Restaurants in Blue Ash

A Cincinnati favorite, Mio’s has been baking up their signature pizzas for adoring clientele since 1975. Their original, buttery crust is a canvas for splotches of tangy sauce, which peek through a smattering of cheese and various toppings such as sausage, banana peppers, and black olives. Before deciding on an original or stuffed pizza, guests can whet palates with an order of garlic bread of hot wings. For those who prefer personal servings, calzones and hoagies are stuffed with enough juicy meats and veggies to feed an accomplished linebacker.

Bred on Louisiana-style cooking, local restaurateur Grant Gieseler was dismayed by the lack of quality southern fare in the Cincinnati area. He and his business partner Blake Gieseler founded Bayou Fish House to introduce the area to fresh fried fish and hearty gumbo. Diners can grab meals to go or kick back at the bar or seating area and tell exaggerated tales about the biggest fish they ever ate. The eatery's walls sport a paddle, a life preserver, and various aquatic tchotchkes to remind fish of their home.

The aromas of fresh-baked pita in clay ovens, char-grilled kebabs, and homemade baklava mingle and waft through Istanbul Cafe's bright turquoise dining room replete with Turkish wall hangings. To ensure authentic Mediterranean and Turkish flavors, the chefs do as much food preparation in house as possible, from spearing fresh kebabs daily to hand making desserts from scratch to carving gyros meat right off a spinning gyroscope. The baked eggplant comes stuffed with lamb, tomatoes, peppers, and and herbs served with sauteed seasonal vegetables and basmati rice. Seated around tables, patrons may sip steaming mugs of turkish coffee and tea or uncork their own bottles of wine toted from home.

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.