An Ohio food writer shares his 9-year-old daughter’s favorite restaurants

Editor’s note: Greyhound Tavern and Oriental Wok’s Northern Kentucky location are both in Fort Mitchell. An earlier version of this story listed an incorrect neighborhood.

In her infancy and toddler years, my daughter Sylvia wasn’t really a dinner date. Aside from local taprooms—which were packed with more kids than a proper playground—there were few restaurants that seemed to cater to both parents and kids.

While my wife Amy and I tried taking our daughter to some of our favorite places before we started parenting (an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, a nautical-themed restaurant near my mom’s house in Florida), it usually resulted in a tantrum and, in at least one or two cases, vomit.

Sylvia turns 9 this month, which means she is old enough to take her with us about everywhere. She also has a few favorites of her own—places I hope she remembers when she’s older, just as I remember dinners at Friendly’s with my dad or the fried bass shacks Amy went to with her parents when she was growing up along Lake Erie.

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Please note that these are not necessarily “kid-friendly” places. They don’t all offer coloring books and aren’t happy if your kids run wild or play the drums with the utensils. Instead, they are places where the staff treats children with respect and a certain amount of affection.

I will also say that Sylvia’s palate is not what I would describe as sophisticated. Although she is an avowed vegetarian, her food intake is limited to pasta, pancakes, grilled cheese, and quesadillas. For her, it’s more about the restaurant than the food – a sentiment I respect.

Here are the eight local restaurants that tick all the boxes.

VV Italian, Mountain viewpoint

Since opening in 2021, Mount Lookout Square’s Italian restaurant VV has been a favorite of my daughter’s (and mine, too). It helps that Melissa De Giorgi, who runs the restaurant with her husband Andrea Stefano, treats her like an extended family member. When Sylvia follows my career path, I see her penning heartfelt odes to VV’s hot chocolate, which, no matter how hot and sticky it is outside, is always her go-to order. She’s also fascinated by the neighborhood’s middle school and high school teens, who congregate, Babysitters Club-style, at high tables for coffee or dessert.

1026 Delta Ave., Mount Lookout, 513-485-4007, vvitalian.com.

Greyhound Inn, Fort Mitchell

I’ll never forget Sylvia’s introduction to Sunday brunch at Greyhound Tavern. It was her first all-you-can-eat buffet, and when we told her she could help herself to whatever she wanted from the buffet table, her eyes lit up like Charlie in a chocolate factory. She came back with a plate of pastries and cookies and French toast and fruit and, somewhere underneath, some scrambled eggs. I can see why Greyhound appeals to kids. The older crowd provides a quiet sense of security, not to mention lots of pampering. It feels like an old country club your grandparents would take you to, but with better food than you’d expect.

2500 Dixie Highway, Fort Mitchell, 859-331-3767, www.greyhoundtavern.com.

My Cozumel, multiple locations

I was out one night when the power went out in our neighborhood around dinnertime. After the neighbors gathered outside to see what was going on, they decided to skip cooking in the dark and instead went to a new restaurant, Mi Cozumel, in Oakley Center. It was one of those nights we all remember as kids: the nights when our regular routines are disrupted by a power outage or a storm or some minor emergency that sets the stage for something special. With its party atmosphere, over-the-top drinks (they have virgin versions for the kids too), and crowd-pleasing Mexican food, Mi Cozumel hits all the right notes. I’ve taken Sylvia there a few times since then, and she always tells me all about the night of the outage. I have a feeling she’ll tell her kids that story someday, too.

Multiple locations, micozumel.com.

Sacred Beast, Across the Rhine

To me, Sacred Beast has always been more of a family restaurant than the hip Over-the-Rhine spot many assume it to be. Owners Jeremy and Bridget Lieb’s children, Hannah and Noah, can often be seen helping out in the kitchen or seating people at the hostess stand. It gives Sacred Beast a familiar, warm feel that’s unique to this part of town. All three of us appreciate the huge, tufted banquettes (some of the best banquettes in Cincinnati) and the music playing on a retro-reel stereo. Sylvia always orders the lemon ricotta pancakes or a grilled cheese off the menu, while Amy sticks to the goetta breakfast and I alternate between the Parisian gnocchi and the smoked salmon sandwich. Sylvia loves Sacred Beast so much that on at least one occasion she’s decided to eat at the bar by herself just so she could chat with the bartender. He found it all hilarious and accommodated her by putting an episode of ‘SpongeBob’ on TV and making sure her glass of orange juice stayed full.

Sacred Beast, 1437 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine; 513-213-2864, sacredbeastdiner.com.

The Montgomery Inn Boathouse, East End

Walk into the Montgomery Inn boathouse and you’re likely to see generations of families huddled together in what looks like Norman Rockwell states of idyllic bliss. Kids are laughing. Grandpa is sipping another cocktail, and Mom and Dad are dousing Saratoga potato chips in barbecue sauce, grateful for all the world has given them. Okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away here, but you get the idea. Despite Sylvia’s vegetarian preferences, she appreciates Rib King’s riverside palace (and their macaroni and cheese) almost as much as I do. Family gatherings aside, there always seems to be something happening at the boathouse, whether it’s a birthday party, a graduation, or a few prom dates getting ready for the big night. The location also affords us some lovely post-dinner strolls along the Ohio River.

925 Riverside Drive, East End, 513-721-7427, montgomeryinn.com.

Zipper, Mountain viewpoint

On a recent visit to Zip’s, Amy and I asked Sylvia to pretend she was a food writer and describe what she saw. I wish I could remember her exact words, because they were quite insightful. But the gist of the story was that the battered woodwork indicated it was old and well-loved, that the laughter among the customers meant it was a place that made people happy, and that the large bay window was a perfect vantage point from which to look out over the square and watch people walking their dogs.

1036 Delta Ave., Mount Lookout, 513-871-9876, zipscafe.com.

Oriental Wok, Hyde Park and Fort Mitchell

I’m not sure if it’s Oriental Wok restaurant or Susanna Wong Burgess—who owns Oriental Wok with her parents and sister, Angela Wong Miller—that Sylvia prefers. Susanna dotes on Sylvia like a favorite aunt. But our daughter also appreciates the sheer spectacle and experience of Oriental Wok itself. The Hyde Park location feels chic and sophisticated, while the Fort Mitchell location feels like a Disney vacation. Add some good spring rolls and a good Shirley Temple and this is easily one of Sylvia’s favorites.

Hyde Park location: 2444 Madison Road, 513-871-6888. Fort Mitchell location: 317 Buttermilk Pike, 859-331-3000, orientalwok.com.

Brunch at Eighteen at the Radisson, Covington

What kid doesn’t love a revolving restaurant? And while I can’t recommend Eighteen at the Radisson as a Sylvia-friendly dining option, she loved it when Amy and I took her there for Sunday brunch. As with the Greyhound, Sylvia appreciated the buffet, and I appreciated the prime rib station. But the restaurant also gave us a chance to teach her a little about the geography of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky—the freight trains that run from Queensgate to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad bridge, the new construction projects all over Covington, the old city versus the new.

668 W. Fifth St., Covington, 859-491-5300, restaurantcovingtonky.com.