20 New Cincinnati Restaurants and Bars Opening This Fall

Nomad

225 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue
Bellevue bar and eatery Nomad is opening its doors this September. They will serve craft cocktails and beer, but the main attraction will be the boozy (and virgin) milkshakes and tater tot baskets. The space is meant to bring together the adventurers in life to relax, connect and reflect on their journeys. Eventually a vintage double-decker bus will be parked in the courtyard to provide an eclectic seating option, but for now, they will utilize the space for more breezy, string-lit seating.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Zapata Cantina

801 Madison Ave., Covington
Slated to open early this September, Zapata Covington will offer a modern take on Mexican cuisine, with small plates and street-style eats like tacos. Every dish will be made in-house, including their two-toned tortillas. In addition to bites, the cantina’s beverage program will focus on tequila and mezcal, with popular bourbon-based cocktails swapped out for agave-based liquors.
Photo: Provided by Zapata Cantina

Copper and Flame

1115 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
Become your own bartender with Copper and Flame’s pour-your-own-drink concept, slated to open in Over-the-Rhine this fall. Choose from over 68 local and national craft beers, draft wine and cocktails. Complete your night by ordering from the bar’s extensive menu of elevated Central/South American and Southeast Asian street food. The bar inhabits the space formerly occupied by game bar The Rook.
Photo: Google Maps

Westwood Nation Kitchen & Bar

3435 Epworth Ave., Westwood
Nation Kitchen & Bar offers a variety of burgers and sandwiches like the popular Nation burger, with a 6-ounce brisket patty, smoked cheddar, whiskey barbecue sauce, onion straws and horseradish aioli on a challah bun. After slingin’ patties in Pendleton since 2015, the Best of Cincinnati award-winning eatery will open a second location in Westwood in the revitalized Junietta Avenue Firehouse in October.
Photo via Facebook.com/NationPendleton

Northside Gardens and TiYah's Table

935 Spring Grove Ave., Northside
The owners of Northside LGBTQ+ dance club MixWells transformed the bar over the spring and summer by updating their vibrant outdoor space with a lush, plant-filled beer garden and teaming up with local mother-daughter duo TiYah's Table to oversee the kitchen. Rebranded as Northside Gardens, the establishment held its grand opening on the weekend of Sept. 4-5.
Photo: Scott Dittgen

Khora at Kinley Hotel

37 W. Seventh St., Downtown
Downtown Cincinnati’s new Kinley Hotel will be home to Khora, an eatery hailed by Vogue and Food & Wine magazine as one of the “most anticipated” American restaurant openings of 2020. Helmed by chef Edward Lee and executive chef and Cincinnati native Kevin Ashworth, the menu will put "a modern Midwest spin on classic recipes," says a release. Named for the ancient grain khorasan, the dishes will play heavily on pasta, including a riff on Cincinnati chili. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner — approachable during the day with a "destination restaurant" vibe at night. It's slated to open in October.
Photo via marriot.com

Esoteric Brewing Co.

900 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills
Walnut Hills' long-awaited Esoteric Brewing hosted its grand opening in early September. Cincinnati's first Black and Filipino-owned brewery, the team revitalized the 1930s Art Deco Paramount Building, which was once a department store but had been fallow for decades. The brewery offers an elevated beer drinking experience, using locally sourced and grown ingredients and creates “a sumptuous experience that changes the way you think about beer.”
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Taqueria Nogal

524 Sixth Ave., Dayton
Taco trailer Taqueria Nogal opened in September of 2019, originally in Newport. This summer, they relocated to Dayton, Kentucky while they work on their brick-and-mortar location in the neighborhood. The eatery offers a range of Mexican dishes like burritos, tacos, generously sized tortas and quesadillas with meat options including pollo (chicken), pastor (pork), asada (beef) and lengua (tongue). They also feature daily specials like their popular "elotes locos," a tasty Mexican street corn on a stick; camarones de cocktail (shrimp cocktail); and tamales. The restaurant will have similar dishes to their food truck, but will offer table service and a pick-up window.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Eishaus

117 Park Place, Covington
Covington’s Roebling Point district is going to get a little bit sweeter this fall with the opening of German-inspired ice cream, eats and coffee window Eishaus. The creamery will feature unique frozen treats like “spaghetti eis,” a pasta-style ice cream dish with ice cream “noodles” and toppings that resemble sauces and meatballs, plus breakfast burritos.
Photo via Facebook.com/EishausCov

Braxton Brewing Pendleton

331 E. 13th St., Pendleton
Braxton Brewing Co. announced in July it has taken over the 3 Points Urban Brewery taproom in Pendleton. This expansion marks the Northern Kentucky brewery's first move into Ohio and will allow Hickory Wald — the company that ran 3 Points — to focus on their restaurant, Nation Kitchen & Bar, says a release. (Nation is planning to open a second location in a historic Westwood firehouse.) The taproom is slated to open in September and "will focus on blending everything the company has brought to life in Northern Kentucky, just across the river," says a release from Braxton.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Covington Yard

401 Greenup St., Covington
Covington Yard is slated to open this fall and will feature repurposed shipping containers housing local restaurants like Django Western Taco, Slide In, Mr. Bulgogi and Yard Bird. The dog-friendly food hall will offer a space for the community to gather, with yard games, seating and great views.
Photo via Facebook.com/covingtonyard

Red Feather Larder at Dutch’s

3378 Erie Ave., Hyde Park
Cincinnati restaurateur Brad Bernstein, well-known for his upscale eateries Red Feather Kitchen in Oakley and Postmark in Clifton, is taking over Dutch's Larder, which closed its doors at the beginning of 2020 due to professional and personal changes among the three former partners. Bernstein is naming the "groceraunt" Red Feather Larder at Dutch’s and is anticipating opening this October. Visitors to the longtime establishment can anticipate a similar business model when it reopens under Bernstein's direction. In an interview with the restaurateur and chef, he explains that the space "will always be Dutch’s. I am just infusing the Red Feather brand into the legacy."
Photo: Google Street View

Taste of Belgium

7800 Montgomery Road, Kenwood
Taste of Belgium is slated to open a new bistro location — its sixth in Greater Cincinnati — in Kenwood Square in a former Ruby Tuesday in "early fall." The restaurant, which will be able to seat 350, will be one of the largest in the TOB portfolio. The space will undergo renovations before it opens, including the addition of a second patio. The menu will mimic other Taste of Belgium bistros during the initial launch, says Josh Baker, director of marketing, with frequently changing "LTO" or limited-time offerings. They will also offer a slew of rare Belgian beers: TOB exclusives like Val Dieu, Kwaremont and Averbode, as well as options like Chimay, Duvel, Delirium and La Chouffe. This location will also have a bakery serving traditional Liege waffles to-go and other favorites, including Belgian Pop Tarts.
Photo: Brittany Thornton

MashRoots

5903 Hamilton Ave., College Hill
This Puerto Rican-inspired Latin American eatery got its start as a pop-up in 2017. After several years of serving their build-your-own mofongo bowls at Findlay Market and various events, the restaurant is opening a brick-and-mortar establishment in College Hill later this year.
Photo via Facebook.com/MashRoots.Cincy

Agave & Rye Rookwood

801 Madison Ave., Covington
Covington-based craft taqueria and tequila and bourbon hall Agave & Rye is expanding its regional fleet to share its "epic dining experience" with a new Rookwood spot, opening on Sept. 20. The taqueria has become rather popular since its inception in 2018. Diners flock to the restaurant to enjoy its vibrant murals and funky decor while chowing down on unique tacos, with proteins including kangaroo, duck, crab cakes, butter-poached lobster, crispy cauliflower, salt and pepper fries and fried chicken — in addition to more familiar bases like steak, pork carnitas and mahi mahi. Currently, Agave & Rye has four locations: it's original eatery in Covington, a Liberty Township location, and two Kentucky restaurants; one in Louisville and one in Lexington, with three more coming this fall, including Troy, Ohio and New Albany, Indiana.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Aperture

900 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills
Pop-up restaurant experience The Aperture is getting a brick-and-mortar in Walnut Hills, the eatery announced on its Instagram. The restaurant is slated to open in 2020 in the historic Paramount Building at Gilbert Avenue and E. McMillan Street. Chef and owner Jordan Anthony-Brown will highlight the "techniques, flavors, and ingredients from countries such as Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Israel, and light influence from North African traditions such as Egypt and Morocco," says the website. Think seasonal, simple and shareable mezze.
Photo via Instagram.com/theaperturecinci

Bellevue’s New Rooftop Bar

700 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue
The owners behind Bellevue’s popular Fairfield Cafe + Bar and Fairfield Events are opening a rooftop bar above their eatery and event venue this fall. The new drinking destination will be the first rooftop bar in the neighborhood, and will offer spectacular views of the city and historic Fairfield Avenue.
Photo: Provided by Kate Moeves

The Emery

6914 Wooster Pike, Mariemont
A new restaurant is coming to historic Mariemont Square this fall. The Emery will be a "polished casual full-service restaurant, with a seafood-leaning menu," according to a February release from Looking Glass Hospitality Group. The two-story space will offer more than 5,700 square feet with a casual pub and patio on the first floor and a dining room and private space on the second.
Photo: Nancy Parrott