Two veterans of prominent Cincinnati-area restaurants have teamed up to launch an Italian eatery in downtown Covington. Since Carmelo’s opened three months ago, diners have been flocking to its doors.
It’s become so immediately popular that I was surprised at how hard it was to get a reservation any later than 6 p.m., even mid-week. In January, no less — the slowest month of the year for most restaurants. And this was a particularly cold and snowy one. Impressive, I thought, before we had even a sip of a cocktail or a morsel of food.
Carmelo’s sits on a corner of Madison Avenue in downtown Covington, but the impressive interior belies its unassuming exterior. The front room includes a bar with several booths, and after that there are three separate dining rooms and an open kitchen. The dining areas are in parallel rooms, each about the same size, so that even with its tall ceilings there’s a sense of intimacy in each of the spaces. A host led us to our table in the room closest to the kitchen, and by the time we had food in front of us, every table in the restaurant had been filled.
In creating Carmelo’s, owners Mitch Arens (Carmelo’s chef) and Billy Grise have transformed an 1850s-era office building into a truly majestic place to enjoy an evening meal. The exposed brick walls, grand arches and soaring ceilings impart a sense of history, of permanence, that is uncommon for a local dining establishment. It might even be intimidating if the hosts and servers behaved in a formal, standoffish manner. But it struck me right away how truly generous and accommodating the staff we interacted with treated us.
For instance, when I asked our server about some of the house cocktails, she said that if I ordered a drink and didn’t like it, she would bring a different one. She checked in several times throughout the meal to make sure we were happy with every dish or drink, doing so without hovering or interrupting our conversation. I eat out a lot, of course, and that level of solicitude is uncommon. And it doesn’t happen by chance, but results from the training provided by restaurant owners.
“We are willing to train anyone, regardless of their previous work history, if they love taking care of people and really take pride in making people happy,” said Grise. He said they are committed to a workplace where “each employee gets a voice in how the restaurant is operated and managed [and] where we as owners will always put the employee’s well-being first, above everything else.”
Respect for the individuals who make up a hospitality team is a hallmark of Greater Cincinnati’s best dining establishments, and it’s heartening that this restaurant has that commitment to true hospitality. Carmelo’s focus on staff training and nurturing is evident, and a harbinger of long-term success.
But, of course, what comes out of the kitchen must excel, too. Fortunately, they seem to have a good handle on that, as well.
The dinner menu presents sections labeled Shareables, Soups and Salads, Pasta and Entrees. I’m not a fan of the “shareable” trend in recent menu design, preferring the old-fashioned designation of appetizers, or starters, but, whatever you call it, that is usually my favorite part of most menus. And for me at least, that’s also where Carmelo’s kitchen really shone.
We might have dipped too eagerly into those delicious starters, truth be told, making it harder to appreciate the larger plates to come. Along with cocktails, my companion and I relished three dishes — cauliflower, mozzarella and garlic soup — almost licking the plates. At least two or three other offerings in that menu section looked equally enticing, but we wanted to save some room for pasta or an entrée.
The cauliflower stood out. Pan-fried florets were enhanced with salty umami from a bit of anchovy, garlic, parsley and parmesan cheese. Creamy, acidic lemon-garlic mayo pulled it all together and sliced almonds added the crunch factor that, in my opinion, is necessary for almost any dish whether it be appetizer, entrée or dessert.
Next time, I will have to try the eggplant appetizer and/or one based on polenta and/or calamari. The garlic soup was milder than I expected, and it went down easily on a cold winter night. Genuine comfort food. The mozzarella is fresh and pulled to order, and comes with a very generous portion of grilled focaccia. I love grilled bread and could have finished it, most likely, but we had ordered another course, so I refrained.
I wanted to sample pasta from their menu and went with mushroom marsala casarecce, which is a twisted, short pasta well-suited to hold sauces. Other than a house-specialty lasagna (I’ve never been much of a fan of baked pasta dishes), other pastas include linguine with alfredo sauce, spaghetti and meatballs, and spicy shrimp with spaghetti. There’s also an oxtail ragu over rigatoni with “a mountain of Pecorino,” a preparation that sounds perfect for someone with a mountain of an appetite. That wouldn’t be me, and I’ve been cutting back on meat, anyhow.
Truthfully, after the wonderful starters, I didn’t have enough appetite to get through even half of the pasta. Even so, the dish would have benefited from a bit more sauce, or at least, more mushrooms. My companion flagged, as well, before he was able to finish the fish entrée, described as “a whole-roasted side of fish” (striped bass) that came in a classic, light sauce of brown butter, capers and lemon. The fish was tender and the sauce fragrant. Other entrees are chicken thigh stuffed with Italian sausage, grilled lamb sausage on panzanella salad, and eggplant parmesan.
We almost always order dessert, especially when trying a new restaurant, but we had to pass this time. Carmelo’s offers two options: a massive portion of their tiramisu, or a dish of gelato or sorbetto. The “after dinner” menu also includes an intriguing selection of dessert wines, an espresso martini and both Italian and American amari. But after cocktails and wine, we didn’t have room for those enticements, even though I’m generally very interested in learning more about amari.
It’s totally on us to have filled up on appetizers, but on our way out, I stopped by the host stand and suggested they consider offering half-orders of pasta. Later, it occurred to me that they might tweak the pasta choices now and then with something a bit more adventurous than meatballs, alfredo and spicy shrimp.
Carmelo’s owners and staff have created a spectacular setting and welcoming vibe for patrons to enjoy classic Italian cooking. With a location adjacent to Covington’s big development project on the former IRS site, this new restaurant promises to be destination dining for the foreseeable future.
Carmelo’s, 434 Madison Ave., Covington. More info: eatatcarmelos.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Feb. 19 print edition.
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This article appears in Feb 19 – Mar 4, 2025.