A new wine bar and cafe has entered the East Walnut Hills culinary scene.

Symposium had a soft opening May 6 only to be closed down days later due to a leaky sink. The wine bar and cafe finally hosted its grand opening on May 11, and as co-owner J. Matt Nickels told CityBeat in an email, they have been going strong ever since.

The space has a relaxed Hemingway cafe-style atmosphere which Nickels says harkens back to stories from Italy told to him and his co-owner and chef Aaron Owen by their family.

The space features a main dining room with a lounge known as The Nest, a private dining and event space called the Rumpus Room, an outdoor patio that currently seats 10 (weather permitting) and Symposium’s three bars.

Each bar offers up something different — one serves up coffee, the other has drinks and the last, food.

Symposium is located at 2835 Woodburn Ave., East Walnut Hills. More info: symposiumcincinnati.com.

Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Symposium This East Walnut Hills cafe and wine bar shut its doors for good on June 12, with the owners writing on social media, “the day we wished never to come has arrived. Aaron & I would be immensely grateful if you would share your Symposium photos and memories with us via DM or in the comments with the hashtag #SymposiumForever. we love you all so much.” No reason for the closure was given. Symposium opened in May 2022 sporting a relaxed, Hemingway cafe-style atmosphere, with three bars, a main dining room with a lounge known as The Nest, a private dining and event space and a small outdoor patio for early birds and night owls alike. Each bar served something different: one for drinks (they were best known for their avian-inspired cocktails, or “Birdtails”), another for coffee and the final had food. Owners J. Matt Nickels and chef Aaron Owen told CityBeat at the time that they wanted Symposium to also embody the stories of old Italy told to them by family. Owen also shut down his Over-the-Rhine sandwich shop, Ole Republic Larder. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Symposium is one of the newest additions to Madison Road in East Walnut Hills. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Inside Symposium Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Photo: Hailey Bollinger