These International Eateries Are Must-Visit Cincinnati Culinary Gems

Fortune Noodle House

349 Calhoun St., Clifton
This Clifton eatery specializes in hand-pulled noodles, the star of its menu. In a soup, the noodles soak up the broth but stay chewy, a quality unique to fresh homemade noodles. The pan-fried dishes also don’t dissapoint: try the shredded pork noodle for a well-balanced, flavorful meal, or check out some of the other favorites.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Uncle Yip’s

10736 Reading Road, Evendale
Uncle Yip’s is strip-mall Chinese food at its finest, with authentic (yes, that word gets tossed around a lot, but this is the real deal) Cantonese, Hunan and Sichuan cuisine. At dinner, the clientele is made up of families and friends gathered around tables sharing dishes like ginger and green onion lobster, rock salt squid and Peking duck. It’s like being transported to Hong Kong’s Temple Street Night Market in the Cincy suburbs. Try the weekend dim sum service, complete with rolling carts featuring baskets full of different little steamed or fried delights.
Photo: Facebook.com/UncleYips

Arrechisimo

8100 Blue Ash Road, Deer Park
Arrechissimo is Venezuelan slang for “spectacular.” Located in the tiny, working-class neighborhood of Deer Park, it offers a one-page menu of Venezuela's most beloved signature dishes. Though more than half of Arrechissimo's menu involves fried food, dinner entrées and some side dishes offer a respite from any oil overload.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Baladi Restaurant and Bakery

3307 Clifton Ave., Clifton
This Syrian restaurant offers a broad menu of Arabic eats: there’s hummus, falafel, kebabs and gyros, but branch out and try something you won’t find on other Middle Eastern-leaning menus, like foul (fava beans, olive oil and lemon juice) or fatayir (a “cheese boat” baked in handmade dough). Do yourself a favor and save room for a handmade dessert, like kunafa (filo dough, ricotta cheese and cream) or the icy mint lemonade.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

La Mexicana

642 Monmouth St., Newport
Home of some of the city’s best tacos: tacos al pastor with deliciously marinated pork shoulder, barbacoa, carne asada, lengua (tongue) and sesos (brains; they wash down perfectly with a cerveza). For vegetarians, wide-ranging fillings include seasoned pumpkin flower, corn truffle, hongos, beans and queso fresco. This inexpensive and authentic menu has been known to incite cravings after as little as one visit.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Le’s Pho and Sandwiches

3 E Court St., Downtown
This unassuming spot has a simple yet extensive menu, offering both traditional Vietnamese dishes as well as those that cater to less adventurous palates. Try the banh mi, a traditional Vietnamese sandwich complete with your choice of chicken, beef, pork, teriyaki or Dac Biet (a hearty combination of pork and pâté), topped with pickled carrot, onion, cilantro, jalapeño and just the right amount of mayonnaise. The eatery closed this spring to welcome a tiny new addition to the family, but will be reopening soon.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Ando Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar

5889 Pfeiffer Road, Blue Ash
Sushi might be everywhere now, but chef Ken Ando knows how to do it right. The dining room includes a 10-seat sushi bar, which is the perfect place to watch Ando work his magic on the freshest of fish, sourced directly from Japan and Taiwan.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Elephant Walk Injera & Curry House

170 W McMillan St., Clifton
Elephant Walk Injera & Curry House boasts a large, double-sided menu — Northern Indian on one side, traditional Ethiopian on the other. But what’s really awesome is the daily lunch buffet. It has both Ethiopian and Indian dishes so you can sample all you can eat of both cuisines and carbo load on both naan and injera, each country's unique take on bread with which to scoop up your meal.
Photo: Khoi Nguyen

Chako Bakery

611 Main St., Covington
This Covington bakery serves up delicious baked goods with omotenashi, a word for Japan’s unique sense of hospitality. In addition to baked staples like bread and cookies, try Chako's Japanese sandwiches like the katsu sando, a pork favorite you'll have to be quick to get — a limited amount are made each day — or the popular, bright green matcha roll.
Photo: Mesa Serikali

Bridges Nepali Cuisine

4165 Hamilton Ave., Northside
The restaurant name — Bridges — encourages diners to use food as a means of connecting to new cultures. owner Ashak Chipalu creates Nepalese food using his mother's recipes. The dishes are rich with spices — like ginger, garlic, cumin, chili pepper and cilantro — that elevate the simple ingredients like chicken, potato, lentils and cauliflower. In addition to its bowls and curries, it’s known for its unique and wide-ranging samosa selection, as well as momos aka Nepalese dumplings.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Mahope

3935 Spring Grove Ave., Northside
This Northside eatery is introducing Cincinnati to Cambodian food. Try ban chao rolls (pork and vegetables, wrapped in a rice flour crepe and paired with a roasted peanut sweet and sour vinaigrette) or vegetable kathiew (a vegan dish similar to pho, with a variety of vegetables and mushrooms immersed in noodles and broth).
Photo: Facebook.com/Mahope

Maize

1438 Race St., Over-the-Rhine
The restaurant takes its name from maize, a corn flour dating back some 10,000 years and first utilized by indigenous Mexicans. The flour serves as the basis for the arepas, cachapas and empanadas served at Maize and acts as an access point for the rich world of Latin American cuisine. The ceviche is perfect: plump and plentiful mahi, snapper and shrimp served with diced mango, serrano pepper and lime.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Thai Express

213 W. McMillan St., Clifton
A favorite stop for inexpensive, good Thai food and friendly service. The tiny, no-frills kitchen puts out some very tasty Thai food. Everything is cooked in one of the two giant iron woks, and nothing on the menu is outside a nearby University of Cincinnati student’s budget. Most dishes come with your choice of tofu, chicken, pork or shrimp. All-time favorites are pad Thai, the red curry with chicken, spring rolls and beef salad.
Photo: Paige Deglow

Zundo Ramen & Donburri

220 W. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine
This restaurant promises “soulful” ramen — a traditional Japanese dish consisting of a meat or fish-based broth, noodles and a range of vegetables and protein — to foodies in OTR. Zundo also offers traditional Japanese cuisine with a modern twist, like donburi (a stew that consists of various meats and vegetables served over steamed rice) topped with eel or sashimi, plus a full bar featuring Japanese classics like sake and soju.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Babushka Pierogies Window

1200 Main St., Over-the-Rhine
Stop by Babushka Pierogies to sample a variety of its namesake dumplings, ranging from the traditional (filled with cheese, potatoes and bacon) to the local (stuffed with lentil Cincinnati-style chili) to full-on U.S.-Russian fusion (deep-fried “pizzarogies”). In addition to the pierogies, try the Russian Caravan tea or stop by their Findlay Market location for kielbasa, borscht and stuffed cabbage rolls. Attached to the window is owner Sarah Dworak's full-service bar, Wodka Bar, serving an array of Eastern European bites (caviar, rye bread with dill butter, a kielbasa bowl) with wheat, potato, grape, corn and rye vodkas.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Wunderbar

1132 Lee St., Covington
When stepping foot inside Wunderbar, the German-themed Covington restaurant and watering hole, be prepared for the wurst. German sausages are the star of the menu: wholesome, authentic and in most cases housemade, freshly ground from locally sourced meats and free of fillers. Also a fan favorite is the ever-popular giant pretzel with beer cheese.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Tortilleria Garcia

11774 Springfield Pike, Springdale / 5917 Hamilton Ave., College Hill
Omar Garcia, the restaurant's owner, grew up on a family farm in Michoacan, Mexico and learned how to make corn tortillas the old fashioned way from his mother and grandmother. Garcia honors his family’s culinary history by uncompromisingly follow their recipe for fresh tortillas — never using flour or preservatives. Garcia’s menu consists of classics like tamales, burritos, housemade salsas and rotisserie chicken, in addition to tacos.
Photo: Paige Deglow

Bauer Kitchen

435 Elm St., Downtown
A truly unique exploration of German cuisine with French accents. Along with expected meat offerings (jaeger schnitzel, choucroute garnie, oxtail stew), Bauer also offers “tete du cochon:” half of a piggy’s head cooked sous vide for three days and crisped before serving. The pig head is served on a board accompanied by housemade mustard, pickled vegetables, sauerkraut, potato salad and Sixteen Bricks bread.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Marrakech Morrocan Cafe & Grill

341 Ludlow Ave., Clifton
The chefs, who hail from Marrakech, serve up Mediterranean staples, plus a variety of tajines — flavorful stews slow-cooked in a conical earthenware pot — and bastilla, a sweet-and-savory chicken pie layered with scrambled eggs, shredded chicken, caramelized onions, ground almonds, confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon. Don’t miss out on the Moroccan mint tea.
Photo: Jesse Fox

Raya Lebanese Restaurant

801 Elm St., Downtown
This spot’s shawarma is incredibly flavorful, hitting on all the desirable trademarks of the sandwich. It's a little more compact than usual, leaving you with plenty of room to enjoy some lentil soup, a Greek salad or, if you’ve been good, some baklava.
Photo: Emerson Swoger