Nectar

We dropped in at about 8:30. We also found parking in the circle lot. We ordered the tamale, seafood stew, their salad, and a glass of 2012 Malbec. The waitress split everything for us including the wine. We loved everything. The effort to provide subtle and delicious nuances to their cuisine place them in the top for gourmet dining.

This place was fantastic. Everything from the greeting we received when we walked in the door, to the atmosphere, to the service, and last, but certainly not least, the FOOD! If you’re in the area, I highly recommend checking it out. I was there for a dinner on a Saturday evening but I understand their brunch is also excellent. After our meal we met Julie the proprietor/​executive chef and she was as delightful as her food. 5 STARS!

I had such high hopes for this place! AND we had such amazing service! A group of 6 of us arrived right when they opened at 10a on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The hostess was very friendly and seated us immediately. We sat at the front table and had a nice view through the large window. The hostess stopped by to chat throughout our meal. And our waiter was extremely patient with our chatty group! He was also very helpful with all of my questions and indecisive-​ness.
Between all the people at our table, we had two orders of the Chorizo Omelet, the Falafel, the Carnitas and the French Toast. I got to try a little of my friend’s omelet — the chorizo was in slices, not ground as I expected it to be. The sausage had nice flavor, but the eggs were under seasoned. However, the potatoes that came with the omelet were great! They were crispy and salty, just way I like them!
My husband and I shared both of our dishes. Between the two, the Carnitas were definitely less impressive. The pork itself was in huge chunks — and they are very tender, but they had zero flavor. I tried dipping it in the salsa, but I didn’t really like the salsa. I tried dipping it in the guac, but it was only mildly seasoned.
The french toast was definitely better. It’s served without maple syrup, although apparently it is available upon request. I’m wondering now if I should’ve requested it… the waiter assured me that the toast was sweet on its on, plus it was piled high with fruit compote (which was beautifully sweet and not very tangy) and two huge scoops of cinnamon butter. But I think that when I order french toast or pancakes, even if they have fruit or cinnamon or whipped cream on top, I’m still gonna crave that maple! Other than that, it was nicely done! It was nice and soft and custardy!
I’m not sure that I would go back at this point. I’ve had better french toast, and the other dishes I tried were ones for which I had high hopes, but I found to be disappointing.
At least we managed to find a meter with no problem! It was right across the street and it was free!

Disclaimer: I’m currently on a diet so while I would love to review the Blue Oven French Toast, my first choice at Nectar, this review will instead be centered around the Local Grain Bowl.
The Local Grain Bowl, yep, it sounds about as great as it was. Not only did I find it completely lacking in basic flavors… i.e. salt and pepper, it also felt like a catch all for whatever leftover veggies they have in the refrigerator. I guess that’s what I should have expected, the menu did blanketly state «roasted vegetables».
I also found it confusing that there seemed to be a small side of Kimchi included in the dish. I didn’t know they did Asian.
Beyond the Local Grain Bowl fail, we did indulge in a few Cinnamon Donuts and some coffee, both of which were pretty good. Sadly though, this didn’t make up for the mediocre food that myself and my group had.
Alas, maybe next time Nectar…

Forget going to this place on a weekend. There is no parking. After searching for 15 minutes I found a spot over three blocks away.
The restaurant was nearly empty and yet they were still out of certain items on the menu. The ceviche was tasteless. It was served with three chips. The burger lacked seasoning.
Skip this place!

The service is great! Food is equal. Have an issue they correct it. If the atmosphere was right it be a 100!

My husband and I chose to go tapas style when we were here and ordered four items from the small plates menu: the ceviche, patatas bravas, tamales and falafel pita. I liked the ceviche best and my husband liked the falafel pita the most, but all four dishes were good. None really blew our minds, but I’d still recommend Nectar to anyone looking for something a little different in Mt. Lookout. It’s a quiet place to have a nice conversation, and the service is fast and friendly. I’d like to go back and try a main dish or two, along with the brunch!

The service is always spot on but not intrusive. The food is always wonderful. I highly recommend the back patio. It feels like you’re at a café in the Mediterranean.
I think I could eat chef Julie’s red chili sauce on anything or even drink it like a soup.

Went here for brunch on a Sunday after church. We ordered the French toast, the chorizo scramble and the pork carnitas. French toast was excellent and the layers of favors were really good. Very filling. Could absolutely split this one for two. The scramble was also very tasty and the potatoes that came with it crunchy and not dripping with oil. The pork carnitas was a very good dish and would be the star of the trio we had but the pork was burnt and hard. More like carnitas burnt ends but with not enough meat in the middle to make it worthwhile. I should have asked if that was normal but I didn’t so that was my fault. It tasted great but again would have enjoyed it more if the meat was a little less burnt and meaty. Maybe if the menu stated how the meat was served I may have shied away from that dish.
Service was a little slow but they did have a lot of tables to serve. I appreciated the attentiveness to plating detail and with good fresh food sometimes you have to wait. Just know this going in.
We will go back and try dinner as well. It is a little pricey but I don’t mind splurging every now and then if the food is fresh, local and good.

Haven’t received our food yet. I’m writing this post to occupy the down time as we go on 41 minutes waiting for our breakfast. There are plenty of open tables and we’ve actually witnessed people order, eat and pay since we have put in our order. I ordered the chorizo scramble, my girlfriend ordered the frittata. After 30 minutes I asked if everything were okay in the kitchen and rather than our waitress apologizing, she said «oh everything takes a long time here, our chef is meticulous about her dishes.» So that’s where we are currently, more to come in regards to our food.

I’m not sure why but we have tended to overlook Nectar as one of our go-​to dining locales. This has been a costly mistake that will be corrected. My wife is Celiac-​vegetarian. I lean strongly vegetarian and highly appreciate those attentive to the slow food ideals. We have never been disappointed by the chosen meal or the overall dinning experience at Nectar. Given our collective of dietary restrictions, food and drink priorities and tastes, and ambience preferences Nectar is one restaurant among a very small few in Cincinnati that has routinely fit the bill. With this review I want to thank the chef and her staff for what they are creating here and hope to encourage others to take note of what truly is a carefully planned, consistently good, and tastefully presented dinning menu.

Perfect place for my family gathering! Our server was wonderful! The bloody marys were delicious and so were the pork carnitas! Each serving is perfectly sized! If you get a chance ask to sit outside! They also have a good amount of options for vegetarians as well!

Great menu! Lots of fancy choices. Teenagers think it was too pretentious and wouldn’t return but Mr and I thought it would be great for a date night. Drink menu was also good and compliments the brunch. I got the French toast. Bread was outstanding and orange flavor was mild but interesting. Too much food for me. I ordered the side of hot chili potatoes… So delicious and would love eating just those with an over medium egg. Everyone else got savory. Tamales, eggs benedict, and chorizo eggs. French toast was the overall favorite.

I ate here Saturday morning for brunch with a friend. There was no wait at all. The service was great, as well as the coffee. I ordered the Nectar Benedict and it was nothing short of delicious! The flavor combo was perfect! The smoked salmon, which was house smoked and resembled more of a baked salmon with smoky flavor than traditional smoked salmon, was balanced out by the smooth avocado and the tangy roasted tomato. The poached egg was done to perfection as well. This was my first time here and I will definitely be back!

Breafast review:
Nectar is good, but it’s a bit too fancy/​creative for me. I usually just want some classic breakfast dishes available, even if there are other specials on the menu — and at Nectar you can’t really get that. Just be prepared to branch out and you’ll do fine.

The service & food was really great! I got the chorizo scramble for brunch & my boyfriend got the pork carnitas. Both were fantastic. We will be back!

I was a little hesitant at first because we were going to be the only ones in here. I ordered the vegetarian special and bf ordered the tamale and I added the donut and a side of Goetta. After I ordered the $ 7 donut I regretted my decision until I tasted it and oh was it so good! Worth every penny. They brought it first with the coffee and it was amazing. The food was fantastic as well. Well balanced. The Goetta I ordered because I didn’t know what it was. Glad I did because I never had anything like it. Kinda like hash but with more texture because the pinhead oats aren’t cooked to death. Definitely would come back.

We made our way over to Mt. Lookout, intending to have lunch at Wurst Bar. We parked right in front of Nectar, so we couldn’t help but sneak a peek at their menu posted outside… Saturday brunch ended up coaxing us to dine at Nectar instead of Wurst. The interior is clean and has a cozy feel. It was fairly empty, with no more than 4 tables occupied around 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon. I started with a Nectar cocktail that was tasty. Drink service did seem a bit slow given the absence of a crowd. I ordered the Blue Oven French Toast (without bacon), and my husband ordered the Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tamales. This dish would normally come with three tamales, but they only had 2, so they offered a serving of either Pork Carnitas or Falafel and Mediterranean Dips to supplement the two tamales. Being vegetarian, we of course chose the Dips, which was a tastefully presented plate of a variety of flavorful Mediterranean offerings.
The tamales were good overall, but the avocado it comes with had much more of a guacamole flavor rather than fresh avocado, like we were expecting. The egg topping the dish was cooked well. Sadly, my French Toast came out complete with a strip of bacon. I didn’t make a big deal about it, and we just picked off the bacon, but restaurants need to be careful to take note of specific customer requests. The French Toast topping was delicious, but the bread itself was a little hard to cut.
Overall, I found the service a little slow. We were at the 1 hour meter outside, and we were definitely out of time by the time we wrapped up brunch. I appreciated their willingness to supplement the tamale dish with another dish (at no additional cost), but I just really wish that our request of no bacon on the french toast had been more clearly communicated by our server to the kitchen staff.

This review is specific for Saturday Brunch!
+ Great service! They came back frequently to check on us, though it probably helped that we were the only ones there.
+ Lovely atmosphere. We had a window seat, there was plenty of natural light, and the décor was clean and inviting.
+ Food! My boyfriend and I both had the Nectar Benedict because that is what they recommended. It included a poached egg, smoked salmon, hollandaise sauce, tomato, avocado and a blue oven english muffin. They sprinkled some bacon on it, but I think it could’ve used a little more. The plate also had some fresh melons and raspberries on the side.
+ Crispy Red Chili Potatoes! I absolutely loved having these as a side. They were crispy, and nicely seasoned. I prefer more salt in my dishes and since the eggs benedict was a bit lacking, they were a perfect compliment.
— It felt very expensive. Granted you pay for the atmosphere, and the fresh ingredients… I felt like I was paying dinner prices for a small (but filling) breakfast.
In the end, I’d probably go back if I had a guest in town and I wanted a nice place to take them to. But for just an average week, this place is way too pricey for me.

This review is only for brunch. My buddy and I came to Nectar for Easter brunch and we easily had a table and it was right in front of the expo window. Our server came over and took our drink order– I had a bloody Mary for 8.50 and I didn’t like the taste at all, it def tasted off and didn’t have any real bloody Mary flavors like worchester sauce etc. plus it was served in a wine glass.
Onto the food, I ordered the Nectar Benedict which is house smoked salmon with blue oven muffin, guacamole, bacon and chipotle lime hollandaise. The eggs were poached perfectly and the hollandaise had the perfect consistency, everything on the plate just needed another dash of salt and pepper and then it would have elevated the flavors and made the dish better.
The atmosphere was cool and I liked being able to see into the kitchen.