15 New and Recent Cincy Restaurant Openings You May Have Missed

Holiday Spirits and Forty Thieves

1538 Race St., Over-the-Rhine
Holiday Spirits and its in-house street food eatery Forty Thieves opened March 19. Helmed by Dan Wright and his wife Lana (of Senate, Abigail Street and Pontiac Bourbon & BBQ), with director of operations Mike Georgiton, the new space at the corner of Liberty and Race streets is meant to evoke the vibe of a dive bar and offers a menu of Middle Eastern street food — falafel, beef shawarma and grilled chicken in a pita or on hummus, with other items like roasted beets and soup. The bar features 15 beers on tap and a menu of about 10 different cocktails ranging from a tequila old fashioned and a Hurricane to a Cinnabon-inspired drink and their take on a Harvey Wallbanger.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Mikey's Late Night Slice

2014 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
Columbus-based pizza parlor Mikey's Late Night Slice opened March 18. Mikey's is known for its giant, foldable pizza slices and drunk-friendly menu items like the Pizza Dog — a hot dog stuffed with pepperoni and cheese, which is then wrapped in a slice of pizza — and the Cheezus Crust and Baby Cheezus, which is American cheese melted on top of two slices of pizza and pressed together into a sandwich. This location also has salads, including one that comes topped with Flamin' Hot Cheetos. The pizza joint shares a space with sister operation Oddfellows Liquor Bar.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Lonely Pine Steakhouse

6085 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge
Gorilla Cinema Presents have expanded their empire from liquid to solid with the opening of Lonely Pine Steakhouse in Pleasant Ridge. Located next door to the Shining-themed Overlook Lodge, the restaurant fuses "counter-casual service with a space inspired by Mid-Century Modern styling and the spirit of America's great landscapes."
Photo: Lonely Pine Steakhouse Facebook

The Baker’s Table

1004 Monmouth St., Newport
Opened in December 2018, the organic, farm-to-table bakery and restaurant offers seasonally fresh and locally-sourced ingredients in dishes for breakfast, brunch and lunch. The Baker’s Table also offers coffee drinks and alcoholic beverages.
Photo via Facebook.com/BakersTableNewport

Libby's Southern Comfort

35 W. Eighth St., Covington
Helmed by Brad Wainscott — whose local culinary lineage extends to longstanding Kentucky mainstays The Greyhound Tavern and Tousey House Tavern, owned by his father — Libby's Southern Comfort pays tribute to Southern classics with a touch of Charleston and features dishes like goetta hush puppies, oysters on the half shell and fried chicken. In addition to food, Libby's also servea a wide drink menu that features vintage bourbons, Cheerwine bourbon slushes and Braxton Beers, among other options.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Gaslight Bar & Grill

351 Ludlow Ave., Clifton
The owners of Ludlow Garage, Dave and Claudia Taylor, have renovated a historic building across the street and opened the Gaslight Bar & Grill in the old Clifton branch of the public library. It serves lunch and dinner six days a week, includes an expansive bar with a dozen seats and features Clifton’s first rooftop patio. The dinner, lunch and drinks menus are straight-ahead American comfort food with a few high-end flourishes. You can get soups, salads and sandwiches in the $5-$13 range or try pricier pasta entrées or meat/seafood dishes.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Sugar Whiskey Sis

633 Madison Ave., Covington
Sugar Whiskey Sis is a self-proclaimed "moonshine room" and Southern-inspired dining spot on Madison Avenue in Covington. Opened in early February, the space is aimed at "longtime whiskey drinkers and exploratory food enthusiasts to expand what they once knew about this signature adult beverage." From the minds behind nearby Agave & Rye, the bar offers more than 50 different types of moonshine, craft cocktails and bites from Agave & Rye's menu.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Fiery Hen

26 W. Court St., Downtown
Fiery Hen is a new chicken restaurant helmed by Dan Swormstedt, owner of neighboring Court Street Lobster Bar. The restaurant offers a menu — developed by chef Clint Walker — featuring Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, catfish, burgers, fried green tomatoes, brisket and more. There are also moonshine flights, in partnership with Ole Smoky Moonshine, and 12 taps of local beer, among other beverages.
Photo: Izzy Viox

Branch and Night Drop

1535 Madison Road, East Walnut Hills
The team behind The Littlefield has opened this new concept in East Walnut Hills in the former Art Deco Central Trust Bank Building at the corner of Woodburn and Madison avenues. Branch is the restaurant portion of the space and is located upstairs while Night Drop, the bar, is located downstairs. Both have a focus on local art with mosaics, chandeliers and murals created by Cincinnati artists. The menu at Branch is overseen by executive chef Shoshannah Anderson and offers a mix of “classic and contemporary American with ethnic influences."
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

CHX

1211 Broadway St., Pendleton
This fried chicken eatery, owned and operated by Hickory Wald (the team behind 3 Points Urban Brewery, Nation Kitchen and Bar and Rhinehaus), opened in February. Their signature menu item is Bantys, which are "lump-sized" chicken pieces named after a wild and soulful breed of Indonesian chickens called "Bantam," in two different brined and golden-fried finishing options: original or hot. In addition to Bantys, the chicken joint also offers salads, sandwiches and sharable sides like CHX nachos, fried cheese curds, wavy fries and more. Guests can wash down their fried chicken with a frosty beer at next door's 3 Points Urban Brewery; you can also order beer from one of the two taps inside CHX.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Crzy Monk

627 Main St., Downtown
From the minds that brought you Huit, Neuf, Dope! Dumpling & Noodle Bar and Lalo comes Crzy Monk, a similar-style Asian-fusion lunch restaurant that focuses on dumplings, buns, noodles and sides. Their small-batch dumplings are made daily and are stuffed with fillings like chicken, corn and spinach and shrimp and zucchini. The novel bao-wich is a steamed bun sandwich layered with either pork belly or tofu and mushroom fillings.
Photo: Crzy Monk Facebook

Station Family + BBQ

400 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming
The team behind Wyoming’s CWC the Restaurant expanded their empire with a second neighborhood eatery. The new Station Family + BBQ opened December 2018 and offers five different house-smoked meats, a cocktail menu, brunch and more.
Photo via Facebook.com/CincyStation

Social OTR

1819 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
OTR nonprofit restaurant Social OTR and its adjacent The Alley at Social (off Campbell Alley) opened in February. A collaboration between Findlay Market and CityLink Center, which provides integrated services to help individuals break free from poverty, Social OTR offers a working internship in a fine dining restaurant for the community’s unemployed and underemployed talent pool.
Photo: Provided by Social OTR

Buckabee Brownies

4756 Cornell Road, Blue Ash
Opened in February, this brownie-forward sweet stop is run by native Cincinnatians — a husband-and-wife team of Miriam Spitz and Tom Kahan. Their Blue Ash brownie shop offers 16 permanent and seasonal flavors made from their own special recipes. Options range from red velvet cream cheese and coffee to classic blondies and white chocolate brownies. They do everything from grab-and-go to large catering orders for things like wedding receptions.
Photo: Buckabee Brownies Facebook