Restaurants in Blue Ash

Lauded by WCPO for their expansive culinary wingspan, Pera Mediterranean's chefs whip up dishes culled from cultures varying from southern France to eastern Turkey. Hanging light fixtures illuminate the warm-toned dining room accented by tangerine-colored walls, as trays piled with gyro kebabs and cabbage stuffed with lamb, rice, and dill sashay to tables. A full bar soothes parched tongues, stocked with spirits to accompany savory flavors and rinse tzatziki stains from laps.

Diggs Bar and Grill combines a traditional pub atmosphere with six physical-activity-inducing outdoor beach-volleyball courts. Fried pickles, fish 'n' chips, and dippable pork “wings” are menu standard-bearers in the restaurant, best washed down by a draft beer or cocktail. For discounted merriment, stop by for happy hour to sip or rinse your shirt with drinks from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday–Thursday. Out back, six regulation sand volleyball courts host recreational league play, and a tiki bar with a patio encourages diners to digest while competing in rounds of Corn Hole. Regularly scheduled live music provides a soundtrack to victory dances, and an open sand area gives tots a basic course in burying treasure.

The wood-paneled walls at smoQ are full of vintage photos of renowned southern barbecue chefs, but that’s only one way the restaurant pays homage to the southern barbecue tradition. The other way is the smell, created by the molasses-brined chicken, hand-rubbed ribs, and spiced sausage basking in the wood smoker for up to 14 hours. The process infuses both succulent slabs of meat and the dining room with a sweet, smoky aroma.

SmoQ’s slow-cooked ribs earned praise from Cincinnati.com and were called “Best In Show quality” by Cincinnati Magazine, which also deemed the chicken wings “quite possibly the best in the city.” In addition to the meats, the chefs also send southern staples such as corn succotash to the smoker. At the end of the meal, smoQ finishes in southern style with bread pudding crafted from Maker’s Mark sauce and glazed donuts.

Next Chapter channels a lively predecessor—Chapter 13, a popular neighborhood bar from the '70s and early '80s—in both name and emphasis on entertainment, according to Campbell's Scoop, a blog penned by Cincinnati Enquirer restaurant critic Polly Campbell. Though it serves a small menu of upscale bar fare, including signature sandwiches and fried appetizers, the space centers on a predominant bar with a focus on special events and live entertainment. Diners can sample the pub’s wares and happy-hour specials inside the recently renovated, 130-year-old building or throw drink coasters at passing cars from a large, outdoor patio.

Cazadores takes its name from the Mexican ranchers who used to roam the rangelands where they guarded herds of cattle and cooked their meals over an open fire. The restaurant’s menu features dishes based on this style of “on the ranch” cooking with items such as fajitas and 10-ounce rib eyes prepared using rustic spices and mesquite grilling, and branded with a macho nickname. The menu also offers more than a dozen vegetarian entrees, as well as create-your-own combo plates, which allow diners to customize their meal with one, two, or three items. A full bar pours frozen or on-the-rocks margaritas in eight fruit-infused flavors, Mexican beers, and premium tequila shots.

The plates at Fiesta Vallarta arrive to tables brimming with melted cheese, nachos piled high, and burritos stuffed with beans, beef, rice, and vegetables. Tortilla shells fold to form quesadillas or contort into enchiladas filled with sour cream and avocado. Lunch express options sate midday hunger pangs with combinations of enchiladas, chalupas, and quesadillas, or chicken burritos and beef tacos. A collection of steak dinners dress in ranchero sauce, homemade secret sauce, or toppings of shrimp, bacon, and veggies.