Ruth’s Parkside Cafe

Mediocre food, mediocre service. Nothing stands out about this place. Would not go back to this establishment.

Truly enjoyed the grilled potatoes along with the Mediterranean plate. Although this is all I had I look forward to trying more and bumping this rating up.

I’ve driven by Ruth’s hundreds of times on my way into Northside and never knew it was there! Thanks to my friend who suggested it for lunch today! I ordered the tempeh Reuben and it was fantastic. The flavors were great and I really liked the texture of the tempeh. My friend ordered the roasted rosemary potatoes appetizer and insisted that I try it… wow. I could eat those everyday for the rest of my life. Beautiful décor on the inside, quick service and good value. I plan to return soon.

I live in Oakland CA now, and used to eat at Mullane’s over 20 years ago. I was SO excited to hear that Ruth’s was opening, and had no idea what to expect. I was in town, and had to try it out! Beautiful space, great outdoor patio, wonderful flavors, and such great options for gluten free and vegans, as well as meat eaters! We ordered the hummus, quinoa tabouli and baba ganoush, and it was AWESOME! We also had the bagel sandwich #4 with tempeh and sesame soy vinaigrette, and it was exactly the same as I remembered :) All in all, a great experience, friendly and attentive staff, and an easy to get to location with parking. Yum to the maximum!

I enjoyed my dinner here last night and plan to return again soon. It was kind of awkward when I walked in as there is no hostess stand. I stood there for a minute unsure if I should seat myself or wait but someone showed up soon enough and showed me to a table. I played it safe and had pasta w/​tomato herb sauce and I added 2 meatballs. It was good but next time I’ll try something more adventurous. They have a lot to choose from on their menu and all of the dishes I saw being served at other tables looked good. I was a bit let down with the gooey cake for dessert, it was more like a brownie than cake but it was still good. It’s refreshing to see a place like this in Northside and I love that they have a parking lot.

Nice location and very proper food.
Even though the place is huge, it is actually difficult to find :) My advice: do not trust Google maps, look out for a huge sign on an old Can Factory :)
I had a Cincysavers coupon which made the bill a bit lighter. My husband had a steak and I had the catfish which was sold to me as a specialty of the place. The fish came on a risotto cake and sauteed kale. It was properly cooked and well spiced.
Both of the dishes were good and the restaurant is not a bad option when in the area, however there was nothing great or more than ‘standard’ and I think a solid 3 out of 5 is a fair judgement.
The way the huge post-​factory space is arranged is interesting in some aspects, but there is so much more room for improvement and for standing out.
I would love this place to evolve to some real industrial chic place with amazing and more affordable options.

The girlfriend and I stopped by this place after remembering that we, as humans, typically eat dinner. I have been Northside resident most of my life and I have seen this place a few times driving around and never bothered to stop by. We almost drove past it but being the adventurous foodie that I am I made a very abrupt and sudden turn into the driveway.
There was plenty of parking around the place so you will have no trouble there. The building itself, if I remember correctly, was an old factory or something till it was refurbished into high end lofts so the building is all clean looking. Walking into the door we were greeted by the host waiting to seat us with a smile.
The interior is a mix of old and new. The host mentioned that the tables and chairs were all bought used. I asked him to wipe down the table for us since it was sticky but since it needed a new finish it was sticky again right after he cleaned it. If it helps that was the worst part of my experience with this place.
The waiter was really friendly, the place looked very nice with art all over (Even a robotic wooden gargoyle… .yes… I am serious), and the giant windows looked out to the patio and parking lot. That means a lot actually since all the roads around the business at rush hour are VERY busy. The peaceful, green filled lot was a nice backdrop.
We ordered the red potato app that had delicious gorgonzola cheese all over it. Potatoes were cooked perfectly too. She ordered the sauté spinach with chicken (chicken is $ 2.00 extra) and I got the creole fish. My fish was really well done and seasoned but the risotto cake under it had texture, but little to no flavor on it’s own. Her spinach was cooked perfectly but only came with like four pieces of chicken. Overall the food was a 4 out of 5.
This place is good. The staff is top notch, the place itself looks great if not a little dated in places, the food was a little high for the price point but we would come here again.

First visit, possibly last. Overpriced mediocre food, VERY slow service. Ordered turkey sandwich and pickled veggies, club and side salad with soy ginger dressing. Friday 1:00-out of white meat. Tomato slices tiny, lettuce wilty. Again, service was SO slow. Felt invisible. $ 20 later still hungry very dissatisfied. Oh, salad dressing was inedible, bottom of bottle apparently.

Love this place. First time visit was great! Had the Fish with risotto and kale and it was so wonderful. My husband had a hamburger and loved it too. I tasted his coleslaw and it was was sincerely the best I’ve had.

I was meeting a friend for dinner (around 7:00 on a Saturday evening) and she suggested this place, as she had been here before and liked it. I had never heard of it and I am always excited to try new places. The building and space are really cool and eclectic — lots of parking.
When we entered it was rather confusing — 3 steps inside the door is the bar with seating for maybe 10 people — and a crowd of people waiting for tables — but no hostess. Thank goodness my friend had been there and knew the «routine». We crowded up to the bar and were able to get a drink and stood elbow to elbow with people waiting for a table in the small entry space. It was mainly an older crowd — I kind of like a younger crowd with more energy and excitement.
We were finally seated after a 30 minute wait and it took awhile for the server to greet us. I ordered the Vodka Garganelli with chicken and it was good. My friend ordered a hamburger with chips and she was happy with her meal. My issue mainly is with the service — it was very slow and lazy. I just read other reviews for Ruth’s and they mention a bread basket — we were not offered a bread basket… I would have loved bread with my pasta. I drink a lot of water with my meal and my water glass was empty through half of the meal. When I finally was able to get our servers attention for a refill, she brought me a half glass of water??? Are they rationing water? The entire time we were seated we saw our server 3 times — once to take our order, once to deliver our meal and once to bring me my half glass of water refill. Someone else brought us our check.
Now that I know what to expect — I may go back on a weeknight for dinner — I like a more energetic atmosphere on a weekend night. I am hoping the service we received was just a fluke and not the norm.

My friend Sue and I met up at Ruth’s Parkside Café prior to the Over The Rhine, the band holiday concert. We arrived just at the right time as within 10 minutes the place was packed with people waiting for table.
We started off with specialty cocktails for the holidays, I love drinks with ginger, so went with Ginger Gin Fizz and Sue went with the Lemon Ginger Martini, both drinks were served promptly within minutes of ordering.
My friend ordered the evening special a salmon dish and I went with the Vodka Garganelli adding chicken to the dish pasta sounded wonderful on a cold winter night.
Our meals also arrived in no time, great portion sizes. Sue loved her salmon dish and I my pasta, it had a bit of a kick to it, which I enjoyed every bite.
We finished off the meal with one of their fabulous desserts, they have a variety to choose from local, fresh, we shared chocolate gooey cake, nice & warm.
What a great time at Ruth’s Parkside Café welcome addition to Northside and great alternative to downtown/​OTR on Saturday night.

Came here for lunch after catching a movie @ the Esquire
Pretty impressive building on the outside love the old factory look of it
Menu seems to be more vegetarian based so me & b/​f were hesitant but we ordered some meat!!! Ha ha ha
B/​f got the burger & really enjoyed it! Great bun & was super juicy. He ordered the pickled vegetables as his side. Really good as well
I got the Turkey bacon club on rye. The actually use real roasted turkey was a great surprise. The slaw as my side was great as well
Dropped the ball on getting pics gang sorry bout that
The only bad mark I would give against the place for us was we noticed lots of kids toys around & they seem like they possibly gear stuff for children. So we pictured possibly children running rampant over the restaurant. That may not be the case just an observation

Amazing vegetarian comfort food! Love all the options. Cute place and very reasonable prices. Great for date night. Highly recommend and we will definitely be returning.

It has been over a year since I last visited and again I was meeting up with some friends to support the artist showing work there. I ordered the creole catfish. It neither tasted like catfish or anything Cajun. It was a very bland dish from top to bottom. Under the fish is risotto (not much flavor) and a bed of greens (not much flavor) and it was all in a sauce which was near flavorless. So I don’t know if there menu has changed or if I just happened to get something good last time but their food is attracting a very specific crowd. There was a higher percentage of elderly here than at Bob Evans or Ron’s Roost so that tells you something about the flavors.

While Ruth’s has great service and an interesting, electric décor, the clientele tended to be 90% grey hair and the food was so-​so. I would imagine the lunch time crowd might be more fun than the Wednesday evening crowd.
I had a nice glass of their wine special, a Malbec, to go with my Italian sausage flat bread. They have generous pours. The crust of the flatbread tasted like crispy crackers that you’d have with cheese but the part that was under the pizza like ingredients were a bit soggy. The Italian sausage were so big and lumpy that I felt like I had to cut it to get even bites. Otherwise I’d get one bit sausage plus flatbread and another 2 bites without any meat. And the spicy tomato sauce … Basically bbq sauce. My friend got the risotto special which sounded really promising but ended up also being eh.
While this place has promise and looks like it would have an interesting menu, at the end of the day people eat out to eat and the food wasn’t executed all that uniquely. Still not expensive and if I were in the neighborhood I might consider trying them for lunch. But probably not before I go to many of the other north side eateries in the area.

From the exterior, an old industrial warehouse; from the interior, Disney World circa 1985.
An unexpected and enjoyable space filled with all the po-​mo whoop-​dee-​doo you need to admire its nostalgia. I can tell you how much I admire seeing a space like this. It’s a real throwback to my youth with primary shapes and colors, an acoustical grid ceiling minus the acoustical, and some bizarre yet charming artscapes.
The affable waiters dress as the cast of «Whose Line Is It Anyway?» and were attentive enough to keep us happy.
Ruth’s currently sports a limited, but carefully selected menu of libations including Seven Falls Merlot, Rhinegeist Cougar on tap, and a handful of exciting cocktails.
Upon my family’s first foray to the Parkside Café, we decided to go tapas style with our meals, each sharing our selections with one another. The Orange Szechuan with chicken was good, but ran a bit heavy on sesame, which was a bit overpowering. The Mushroom Soup lacked a little something. It seemed to be merely mushrooms in broth, which to me was a bit disappointing. The Café takes a unique twist on bruschetta, combining it with tapenade. My father loved this combination, but it was too salty for me. Seemingly, the fan favorite was the red beans and rice, which came with a side of tortilla chips and sour cream.
Ruth’s boasts a wide selection of vegetarian and vegan friendly items as well as a large price range. Meals can be had from $ 7 to $ 30 per plate. Having its own parking lot was a nice frill, as Cincy seems to be becoming more pedestrian than vehicle friendly, even in parts of Northside.
All told, the Parkside Café is a fabulous atmosphere with better-​than-​average food. We had such an enjoyable time that we stayed just for another drink. I will definitely be back to try some more.

After reading the mixed reviews on Unilocal,I was hesitant to try Ruth’s. But since my clinical director gets what my clinical director wants, Ruth’s it was. It turns out that what my clinical director wanted was a great idea!
Despite the complaints about bland food, which is my absolute pet peeve, everything I tasted at Ruth’s was full of flavor. Our party shared the Mediterranean platter, which was very good (the hummus was my favorite). My only complaint is there was not nearly enough pita included. I decided to get the burger with coleslaw as a side. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium and seasoned excellently. The coleslaw was good, but there could have been a bit more of it.
Others had the burger, the catfish and the reuben, and everyone enjoyed their food. After seeing the dessert menu, I couldn’t resist and easily persuaded everyone else to go for it. One had the apple pie and three had the devil’s food cake with a scoop of salted caramel gelato. Can you say, «heaven»?
Besides very good food, the setting and service were also something to rave about. Do not judge Ruth’s by the look of the buildings in the neighborhood. It is completely different inside. Our server was friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient.
I can’t wait to go back!

Ruth’s has a funky, modern space hidden in that big renovated apartment building in Northside. The restaurant is mid-​sized, but feels spacious with the high ceilings. Service was good, and it seemed like a lot of groups were in the restaurant (weekend night).
The food… well, everything tasted pretty good, but the menu has a huge variance in type of entrée (open-​faced bagel sandwich to fancy steak). It is a little hard to choose what to get, although I suppose then you have a lot of options depending what you are in the mood to eat and how much you want to spend. I wasn’t blown away but it was good. Would put it on the list of options when in Northside.

Ruth’s is a Northside gem! The exterior is industrial and spacious which matches the interior well. When you enter, you first see the bar in front, which is unique. Walking in at 5:00, right when they opened, I didn’t have a problem being greeted and pointed in the direction of my party, but I can see why others would complain that it is not sufficient as a host stand. I love the Cincinnati pictures on the walls, they were labeled with numbers and I meant to ask if they were for sale, but forgot.
We called a few days in advance and got reservations for a party of 20, they accommodated us well with 2 10 person tables in the back. I would highly recommend coming with a large group right at 5, and not too much later, out of respect for the restaurant and other patrons. It worked really well for us.
The menu was not exactly what my (extended) family usually goes for, so I was surprised when I found out we were coming here. It was recommended by a further extended family member who resides in Northside. It is really not too far from the West Side, I know west siders don’t like to leave the hill, but this is hardly a trek for you, and something cool in case you’ve had enough Incline House :-). In the end, I think everyone was happy, from kids to grandma, with their order. The kids were able to get red sauce pasta which is on the menu or they also serve 1 lunch item at dinner: the grilled ham and cheese.
They have a good beer selection and I got my local favorite. We tried the Olive Bruschetta, and it was very heavy on the olive, I did not care for it at all.
For dinner, I ordered the nightly special (as I usually do wherever I go), it was marinated Skirt Steak with chimichurri and Mexican street corn. It was a little over priced for the portion but taste was perfect! I loved the corn the best of all the things I tried, I can’t wait to try to recreate it at home. I also had the Roasted Rosemary Potatoes which were yummy and went well with the steak. I got the chance to try a few dishes in addition to mine. I tried the 2 pasta dishes, they were basic. I heard rave reviews from the grandparents about the Airline Chicken (we think its named that because its a breast on the bone with a wing attached as well) and the Port-​braised Lamb Shank.
I’d come back, maybe for lunch!

I came here for lunch with three of my girlfriends. We took a lunch break in the middle of work, so we didn’t have much time… But this place sat us right away and we were in and out in under 45 minutes!
When you walk in, I really enjoy the feel of this place. It’s in a cool older industrial building, and the décor is very eclectic and artsy. I think it would be an interesting date spot for dinner.
I ordered the veggie burger with chips. It was a little bland, but overall a pretty good burger… The texture was right and the portion size was big for being less than $ 8. My friends ordered the BLT and the RPC Turkey sandwich. They all really liked their sandwiches, but the turkey sandwich looked especially yummy.
Our server was very attentive and nice, even when we asked to split the check four ways. We got our food very quickly, and they rushed the check to us so we could get out of there fast. Overall, a very good experience! I will have to come back for dinner sometime soon.