Restaurants in Montgomery

The carved bodies of fierce dragons, their eyes aglow with neon red lights, corkscrew about Magic Wok’s foyer as if awakened by the aromas of Sichuan, Hunan, Mandarin, and Cantonese dishes. In the dining room, lime-green walls come alive with red tapestries, accented by canary-hued Chinese pictograms. After polishing off a Thai-style fish fillet, guests retreat to the bar to sip plum wine, elixirs wrung from apples and pineapple, or champagne with all the bubbles picked out.

As a young Lebanese man living in Cincinnati, Andy Hajjar found himself longing for the tahini, mint, and feta flavors of his family’s home cooking. Once his mother and brother joined him in the US, the three of them decided to start a deli. Their corner establishment quickly burgeoned into an award-winning restaurant, Andy’s Mediterranean Grill, where they continue to share family recipes without asking relatives to adopt every diner first. Their talent with seasoning lamb—which they grind, chop, marinate, and even serve tartar, if a diner orders in advance—landed Andy on WCPO Channel 9, where he showed the audience how to make lamb burgers. When preparing skewers of charbroiled tenderloin, cilantro-flavored sea scallops, and flatbread pizzas, the kitchen also relies on fresh ingredients and house marinades. Diners can also sip dozens of beers or wines, including some from Lebanon, Israel, and Turkey, as they relish the old-fashioned coziness of a wood-burning stove and the modern joys of a flat-screen television. On weekend evenings, belly dancers appear, and on any evening guests can lounge on black-and-red striped cushions in the wood-paneled hookah room. The Hajjars also sell marinades, salad dressing, and Turkish coffees through Andy’s International Market, which helps customers stock the pantry in their own apartment, home, or sandcastle.

Fish arrive fresh from the boat to fry on Tropics Restaurant's sizzling grill alongside a wealth of half-pound burgers, creative appetizers, and saucy pies forged from Mio's pizza products. The eatery’s floor-to-ceiling windows grant sweeping views of the Ohio River, replete with the bounty of boats and pet narwhals tethered to Manhattan Harbour’s slips.

Tom + Chee co-owners chef Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward are revolutionizing the grilled-cheese sandwich every day. What once was two slabs of boring bread and a simple, stupid slice of cheese has been reinvented by their kitchen, which churns out a menu of gooey sandwiches mentioned by the Today show and feasted upon by Man v. Food’s Adam Richman. Most famous for a sandwich that combines glazed donuts, the eatery also fills an assortment of breads with gourmet cheeses such as brie and smoked gouda, crunchy potato chips, and cherry peppers. They recommend sandwiches always be dipped, which is why chefs tirelessly ladle bowls of tomato-based soups from bubbling pots all day long.

You can still spot founder Bill “Mr. Goodies” Dickerson strolling around the Goodies Barbecue kitchen, testing sauces and ensuring the pork, ribs, and chicken are slowly pit-smoked just right. His daughter Creola Robinson has now taken over his business, overseeing the chefs as they dry-rub meats, fry up fish, and bake peach cobbler and chess pie.

They season a tangy tomato base with dashes of brown sugar and vinegar, resulting in the hot and mild barbecue sauces that reporters from City Beat lauded as “legendary.” The barbecue artists have been perfecting these recipes since the restaurant's founding in 1986, and today, their sauce can be found on the shelves of local grocery stores and flowing out of the water fountains of select community parks.

Begun by the Fuentes family, who traces their culinary roots to La Piedad, Mexico, El Toro Mexican Restaurant serves up time-tested Mexican dishes that range from tamales and chiles poblanos to chimichangas stuffed with beef tips. Their peppery fajitas can be made either with beef or with selections from the seafood menu, such as a combo of shrimp, crab, and tilapia. Patrons wash down their spicy medleys with drinks that include Dos Equis beer and specialty margaritas such as the Margarona, which adds Corona and acapella renditions of "My Sharona" to the classic beverage. The eatery surrounds its appetite-satisfying food with a similarly bright atmosphere, allowing diners to tear into burritos and tostadas amid sunny-yellow walls and colorful murals.