come here in the evenings after a hard-day's work at their own establishments. Located in Newport, Kentucky on Monmouth St, La Mexicana began in 2002 as a small Mexican grocery store from which tacos were eventually sold, which lead to its restaurant. Ownership changed hands about a decade ago, but La Mexicana's menu and spirit live on.

Sotto

118 E. 6th St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-977-6886
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Open since 2013, Sotto is the "little sister" to its Boca sibling located above it. Both are owned by Chef David Falk, who gave Sotto's reigns to executive Chef Danny Combs back in 2017. The authentic Italian experience found in this candle-lit, subterranean space is dark and intimate. The pasta dishes are easily among the best in the city and the ricotta doughnut balls dipped in chocolate, caramel and pistachio sauces are a must-have for capping off the evening.

A Tavola (Madeira)

7022 Miami Ave.
Madeira, OH 45243
513-272-0192
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The original A Tavola opened in Over-the-Rhine back in 2011, while its sister location debuted in Madeira three years later. Though the OTR location closed in 2020 as a casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Madeira location remains open and thrives. Both restaurants featured a distinctively dome-shaped, tiled, custom wood-fired oven brought over from Naples, Italy, the birthplace of pizza. For a while, the Madeira location had the distinction of hosting a second, more conventional gas oven solely to accommodate a specific, "Roman style" of pizza preparation with a cracker-like crust, but when the gas oven died in 2019, they removed it from the menu.

Taste of Belgium (OTR)

1135 Vine St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-396-5800
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In 2008, Taste of Belgium owner Jean-François Flechet was peddling his unbelievably tasty Liege Belgian waffles out of cart at Findlay Market. Within three years, he'd opened his first brick-and-mortar location in Over-the-Rhine, featuring a menu anyone from the Benelux regions --Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg-- would feel at home with: Belgian frites, steamed mussels and Stoemp, a mashed potato blend with onion, bacon and other herbs and spices. Today, Flechet's empire boasts eight locations with menus that are constantly keeping pace with fickle local palates.

Hathaway's

25 W. 5th St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-621-1332
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Lloyd and Vera Hathaway opened their namesake restaurant in 1956. Since then, Hathaway's has been serving up diner-style comfort food out of Carew Tower and luring downtowners with its quaint, throw-back charm. In 2021, the restaurant moved to the outer skirts of Carew where there are windows and more light than its previous, windowless location inside Carew offered. Featuring a line of all-day breakfast fare as well as lunch plate classics like the open-faced roast beef with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans; the country fried steak and the patty melt, Hathaway's offers satisfying meals for the masses.

Sugar n' Spice

4381 Reading Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45229
513-242-3521
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Mort Keller first opened the iconic Sugar n' Spice diner back in 1941, just prior to America's involvement in World War II. The diner's uniquely huge omelets, its "wispy thin" pancakes and its colorful, friendly, inviting atmosphere set it apart from many other restaurants in Cincinnati. The Reading location is more than 80 years old, while the newer Over-the-Rhine location debuted in 2021.

Quatman Cafe

2434 Quatman Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45212
513-731-4370
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The secret to Quatman's amazing burgers may have a lot to do with its supplier, Wassler Meats, with whom they've partnered since Quatman's opened in 1966. The simple, no-nonsense cheeseburgers and crispy, shoestring-style french fries are among the most highly rated in Cincinnati. Their daily specials are wondrously affordable: as of this writing, a cheeseburger with fries and a can of soda will set you back only $9.