One of Over-the-Rhine’s most famous restaurants is branching out to the suburbs.
On Thursday, CityBeat attended the soft opening of The Eagle’s new location at the mixed-use development The District at Deerfield, 5177 Parkway Drive. Thunderdome Restaurant Group has done a lot to ensure that guests keep coming back even if they’re familiar with the original restaurant, as there’s plenty that will differentiate this new location from its downtown big brother when it opens on October 5.
For example, this new 4,600 sq. ft location of The Eagle takes on more of a “third space” role compared to its counterpart. There are 13 televisions scattered across the space, placed so that viewers can always see the TV from every single one of the 134 seats in the restaurant. Several game-day-related promotions are in the works, including a DJ every Sunday during Bengals games.
Plus, the bar has a strong focus on hard-to-find bourbons and a unique offering of a single-barrel reposado tequila from Corazón, aged in Eagle Rare barrels. This location will also feature wines curated by Pepp & Dolores — Thunderdome’s Italian restaurant, which is opening a new location right next door in November — that were chosen specifically because they pair well with fried chicken.
Also next door to this Eagle is a new hybrid location of both The Eagle and its fast-casual sister restaurant CityBird, offering the full menu of both restaurants (and DORA beverages) as takeout options to neighborhood residents.
In addition, given that the new restaurant is located in the suburbs, there’s lots of family-related activities planned for customers who dine in.
“We’ve really focused on families a lot. Of course, we have an expanded kids menu here with some coloring and some different quizzes and that sort of thing,” John Lanni said. “But we also have things like warm chocolate chip cookies at the end of the meal. We have kids comment cards. We have family conversation starters, which is a little card deck that we give families when they sit down just to kinda get the conversation going. There’s a lot of family-friendly options here.”
Most notable, though, are the new dishes. For the first time, there’s some cross-pollination between Thunderdome’s restaurants, as CityBird’s tenders and beloved ‘city salad’ are on the menu. In addition, there are plenty of new starters, like a blackened shrimp skewer with remoulade, roasted carrots with honey-whipped feta, or — my personal highlight — a wedge salad with cherry tomatoes, bacon, bleu cheese, garlic breadcrumbs and a green goddess dressing. One other notable new item (that I sadly did not get to try) was a smashburger made with beef from Findlay Market favorite Eckerlin Meats.
This is The Eagle, however, which means it’s all about the fried chicken. And boy, did it not disappoint.
If, like me, you’ve been disappointed by the quality of the food at the Over-the-Rhine location in the past few years, consider giving this new location a try. One of the media personalities dining with me said they hadn’t been to The Eagle in ages, but said the chicken tasted “exactly how (they) remembered it.”
I had similar feelings — when The Eagle opened all the way back in 2013, it was one of the first restaurants I dined at in Over-the-Rhine as a young teenager, and ended up becoming a frequent customer. Now a longtime resident of the neighborhood, I usually opt to go elsewhere for my fried chicken fix. But after chowing down on some insanely good drumsticks and spoonbread last night, I felt like I had been transported back to my teenage years. Seems like I might have to give The Eagle a shot once again.
The new location of The Eagle opens on October 5 at 5200 Parkway Drive, inside The District at Deerfield. For more information on The Eagle, visit the restaurant’s official website.
