There’s nothing a woman can’t do, especially when it comes to making her dream a reality. Women throughout Greater Cincinnati are doing the heavy lifting and tough work of owning and running restaurants, crafting menus with their innovations along with some handed-down family recipes to share with diners.

From BBQ joints and farm-to-table brunch spots to vegan and Asian cuisines (we even included a place for some award-winning dessert), Greater Cincinnati’s women restaurateurs and food-business entrepreneurs are doing it all. Below, we’ve highlighted 12 women-owned eateries you should try ASAP.

Christine’s 5770 Harrison Ave., Dent Offering Filipino cuisine featuring casual dining seating and a bar, Christine’s is a place to enjoy casual family gatherings with tasty yet inexpensive dining. Established in 2015, Christine’s offers tried and true Filipino recipes passed down in owner Christine’s family from “generation to generation.” Photo via christinescasualdining.com Photo: christinescasualdining.com
Sweets & Meats BBQ 3440 Burnet Ave., Avondale After closing their Mt. Washington eatery a few years ago, Sweets & Meats BBQ is back in the brick-and-mortar business. The BBQ joint, owned by Kristen Bailey and Anton Gaffney, opened a new dine-in space in the Cincinnati Herald building in Avondale in September 2024. The restaurant offers the same menu items that made Sweets & Meats one of Cincinnati’s most popular BBQ spots, including their award-winning smoked ribs, rib tips, brisket, chicken wings, pulled pork and pulled chicken, as well as a variety of homemade sides like mac and cheese, collard greens and sweet cornbread. It also has desserts like banana pudding and strawberry crunch cake. Photo: Provided by Sweets & Meats BBQ
Cafe Mochiko 1524 Madison Road, East Walnut Hills Chefs Elaine Uykimpang Bentz and Erik Bentz turned their Japanese-style pop-up into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in East Walnut Hills in 2021. Cafe Mochiko specializes in a fusion cuisine known as “yoshoku,” which borrows elements from Asian and Western cooking styles. A pastry chef, Uykimpang Bentz focuses on the daytime baked goods, crafting items including a delicious ube halaya (purple yam) croissant, bao and loaves of shokupan. At night, the dinner menu offers options like the Hokkaido Smashburger, Japanese-style fried chicken (karaage) and a Ramen of the Week. Photo: Francisco Huerta
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, its seasonal (and vegan) chicken pot pie and fried whiting and catfish. On the side, there’s mac 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.” Photo: Catie Viox
Best Breakfast Winner: Sleepy Bee Cafe Runners-up: Sugar n’ Spice, First Watch Photo: facebook.com/sleepybeecafe
uGOgelato 1733 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine María Liliana Biondo’s father was a gelato chef, so she grew up in a gelato lab in Venezuela, learning all the best techniques to create the sweet treat. She said when she first stepped foot in the United States, she had a dream to open her own gelateria here. uGOgelato at Findlay Market offers traditional and plant-based gelatos, including the award-winning Mandorland, which features a base made out of natural almond, toasted almond and bitter almond, 70% Venezuelan chocolate, blood orange glaze and almond nougat and is finished with an orange zest spray. Biondo will take this recipe and head to Italy in 2025 to continue her run for the title of “World’s Best Gelato Chef.” Photo: Maria Liliana Biondo
Tickle Pickle 4176 Hamilton Ave., Northside; 915 N. Ft. Thomas Ave., Ft. Thomas Owned by Lea Dickman, Tickle Pickle offers rock-and-roll-inspired burgers, with a menu of clever, punny names that would awe Bob Belcher. Offerings include the Pearl Jam — a burger topped with jalapeño jam, goat cheese, tomato and caramelized onions and served on a pretzel bun — or the Mariah Curry (a chicken sandwich featuring goat cheese, house-made curry ketchup, spinach, grilled cucumbers and caramelized onions on a pretzel bun). You can also create your own burger masterpiece, customizing it to your exact preference. Need something sweet to wash it all down? Tickle Pickle is also known for its thick and creamy vegan milkshakes. Photo: Mary LeBus
San Jeanetta’s Table 7714 Montgomery Road, Kenwood For some chef-quality comfort food, San Jeanetta’s got you covered. Before opening their brick-and-mortar store in Kenwood, husband-and-wife team Chef Dion and Tiffany Metts were making a name for themselves by selling their famous mac-and-cheese bowls at food and beverage park Covington Yard. The menu at the Kenwood store features the mac-and-cheese bowls, along with grit bowls and chicken in tender, wing and sandwich form. You can also get Southern-style platters, including blackened salmon and chicken thighs. Photo: facebook.com/SanJeanettasTable
Juniper Seed 1809 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine A new addition to Findlay Market, Juniper Seed offers accessible, nourishing and delicious plant-based food that helps address the gaps in local vegan dining. Juniper Seed started in 2022 as a fully vegan meal prep delivery service (which is still operating), before owner and founder Alecia Petroze took it through the Findlay Launch Storefront Accelerator program. It opened in a brick-and-mortar space this September, with a fully vegan menu — and any dish that is not inherently gluten-free has a gluten-free option. The offerings at Juniper Seed include breakfast options, such as Belgian waffles; vegan goetta; breakfast burritos with tofu scramble and Impossible sausage; grab-and-go options such as a kale Caesar salad and vegan cheesecake; and staple side dishes like buttered toast, fresh fruit and party potatoes. The party potatoes, Petroze’s favorite menu option, are a riff on her aunt’s recipe for funeral potatoes, a cheesy potato casserole well-known in Utah and the Midwest. Photo: Provided by Findlay Market
The Arepa Place 131 W. Elder St., Over-the-Rhine Breakfast/Brunch: 9 a.m.-noon Saturday; 10 a.m.-noon Sunday Never had an arepa? This is the place to learn why the rest of the world is catching on to these Latin American delights in a hurry. Originally launched as a Findlay Market pop-up tent by native Colombian Isis Arrieta-Dennis, The Arepa Place now has a brick-and-mortar market spot from which to serve its traditional corn flour street food specialty. Each arepa is grilled then sliced and stuffed with fillings ranging from mozzarella cheese and chorizo to fried plantains and black beans. The space might prove unassuming for a brunch spot due to its relatively small dining area, but the eatery offers top-notch breakfast food, with alcohol, which makes this a quirky off-the-radar (until now) brunch destination. Must Try: The arepa de huevo — a deep-fried cornmeal sandwich stuffed with egg and ground beef — along with a beer; Presidente, a Dominican pilsner, is worth a try. They also serve aguapanela, which is sugarcane water with lemon. Each dish comes with one salsa, but extra sides of the condiment are only $1 if you want to try a variety. — SMP Photo: Hailey Bollinger Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Tea ‘n’ Bowl 211 W. McMillan St., CUF Tea ‘n’ Bowl, a charming hole-in-the-wall restaurant and a beloved staple among University of Cincinnati students, offers a taste of Asia that represents several different cuisines. Owner Yvonne Chew’s menu offers dishes from both Malaysia and China — including an authentic Chinese menu that utilizes spices like lemongrass, Szechuan pepper and tamarind and an Americanized menu that offers dishes you typically find in Chinese restaurants. There’s also a selection of bubble teas, or boba teas, a drink that originated in Taiwan. Photo: facebook.com/teanbowl
Cozy’s Cafe and Pub 6440 Cincinnati Dayton Road, Liberty Township Cozy is the exact vibe of Jan Collins’ restaurant, Cozy’s Cafe and Pub. The space is in a former house, so you feel right at home dining on the gourmet comfort food in one of the farmhouse-style dining rooms or outside on the patio by the fire. The menu features farm-to-table-style fare, like the Tomahawk pork chop, fried chicken and filling salads featuring an array of garden ingredients. Cozy’s also has a thoughtfully curated wine list, craft beers and classic cocktails with a twist, as well as an in-house pastry chef crafting delectable desserts to really bring your meal full circle. Photo: facebook.com/cozyscafeandpub