The Precinct

This is my favorite restaurant. I have only been twice and don’t get to go often, but I absolutely love it. The steaks are perfectly cooked, the bread and Freddie salad are to die for, and the service top notch. This is our go-​to place for special occasions.

I’m not from Cincinnati originally, so the Jeff Ruby lore is lost on me. Much of the time when I heard people discuss his restaurants my mind went to a certain Kesha song entitled Blah Blah Blah. I didn’t get it.
Recently though, after a visit to The Precinct, I was pleasantly surprised. Although I had my eye on a nice chicken dish, I decided instead to try the steak and see what all the fuss was about… after all the Jeff Ruby name is sinonimos for steak. The steak I chose, the Petite Lily was amazingly seasoned and perfectly charred; it was outstanding. The blue cheese and bacon salad that came as a side to the steak was amazing as well. Sadly, the one thing that did not fall into the «amazing» food category for myself and my S-​O was the Roasted Brussels. This particular item I would not recommend getting on your first or next visit to The Precinct. This item fell short.
Beyond the amazing food was the above and beyond service. From walking up to the building and being greeted by the valet (when we didn’t even valet) to the warm welcome from the hosts, and to the wait staff who so diligently made sure we were catered to, this place was solid. I think most can agree that service is what makes a restaurant experience stand out. That being said, maybe now I can actually say, «I get it».

January 23, 2016. We had an amazing time eating at the precinct the people were so friendly and the food was amazing, and the service was outstanding there were no complaints on my end had a wonderful time can’t wait to go back!

Our first visit to the Precinct was absolutely perfect.
I really wanted this one-​year-​anniversary to be special and with the help of Mr. (Brandon) Ruby, our server Donovan and the Precinct staff our night was unforgettable. Our entrees (we ordered the Dry Aged Ribeye, 22 oz. and the Steak Collinsworth) and their complements were amazing.
In their website video I think they say something to the effect of «being able to go to the refrigerator if you’re just hungry» and there’s a huge distinction between that and a reason to go this restaurant. Truly this is a special place. The staff, food and of course architectural character of this place sets the bar high!
Thanks for a wonderful evening!

My boyfriend and I decided to go here last minute, so the only area available to eat was the bar! It was very noisy and we could barely hear ourselves talk, but this was our fault for not planning ahead so I can’t complain about that! Beautiful building and atmosphere! The service was excellent. I tried the steak Collinsworth for the first time and it was very good! However, I think the Bernaise sauce took away from the flavor of the steak itself. Good sauce, but perhaps if there was a little less of it, it’d be better. The King crab on top added a great compliment to the steak, and they give you plenty! An advantage to the Precinct over Jeff Ruby’s is that an entreé comes with a salad and side whereas at Jeff Ruby’s, it’s all separate (thus more expensive). My salad was some of the best salad I’ve ever had! The garlic mashed potatoes were also excellent. I can’t wait to come here again, but I can’t decide if I want to order the Collinsworth again or not.

That food was just amazing. Why is it so hard to find steak that is cooked perfectly? The Precinct didn’t disappoint. Medium rare for me and rare for my wife. Perfectly cooked. We didn’t get any wine last night but opted for cocktails instead which were also great.
They gave a slice of cheesecake at the end to help us celebrate the occasion and the service throughout was just amazing. I’ll definitely come back here again.

No update on a new visit, but a note that management contacted me and wanted to discuss my experience. I wasn’t sure what that meant or what to make of it, but finally called. I spoke with Brandon Ruby who said they would like to see me visit again, & he would set up the reservation & oversee the experience. I really didn’t know what to say to that either. I’m sure most people have great experiences at their restaurants, but there are plenty of other places I can spend my money. Think I’ll do that.

I’ve been in cincy for over 1.5 years and have always wanted to try this restaurant. Let me just say… we shoulda gone sooner!
Entrée:
All entrees comes with a salad and side baked or garlic mashed potatoes.
I rec the Freddie salad… it’s their ranch house dressing with bacon. Deeeellllish!
1) A.J. «TomaHawk»: (dry aged long-​bone ribeye «Hatchet») and we added 2 grilled scallops. One of the best steaks we’ve had. The steak was so well cooked and well flavored. No A1 sauce needed.
2) Cold Water Lobster tail: lobster was so sweet especially when you top it off with roasted herb butter.
Dessert:
Chocolate Butter Pie ($ 10): hazelnut brittle, chocolate ganache topped with espresso ice cream. The sweetness of the chocolate pie with ice cream really compliments each other. If you love chocolate, you should get this.

compared to the rest of cincinnati fare, 4 stars. taking the price into account, 3 stars.
we visited the precinct for a celebration dinner with some friends, and we had a pleasant experience. but that’s also the problem … there wasn’t anything spectacular about it. certainly not to warrant a bill over $ 200 (dinner for two).
+1 for taking reservations.
–1 for the parking situation. to park in their lot, it’s a $ 5 valet fee. even if you self-​park.
+1 for competent, kind, well-​trained staff.
+1 for an atmosphere was actually wasn’t stuffy. it wasn’t obnoxiously quiet, also not terribly loud. tasteful décor.
+0 for tables pretty close together. we felt a bit like cattle (pun intended).
+1 for affordable, tasty cocktails. my Godfather was one of the best i’ve had in a long time.
+1 for good bread. i don’t like rye, and i liked their rye. the sourdough was fantastic, especially warm.
+1 for good truffle butter. i’m not a great butter fan, but those in our party really enjoyed it.
+1 for exquisite Arancini (Italian Risotto Balls). this was actually the highlight of our meal.
+0 for so-​so Roasted Asparagus.
+1 for pretty good Greek salad.
+1 for my Brandon Phillips (Peppercorn Crusted Filet). the accompanying Cognac Peppercorn Sauce was tasty.
+1 for pretty good garlic mashed potatoes. if it weren’t for those, i’d have left hungry. :)
+0 for my wife’s so-​so Walnut Crusted Salmon. we get it, it’s a steak joint…
+0 for overpriced wines. many of the bottles were priced well above what they’re worth.
+1 for cheesecake on the house, brought to our table to honor the reason for our celebration. unexpected and very generous.
–1 for a spurious $ 8 charge on my bill. i didn’t complain about it, and tipped well. however, if this is their way of covering their losses on the «free» cheesecake…
+0 for a pushy waitress. it was clear she wanted us to pick up and leave, so we took the hint. strangely, nobody was in line for our table, and there were plenty of patrons remaining in the dining room. it’s a bit rude to collect the check so soon, especially given the price of our meal (and those who joined us). nonetheless, she was tipped well.
it was indeed a good meal. but next time, we’d rather drop $ 200+ elsewhere.

After much travel and investigation, I have concluded this to be my favorite steak in America. The meat quality, seasoning and exceptional char create an exemplary steak (and the best consistently offered among the Ruby restaurants). The sides are very good and the salad offering (Freddie) is good, but nothing mind blowing. With this said, the ambiance and the protein make the evening and specialty sides can kick the meal up a notch.

AMAZING! Great steaks, great oysters. Service was so good. We stopped at the bar for a few cocktails first. The bar is so cool. Great service, fun, lively atmosphere. Went down to our table, had oysters and arancini (the best I have ever had). I had the ribeye, others had filet. We all loved our meals. None of us finished out steaks, which has never happened for me at least. Already making plans to go again!

Tried the surf and turf. Probably one of the best steak houses I have ever been to! Generous portions, food cooked perfectly, and great service!

I would go back in a heartbeat the truffle butter was amazing the steak was great the sourdough in the rye bread that came to the table were amazing!
The service was great the mac & cheese was wonderful, The crème brûlée was out of bounds the cocktails were wonderful and strong
I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday
I will say one thing though we did get the steak Collinsworth and I was not a fan of the crap that came on top because it did have a little bit of shell mixed in it but other than that everything was absolutely perfect

This is the second year in a row that my husband and I chose The Precinct to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Last year it was prefect but for the disastrous chocolate lava cake. I give them credit for removing that from their menu.
Service and atmosphere were absolutely impeccable.
In terms of food, my Caesar salad, the mashed potatoes, and my husband’s Steak Collinsworth (despite the fact that he ordered medium rare and received medium) were excellent. Since we were celebrating our anniversary, our server brought us a complimentary piece of cheesecake, which was much appreciated.
Unfortunately, it was my Brandon Phillips that was no good. I ordered it medium, it was served medium rare (close to rare). I simply do not enjoy cold beef that bleeds into my plate. To add insult to injury, it tasted as though no salt was applied. Adding it after the fact did little to help. This year the cognac sauce was served already poured on my steak. It was awful. Last year it was served on the side, and I did not bother trying it since the steak was so heavenly as it was. I was incredibly disappointed and should have sent it back, but complaining about food puts me in a sour mood, and I did not want to feel that way while celebrating my anniversary. I was hoping the server would notice the pool of blood, but to his credit, the place is dimly lit.
I’m so disappointed in this latest experience that I’m not sure we will give The Precinct a third try.

What can I say… other than I wish I could go back weekly!
Ok… it was a special night out with the bf for my birthday. A special treat that we clearly can’t afford to do regularly. But there are still multiple occasions a year to go out and spoil yourself… well you want to come here at least a few of those times.
I got the strip collinsworth cooked rare plus. You know you’re at a decent steak place when they don’t bat an eye at your ‘rare plus’ order. You know you’re at a great steak place when it actually comes out cooked that way. And it was seasoned perfectly with a great sear on the outside. Just what you want out of the perfect steak. He ordered the Jeff Ruby’s Jewel and it was also cooked perfectly for his ‘medium’ request. But the only disappointment was that his sear on the outside went a bit too far and there were a few burnt parts. (I have to take a star off for this since it can’t be the «epitome» with burnt parts of steak, but it was still so very good)
Oh, and get the Freddie salad. I know you went to get great steak, and you will. But that is one great salad! And we got the crème brûlée. it was perfect. Fresh vanilla bean clearly visible throughout, perfect cook with just the right about of crisp on top.
The service is out of the park, cater to your whims, meet your every need kind of fantastic. Just go and enjoy. If not for the little bit of burn on the sear, it would have been a 5 star.
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Explanation of my rating system —
5*: Epitome of something, the best I’ve had, would LOVE to go back
4*: Great food and happy to go back regularly, but not the best of the category
3*: Food is fine. I may spontaneously decide to go there based on convenience. But no need to go back either.
2*: If you insist, I guess I’ll come along. I’ll find something to eat. But I wouldn’t have picked it.
1*: No plans to come back. I’ll try to talk companions out of going.

This place has a reputation for a reason. It was delicious, but definitely hit the pocketbook kinda hard. The AJ Green with the lobster toppping was amazing, but my friend got the Filet, and it was even better. The Mac and cheese was to die for as well. My only grip was the crab legs. $ 21 per leg. That seemed a bit much for just basic crab.

Dinner June 16
What can I add that hasn’t been said? Great steaks, great food, etc etc.
Tip #1) The truffle flavored butter is much better on the sour dough bread, rather than the rye bread. Use the regular butter on the rye bread.
Tip #2) The Freddie Salad is awesome, but if dining with some else, have 1 get the Freddie and another get the Caesar Salad and split them — they are big enough to share!
Tip #3) even though your steak comes with a potato and salad, pay the extra and get an order of the Brussels Sprouts — wow, they sure are delicious!
Tip #4) if you add a topping to your steak, get it on the side, these steaks are so flavorful give them a taste without anything on it– let the meat speak for itself!

My first time at a Jeff Ruby’s restaurant and it was the perfect experience. My boyfriend and I came here to celebrate an anniversary. We started out at the bar, located upstairs from the restaurant and then were seated afterwards for our reservation. Our initial table was in a room next to a large business party and after a few minutes of being seated, our waiter offered to move us to a more secluded area where it would be more quiet, which I greatly appreciated!
We started out with our salad and because I was stuck in between the house salad and their Greek, the waiter brought out both salads split on one plate for each of us. again, such wonderful service! The salads were both soo good as well as their bread with truffle butter. yum!
For my entrée, I ordered the Whitworth, which was a blackened NY strip steak with horseradish sauce. absolutely delicious and it was cooked to perfection. The steaks are where it’s AT. Also, the mac and cheese. Get it.
We had originally planned to squeeze in dessert to our full bellys, but since we had mentioned it was our anniversary, the waiter kindly brought out a complimentary cheesecake for us. our waiter could not have been more awesome! Also, they have us a complimentary picture of us in the front of the restaurant as memorabilia to take home :)
Overall if you’re looking to splurge on a fine dinner (and it’s well worth it, the portions here are quite large) and have not yet tried any of the Jeff Ruby establishments, I recommend The Precinct!

You guys… The Precinct is a 5 star experience. When you’re dining here, it feels like more than just eating at a restaurant… It feels like you’re a rich, fancy person that eats $ 65 steaks all the time, and the servers know you and they take good care of you. You feel like you BELONG in this fancy environment, and that is a great feeling. With that being said, you should probably dress like you belong… So no jeans or shorts. Looking around the dress code seemed like business casual to me.
Everything about the service here is flawless. From the valet car service, to greeting you at the door, the many highly-​trained waiters, and the guy that comes to put fresh cracked pepper on your salad… They’re all extremely professional and fast. I was very impressed!
The ambiance is cool. I love that the building used to be an old police station, and they pay homage to that with the art work on the walls. This place feels like somewhere you could take your grandparents and they would feel comfortable, or you could also take a 25 year old foodie and they would love the modern touches in an old building. Unfortunately, we were seated in a side room, so we were in a very small area with huge mirrors on the walls. I hated the mirror… I don’t really like to watch myself eat, so that meant I could really only look at my food and not around. Next time for our reservation I’ll request a table in the main room.
Now the food… We were ambitious and ordered two entrees, a side to split, and a dessert. You do not need to order an appetizer here! All the steaks come with a fresh salad and home-​made bread with truffle butter (yummmm!). I recommend the house Freddie salad which is a lettuce, bacon, and tomato salad that comes with a home-​made ranch dressing. If you get an appetizer you’ll never make it through your steak!
I got the Chris Mack (16 oz Ribeye — yes a FULL pound of meat — with horseradish sauce), and my date got the A.J. Green (14 oz NY Strip), both medium. They were prepared perfectly, and both were excellent (but I liked mine better because it was juicier/​fattier). They season their steaks generously here and then sear them, so they look almost charred on the outside, but that’s just the seasoning. This steak will melt in your mouth! It was well worth the high price tag we paid for it. The mac and cheese on the side was also creamy and delicious, and with a crispy cheesy topping on top, served in an individual crock.
Because it was our anniversary, they surprised us with a free cheesecake with a candle (how cute!). We were stuffed beyond belief, but when someone puts free cheesecake in front of you… Well, it would be rude not to scarf the whole thing down, right?! This cheesecake was perfect… No crust, no fillings, it was just a plain vanilla cheesecake, but something about it was *magical*.
To summarize, everything about this place makes it better than your average fancy steakhouse. The service is better, the steaks are better, the ambiance is better, and the dessert is better. They take typical steakhouse fare and somehow elevate it, and that’s what makes this place work the price.
If you’re looking for a cheaper date option, head up to the bar! They have a happy hour Sunday-​Friday 4:30 to 6pm, and they serve a smaller, cheaper menu up at the bar.

I don’t often feel that a restaurant is deserving of five stars. So, I am happy to say that The Precinct most deservedly earned five stars last night. Our server was extremely professional and attentive — cool even. The Precinct has mastered the art of making their patrons the center of attention. Everyone from our party of seven last night thoroughly enjoyed not only their meal, but the experience as well.
I had the blackened ribeye, shared a side of asparagus, and shared the duck confit bruschetta. All were well prepared and flavorful. The steak though… I usually never order a ribeye because I’m not a fan of ribeye quality and prefer a filet, but I ordered this blackened ribeye (the Chris Mack) because our server recommended it. It tasted amazing. As is typical of a ribeye, some bites were a bit stringy and made of gristle, but still, the blackened flavors were perfect. It was also perfectly cooked medium rare all the way through. I can easily say that this steak, even being of ribeye quality, was one the best tasting steaks I’ve ever had.
We also ordered the raw oysters, which were as fresh as you’re going to get in Cincinnati, and they tasted great. All but one of our party received salads, which come with a steak order, so our server gave her a complimentary salad so that she would not feel left out. Lastly, our server overheard that we were celebrating my grad school graduation, and brought me a comped slice of cheesecake. It was nothing extravagant, it was however nice that this occasion was acknowledged by an attentive server.
Great service, great food, great atmosphere. Our night was perfect.