Wide Awake
Start your day in the sweetest way with breakfast, lunch, or brunch from Sleepy Bee. Fans will find great plates at restaurants around the city.
If you're looking for a delicious, fun, friendly, go-at-your-own-pace brunch on the weekend, or during the week, head to Sleepy Bee.
Sleepy Bee is buzzing, with locations in Oakley, Blue Ash, Downtown Cincinnati and one soon to open spot in College Hill.
The meal started with one of our favs, the ember avo toast. It features toasted sourdough, avocado, an over-easy egg, ember oil, pickled golden raisins, watercress and walnut dukkah, with your choice of a side. (We got fresh fruit and goetta, bc, why not?).
To drink? Unsweetend iced tea. All of this for $25, including tip!
There are endless options for those craving a classic brunch, from pancakes to breakfast sandwiches and scrambles, with sides of bacon, goetta and more.
For lunch, you can't go wrong with a salad, sandwich, or soup.
The menu at Sleepy Bee changes seasonally, with locally sourced ingredients. Be sure to try the house-made jams and ketchup. (You can pick up a bottle of their ketchup to bring home, too.) Plus, many of the items are gluten-free and vegan friendly – even the pancakes.
The Sleepy Bee in Oakley has a full-service coffee bar, and also serves mimosas and bloody Marys.
The service and atmosphere at Sleepy Bee has always been perfect. The food is fantastic and the servers are friendly, kind, and prompt.
The Oakley location (our stop for this meal) is cozy and cute, with decor that celebrates bees and how they benefit the environment.
Find our information at www.sleepybeecafe.com.
– Lauren Artino
Upper Crust
Say "oui" to omelettes, croissants, and cafe at French Crust.
French Crust Bistro & Cafe
1801 Elm St., across from Findlay Market
Hours:
Sunday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Thursday & Friday, 11 a.m. –8 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. – 8pm
Call for reservations at (513) 455-3720. More information at www.frenchcrustcafe.com.
When you walk into French Crust, you are greeted by a tiny Jean-Robert, which tells you everything you need to know – you’ll have an excellent meal served with a dash of whimsy.
Along with French classics and Cincinnati favorites, French Crust includes a case full of Jean-Robert’s salt and pepper figurines and a wall of cookbooks. These, as much as strong coffee and delicious pastries, encourage you to linger.
Since it’s brunch, start with your choice of mimosa – including a delightful creme de violette version.
But the food is the real centerpiece. The “omelette du jour” is made with seasonal vegetables and fresh eggs cooked to delicate perfection. The eggs Benedict is vegetarian, with spinach and tomatoes served over brioche, a definite improvement over English muffins.
If you are looking more for the lunch part of brunch, have one of the hearty casseroles “Le Creuset.” The salmon, with tomato, corn, shiitake mushrooms, and wild rice is served with a light and creamy lemon sauce. The steak casserole is dinner plate of red potatoes, carrots, peas, and zucchini with demi-glace.
Even if you can’t eat another bite, don’t miss the chance to have one Jean Phillipe Solnom’s incredible pastries – take home dessert or breakfast for the next day. You can’t go wrong with the pain au chocolate and almond croissant. For true decadence, try one of the tarts topped with mousse.
French Crust describes itself as “a little piece of Paris, tucked away in Over-the-Rhine,” and with brunch you’ll feel like you’re settling in for a leisurely meal on the Left Bank, even if you just stop in for a Sunday afternoon.
Hop to It
Planning to see the family for Easter? Let one of Cincinnati's great restaurants take care of all the dining details for you.
If you’re too old for an egg hunt but still want to relax and enjoy family time this Easter, a special Sunday brunch is the perfect choice. Whether you want to visit with the Easter Bunny or enjoy a Bloody Mary, local restaurants will help you make sure your basket runneth over.
Camp Cedar
5158 Kings Island Drive, Mason
(513) 701-9635
www.visitcampcedar.com/amenities/special-events
The menu includes shrimp cocktail, sliced fruit, bakery items, garden salad, scrambled eggs with cheddar, French toast sticks, applewood smoked bacon and sausage links, and more. Also on the menu is chicken dijonaise, oven fresh rolls with butter and chef carved honey ham with house honey mustard. Coffee, juice, milk and soda are included, wine and other alcoholic beverages are available for purchase.
For fun after brunch, Kings Island will be open from 12 to 7 p.m.
Price for the Easter brunch is $24.95 for adults, $11.95 for children under 10.
deSha’s American Tavern
11320 Montgomery Road
(513) 247-9933
deshas.com/
For Easter Brunch, deSha’s offers a three-course meal which includes prime rib, chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits and more, all made in-house by Chef Thom and his team. This year, deSha’s will donate $1 from every entree purchased on Easter to Matthew 25: Ministries to support their ongoing humanitarian aid and conflict relief to Ukraine.
Forno Osteria+ Bar
3514 Erie Ave.
(513) 818-8720
fornoosteriabar.com
A tradition continues, as with the Easter Breakfast Brunch Buffet at Forno Osteria+Bar. The Buffet includes Greek yogurt with fresh fruit, almonds and honey; house made pancakes, biscuits and gravy with sausage, Italian frittata Parmigiano Reggiano, shrimp and grits, Tuscan lamb roast, and more, with Budino di riso with fresh berries and pistachios for dessert.
The cost is $32 plus tax for adultsm $12 plus tax for children 12 and under.
The Grille Buffet at Palm Court at Hilton Netherland Plaza
35 W. Fifth St.
(513) 421-9100
https://www.opentable.com/the-grille-at-palm-court
The decadent Easter brunch returns, with a menu of assorted local cheese and charcuterie display, seasonally inspired items such as strawberry panacotta, “Bloody Mary” oysters, Tuscan kale salad, and Spring Panzanella with omelet stations, prime rib, rack of lamb, and glazed ham carving stations, and a seafood display featuring crab legs, poached shrimp and more. Buffet also includes desserts and decadent cakes. Cost is $102 per person (includes tax and gratuity) for adults; $45.25 (includes tax and gratuity) for children (ages 4-12)
Hard Rock Cafe
1000 Broadway
(513) 250-3150
hardrockcasinocincinnati.com/dining/hard-rock-cafe
This unforgettable brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. includes live music from all genres. Start small with a bagel and a schmear or go big with the surf and turf burger. Brunch options include New York Steak and aged cheddar omelet, blueberry Johnny cakes, and the Rhineland scramble. Plus enjoy a special brunch-only drink menu!
Louvino
1142 Main St.
(513) 813-3350
louvino.com/otr
For Easter brunch, Louvino offers a three-course meal. The first course offers fresh baked croissants with butter and fruit. The second course is a choice of either pancake tacos, farmer’s market breakfast scramble, biscuits and gravy, Brussels sprout salad or croissant BLT. The final course is dessert of biscuit doughnuts with anglaise. Kids’ menu has pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon. Adults are $25 and kids under 12 are $12.50.
Moerlein Lager House
115 Joe Nuxhall Way
(513) 421-2337
www.moerleinlagerhouse.com
Moerlein Lager House’s Easter Weekend Brunch is available Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Brunch favorites including the Good Moerning Burger, eggs Benedict, chicken ‘n’ waffle, and berry buttermilk pancakes will all be available. With every entree purchased, guests will receive a free ride on Carol Ann’s Carousel, right next door.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse
100 E. Freedom Way
(513) 381-0491
www.ruthschris.com/restaurant-locations/cincinnati
Typically only open for dinner, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse opens at 11 a.m. on Easter. “Ruth’s Seasonal Classics” offers a prix fixe menu that includes a starter, entrée, personal side, and dessert of some of Ruth’s best known items. The full menu is also available.
Season 52
3819 Edwards Road
(513) 631-5252
www.seasons52.com/locations/oh/cincinnati/cincinnati
Season 52 will be having an exclusive brunch menu for Easter, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the amazing starters, such as strawberry spinach salad and avocado toast, lead to entrées including crab and cheddar quiche, upright French toast, wood-grilled shrimp and grits, and apricot-glazed spiral ham. Celebrate with a mimosa, a rosé lemonade, or sangria.
Subito
Lytle Park Hotel, 311 Pike St.
(513) 579-3860
www.thelytleparkhotel.com/dining/subito
The culinary experts at Subito have planned an extraordinary brunch experience for the whole family to enjoy, including a visit from the Easter Bunny, from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. The buffet includes a selection of delicious salads, beautiful Italian pastries, mini lemon ricotta pancakes, banana bread, a carving station, made to order cacio e pepe in a giant parmesan wheel, with a fruit and cheese display. Kids will enjoy chicken tenders, mac-n-cheese and all the bacon they can eat! Cost is $45 for adults, $20 for children.
Overlook Kitchen + Bar
The Summit Hotel, 5345 Medpace Way
(513) 527-9900
www.thesummithotel.com/dining/overlook-kitchen-bar
The Overlook Kitchen + Bar serves hot and cold buffet selections for Easter brunch, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cold buffet includes spring greens with radish, carrot, sunflower seeds, and green goddess dressing; charred corn Panzanella; locally sourced cheese, & artisan cured charcuterie and iced seafood display.
The hot buffet includes hardwood smoked bacon and country sausage; asparagus and roasted tomato frittata; challah French toast with peach compote and Ohio maple syrup; salmon “Oscar” and chef's attended stations of carved prime rib of beef and carved leg of lamb; and made-to-order pasta station. Choose your desserts from The Pâtissier’s Table!
Cost is $40 per person.
Trio Bistro
7565 Kenwood Road
(513) 984-1905
www.triobistro.com
Trio Bistro offers a prix fixe breakfast menu for $28 with first course of fruit or yogurt, second course of classic eggs Benedict, French toast ,or scrambled eggs with English muffin served with potatoes and choice of meat, and dessert of chocolate mousse, carrot cake, or Key Lime pie. Looking for lunch? The three-course prix fixe menu ($36) starts with soup or salad, with entrée choice of lemon chicken, sliced beef tenderloin, or pan seared salmon, each served with mashed potatoes and haricots verts. Raise your glass with a Bloody Mary, Bellini, or mimosa, at $9 each.
Via Vite
520 Vine St., Fountain Square
(513) 721-8483
viaviterestaurant.com
A decade-long tradition continues, in the newly renovated restaurant. The buffet offers fresh baked pastries, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, butcher’s cut bacon, roasted potatoes, French toast, with Italian sausage and cannellini beans ragout, shrimp and grits. They will also have a carving station which will have Tuscan lamb roast and house cured salmon. End your meal wit tiramisu and vanilla risotto with fresh fruit.
Cost for the prix fixe menu is $35 for adult (plus tax), $12+ tax, for children 12 and under.
Earthly Goods
What's for breakfast? Just Frites. Revel in the magic of the potato at new restaurant in Listermann Brewing Company.
Just Frites
1621 Dana Ave., inside Listermann
Brewing Company
Brunch: 12–3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
www.facebook.com/JustFrites
Smoothies are all well and good, but sometimes you want a little extra from your breakfast, and it’s not a shot of wheatgrass.
“Who doesn’t love fries?!” says Rachel Appenfelder, the owner of the recently opened Just Frites. The 2016 Bockfest Sausage Queen, Appenfelder’s culinary expertise goes well beyond that.
“Fries make people happy and I love happy people,” says Appenfelder. “I knew it was a great food that a lot of people love – waffle fries, basic fries, sweet potato fries, curly fries, steak fries. And tots, because they aren’t fries, but who doesn’t love tots?
Another thing people love, especially in Cincinnati, is beer. So the restaurant’s location inside Listermann Brewing is makes perfect sense to Appenfelder.
“I’ve known the family for years, through a lot of our shared love of all things beer and Cincy German heritage…And now fries, ” she says.
Initially, Appenfelder thought the concept would be a food truck, then eventually opening as a brick and mortar location.
“A week later this opportunity came up and I jumped on it. (It’s) been a dream to work with my friends all day,” she says. “It’s an amazing, happy vibe here and I love coming to work.”
Of course, fries make sense for the beer-drinking crowd, and the Just Frites options certainly beat drive-thru choices. But the variety of fried potatoes work surprisingly well at brunch as well.
Whether you want to add an egg to You Goetta Be Kidding Me or have one top off Just Frites’ “Liquid Gold” cheese sauce, you can have brunch your own special way. Looking for a sweet? Just Frites also has mini cream puffs. The full menu is also served at brunch, with burgers, fry flights, and “Full Flex Fries,” all available.
“They can also work for the veggie vegetarians and meat eaters because of the different topping options,” says Appenfelder.
Along with the amazing food, Listermann has a huge taproom, making it a great place to catch up with a large group of friends or for families to let the kids run free. As the weather warms up, the patio provides even more seating.
“Work doesn’t really feel like work when you love it!” says Appenfelder, “Especially if you’ve got tots.”
Go Hungry
Explore the culinary world without leaving town, with morning meals from BrewRiver Creole Kitchen, Mama's on Main, Olla, and Uncle Yip's.
If your fantasies of sipping espresso in Venice or enjoying huevos in Oaxaca have been left unrealized for…reasons…fear not!
You can still enjoy a vacation, courtesy of your taste buds, just by going to brunch. Hit the road for culinary adventure right here in Cincinnati.
BrewRiver Creole Kitchen
4632 Eastern Ave. | Sunday Brunch, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
www.brewrivercreolekitchen.com
Find authentic New Orleans flavors all made in BrewRiver’s scratch kitchen. Musicians add a true Big Easy feel to brunch, making for a leisurely start to you day. Since your are in New Orleans, and it’s Sunday brunch, this is no time for moderation, so start with doughnuts. Not just any doughnuts, but bacon-infused, bacon-beer glaze, with powdered sugar, of course.
The menu remains true to its New Orleans roots, with gumbo, jambalaya and eggs, shrimp and grits, and buttermilk biscuits on the menu, along with the rich and delicious eggs Sardou.
No visit to New Orleans is complete without a cocktail. Sure, you could have brunchtastic mimosa or bloody Mary, but a Sazerac is the most appropriate drink to order – laissez les bon temps rouler!
Mama’s Mornings @ Mama’s on Main
621 Main St., Covington | Sunday, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.
www.facebook.com/mamas621cov
Recently opened by Emily Wolff and Paul Weckman, the owner’s of Otto’s, Mama’s on Main is an Italian restaurant in the evenings, with house-made pastas, classic entrees, and amazing desserts. Which makes sense because on Saturday and Sunday mornings, it’s Mama’s on Main, a bakery crafting traditional pastries (doughnuts, croissants) with inspired updates (hazelnut frangipane, strawberry jam, and Swiss meringue filling).
Maybe you’re craving a lemon marscapone-filled doughnut (pictured) or a double chocolate, almond, and fudge brownie croissant. An assortment of baked goods is the way to go!
As you can imagine, the delectables sell out fast, so get there early. Then take a leisurely stroll over to Goebel Park and imagine you’re on an Italian piazza to enjoy a bit of la dolce vita.
Mazunte Taqueria
5207 Madison Road | Sunday, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
taqueria.mazuntetacos.com/sunday
When Josh Wamsley opened Mazunte, he wanted to pay homage to, and recreate the flavors of, the incredible Mexican street food he loved from his travels in in Chiapas, Puebla and Mexico City.
You can start simple, with breakfast tacos (with eggs, avocado, queso fresco) or for for classics, like huevos ranchero or huevos divorciados – “divorced” with half salsa verde and half salsa guajillo served with rice. Because it’s breakfast, you can also add a scrambled or fried egg to other dishes, including chilaquiles adn enfrijoladas.
Then you can washed down your hearty meal with horchata, sangria, or cold beer, and it will be just like you’re relaxing with a view of the Sierra Madres.
Uncle Yip's Restaurant
10736 Reading Road | Sunday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
www.uncleyips.com
If your idea of brunch involves having many options, brought to you at your convenience, dim sum is for you!
Dim sum offers a huge range of small dishes. At Uncle Yip’s, carts pushing the the incredible number of options – including, but not limited to steamed shrimp dumplings, steamed BBQ pork run, Vietnamese spring roll, stuffed chili pepper with shrimp, spare ribs with black bean sauce, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, steamed egg custard – circulate so you never have to wait too long for you next bite.
Firs opened in 2007, Uncle Yip's prides itself on serving authentic southern Chinese and pan-Asian cuisine. The restaurant is renowned for its modern interpretation of classic dishes and using high quality, fresh ingredients.
You can settle in and enjoy the flavors of Asian cuisines, without dealing with a long flight and jet lag.
Sunny Side Up
Come for the cocktails, stay for the biscuit bowls at Cedar in Covington.
Mainstrasse, once known for bars and late-night fun, has developed into a culinary destination. Bouquet and Otto’s have topped best-of lists for years, but new restaurants continue to bring inspired menus to the strip.
Cedar, at 701 Main St., offers a relaxed way to ease into your Sunday. The restaurant, which opened in 2020, transformed a historic building into a contemporary sanctuary. Huge windows supply ample natural light, creating a space that is cozy and relaxing. Chef and co-owner Jeremy Faeth prides himself on using fresh, local ingredients to make creative comfort food.
Get a good start to you morning (or afternoon) with a selection of spiked coffees. The bar also has multiple, scratch-made bloody Marys and bubbles – their version of mimosas – with Prosecco mixed with everything from apple cider and bourbon to pomegranate kombucha. The complete cocktail menu is impressive, but especially first thing in the morning brunch.
Though updated, savory breakfast classics fill the menu, you can start the meal with a sweet – cinnamon roll flatbread. The buttered flatbread is smothered in walnut spread, with walnut brown sugar crumble, vanilla icing, and powdered sugar. It’s perfect for the table to share, though you’d be forgiven for eating the whole thing!
Portions overall are generous – from the bowls to the chicken and waffles and filet and eggs. Along with a solid line-up of always-available options, the kitchen offers great specials, like the salmon Benny, which spices up a traditional hollandaise with a house-made chimichurri.
For a relaxed, casual brunch, Cedar offers delicious, inventive takes on breakfast classics.
Cedar, 701 Main St., Covington. Open Tuesday – Thursday
8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More at www.cedarculinary.com.
Hard Rock Cafe
If you like your French Toast with a side of great music, renowned jazz vocalist Kathy Wade brings a series of Jammin’ Jazz Brunch performances to Hard Rock Cafe on the third Sunday of the month during winter.
You expect two things when you visit Hard Rock Cafe – great food and great music.
That’s even more true for Sunday brunch.
Emmy-winning jazz vocalist Kathy Wade is hosting a series of “Jammin’ Jazz Brunch” performances from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month.
Upcoming performances are
February 20: Sisters Who Swing with pianist Jordan Pollard, trombonist Lexi Hamner, bassist Jubilee O’Connor, and drummer Phillip Tipton
March 20: Bebop to Brazil with pianist Sergio Pamies Rodriguez, bassist Justin Dawson, Trumpeter Mike Wade and saxophonist Craig Bailey
The brunch menu includes Hard Rock classics like their Legendary Burger, wings, and nachos. But you’ll also want to try the cinnamon-vanilla French toast, biscuits and Grassland butter gravy, and warm croissant pudding with New Riff Bourbon caramel and toasted pecans. (It is Sunday after all!)
