We had such a good time at Branch in East Walnut Hills recently, no doubt in part because I enjoyed laughs and chatter with friends that I hadn’t seen in a while. Over the course of a leisurely evening we experienced a just-about-perfect dinner at this new addition to city dining. And judging from the fact that we had to book a couple weeks out to get a table after 5:30 or before 9 p.m., Branch already looks like a triumph for its seasoned team.
Littlefield Restaurant Group rehabbed a historic building over a two-year period and in December opened the restaurant and adjacent downstairs bar called Night Drop. For much of the last century, the building housed a bank, thus the name of both the restaurant and bar.
Their original eatery, Northside’s Littlefield, is one of my very favorite spots for bourbon cocktails and innovative, inexpensive comfort food with an inimitable Northside vibe. Branch is a much more ambitious venture both in food, service and ambiance, although we can thank chef Shoshannah Anderson for creating the delicious menus in both places.
Managing partner John Ford has said that they want Branch to be a neighborhood spot, and I’m sure it will bring in plenty of East Walnut Hills residents. But judging by the crowd during the two dinners I had in the first month or so of its existence, Branch is attracting diners from other metro communities, too.
The Littlefield group and various architects, contractors and artists spent about two years and over $1 million to design, build out and decorate the Art Deco interior of this unique building at DeSales Corner. The dining room graces a relatively long, narrow space that seats 72, including 20 at the bar. Above the bar sits an imposing mural commissioned for the restaurant that fits so beautifully with the original design of the room that it could be vintage 1935 instead of 2018. Created by artists Curtis Goldstein and Matt Lynch, “The Genius of Alcohol” is a Formica mosaic that depicts a fanciful take on Cincinnati in its pre-Prohibition days.
Executive chef Anderson most recently worked her culinary magic at Littlefield, but in a tiny kitchen. Ford said that one goal of Branch was to give Anderson “a proper kitchen, where she can do even more interesting food” than she produced at Littlefield.
The scene at the restaurant’s bar as well as along the row of tables feels distinctly urban, with people running into friends from around town who happen to be trying the new eatery, too. There’s enough parking nearby to satisfy venturesome suburbanites, although as with most city neighborhoods, parking isn’t free.
Go ahead and spring for the paid lot, everyone: Branch is the real deal. I think it’s one of the best new restaurants we’ve seen around town in a while.
What we especially loved, food wise, were the appetizers and desserts. Oh, and the cocktails. Although we all ordered entrées as well, I’d be perfectly happy to skip that course and chow down on the rest of the menu.
Dinner choices are presented in two columns, “Shares” and “Stocks,” a play on the building’s history. It was the shares — or smaller plates — that knocked me out. Over the course of two visits, I and my companions tried almost all the smaller plates, and we were delighted by the variety of savory dishes among the starter choices.
Our favorites included a pork belly and vegetable dumpling ($13) — a few tender but chewy crescent-shaped pasta pillows covered lightly in an umami-rich miso broth. Two other hits were roasted sunchokes ($11) and curry roasted cauliflower ($10). The sunchokes had the consistency of artichoke but with a delicious flavor all their own enhanced by garlicky aioli, while the cauliflower had just a little heat from the curry along with sweet golden raisins and a touch of crunch from quinoa gremolata. I would be happy to eat any of those appetizers again.
Other “Share” dishes I tried were a chilled Israeli chickpea salad ($10) and satisfyingly meaty chili-smoked wings ($12). Anderson loves to use a smoker on a variety of meats and sometimes even cheeses, so look for occasional specials with a smoky flair. Ford said that Branch offers three specials each weekend night, including a dessert special most nights.
Main courses — or “Stocks” on the menu — range from an Italian sandwich on baguette ($14) to flank steak with charred onion salad and grilled baguette ($22) and diver scallops ($26). I tried the scallops and was a little surprised when only two of them showed up on my plate, but the richness of the seafood along with a sauce that included pork belly was quite filling. A companion ordered crispy skin-on salmon ($24) with grilled rapini, rice and a somewhat spicy sauce and loved the combo of flavors.
Anderson always has excelled with her desserts — I remember fondly the banana cake she featured at her former restaurant, Honey. She continues to make scrumptious sweets at Branch, some familiar and others more adventurous. We delighted in a smooth, not-too-sweet crème caramel and an apple crostada ($8 each) that had a flaky crust and a scoop of honey vanilla ice cream. If you want to try something completely different, order the wonderful float ($10) — chocolate ice cream, dessert sherry and housemade coffee soda. I loved this one best of all the desserts and had it twice.
Night Drop, in the basement, is a separate establishment with a completely different feel — dark, cozy and a little cramped, by my standards. (Ford says they are redesigning the seating at Night Drop to make it a bit more inviting.) In addition to dinner seven nights a week, Branch serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday with a menu that looks terrific.
Branch, 1535 Madison Road, East Walnut Hills, 513-221-2702, eatatbranch.com.
*An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the restaurant is open six days a week for dinner; it is open seven days a week for dinner
This article appears in Feb 13-20, 2019.