Best Casual Restaurants in Cincinnati

Always great food and service. We were seated near the garage door so it was cold and breezy (30 degrees outside). But, still overall a great experience.

Ambiance, service and food is praise-worthy. Comfortable banquette seating is available, quieter, and offers grand views of a busy kitchen and lively dining room. Christine and Heather attended to our requests. Both engaging and knowledgeable, their pacing of our 5 course meal was perfection! Kudos to the kitchen, in that regard, as well! An order - or two - of Pommes Soufflées IS A MUST for every table. Truffle season delights. Chicken with truffled risotto was very good, but the gnocchi with shaved black truffle was the winner overall.

This is my 2nd visit to Alcove. They do a great job of making great food without being pretentious. The menu is varied in that you can spend a little more money, but also have a tasty sandwiches. This meal pleased all - dad with steak frites (a perfect med rare!), massive chicken sandwich and cod sandwiches for the kids, and a lovely chicken with pumpkin gnocchi for the Mrs. These were enjoyed by all. Dessert was cheesecake and chocolate cake were very good and just the right size. I don't want to forget about the "... by MadTree" part - the drinks and cocktails are anchored by MadTree craft beer as well as Sway. I went with the classic Identity Crisis and Holly Days. The kids loved their mocktails. The cocktail look great and perhaps next time I will venture that way.

We had lunch reservations for our 47th anniversary. We were immediately seated on arrival, and promptly greeted by our server Mark. He was happy to be part of our celebration, and shared his favorite recommendations on the menu. So many choices! We had spaghetti with Sunday Sauce, butternut squash ravioli, veal cutlets, salad wedge, freshly baked bread, and of course, wine. Everything was delicious. Thanks for making our anniversary a special day! We will definitely be back. T & C Lane

We went to lunch to celebrate my wife’s birthday and were immediately impressed by our server, Chrissy, and her knowledge of the menu and wine pairings. The ambiance was intimate and soft at the beginning, but between the house music and the increasing number of patrons, it became quite loud. Still, the food and attention to detail were the stars of the show. The eggplant parmigiana, tagliatelle al prosciutto, and the Italian Stallion cocktail were among the best of the afternoon. To finish, a complimentary donut served with a delicate salted caramel sauce brought the birthday celebration to a special level. We highly recommend and we will return for another great experience!