CityBeat‘s Best of Cincinnati issue has officially arrived, highlighting the city’s most outstanding Arts & Culture, Eats, Shops & Services, Music & Nightlife, City Life and Sports & Recreation. And the responsibility of selecting these exceptional entities is divided between our readers and staff.

This year, half a million votes were tallied to determine our Reader Picks. Readers logged on to the ballot site to vote for their favorites in broad categories like Best New Restaurant and Best Bartender, with more niche topics including Best Ribs, Best Realtor and Best CBD Retailer. You might not need to know who the Best Used Automotive Dealer is right now, or the Best Lawyer, but when you do, we’ve got you covered.

This particular slideshow gathers all the winners from the entire “Eats” category. These restaurants and businesses have proven themselves as the Queen City’s top spots, according to our readers’ votes.

And while the future may seem uncertain right now, one thing’s for sure — this past year was filled with some absolutely excellent eats, made by incredibly talented and passionate chefs and bakers. And after we weather the storm, this city will be stronger — and tastier — than ever.

Best New Restaurant (Since March 2019) 1. Kiki College Hill, facebook.com/kikicollegehill 2. Libby’s Southern Comfort, libbyssoutherncomfort.com 3. Chicken Salad Chick, chickensaladchick.com 4. Goose & Elder, gooseandelder.com 5. Dead Low Brewing, deadlowbrewing.com 6. Ripple Wine Bar, ripplewinebar.com 7. Forty Thieves, fortythievesgang.com 8. Losanti, losantiotr.com 9. Tuba Baking Co., facebook.com/tubabakingco 10. Delwood, delwoodcincy.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Brunch 1. Nation Kitchen & Bar, nationkitchenandbar.com 2. Sleepy Bee Cafe, sleepybeecafe.com 3. Taste of Belgium, authenticwaffle.com 4. Maplewood Kitchen and Bar, maplewoodkitchenandbar.com 5. First Watch, firstwatch.com 6. Grand Finale, grandfinale.info 7. Orchids at Palm Court, orchidsatpalmcourt.com 8. Lucius Q, luciusq.com 9. Boomtown Biscuits & Whiskey, boomtownbiscuitsandwhiskey.com 10. The National Exemplar, nationalexemplar.com Photo: Brittany Thornton
Barbecue 1. Eli’s BBQ, elisbarbeque.com 2. City Barbeque, citybbq.com 3. Lucius Q, luciusq.com 4. Montgomery Inn, montgomeryinn.com 5. Pickles & Bones Barbecue, picklesandbones.com 6. Sweets & Meats BBQ, sweetsandmeatsbbq.com 7. Pontiac, pontiacbbq.com 8. Just Q’in BBQ, justqin.com 9. Bee’s Barbecue, facebook.com/beesbarbecue 10. Midwest Best BBQ and Creamery, midwestbestbbq.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Tacos 1. Mazunte, mazuntetacos.com 2. Condado Tacos, condadotacos.com 3. Taco Casa, tacocasacinti.com 4. Agave & Rye, agaveandrye.com 5. Bakersfield, bakersfieldtacos.com 6. Tortilleria Garcia, tortilleriagarcia.us 7. Gomez Salsa, gomezsalsa.com 8. La Mexicana Restaurante Cantina & Tienda, searchable on Facebook 9. Street Chef Brigade, streetchefbrigade.com 10. Django Western Taco, djangonorthside.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Mexican 1. Mazunte, mazuntetacos.com 2. La Mexicana Restaurante Cantina & Tienda, searchable on Facebook 3. Taqueria Mercado, taqueriamercado.com Photo: Patty Salas
Neighborhood Restaurant (Downtown/OTR) 1. Nation Kitchen & Bar, nationkitchenandbar.com 2. The Eagle, eaglerestaurant.com 3. Sotto, sottocincinnati.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Overall Burgers (Non-Chain) 1. Nation Kitchen & Bar, nationkitchenandbar.com 2. Roney’s, facebook.com/roneysrestaurant 3. Zip’s Cafe, zipscafe.com 4. Flipdaddy’s, flipdaddys.com 5. Quatman Cafe, quatmancafe.com 6. Tickle Pickle, ordertickle.com 7. The Turf Club, turfclubcincy.com 8. Street Chef Brigade, streetchefbrigade.com 9. Arthur’s (TIE), arthurscincinnati.com 9. Krueger’s Tavern (TIE), kruegerstavern.com 10. Sammy’s Craft Burgers & Beer, sammyscbb.com Photo via facebook.com/nationkitchenandbar
Neighborhood Restaurant (East Side) 1. El Coyote (TIE), elcoyotecincy.com 1. Joe’s Pizza Napoli (TIE), joespizzanapoli.com 2. Mazunte, mazuntetacos.com 3. Jeff Ruby’s The Precinct, jeffruby.com/precinct Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Neighborhood Restaurant (Central) 1. Ruth’s Parkside Cafe, ruthscafe.com 2. Adriatico’s, adriaticospizza.com 3. Quatman Cafe, quatmancafe.com Photo via Ruth’s Parkside Cafe Facebook
Neighborhood Restaurant (West Side) 1. Incline Public House, inclinepublichouse.com 2. Price Hill Chili, pricehillchili.com 3. Primavista, pvista.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Appetizers 1. Sotto, sottocincinnati.com 2. The Eagle, eaglerestaurant.com 3. Incline Public House, inclinepublichouse.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Bagels 1. Marx Hot Bagels, marxhotbagels.com 2. Bruegger’s Bagels, brueggers.com 3. The Bagelry, otrbagelry.com Photo via facebook.com/marxhotbagels
Best Overall Restaurant (Northern Kentucky) 1. Otto’s, ottosonmain.com 2. Greyhound Tavern, greyhoundtavern.com 3. Bouquet Restaurant, bouquetrestaurant.com 4. Walt’s Hitching Post, waltshitchingpost.com 5. Agave & Rye, agaveandrye.com 6. Pompilio’s, pompilios.com 7. KungFood Chu’s AmerAsia, kungfoodchu.com 8. Rich’s Proper Food & Drink, richsproper.com 9. York Street Café, yorkstonline.com 10. Frida 602, fridaonmain.com Photo via facebook.com/ottos521cov
Neighborhood Restaurant (Northern Kentucky) 1. Greyhound Tavern, greyhoundtavern.com 2. Otto’s, ottosonmain.com 3. Pompilio’s, pompilios.com Photo via facebook.com/greyhoundtavern
Beer Selection (Restaurant) 1. Yard House, yardhouse.com 2. Taft’s Ale House, taftsbeer.com 3. KungFood Chu’s AmerAsia, kungfoodchu.com Photo via Google Maps
Bourbon Selection (Restaurant) 1. Goodfellas Pizzeria/Wiseguy Lounge, goodfellaspizzeria.com 2. The Littlefield, littlefieldns.com 3. Boomtown Biscuits & Whiskey, boomtownbiscuitsandwhiskey.com Photo via facebook.com/goodfellaspie
Overall Burgers (Chain) 1. Five Guys, fiveguys.com 2. Frisch’s Big Boy, frischs.com 3. Red Robin, redrobin.com Photo: Marcel Heil / Unsplash Photo: Marcel Heil/Unsplash
Neighborhood Burger Spot (Downtown/OTR) 1. Nation Kitchen & Bar, nationkitchenandbar.com 2. Krueger’s Tavern, kruegerstavern.com 3. Arnold’s Bar & Grill, arnoldsbarandgrill.com Photo via facebook.com/nationkitchenandbar
Neighborhood Burger Spot (Northern Kentucky) 1. Herb & Thelma’s Tavern, herbandthelmas.com 2. Bru Burger Bar, bruburgerbar.com 3. Flipdaddy’s, flipdaddys.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Neighborhood Burger Spot (Central) 1. Quatman Cafe, quatmancafe.com 2. Tickle Pickle, ordertickle.com 3. Gordo’s Pub & Grill, gordospub.com Photo: Paige Deglow
Neighborhood Burger Spot (East Side) 1. Zip’s Cafe, zipscafe.com 2. Arthur’s, arthurscincinnati.com 3. Five Guys, fiveguys.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Delicatessen 1. Izzy’s, izzys.com 2. Jason’s Deli, jasonsdeli.com 3. Silverglades, silvergladesdeli.com Photo: Paige Deglow
Neighborhood Burger Spot (Burbs) 1. Quatman Cafe (Mason), quatmancafe.com 2. Sammy’s Craft Burgers and Beer, sammyscbb.com 3. Flipdaddy’s, flipdaddys.com Photo via Instagram/quatmancafe
Burritos 1. Gomez Salsa, gomezsalsa.com 2. Chipotle Mexican Grill, chipotle.com 3. The Comet, cometbar.com Photo: Lindsay McCarty
Cajun/Creole 1. J. Gumbo’s, jgumbos.com 2. Knotty Pine on the Bayou, theknottypineonthebayou.com 3. Allyn’s Cafe, allynscafe.com Photo via facebook.com/jgumbos Photo : facebook.com/jgumbos
Chicken 1. The Eagle, eaglerestaurant.com 2. Silver Spring House, thesilverspringhouse.com 3. Revolution Rotisserie, revolutionrotisserie.com 4. Chick-fil-A, chick-fil-a.com 5. Ron’s Roost, ronsroost.net 6. Greyhound Tavern, greyhoundtavern.com 7. Joella’s Hot Chicken, joellas.com 8. CityBird, citybirdtenders.com 9. Fiery Hen, fieryhencincy.com 10. Raising Cane’s, raisingcanes.com Photo via facebook.com/theeagleotr
Chili (Chain) 1. Skyline Chili, skylinechili.com 2. Gold Star, goldstarchili.com 3. Dixie Chili, dixiechili.com Photo via facebook.com/skylinechili
Chili (Non-Chain) 1. Camp Washington Chili, campwashingtonchili.com 2. Blue Ash Chili, blueashchili.com 3. Pleasant Ridge Chiii, pleasantridgechili.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Neighborhood Pizza Joint (Downtown/OTR) 1. Goodfellas Pizzeria, goodfellaspizzeria.com 2. A Tavola, atavolapizza.com 3. Harvest Pizzeria, harvestpizzeria.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Chinese 1. Oriental Wok, orientalwok.com 2. First Wok, 1stwokcincinnati.com 3. KungFood Chu’s AmerAsia, kungfoodchu.com Photo via facebook.com/orientalwok
Chocolates 1. Aglamesis Bros., aglamesis.com 2. Maverick Chocolate Co., maverickchocolate.com 3. Esther Price, estherprice.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Neighborhood Coffee Shop (Downtown/OTR) 1. Coffee Emporium, coffee-emporium.com 2. Urbana Cafe, urbana-cafe.com 3. Deeper Roots Findlay Coffee Bar, deeperrootscoffee.com Photo via facebook.com/coffeeemporium
Neighborhood Coffee Shop (East Side) 1. Coffee Emporium, coffee-emporium.com 2. Deeper Roots Oakley Coffee Bar, deeperrootscoffee.com 3. Luckman Coffee, luckmancoffee.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Creamy Whip/Soft Serve 1. Putz’s Creamy Whip, putzscreamywhip.com 2. Dairy Queen, dairyqueen.com 3. The Cone, thecone.com Photo: Jesse Fox
Desserts (Retail) 1. The BonBonerie, bonbonerie.com 2. Graeter’s Ice Cream, graeters.com 3. Brown Bear Bakery, brownbearbakes.com Photo via facebook.com/bonbonerie
Overall Bakery (Breads) 1. Blue Oven Bakery, blueovenbakery.com 2. Servatii Pastry Shop & Deli, servatiipastryshop.com 3. Sixteen Bricks, sixteenbricks.com Photo via facebook.com/blueovenbakery
Overall Bakery (Sweets) 1. The BonBonerie, bonbonerie.com 2. Brown Bear Bakery, brownbearbakes.com 3. Holtman’s Donuts, holtmansdonutshop.com Photo via facebook.com/bonbonerie
Neighborhood Bakery (Downtown/OTR) 1. Brown Bear Bakery, brownbearbakes.com 2. Holtman’s Donuts, holtmansdonutshop.com 3. Blue Oven Bakery, blueovenbakery.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Neighborhood Bakery (Northern Kentucky) 1. North South Baking Co., northsouthbaking.com 2. Butler’s Pantry at RiverCenter, butlerspantrymarket.com 3. Emerson’s Bakery, emersonsbakeryky.com Photo via facebook.com/northsouthbaking
Farmers Market 1. Findlay Market, findlaymarket.org 2. Hyde Park Farmers’ Market, hydeparkfarmersmarket.com 3. Northside Farmers Market, northsidefm.org Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Food Delivery Service 1. DoorDash, doordash.com 2. Uber Eats, ubereats.com 3. Grubhub, grubhub.com Photo: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash
Food Truck 1. Stellar Street Eats, stellar-street-eats.business.site 2. Tacos Locos, tacoslocosfoodtruck.com 3. Red Sesame Korean BBQ, redsesamebbq.com 4. Hungry Bros., hungrybroscincy.com 5. Fork & Greens, forkandgreens.com 6. Rollin’ Bowls, facebook.com/rollinbowlstruck 7. The Poutine Machine, facebook.com/thepoutinemachine 8. Empanadas Aquí, empanadasaqui.com 9. Marty’s Waffles, martyswaffles.com 10. Krimmer’s Italianette Food Truck, italianettepizza.com Photo via facebook.com/ssecincy
French Fries 1. Five Guys, fiveguys.com 2. Nation Kitchen & Bar, nationkitchenandbar.com 3. Senate, senatepub.com Photo: Mehrshad Rajabi / Unsplash
German 1. Hofbräuhaus, hofbrauhausnewport.com 2. Mecklenburg Gardens, mecklenburgs.com 3. Wunderbar!, searchable on Facebook Photo: Susan Keller
Gluten-Free Selections 1. Sleepy Bee Cafe, sleepybeecafe.com 2. Melt Revival, meltrevival.com 3. Pho Lang Thang, pholangthang.com Photo: Khoi Nguyen
Hidden Gem 1. Joe’s Pizza Napoli, joespizzanapoli.com 2. Mazunte, mazuntetacos.com 3. Incline Public House, inclinepublichouse.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Ice Cream 1. Graeter’s Ice Cream, graeters.com 2. Aglamesis Bros., aglamesis.com 3. United Dairy Farmers, udfinc.com Photo: Jesse Fox
Indian 1. Baba India Restaurant, babarestaurant.com 2. Ambar India Restaurant, ambarindia.net 3. Dusmesh Indian Restaurant, dusmeshcincy.com Photo via Baba India Restaurant Facebook
Japanese 1. Kiki College Hill, kikicincinnati.com 2. Quan Hapa, quanhapa.com 3. Ichiban Japanese Cuisine, ichibancinci.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Late-Night Eatery 1. Goodfellas Pizzeria, goodfellaspizzeria.com 2. Gomez Salsa, gomezsalsa.com 3. Skyline Chili, skylinechili.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Live Music While You Eat 1. Arnold’s Bar & Grill, arnoldsbarandgrill.com 2. Lucius Q, luciusq.com 3. The Comet, cometbar.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Noodles 1. Pho Lang Thang, pholangthang.com 2. Fortune Noodle House, fortunenoodleuc.com 3. Zundo Ramen & Donburi, zundootr.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Outdoor/Patio Dining 1. Incline Public House, inclinepublichouse.com 2. Arnold’s Bar & Grill, arnoldsbarandgrill.com 3. Cabana on the River, cabanaontheriver.com Photo: Paige Deglow Photo: Paige Deglow
Overall Pizza (Chain) 1. Dewey’s Pizza, deweyspizza.com 2. LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria, larosas.com 3. Goodfellas Pizzeria, goodfellaspizzeria.com Photo: Provided by Dewey’s
Overall Pizza (Non-Chain) 1. Trotta’s Pizza & Drive Thru, trottaspizza.net 2. Joe’s Pizza Napoli, joespizzanapoli.com 3. Adriatico’s, adriaticosuc.com 4. Taglio, eattaglio.com 5. Strong’s Brick Oven Pizza, strongsbrickovenpizza.com 6. A Tavola, atavolapizza.com 7. Two Cities Pizza Company, twocitiespizza.com 8. Krimmer’s Italianette Pizza, italianettepizza.com 9. Fireside Pizza, firesidepizzawalnuthills.com 10. Harvest Pizzeria, harvestpizzeria.com Photo: Devin Luginbill
Neighborhood Pizza Joint (Central) 1. Adriatico’s, adriaticosuc.com 2. Dewey’s Pizza, deweyspizza.com 3. Fireside Pizza, firesidepizzawalnuthills.com Photo via facebook.com/adriaticos
Neighborhood Pizza Joint (West Side) 1. Trotta’s Pizza & Drive Thru, trottaspizza.net 2. Dewey’s Pizza, deweyspizza.com 3. LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria, larosas.com Photo: Jesse Fox
Neighborhood Pizza Joint (Burbs) 1. Mellow Mushroom, mellowmushroom.com 2. LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria, larosas.com 3. Mio’s Pizza, miospizza.com Photo via facebook.com/mellowmushroom Photo: facebook.com/mellowmushroom
Pub Food 1. Knockback Nats, searchable on Facebook 2. Arnold’s Bar & Grill, arnoldsbarandgrill.com 3. Incline Public House, inclinepublichouse.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Restaurant for a First Date 1. Incline Public House, inclinepublichouse.com 2. Sotto, sottocincinnati.com 3. Dewey’s Pizza, deweyspizza.com 4. Nada, eatdrinknada.com 5. Primavista, pvista.com 6. S.W. Clyborne Co. Provision & Spirits, clybornes.com 7. York Street Café, yorkstonline.com 8. Taft’s Ale House, taftsbeer.com 9. Rich’s Proper Food & Drink, richsproper.com 10. Abigail Street, abigailstreet.com Photo via facebook.com/inclinepublichouse
Restaurant for Fine Dining 1. Jeff Ruby’s The Precinct, jeffruby.com/precinct 2. Sotto, sottocincinnati.com 3. Orchids at Palm Court, orchidsatpalmcourt.com 4. Boca, bocacincinnati.com 5. Primavista, pvista.com 6. Nicola’s Ristorante, nicolasotr.com 7. Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, jeffruby.com 8. Jeff Ruby’s Carlo & Johnny, jeffruby.com/carlo-johnny 9. Restaurant L, lcincinnati.com 10. S.W. Clyborne Co. Provision & Spirits, clybornes.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Restaurant for Large Parties 1. Montgomery Inn, montgomeryinn.com 2. Moerlein Lager House, moerleinlagerhouse.com 3. Lucius Q, luciusq.com Photo: Provided by Montgomery Inn
Ribs 1. Montgomery Inn, montgomeryinn.com 2. Eli’s BBQ, elisbarbeque.com 3. Lucius Q, luciusq.com Photo via facebook.com/montgomeryinn
Seafood 1. Pelican’s Reef, thepelicansreef.com 2. Court Street Lobster Bar, seafoodrestaurantcincinnati.com 3. Bonefish Grill, bonefishgrill.com Photo via facebook.com/pelicansreefcincinnati
Small Plates 1. Abigail Street, abigailstreet.com 2. Mita’s, mitas.co 3. Ché, checincinnati.com Photo via facebook.com/abigailwinebar
Soul Food 1. Alabama Fish Bar, facebook.com/alabamafishbar 2. Lucius Q, luciusq.com 3. Island Frydays, islandfrydays.com Photo via facebook.com/alabamafishbar
Soup 1. La Soupe, lasoupe.org 2. Pho Lang Thang, pholangthang.com 3. Zoup!, zoup.com Photo via facebook.com/lasoupecincinnati
Specialty Food Market 1. Jungle Jim’s International Market, junglejims.com 2. Findlay Market, findlaymarket.org 3. Kremer’s Market, kremersmarket.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Steakhouse 1. Jeff Ruby’s The Precinct, jeffruby.com/precinct 2. Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, jeffruby.com 3. Jeff Ruby’s Carlo & Johnny, jeffruby.com/carlo-johnny Photo via facebook.com/jeffrubysprecinct
Takeout 1. City Barbeque, citybbq.com 2. Dewey’s Pizza, deweyspizza.com 3. Gomez Salsa, gomezsalsa.com Photo via citybbq.com
Thai 1. Bangkok Bistro, bkkhydepark.com 2. Thai Express, facebook.com/thaiexpresscincinnati 3. Green Papaya, greenpapayacincinnati.com Photo via Bangkok Bistro Facebook
Vegetarian 1. Fork & Greens, forkandgreens.com 2. ESSEN, essenkitchen.com 3. Melt Revival, meltrevival.com Photo via facebook.com/forkandgreens
Veggie Burger 1. Fork & Greens, forkandgreens.com 2. Nation Kitchen & Bar, nationkitchenandbar.com 3. ESSEN, essenkitchen.com 4. Krueger’s Tavern, kruegerstavern.com 5. Rollin’ Bowls, facebook.com/rollinbowlstruck 6. Tickle Pickle, ordertickle.com 7. S.W. Clyborne Co. Provision & Spirits, clybornes.com 8. Maplewood Kitchen and Bar (TIE), maplewoodkitchenandbar.com 8. The Pony (TIE), searchable on Facebook 9. Arthur’s, arthurscincinnati.com 10. Taste of Belgium, authenticwaffle.com Photo via facebook.com/forkandgreens
Vietnamese 1. Pho Lang Thang, pholangthang.com 2. Wild Ginger, wildgingeroh.com 3. Quan Hapa, quanhapa.com Photo: Hailey Bollinger