Greater Cincinnati Comfort-Food Restaurants Better Than Dinner With Your Dysfunctional Family

Soul Secrets

1434 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
This OTR spot doesn’t just offer soul food – their recipes tell the story of owner Candice Holloway’s family. "Our recipes – that's what we bring to the table. They're historic, they're traditional, they are original, they're from scratch, they are made with love,” Holloway told CityBeat. A look at the menu shows entrees that, in a lot of the South, would just be called good ol’ home cooking, like fried chicken, shrimp and grits, fried whiting and catfish. On the side, there’s macaroni and cheese, collard greens, sweet potatoes and cornbread — the kinds of dishes prepared for the family and that you’d hope for when someone offers to “fix you a plate.”

Rich’s Proper Food & Drink

701 Madison Ave., Covington
This bar and restaurant operates out of the more than 100-year-old building formerly occupied by Rich's Gruen Watches, a high-end jewelry store. The bar’s menu includes wine, beer, cocktails and spirits, with a special emphasis placed on bourbon. The kitchen provides food with a twist on Southern fare with Creole and Kentucky influences to warm your stomach and soul.

Greyhound Tavern

2500 Dixie Highway, Ft. Mitchell
The Greyhound Tavern has offered down-home comfort food to Northern Kentuckians since the 1920s. The atmosphere is pleasantly country-fied, with wood paneling, vinyl tablecloths and multiple fireplaces, and the menu reflects that, too. The tavern is known for its herbed secret-recipe fried chicken and Kentucky classics like the Hot Brown. In 2021, Microsoft News named Greyhound Tavern as Kentucky's most legendary restaurant.

Boomtown Biscuits & Whiskey

9039 US-42, Suite H, Union
This restaurant is inspired by the trappings of the American frontier and California's 19th-century gold rush. It’s also helmed by chef Christian Gill, who has appeared on several cooking competition shows. At Boomtown, the true delight comes plated. The signature biscuit isn't a run-of-the-mill, thousand-layer, flaked baked good: It's a buttery, soft disk with a close crumb and a browned, lightly bubbled top that no breakfast chain can compete with. Order the Gold Shoes to get this delightful biscuit topped with delicious sawmill, peppercorn, mushroom, Creole or goetta gravy.

Tousey House Tavern

5963 N. Jefferson St., #9596, Burlington
Tousey House has all the Southern comforts you crave, offering a large menu featuring brunch, lunch and dinner items. A few popular dishes include the fried green tomatoes, chicken and waffles and Southern eggs benedict. The restaurant also offers bourbon flights. It's located inside of a historic building that dates back to 1822.

Stephen’s Old Village Restaurant

3323 Harrison Ave., Cheviot
This tiny neighborhood diner has served quality fare on the West Side since the ‘70s. Featuring homemade food and great hospitality that never goes out of style, Stephen’s Old Village Restaurant is best known for its large-portion meals and even larger menu, with diner staples like burgers, clubs, gyros and double deckers, as well as comfort food like fried chicken, pork chops and roast beef. It also serves breakfast favorites all day long.

Blue Jay Restaurant

4154 Hamilton Ave., Northside
This homey Northside diner has been owned and operated by the Petropoulos family since 1967. Stepping inside is almost like stepping back in time with the row of cozy booths, wood paneling on the walls and the dining counter. The menu features classic breakfast and lunch dishes that come in generous portions, as well as Cincinnati-style chili in a bowl, on coneys or as ways. The restaurant was also featured in the 2017 movie The Killing of a Sacred Deer starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell.

Libby’s Southern Comfort

35 W. Eighth St., Covington
This Covington eatery pays tribute to Southern classics like fried chicken and half-shell oysters served alongside a variety of bourbon drinks and other local favorites. The atmosphere is hip but with cozy touches to make you feel at home. Brunch is served on Sundays and offers up Southern breakfast favorites like chicken and waffles and their take on a Kentucky Brown. Order anything with a side of home fries and a mimosa for an added dose of comfort.

deSha’s American Tavern

11320 Montgomery Road, Symmes Township
Since opening in 1990, deSha’s mission has been to provide diners a comfortable, down-home place to get a good meal and drink. The restaurant’s interior is rustic chic, resembling a cozy hunting lodge with a roaring fireplace and lofted, beamed ceiling, while the menu features a selection of tavern fare ranging from fish and chips to filet mignon, as well as Southern-inspired dishes like jambalaya, pot roast and a Kentucky Hot Brown.

Golden Lamb

27 S. Broadway St., Lebanon
Timeless comfort food: The oldest restaurant in Ohio, the Golden Lamb has been a community gathering spot since it was opened in 1803. In its nearly 220-year history as a restaurant and hotel, the Golden Lamb has played host to 12 U.S. presidents and other famous figures. From its historic dining menu, you can order the Golden Lamb roast turkey dinner or a braised lamb shank, among other items, or opt for the more modern burgers and sandwiches. The attached Black Horse Tavern is more casual and serves the same menu as well as specialty cocktails.

LouVino

1142 Main St., Over-the-Rhine
This Over-the-Rhine restaurant and wine bar offers Southern-style cuisine and wines curated from around the world. LouVino’s menu features a selection of comfort-food go-tos like fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles. The menu also has a selection of gluten-free and vegetarian dishes, and for brunch, you can get a Southern favorite with a Cincinnati twist: Biscuits & Goetta Gravy.

Eli’s BBQ

133 W. Elder St., Over-the-Rhine; 3313 Riverside Drive, Columbia Tusculum
Eli's BBQ is well known for hickory-smoked barbecue and signature barbecue sauce. While the inside of the original East End location is definitely considered tiny, there is plenty of outdoor seating and Southern hospitality. The no-frills affair specializes in meats, pulled and smoked and served in a red plastic basket.

State Line Restaurant

55 US-50, Greendale
This little roadside diner appears to be frozen in time in the best way possible. State Line Restaurant is classic Americana with its blue and white subway tile, cherry-red chairs and stools at the counter and a menu featuring items like The Hungry Man (eggs, choice of breakfast meat, hash browns or home fries and the choice between a small serving of biscuits and gravy or two pancakes and toast with homemade jam) and The Stateliner (homemade goetta on a grilled hoagy bun and topped with two over-hard eggs, two slices of bacon, American cheese and house-made gravy — you can also make it spicy by opting for their Cajun-style goetta and pepper jack). For lunch, State Line serves up homestyle dishes like Beef Liver & Onions, Meatloaf and the Icelandic Cod Fish Log, along with burgers and sandwiches, including hoagies and double-deckers.

Big Jays Place

930 Hempstead Drive, Finneytown
Big Jays Place in Finneytown offers a menu bursting with flavor from its Caribbean comfort food dishes, like the Soul Food Plate, featuring jerk chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens and cilantro rice, or the half-pound Jerk Burrito, which comes with a choice of shrimp, jerk chicken or salmon. But what Big Jays is best known for is its oxtail, which Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives host Guy Fieri got to try on his recent visit there, saying, “If you don’t like oxtail, then come on down here to the oxtail conversion program.”

The Schoolhouse Restaurant

8031 Glendale Milford Road, Camp Dennison
Built in the 1860s, this former Hamilton County schoolhouse was bought and saved from demolition by Donald and Phyllis Miller, who turned it into the Schoolhouse Restaurant. Keeping the schoolhouse theme, the restaurant features windows, yellow oak floors and blackboards, on which the menu is written, from the late 1800s. The menu features American comfort food like fried chicken, mashed potatoes, smoked ham, country-fried steak and homemade meatloaf. The Schoolhouse was recently featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, whipping up some of their sides – country-style green beans and cornbread – and fried chicken for host Guy Fieri, as well as their famous Peanut Butter Pie for dessert.

Purple Poulet

846 York St., Newport
Purple Poulet brands itself as a Southern bourbon bistro — emphasis on the bourbon; it’s got over 500 bourbons and ryes to try and always looking to add to its collection. The eatery is also well-known for its Southern fried chicken, offering five different ways to try it, including the Fried Chicken and Waffle and "Claim to Fame" fried chicken dinner. But this isn’t just a fried chicken joint; the Chef Z’s Southern Supper portion of the menu offers up a number of Southern comfort-food dishes, including Z’s Uptown Hot Brown (turkey, ham, bacon, Mornay and fried green tomato on a biscuit), Cola BBQ Ribs and Cornmeal Fried Catfish.

Diane’s

1951 Anderson Ferry Road, Green Township
A quintessential mom-and-pop restaurant, Diane’s has been in the East family for nearly forty years. Even if you’re trying to ditch your family, this West Side restaurant will ensure you feel like a part of theirs, nourishing its guests with hearty meals like their Homestyle Pot Roast, Homemade Meatloaf and Country Fried Steak, all served with mashed potatoes, gravy, your choice of vegetable, a tossed salad and roll. For some lighter comfort food, you can also opt for one of their sandwiches, like the chicken salad or their grilled cheese, the Golden Cheese Dream, which comes with a choice of American, cheddar, Swiss or mozzarella cheese or bacon or tomato and is served with fresh fruit.

Hyde’s Restaurant

130 S. Erie Blvd., Hamilton
This mom-and-pop diner in Hamilton serves up diner staples alongside soul-fueling homestyle dishes like fried chicken, roast beef and chopped steak. But what Hyde’s is really known for are its homemade pies. From classic apple to a creamy butterscotch, Hyde’s bakes its pies on-site daily for an added touch of down-home comfort.

Lake Nina Restaurant

7200 Pippin Road, North College Hill
Lake Nina Restaurant & Tavern is located next to an actual lake and has been offering seafood-focused homestyle cooking to Cincinnatians for about 60 years. Famous for their fried fish log, they also offer a variety of other non-seafood options like fried chicken, frog legs, burgers and double-deckers.

Ron’s Roost

3853 Race Road, Green Township
This family-owned restaurant has been serving up delicious fried chicken and sides on Cincinnati’s West Side since 1960. They’re still putting out tons of chicken each week – about 10,000 pieces a week, according to their website – but their menu has expanded to include something for everyone: salads, seafood, burgers, barbecue and country-style dishes like meatloaf and turkey with dressing.