Mayberry Gastro Pub

I’ll make it simple. Food was pricier than it said on Unilocal (more $$$$ than $$). Food took an hour and 15 minutes to arrive. Staff was very friendly and accommodating but unapologetic and actually lied about the status of the food («It’s being plated right now» should not mean that it takes another 30 minutes for it to arrive). Sad because we came out of town from Atlanta for a conference and were really excited about trying the local fare. Food was ok. Eggplant was overcooked. Buffalo chicken mac & cheese was runny, not baked. Brussels sprouts were just that, nothing more. Meh at best

I wish I have had better experiences here but apart from some tasty food, the service consistently very slow, and I usually don’t notice such things so it’s almost no surprise that this place is closing. And yes, the servers can only move as fast as the kitchen, but it does wonders to briefly check in and assure that they are doing everything they can to speed things along.
Enough ranting, let’s have some positives: hours (they’re open reeeeally late for fourth meal people), food (my truffle honey fried chicken was awesome), location (near all the popular bars on Main St), and the prices are ok considering the location and ability to eat well late at night. I haven’t had the opportunity but I hear the back patio is great.
I don’t know when this place is closing, so enjoy it while you can.

I had such a wonderful first experience here. The beers were delicious (watermelon?!), the waiters very knowledgeable and helpful with suggestions. The food itself was amazing. The bacon fat garlic popcorn … need I say more! I enjoyed the wild boar dish for my main course which was full of flavor. I’ll be back, Mayberry.

It took me awhile to try Mayberry, even though I had heard great things about it. It was, hands down, awesome. For starters, my date ordered the Pear and Fennel soup, which I tried. It was delicate and smooth. I ordered Snails with pork belly, fava bean purée and blood orange basil salad. It truly is one of the best dishes I have ever had.
For entrees, my date had pan seared scallops, which I tasted. They were cooked perfectly. I ordered the Beef Cheek Ragu, which is a great cold weather dish. I also ordered the Tater Tot Casserole. It was good.
Given the gourmet quality food, the tab was very reasonable. With a bottle of wine, our tab was 90 some bucks.
I’ll come back often to sit at the bar to eat the snails and drink a craft beer.

Some jerks go to restaurants that just give bread away. Not me. I’m rich, b#tch! I’m rolling in the green. That’s why I go to restaurants that charge five bucks for seven measly bread crumbles and three dollops of fancified butter. I can’t imagine being some poor dude who goes into the 99.9% of restaurants out there where when you sit down to a meal they drop a basket full of a few loaves of bread and butter in front of you to hold you over until your mean comes. Me, I lilke to WASTE my money.
OK, sarcasm is done. I’ll come out of my self-​imposed
review writing retirement only because this place is a farce. Contrary to my last review where I said I wouldn’t be back, I came back to Mayberry’s. I always get into trouble when I don’t listen to myself. I’d just read this review re: bread…
…so I was conscious of their lack of bread offerings. However, I then saw Bread with a Trio of Butter on the menu. For $ 5. I told the waitress, Oh, I gotta see this five dollar bread and trio of butter you guys are offering.
Jeez, what a waste of five bucks. And it’s just insulting. If restaurants are getting away with this, then the repeat customers should really be examined by a psychiatric professional. They’re nuts! I mean, there’s hookers around the corner offering more for five bucks.
Then we tried to order our meal. «I’d like the chicken!» I say. They’re out. «I’d like the crab cakes!» my wife says. They’re out. I check my watch. It’s before 9. Oh. How nice.
On the plus side, contrary to last time, the staff didn’t seem creepy.

Hello Mayberry–
Stepping through your doors was like stepping into my grandmother’s dining room, except not dusty and it doesn’t smell like mothballs. I loved the comfy padded armchairs at the tables. I am not ashamed to say I was totally lounging all night long.
Moving on from the décor, I have to say thanks for a fun night Mayberry! We came here on a Saturday night, and they were amazingly able to seat seven of us without reservations.
As other reviewers have noted, the fried chicken is amazing. My friend had the ravioli, which she loved. I am a little embarrassed to say I don’t really remember what anyone else ordered, as I drank a lot of fabulous wine. Too much wine seems to be a theme in my reviews… Anyway, I do remember that everyone was happy with their meal, so hurrah for that.
Thanks Mayberry. We’ll be back.

Came here for brunch a few weeks ago with a very good friend of mine. We arrived before 11am and sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender till 11am and we could place our order.
Mayberry’s brunch menu changes up every week based on what the chef has. My friend ordered the bananna crème french toast and a side of peppered bacon and I ordered the bisquits and gravy.
The chef/​owner sent out a taste of bourbon pecan pie oatmeal for us to try since he had heard about us talking about food. It was very good and the whole pecans were glazed and perfect for the oatmeal.
Onto the actual course the bisquits and gravy were made with a chorizo gravy and topped off with a poached egg. It was very good, the bisquits were a tad dry, but the gravy and the egg totally made up for the dryness.
The staff were very nice and loved keeping a conservation even when they were busy.
I would def come back here for dinner.

Mayberry has been getting some seriously harsh reviews recently. Despite that, I’d been meaning to try it for a while and stopped in for lunch today.
I can’t vouch for their dinner or brunch, but their lunch was spot-​on. I got the burger, as I’ve been told to do hundreds of times, and it did not disappoint. The burger was cooked exactly as I ordered and was complemented by the gooey poached egg and spiced bacon slices. Also tried the turkey sandwich. My initial reaction to turkey sandwiches is a long, deep yawn. I think they’re boring beyond belief. This one had a little more pizzazz however. It was thick cut turkey breast rather than crappy sliced deli meat. The sandwich was pressed and had a flavorful mustard and caramelized onions. It was as good as a turkey sandwich can be without being made with leftover thanksgiving goodies. Still, the burger was better.
Get the burger for lunch. It might convince you to give Mayberry a chance for dinner.

«Meh-​berry» is another trendy fine/​causal dining establishment in OTR, but falls short of the competition.
I’ll admit I am a sucker for a nice burger and easily wooed by the terms «grass-​fed, locally grown and fresh baked». I had read and heard many great things about the burger at Mayberry and wanted to experience it for myself. I arrived for their dinner service and quickly learned that the burger is a lunch only option. My mistake, but our group decided to give the dinner a try.
Our server was the first indication that this was going to be a questionable experience. He read the list of draft beers from a hand written note. No problem there, I wouldn’t be able to memorize a continually rotating selection of craft beers. The problem came when he only listed brewery names without any indication of the beer type. He also mentioned a few flavored beers, including «a raspberry». A raspberry what?
We shared an appetizer, the bacon wrapped dates. Granted, this is a staple at most restaurants these days and it’s hard to screw up bacon wrapped anything, but I do give credit to Mayberry. They were delicious and the bar was now set high for our entrees.
Our group of three each ordered a different entrée and I’ll address how disappointing each one was…
Crispy Duck Breast Flatbread — The dish is six triangles of cold pita bread with a smear of goat cheese and a sad looking piece of duck breast on each piece. The duck had absolutely no crisp and very little flavor compared with the goat cheese. The presentation had more of an appetizer feel both on the plate and in my stomach. I left hungry.
Beef Tenderloin — Well seasoned, but under-​cooked. My friend ordered medium, but the beef was served with a dark red, raw hue in the middle. It is served on a bed of french fries sitting in a puddle of red wine jus and covered with a fried egg. The restaurant owner was making his rounds and came to our table. He pointed at the dish and asked «what’s that?» Really? It’s the only steak item on your menu.
Florida Rock Shrimp — I know rock shrimp are a smaller breed in general, but these were tiny. They did not taste fresh at all and were what you would expect to find in the freezer section of Kroger. They were served in a pool (no exaggeration) of butter which made the dish a near soup. It was inedible.
I’m giving it two stars for the pleasant patio seating we had and the ice cold beer I enjoyed. The service was fine as well, but I can’t stress how disappoint all three entrees were. I will remain optimistic about the lunch burger and do plan on returning to try it. My suggestion would be to avoid the dinner service all together or just stick with drinks and bacon wrapped items.

This place has some hype, and then a number of reviews saying that it doesn’t live up to the hype. So, to cut through the cheese, I decided to check it out for myself.
Boy, was that a bad idea!
The food was «meh». The prices would have been okay, but given the poor quality of the food, they were «meh» as well. The service was actually okay … or seemed to be doing as good as they could under the circumstances. But then I had the misfortune of meeting and talking to the owner, and I knew where the source of the trouble was.
Perhaps the worst thing was the Mayberry Bock beer that they had on tap. I basically had to grill everyone there to find out where it was made, and no one (not even the owner) could give me a straight answer. A fellow diner told me he heard it was just someone else’s beer, and that Mayberry had just attached its name it. Somehow, that wouldn’t surprise me.
If this is the best in town, town is a sorry, sorry place.

To some people, Mayberry is just a fictional town in North Carolina home to sheriff Andy Griffith and his young son Opie (who would later change his name to Ron Howard and start making films). But to the good people of Cincinnati, more specifically OTR, Mayberry should be known as an amazing restaurant home to innovative food concepts at a fantastic price.
From this point forward, OTR should no longer stand for Over the Rhine but instead stand for Outstanding Trendy Restaurants. And go ahead and add Mayberry to this list. After hearing about this place for some time I finally had a chance to eat here today and I am delighted to officially report that — Yes, it’s frickin awesome.
I ordered a burger that had a poached egg, bacon, and onion jam on it. The bacon was thick and crisp and the egg was poached perfectly (I touched it with a fork and the yolk ran all over the burger). This amazing creation set me back only $ 7! This is by far the cheapest non fast food burger I’ve ever purchased in my life and coincidentally one of the best.
I also ordered the tater tot casserole (for a measly $ 3) which seemed to just be mashed up tater tots with sour cream and cheddar cheese baked on top. Not real sure exactly what’s in it but I am sure that it made my soul happy as I devoured it. I also sampled the mac and cheese which was creamy and rich and saw the BLT sandwich which seemed fairly basic but I was told was delicious.
It’s officially becoming über difficult to choose a place to eat downtown and I will now add Mayberry to this competitive list of dank restaurants that serves clever culinary creations.

We walked in around 11:30 for lunch. The place was empty. We decided to have a seat outside, so we walked back to the patio. Two employees were sitting outside smoking… not a good impression. They did get up and leave, but it was unpleasant and unexpected to be in a restaurant and smell cigarette smoke.
Aside from the initial smoke scare, the outside seating was quite nice.
We were waited on promptly, but following the initial greeting, service was slower than it should be. The place was still mostly empty when we left, so it’s not that the server was busy.
I decided on the burger. She asked how I would like it done. Assuming it mattered, I asked for medium rare. The burger came out. The burger was not medium rare. The burger was well done. The burger had not a drop of juice inside it. If a restaurant doesn’t plan to cook it how I prefer, then please don’t ask and get my hopes up. Just put on the menu… Well Done Burger… with bacon.
I could not pass up the tater tot casserole, but I wish I had… unless it is supposed to be served cold. My lunch mate and I both ordered the casserole. Both of them were cold. I’ve written the restaurant and asked if they are meant to be served cold. If that’s the case then they were pretty good. Regardless how they are meant to be served, cold didn’t seem right.
My friend ordered the Jive Turkey. She only ate half of the sandwich. She said it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t good. She did not box up the leftovers.
So what’s weird is everything sounds amazing on the menu, but none of what we ordered translated to amazing on the plate.
I was excited to go to Mayberry. I thought, «What a cool little place this looks like. Think how cool I’ll look going there». Well, I’m not going back. I’m not that cool.

Oh Mayberry, you make my mouth sing.
I came here for dinner, shortly after the move to 12^th and Main, when they (apparently) moved to large plate dinner service. Though I had always wanted to visit their previous location, I never made it there so didn’t know this was a change in format.
A group of us ate at Mayberry before a play at the Know Theater and had a variety of items off the ever changing menu. Everything was great with the cheddar grits, the tater tot casserole, fish of the day, and a beef dish topping the list of great things we ate that night. All over the map things were delighting our taste buds. The salad was a bit small, but the taste was not lacking; only criticism of the night.
Recently, I went back for lunch to celebrate my birthday with co-​workers. I’d, hands down, give them my stamp of approval, and recommend them as the best lunch deal around for the absurd quality of food. I had the burger with egg on it and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. The egg was messy enough to make it fun, the sweet potato fries were divine, and the size was just right for lunch. It was at this time that I learned that Mayberry is returning to their small plate concept for dinner, and I will of course need to return to make sure things are still spot on. I have few doubts.
The place is classic in style with what appears to be an original, restored bar, open beams above the downstairs dining, cloth table coverings, and wine goblets for water. While this is slightly formal, my delicious meal was only $ 7. Awesome! I love the presentation and class without the need to elevate price to justify the décor. The upstairs has seating as well, and for those days when weather permits, there is a porch outside. I want to eat at Mayberry for lunch everyday! With a constantly changing menu (local, fresh, seasonal) I think I could even get away with this.
The salad was ‘out of stock’ the day we went but their take on the Cobb involves the same egg that was on my burger. It looks delectable. It’s on my ‘get in my belly’ list, top of it, actually.
Give Mayberry a try. The food is wonderful, the price (for lunch at least) is beyond fair, and the service has always been friendly. At our lunch one of the owners stopped by to see how things were; that’s a nice touch. We had nothing but nice things to say. Bravo!
During our stay we shared our space with neighborhood folks, construction workers, and a group that looked like they came from downtown. Kudos to reaching out and being accessible to all kinds of folks Mayberry. Oh, and for having kick ass food. Keep on keeping on-​small or large plates-you’re at the top of my list of favorites in the area.
There is usually substantial parking, away from the congestion of 12^th and Vine, as an added bonus. Now, you have no excuses. Go here!

I was looking forward to giving this place a try. I happened to be in the vicinity for lunch. I was alone so I took a seat at the bar. The waiter told me he would be with me in a moment. It was a really long moment. He spent a few minutes telling a couple at the bar who arrived after me his story of his stomach ache. He caved in to a midnight craving for Taco Bell. I don’t think customers in general want to know this much information about the waitstaff.
A few minutes later a large party arrived — around 8 people. They said that they were told that a table would be available for them when they arrived. The host of the group was clearly upset since there were no open tables. Fortunately, they were offered something upstairs.
I ordered the Monte Cristo — a turkey, ham, and bacon sandwich. Ok, I was surprised to find out when it arrived that the entire sandwich is deep fried. Some people will enjoy this. For me, it was a flavor killer. As I forked my way through the sandwich, I had to ask myself «where’s the ham?». There was no ham on this sandwich! Oh well. The tot casserole was quite good.
There were only 2 servers for the lunch crowd. When I turned to leave, there were un– bused tables everywhere. Needless to say, Mayberry was understaffed for the lunch crowd.
Hopefully, service will be adequate with more waitstaff. I am willing to go back for a second visit. I would love to try some other items on the menu I’ll just skip the fried ham-​less sandwich next time.

This aint your momma’s fried chicken! Crispy skin with a little truffle honey. Juicey on the inside to the point of needing two napkins. Oh momma, I wish you knew how to make this chicken because then maybe I would too. At least it’s right around the corner.
Note to self, they only serve the lunch menu on Tuesday, but you can get this tasty dish Wednesday thru Saturday.

Oh this was yummy and a great place to land. We had a great table in the center of the bar, and a great time trying the beers on tap. They now have a their liquor license and offer a list of very interesting draft beers (IPAs, Guinness, etc.) and some bottles, as well as a wine list. The food was excellent — I had their hot brown made with corned beef — and nearly licked the plate.
LOVE IT.

Finally got to try this place for lunch the other day and was very pleased with the experience. The place is small, but we easily snagged a table around noon on a weekday (bu the place was totally full about 30 minutes later). There’s only one person in the front: hostess, server, and cashier, but she did a great job.
There were several sandwiches I wanted to try, but decided on the Jive Turkey this time. It had thick slices of turkey breast (not deli meat) which were delicious, but if having again, probably would have removed the skin first. It came with a small field greens salad on the side with a nice, herby vinaigrette. Per fellow Unilocal recommendations, I also got a side of tater tot casserole. It’s kind of like baked hash browns with cheese – very tasty.
They didn’t have any desserts available at lunch so can’t comment on those. Prices are very reasonable. Looking forward to going back and trying something else!

I really wanted to love Mayberry, but I thought our meal was just okay. My husband and I shared all 6 small plates that are offered any given night… only one really wowed me. Several others were tasty but something was off with each one. The tamale was too dense, the chicken tasted a little gamey, not enough seasoning, etc. That said, I really love the idea of Mayberry and it seems like at a place that changes their menu weekly, you’ll inevitably get some hits and misses. I’ll gladly take a few misses for the sake of interesting food at an extremely reasonable price. I also love the whole BYOB thing and the tater tot casserole? To die for!
I’m giving Mayberry 4 stars for originality, affordability, ambience (yes, ambience… it may be small, the bathrooms are bare bones and I left reeking of food but that’s ok) and service, despite the flaws.

3.5 stars, really.
I’ve now been to Mayberry once for lunch and once for a late dinner, and both times I was impressed with the quality of the food. The Jive Turkey sandwich is AMAZING (ly delicious), and the mac and cheese and tater tot casserole are both super rich and tasty. My boyfriend’s pork dinner was a bit dry for my tastes, but still good. The only disappointment was that our friend’s crawfish dish (which he said was good) was served in a GIANT bowl, and only occupied about a 1.5″-high space at the very bottom. (We all laughed a lot when we all peered in and had to lean further, and further, and further until we could finally see the food!)
But the prices are pretty low considering the quality ingredients and preparation, and we all had a great time eating and chatting.
The outside signage is subtle (an M on the door) but the location is an easy walk from Fountain Square. When I called from Rock Bottom (which had a 40 min wait on a Fri night) Mayberry reserved us a table on the fly, which made me a hero.
The space is a little tight, and some seats face the wall, bar-​style. No one sitting there seemed to mind, but I’m glad I haven’t had to take one of those tables yet.
Oh, and just a heads-​up for those of you who like your alcohol: this place is currently BYOB.

I want Mayberry to be my favorite restraunt. they have interesting menus, great prices and it’s just one block from my apartment. It should be a perfect relationship, unfortunately it’s not.
I went for brunch with 3 of my closest friends. We were all very excited to try Mayberry. The menu got us even more excited, everything sounded great! After we were sat my fiends wife called him and said she was going to meet us there. When he asked the server if we could move or get another chair she wasn’t accommodating, she just replied «well I don’t know where I’m going to get another chair.» I’ll be honest, I don’t care where she gets another chair and furthermore don’t feel she should have showed any frustration at our request. This was not a great foot to get off on.
I would have forgiven the waitresses rudeness, except that the service was lackluster the whole meal. I wouldn’t call it bad service, just not good service. The staff moved around the dining room showing constant frustration, I had to request refills on coffee and water and one of my party’s sides didn’t arrive until we were half way done eating. The service was just generally disappointing.
The food was a mixed bag too. I’ll start with the positive. I ordered the herbed Biscuits and gravy topped with a poached egg. It was awesome! The buiscuits were delicious, the gravy was perfectly seasoned with a bit of heat and the egg was runny and delicious! I’m telling you, in almost every case, if you can put an egg on it you should! I also enjoyed a side of the tater tot caserole, which is even better than described in other reviews. I really really enjoyed my food.
My dining partners however, were not so lucky. First I will mention they all enjoyed the tater tot caserole. 2 people in my party had the quiche and one had the monte cristo. I tried all of them and was really suprised. They were just not on the same level as my food. The quiche was dry, flavorless and the crust was doughy. The monte cristo was alright, just not great. I should mention that the cherry preserve or whatever it came with really did improve the sandwich. All of these dishes came with a side salad, and we all agreed, it was the best thing on any of there plates.
Mayberry has a lot to work on. If they improve the service and consistency of the food they still may become my favorite restraunt. I plan to try lunch and dinner here and after all of the bad and truly looking forward to eating the biscuits and gravy again!