5 Romantic Cincy Restaurants for Your Valentines Day Burger
Love is in the air, and if you love burgers, check out one of these great restaurants in the Cincinnati area where you can eat a great burger AND impress your date!
So first things first: if you are going out on a first date on Valentines Day, you’ve got to be really sure of yourself if you’re going to order a burger. We at the Cincy Burger Cub do NOT recommend it.
Eating with your hands, having juices drip down your chin, and stuffing handfuls of fried potatoes into your mouth does not always give the first impression you are intending (unless your date really digs that in a partner… in which case you might not need a romantic setting. You can settle for your neighborhood bar! Win. Win. Win).
But let’s say you are looking to go out for Valentine’s Day, and maybe you, like some of us, do not get out that often. Maybe you have to get a babysitter. Maybe you aren’t great at reservations. Maybe you thought life would hand out free dates on the regular. Whatever the reason, now that you are going out, you don’t want to eat some hoity-toity meal that barely fills up a third of the plate and includes some form of kale and a single ounce of meat.
These five restaurants will give you the option of a delectable burger in a romantic environment, with a menu that leaves your partner all the latitude they would need to order something sufficiently refined. (Or maybe you’ll both chow down on a good burger in a low light environment, staring into each other’s eyes and wiping ketchup off each other’s cheeks… live the dream!)
E+O Kitchen
This cute restaurant in Hyde Park is an Asian fusion concept that takes it’s name from combining influences from the Earth + Ocean. It was recently featured in an article about the Bengals, and Coach Zac Taylor was right to go with their famous Crispy Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad (I know… kale, right? But trust me, the shrimp make up for the kale, and this salad is worth it!). They have a great Sticky Burger with BBQ sauce, which includes a Wagyu beef patty, peanut butter, fried onions, and cheddar cheese (if you haven’t tried peanut butter on your burger yet, this burger will make you a believer). They have also opened a new location in the Banks, but this reviewer can only speak to the romantic possibilities in the back room of the Hyde Park location next to their living wall of greenery.
Links: Website. Menu. Location.
Bouquet
This farm-to-table restaurant is located in Mainstrausse of Covington, KY. If you haven’t tried one of the intimate eateries in that part of town, consider it for your next date. In honor of their location in Kentucky, this bistro also offers a solid selection of bourbons as well. Their menu is constantly changing, but they currently offer the Ohio Valley Burger, which includes pimento cheese, sauerkraut, and melted onions on a brioche bun. Links: Website. Menu. Location.
Salazar
One of the OG locations that helped put OTR on the map, Salazar was created by Chef Salazar as a unique dining environment just upscale enough to make it a romantic opportunity, but not so pretentious you’d rule it out for a regular workaday meal. Their locally-sourced grass fed meat is topped with aged cheddar and bacon on a potato bun. Don’t forget to add the egg!
Links: Website. Menu. Location.
Red Feather Kitchen
As you drive up Madison Ave in Oakley you could almost miss this upscale eatery tucked away along the side of the road before you reach Madtree. But trust us, you don’t want to miss it. It’s a farm to table scratch kitchen that does a few things really well. We’re in luck, because one of those things happens to be a burger! It is a well-prepared patty with boursin cheese, candied bacon, and red onion marmalade on a brioche bun.
Links: Website. Menu. Location.
The Precinct
This well known steak house by Jeff Ruby is located inside the old Cincinnati Police Patrol House Number 6, and currently sits on top of the Cincy Club’s Burger rankings. You can read our whole review here, but suffice to say this place delivers in spades across the board: environment, service, and food. Yes, USA Today named it one of the top 10 steakhouses in the US, and yes, the dining room is intimate and classy. If you want to whisper sweet nothings to each other (and let’s be honest, if not on Valentines Day, then when?), the dining room is where you get your whisper on. But even on Valentines Day, I’d still reserve a booth at the bar. The environment there is hard to beat. The ambiance is plenty romantic and has a bit more energy.
Links: Website. Menu. Location.