Knockback Nats

Heard a lot about this place. So we get there door locked doesn’t open til 2pm. Come back at 2:05 door still locked bartender standing at the bar staring at us. Never motioned responded or anything so we left… guess we’ll never know how good it might have been.

I had heard that this place was the best wings in the city. I would have to disagree. If you like grilled charcoal flavored wings then I guess this is the place to go. I was not impressed and the wings a were mediocre at best. I ordered fries with my wings and towards the end of basket it was this weird smell to them that almost made me vomit and I couldn’t even finish the fries. Weird right! I will not return to this place ever again. Truly disappointed because I had truly heard great things about the wings

This review is based solely off the food we ordered.
We were near this bar while at another watering hole while in Cincy. A patron mentioned if ww wanted a good bite to eat we should stop by.
We made the 5 min trek and upon our arrival was doubtful… but optimistic.
We got an order of the pulled pork nachos and 2 orders of the smoked wings.
Holy shit… the wings might have been the best I ever had. Smokey, saucy, deadly, messy (you get it by now any positive adjective that describes eating that ends in y).
If your in the city at all, even if it is out of the way, make a quick stop.

I’ve been searching for a good wing spot here in Cincinnati and I was told by everyone that this place has the best wings in Cincinnati, so I finally decided to stop it.
Maybe it was all the hype I received prior, but I was unimpressed with the wings. Thought they would be smoked and tasted no smoky flavor in them and they just weren’t very special.
Nats is your typical dive bar with average food and free popcorn at the bar. Meh, can’t say I’ll be rushing back anytime soon.

Knockbat Nats looks inside and out like a typical bar, one that probably doesn’t even serve food, and yet… it does serve food. Very, very good food in fact.
I had just watched a 2 year old episode of Chowdown Countdown on the Travel Channel over the weekend, and the wings at Knockback Nats had gotten them a rating of (per this program, at least) 8^th in the country. I checked out their menu online and found they did 4 different kinds of nachos — pulled pork, chicken, brisket, or veggie, and I am always looking for good nachos, so I headed down here on Tuesday night. After asking if half orders were available (they aren’t) and knowing I wouldn’t get a chance to return soon, I gave in and ordered both.
The wings are superb. Smoked then grilled before being tossed in sauce, not fried like most wings I have had. I asked them if I could have 4 of the eight each in a different sauce, and they obliged. The regular bbq sauce was very good, and the pineapple bbq sauce was, well, kinda weird. Not bad, but I couldn’t taste any pineapple. I will say this sauce let the natural smoked flavor of the wings shine through more, which was good. The drumettes were enormous — I have gotten less meat off a full drumstick that were on these. If and when I return, it will be for these wings, which are on par with the wings at Smoq.
The brisket nachos were good, but well short of great. The biggest problem were the chips — kinda stale and seemed like they were out of a bag rather than fried on premises. I am not one to complain about more cheese, but in this case, the thick layer of cheese was melted over the chips making them hard to separate without using two hands. I think these would be very hard to share — It’d be better if they used a queso dip and less shredded cheese. I thought I had been given pulled pork instead of brisket when these arrived, as the meat was in long shreds, but it was indeed brisket, and this style seemed to work well with nachos, better than the cubed/​chunked brisket I had had on brisket nachos elsewhere (Smoq and Pontiac). The brisket by itself was decent, not great, without much smoked flavor, but nice and tender and beefy.
Service was very friendly, but I was puzzled about paying the bill when ordering rather than when leaving.
Parking is generally at a metered spot, and so it can be tough to come by, but on a Tuesday night I was able to park just a half block away.
Recommended

Their wings are absolutely amazing! I’d have to say that they are the best in Cincinnati.

Knockback Nats, in my opinion, is Cincinnati’s best wing establishment. They have a extremely flavorful dry rub that they put on, then they fry them and smoke them I believe. They have this amazing award winning sauce that’s bbq and hot sauce mixed together and it’s the perfect touch to your wings. I recommend enjoying w a local brew from mad tree or rhinegeist!

What you see is what you get here. This downtown dive has a laid back atmosphere with reasonable prices and live music. I came on a Friday evening and it was pretty packed, but not obnoxiously so. We were able to get a table with quite a few people and I was impressed that the service was continuously quick and friendly.
Definitely get the wings if you come here to eat. We ordered them dry and got every single sauce on the side — so good.
Overall a great relaxed vibe with some good people here.

I must say the first time I had this place I wasn’t impressed. That was a couple years ago. I just had their wings again and omg am I impressed. Not only are the wings amazing but the sauce is more than up to par as well. The buffalo had a nice kick as well as good flavor and roundness. I gotta start coming back here more and try everything else.

Flew in from California and the first thing I wanted was an ice cold beer. So obviously I got on Unilocal and looked up the local bars near the Hyatt. So glad we chose this place. Ice cold PBR tall cans in stock. I love that. I felt like I was back home in my back yard. I ordered the absolute best chicken wings I’ve ever had anywhere. Perfectly smoked. I also ordered the brisket nachos. I can’t tell you wish was better. They were both amazing. DJ was playing some great tunes and the patrons of this fine establishment were quite fun and far more courteous than the people in California.

This place was kinda Interesting. I was told to go there cause they got good food. But it was really just a little dive bar (which I love). But this place is too little and compacted. Also I ordered some hot wings and some of the famous Bbq wings. Then we got these very delicious smoked wings and a bunch of sauces. I was extremely confused to the point that I asked if it was my food or not. But she said when people order multiple sauces they just get give them all the sauce. This was extremely different from what I expected but it wasn’t bad. The wings were awesome they didn’t even need the sauce and their sauces were good to. But the dipping a whole wing thing gets this place a 4 out of 5.

I love this place! My boyfriend and I had such a great experience on Valentine’s Day weekend. The bar was packed, especially for 3:00 in the afternoon, but some locals offered us a seat with them in one of the long tables against the wall. I told the bartender that we were newbies and she was super friendly and helpful in regards to the menu, as was our new friends that we sat with.
Upon the recommendation of both parties, we ordered the wings naked and I am so glad we did. They have a great smoke/​dry rub flavor from the grill. You can order their delicious sauces on the side. I think my favorite was the garlic, although we tried several. Probably some of the greatest wings I have had anywhere; meaty, hot and fresh! We also had man can beers, and some of the famous house popcorn.
Everything was reasonably priced, the food was stellar, lighting was on point (that’s big to me) drinks were good (we also ordered shots) and everyone was super nice! I will definitely stop by again when in Cincinnati.

This place is a straight up bar. They’ve got good food here and lots of drinks. They have this burger topped with slaw and BBQ plus a fried egg. I got the brisket sandwich. The burger was really good, but sort of messy. The brisket was kind of strange, it had broccoli, spinach and green peppers on it. I expected more cheese. The fries weren’t very good. There was basically no seating. We were like lurkers in a parking lot looking for a space. We finally located two bar stools, knocked back a beer and got some free popcorn while waiting for our meal. We scarfed that down and took off outta the crowded place just before the band began. They have dart boards, shuffleboard and some kind of hook and nail game. It was to packed to play anything. I’ve got to go back and try those wings though.

I heard from everyone that Knockback Nats had the greatest wings in Cincinnati, I finaly got to try them before the Bengals monday night game and was left completely unimpressed.
Although the food was not up to what I was told the environment was great and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

I am in love with this place.
Is this some classy joint filled with bearded, record player having, tropic of capricorn quoting hipsters drinking stroh’s and eating wasabi laced edamame? OH HELL NO!
our night started out terrible because we hotwired a hotel that looked like it would lead to our inevitable murder and decapitation and skin being worn. Mostly mine. Cause I’m fat. Which means i have more skin. Get it?
Anyway, we decided we needed a few drinks before we would be able to fall asleep with all those bed bugs and we found this gem. In Detroit it would be a hipster bar, but out here it was such a mix of people and when I say dive bar, it is almost an understatement. Two shots and Two beers and it was $ 20. SOMEBODY GIVE ME A HIGH EFFIN FIVE!!!
I will always come back to this spot every single freaking time I come back to Cincy. What a great mish mash of people. Guys in business suits, couple of drunk princesses… and yes a few hipsters but mostly everyday people doing every day drinking. No pretentiousness at all.

Wow best wings I have tasted in Cincinnati. The smoked wings were amazing. I heard people talk about this place and finally went to try it out, I sat at the bar ordered some smoked wings with a side of fries and watched a game. The wings were bigger than what I thought they were going to be. I ordered way more than what I should of and was not able to eat them all. The staff was super friendly and very attentive. Great bar, great environment to watch a game and great wings this is a definitely a place I would visit again.

So my friend and I had a great lunch experience here. It was a college game day, so the bar was pretty busy, but we were still able to get in and get food pretty easily. The bartenders we interacted with were very personable and levelheaded, especially given the fact that a bunch of drunk people came in while we’re eating and began ordering copious amounts of alcohol. And the food? Well, I’m a wing lover, so I had to get the wings. Not only were they prepared well, but they were a pretty good size. I definitely felt like I got my money’s worth. And while I wasn’t quite a fan of the flavor of sauce I chose, I did appreciate that it was actually spicy as opposed to most other places that claim to have hot sauce. If I’m ever in the area again, I’ll definitely be going back.

I personally have only drank here but it has always been great. If you want a bar downtown that isn’t «swanky» or expensive, come here! Has a dive bar feel as well as a sports bar. Dress is super casual and the ambiance is relaxed. There is indoor and outdoor seating. I came on a Monday and just got tall boy beers (which come with a free coozie!) and if you buy a beer the wings are 75 cents. My friends tell me the wings are awesome and if you like wings you gotta try these. I have only had good experiences here. Very cool place.

A total dive and a fun place to hang out. Definitely a spot I’d return to if i’m feeling three sheets and want to feel like it’s ok to act sloppy.
They seem to have a nice crowd of regulars, but it doesn’t feel exclusive. Beers were not as cheap as you’d expect.

Not the best wings in the city!
I don’t know what all the rave is about. The wings were okay. I prefer the Oak Tavern wings for grilled wings. I really like the pineapple sauce.
As far as the bar scene goes, It’s definitely catered towards an older crowd. Very typical, nothing over the top and too trendy. The staff were friendly.