Restaurants in Blue Ash

Brewing a good cup is an art form, and Mrs. Teapots has some of the best leaf-steepers in Northern Kentucky. Try sweet or fruity teas such as Bavarian chocolate crème, Forever Yours almond amaretto, and peach apricot, or sip a simple Earl Grey. High-strung leaf drinkers can mellow out with decaf offerings or try whatever unusual brews were just added to Mrs. Teapots carefully curated selection of domestic and imported leaves. One of Mrs. Teapots' friendly servers can help you choose an electrifyingly tranquil tea that dances upon your tongue and steams down your throat to warm you from core to crust.

Setting up shop in a formerly run-down launderette, Lavomatic Cafe provides an opportunity to dine on hearty fare without attracting uncomfortable leers from surrounding shirt-folders. Charming exposed pipes and soft tones accentuate Lavomatic’s décor, which creates a perfect setting for sampling the establishment’s well-stocked wine bar. The menu offers a modest yet satisfying selection of comforting classics with a twist, like when grandma gets tipsy and mixes acids with bases. Start with small bites such as tater tots with chives, cheddar, parmesan, and ranch ($7.33). Warm up with tomato bisque ($5.35) or a fish sandwich with gruyere on an onion bun ($9.40). Refresh the palate with a fusion of flavors thanks to the pesto penne with kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and tomato confit ($15.16) or smoked pork chops with Sheltowee Farm mushrooms and red wine caramel ($20.47). Sharable sides such as cornbread ($2.92) and onion straws ($3.64) are also available.

Though the family-oriented grill's atmosphere mostly recalls a comfy Mexican restaurant (down to the homemade chips and salsa greeting you at the table), the menu touts tastes from across the globe. Try the signature Hawaiian-style ribs ($13.99 half order, $24.99 whole) marinated and grilled in a secret-recipe Jack Daniel’s barbecue sauce, or take a Bavarian turn with the mett-n-kraut ($12.99), a German-style minced pork with sauerkraut on rye bread. Otherwise, opt for something more Italian such as the homemade meat or vegetarian lasagna ($12.99). Classic Tostado's burgers ($8.49) with your choice of toppings (including mushrooms, bacon, barbecue, and Swiss, Provolone, or American cheese) and reubens ($8.99) bring the around-the-world menu back home. True to its name, though, Tostado’s also serves up Mexican dishes that range from familiar burritos ($9.99–$11.99, depending on filling) and quesadillas ($9.99–$11.99) to the creative Mexican hot dog ($6.99), which comes with sour cream, mustard, and pico de gallo.

Essencha's leisurely tea lunch begins with your selection of either a hot pot of tea or a shot of matcha (finely milled green tea). The tea house lets you choose from over 70 varieties of high-quality blacks, oolongs, greens, whites, rooibos, herbals, and organic flavors. Essencha's passionate staff of tea-totalers will help you navigate this voluminous variety until you find the tea you never knew you craved. Next, a soup of the day or miso soup stretches tongue tendons, followed by a fruit salad or a café salad with seasonal greens, veggies, dried fruit, pine nuts, and lemon vinaigrette. After you fill up on finger sandwiches with your non-teacupped free hand, enjoy a scone paired with clotted cream and jam. A cupcake or triple-chocolate-chunk brownie caps off a meal fit for tea tycoons and tea-drinking raccoons alike.

Giminetti Baking Company epitomizes oven loving with a crop of toasty sandwiches, fresh-baked buns, and yeasty edibles. A fluffy stack of syrup-drenched pancakes ($3.95 for stack of three) challenges forks and pancake-climbing army men, and brownies ($2 each), white-chocolate macadamia-nut cookies ($0.75 each), and monstrous Danishes ($1.50 each) complement freshly brewed coffee ($1.50). For midday meals, the Vedgewich ($5.50)—two slices of multigrain rustica bread piled high with sprouts, bell peppers, grilled onions, and horseradish mayo—crunches under teeth and silences stomachs whimpering for one of their daily servings of vegetables. Dine inside or saddle up to two- and four-seat outdoor patio tables, which encourage impromptu games of Uno with sun-warmed stray cats. Open six days a week and as early as 7 a.m. on weekdays, Giminetti Baking Company offers a doughy start to the day, a speedy handheld lunch, or a savory solution to the sluggish 12 p.m. slump.

Conceptualized by Chef Joshua Steven Campbell, a Cincinnati native, Mayberry and World Food Bar bring creative tastes to the community without ever pressuring the community to adopt creative eating techniques in return—traditional methods such as teeth and forks are acceptable. Mayberry's modest, warm atmosphere invites patrons to feast on fancified versions of classic comfort food such as the Sloppy Josh sandwich (slow-cooked beef with rosemary and spicy mustard, $7) for lunch, paired with a tater-tot casserole ($3). Transitioning palates to dinner hour are elegant small plates such as pepper-bacon-wrapped pork medallions sweetly accompanied by barbecue chickpeas and goat cheese ($10) and the restaurant's herbed flatbread with guava, kalamata olives, and feta cheese, which can be made with lamb or with minted tofu for vegetarians ($10).