Johnny’s Bar

Off the beaten path, but that’s why I chose it. It’s reputation as a Cleveland landmark was not lost on me. The unassuming neon «BAR» sign outside and classy but unpretentious interior as well as the somewhat gruff but eminently friendly staff are also hallmarks of a good find from the likes of a NYC area foodie. Apps were perfectly done (surprised to find frog legs outside Chinatown or a bistro). If you like veal, this is the place for you. Chevre stuffed veal chop with 3 types of mushrooms and a port wine reduction were delicate and perfect. Plus, the cab we took from the Renaissance Hotel rolled up just as we paid the check. How could I complain?

After receiving a gift card to this establishment I decided to give it a shot… and I’m very glad that I did.
Their food is AMAZING. They have plenty of unique dishes alongside the Italian classics.
The place is very quaint which is pretty much fitting for this romantic-​esce establishmnet. A great location if you’re looking to really impress your date. The prices are pretty high. Two people who don’t drink will AT LEAST run a tab of $ 100. They have live music on some days too. Honestly my 2^nd favorite restaurant in Cleveland.

This Cleveland classic deserves nothing less than five stars. Food and service was outstanding.
My boyfriend and I have had Johnny’s on our list for a long time, so we decided to splurge during the holiday season and give it a try.
This feels like a bar from the 1930s. No frills. Old school, classy joint. At the bottom of the menu, it requests no cell phone usage! What?! Don’t tell but still checked in on Unilocal.
We started with a bottle of wine. Ripasso. Excellent and reasonably priced.
My bf got the long bone veal chop, stuffed with chèvre and leeks, topped with shiitakes. Holy moly was it a tender, umami bomb! I had the Chilean sea bass, which was crispy on the outside, but so moist. Perfectly prepared.
Tiramisu for dessert with espresso was a fabulous way to round out the evening.
Need to give a shout out to Our server, Linda, because she was amazing! She made our evening. No really. I mean it!
I will admit that the prices make it a special occasion place, but man– I can’t wait to head back soon!

New Year’s Eve at Johnny’s Fulton was an elegant way to welcome in 2016! Bo and his family along with all the stellar staff made you feel like you traveled to NY to celebrate. A fantastic jazz trio along with their iconic dishes like their cherry walnut glazed duck appetizer and my long-​bone veal chop with smoked Gouda made it a remarkable night! However big that wine cellar is, Bo and Ricky always have a knockout pairing for you at any level. Simple details such as the best damn cappuccino I’ve ever had with dessert completed an exceptional experience. Thank you so much. Buon Anno!

Had a lovely Delicious New Year’s Eve Dinner!
Looking forward to next year.
Rhonda Albaugh

They were serving an 8 person table and totally ignored us, on our special occasion evening. Said they were too busy and we needed to wait. The food was disgusting tasted warmed up and old covered in salt. Sent back and was yelled at by the server. She said she can’t take anything off our bill even though it wasn’t edible or even eaten. The salad was the only thing that was good but since the tables are so small and our meals were warmed up in a microwave they took our salads mid-​bite. RUDE. I would never suggest anyone to dine here and I will never go back. By the way our bill was 350 $$ We all left starving and drove an hour home to make something ourselves.

This is one of my favorite spots in Cleveland (when I am not paying the bill), though it’s worth the splurge. The first time, I wasn’t hungry and had a salad (good, but a salad nonetheless), though I tried my brother’s salmon special, and it was excellent. The second time, I knew I had to try an actual entrée, so I went for the red snapper special. The mango curry south had just enough heat coupled with sweetness to accentuate the fish, which despite a crispy shell was soft and flaky inside. The lentils and asparagus were also cooked and seasoned very well. However, my brother once again made the pick of the day: a peppercorn duck breast appetizer in a cherry sauce (another special) that was scrumptious and juicy, with the cherries not a sugary dessert glaze but an almost savory sauce to bring out the richness of the meat. My mom always goes for the peppercorn filet, which is one of the house specialties that never fails to disappoint her. Additionally, both times we’ve had exceptional service, and quick seating because it’s a bit off the beaten path.

Very disappointing. Food was decent. Service was terrible. I could deal with the price if the service was good. I had to wait for my ice cubes to melt in order to drink water. The server was MIA all night.

Really have to ask… WHO IS the guy managing Johnny’s on Fulton?
The other couple we went with to dine her on Saturday, 11÷12÷11 were regulars at this location in the past. I’ve been here once with my wife as well, and there is no issue with the food… it’s top shelf Italian cuisine.
However, this time around they lost our reservation — which happens — but man oh man, the GM dude running the place sure treated us like we were bums from the street looking for a free meal or something!
He started with a snotty tone and said, «You called the wrong number.» Which is possible since Johnny’s Downtown has a phone number with the same last 4 digits as this one on Fulton. But the GM’s tone was like, «You called the wrong number, you stupid idiot.»
He did spend 2 – 3 minutes looking things over to at least pretend to see what he could do… but they were packed and there was no getting us in. OK, so he calls the downtown location and semi-​confirms that’s where our reservation really was. But because we stood there for nine minutes trying to figure out what to do, he said it was too late, we lost our reservation at the other location.
When I asked him why, he said, «Because you’re HERE.» Once again with the whole «You stupid brainless idiot» tone. He also shrugged his shoulders while he was saying it, just to add a little extra flair to his insulting demeanor.
Moreover, I heard this mental giant of dedicated customer service actually use the word «idiot,» referring to a customer while talking to some guy at the bar. Not sure if this other guy was an employee or a customer, and I’m not sure I was the «idiot» the GM was talking about, either. Could have been some other «idiot» that asked some «stupid» question customers sometimes ask, like, «when will our table be ready?» or something similar.
Wow.
Further, the hostess on duty at one point said, «pay no attention to him, he’s evil,» as if she’s experienced this kind of thing from him before?
Next stop for me is writing a letter to Johnny’s ownership. Unless this is the guy that owns the place, of course. By the way, we wound up at Felice in Shaker Hts instead that night. Had a great meal (seared duck breast with serrano ham mac n cheese and a cherry reduction sauce) at probably 40% less than the prices at Johnny’s…
D J DiCola

This place was a find. Great local owned long time establishment with great food, killer wine list, and eating at the bar while chatting with the owner. Had a great time everyone enjoyed the food. And they have not 1, not 2, but 5 Amarone wines to pick from the wine list. My veal steak with lobster on top was awesome. Neat place. Yes, a little pricey but they have earned it.

I just completed my 15 months of working in Cleveland and by far recommend this place as the best Cleveland has to offer for Italian food. Bo the owner along with his lovely family really know how to make you feel welcome. I met his wife the two lovely daughters and 1 son. Thanks for the great peppers, veal chops, pasta and tasty drinks over my time in Cleveland. I hope to visit again real soon

Johnny’s patio was included in the Plain Dealer’s «Best Restaurant Patios» article, so we decided to check it out on a Friday night. The restaurant was jammed and noisy but the patio was cool, quiet and very classy. We had a great dinner in a romantic outdoor setting.

We came in unassuming but heard the food was really good. To say the least it was fantastic, one if the best meal I’ve experienced along with a super server. Long bone veal chop was SUPER! Husband has Italian seafood feast and saint leave a drop… app was stuffed hot peppers, perfectly roasted.
Two glasses of wine, cappuccino and a warm B&B to top it all off!
LOVED IT AND RECOMMEND TOO EVERYONE–
Don’t be discouraged by the neighborhood, it’s all good!!!

Unique décor. Fan favorite. Parking is a challenge.

Nice accommodations for a party of 26. Good food and nice service. Only issue is the stairs for the private room. It’s literally all the way upstairs. The old timers had issues. But overall it was a really nice time.

Definitely my favorite restaurant. I can’t begin to describe why this is my favorite restaurant. The food is the best I have ever had from beginning to end. The sausage stuffed pepper appetizer was delicious. It was a great way to begin the meal. The salad had a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Just talking about it makes me crave it. It is one of the best balsamic vinaigrette dressings that I have ever had. For the entrée I chose one of their featured dishes… a ribeye with a homemade sauce. The steak was perfectly prepared and the sauce was deliciously sweet and tangy. Surprisingly though, the food was not the best part of the experience for me. The best part of the dining experience was the waiter. He made the dining experience complete. Because of this, we always dine here for special occasions and to make lasting memories.

Our good friends treated us to dinner at Johnny’s, and we had a wonderful evening. It is definitely an old school kind of place, but I mean this as a complement. The old bar is well worn, but they make a good drink, and the garden area out back is beautiful and romantic – perfect for a nice summer evening. I dressed up and wore a coat to dinner, and many did as well, but I was surprised to see several under dressed people being seated. Sigh.
The snobby, über-​trendy, gotta always have something new crowd won’t like the menu, but there is something to be said about preparing high quality traditional dishes. Yes, I had the pounded veal chop, and yes, it was everything it should be! The stuffed calamari appetizer was delicious – I never had it prepared this way before. My wife had the seafood pasta, and the seafood was fresh, but best of all, the pasta tasted like homemade.
Ok, so the prices are high – this is definitely a special occasion place – but the quality and quantity is there to justify it, as is the service.
I can see why this place has survived all these years, while the trendy places are in one day and out the next.

Best Cleveland restuarant. The food from apps to desert was perfect. I order the bone in veal chop it was the best i ever had.
Our waiter Ricky made the night extra special. We had the best service ever. If you go there ask for him. He hits a grand slam with his service.
.
Order the Banana Fosters for desert is great finish to a perfect night
Only draw back is that it is a bit pricy but worth it.

On the positive-​most importantly, the food was delicious. It fit the style of the place. Wasn’t trying to be modern, pretentious or too creative. Good, fresh ingredients cooked right served by knowledgeable servers. We ordered the stuffed veal chops. A little overcooked for my liking with only a hint of pink. They did not offer an option which is probably normal for veal. The demi-​glacé over top was delicious. Side of potatoes and greens were perfect. Also, we ordered the fettucine with red pepper sauce, rabbit sausage and mushrooms. This was delicious but with a bit too much sauce. The noodles were firm, warm and not stuck together — very hard to get all three of those right on busy nights. The salad was good but the goat cheese was a bit too salty. The nebbiolo wine which came recommended based on my interest, was nailed by our waiter.
The atmosphere was awesome — old timers having fun and enjoying the energy and noise while early twenty somethings sat at white linen tops acting accordingly. All this in the midst of one of the most blighted areas of Cleveland.
The one negative was the ridiculous wait. 8:30 reservation got us seated at 9:45 with entrees arriving at 10:45 with little concern from the staff.

This review is so difficult for me to write since I went there on my anniversary and I don’t want to make it sound like it wasn’t an awesome experience.
It was romantic, fancy, delicious, definitely memorable. If you haven’t dined on their whimsical patio, you’re surely missing out. We made reservations a day or two in advance and when we arrived, we asked to be seated on the patio. It was no problem and we were taken to a private table, which was really thoughtful. The scenery was beautiful and the only other guests was a large party under the awning.
The service was awesome. Our waiter looked like he’d been working there for quite some time and his knowledge of the menu was spot on. He took note that this was not only our first visit, but it was also our anniversary and made us feel really, really special. He added all the unique, fancy touches we needed to feel like we were having a proper night-​on-​the-​town.
The menu was packed with items, all with pretty hefty price tags. I’d say unless you wanted just plain pasta with marinara, expect to spend over $ 30 or way more on any entrée – meatless or not. For this price I expected the food to blow me away – and don’t get me wrong, it was delicious. The taste just did not match the price. In fact, I left feeling confused on how we spent about $ 200 on two pasta dinners, 2 appetizers and a couple drinks.
I’m certainly the kind of gal who believes, «you get what you pay for» and doesn’t mind splurging on a great meal out for a special occasion. But when you leave a restaurant feeling like you could have had a better, fresher meal for less coin – it’s sort of disappointing.
The stuffed peppers were delicious, no complaints there. The caprese salad was just not great. The tomatoes were super-​cold, a big sign that they were pre-​cut and refrigerated. The mozzarella was chewy and also not fresh, but the worst part of the salad was the balsamic glaze. It was TOO sweet, almost like a balsamic caramel that overpowered what was supposed to be the delicious taste of fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. We both ordered different kinds of seafood pastas for our main courses and although my man scarfed his down, I had a hard time making a dent in my dish. It was good, but some of the shrimp and scallops were viciously over-​cooked and chewy. But, I will say the pasta tasted freshly made and the tomato di olio sauce was tasty – just not over $ 30 tasty. Most of what I saw on the menu appeared to be too heavy and not focused on showcasing the fresh, beautiful and SIMPLE tastes of Italian cuisine and fresh ingredients.
I truly believe in this business and wish nothing but the best for them, but they really need to think about updating certain aspects. The prices wouldn’t be so bad if the food was fresher and/​or locally sourced. But it is not. The menu is stuck in 1970 and desperately needs a modern face-​lift. Keep the items that work, but update what doesn’t for the love of our wallets. There is no way they’re pulling in the same profit that they were years ago and I guarantee that’s why the prices have inflated to these horrendous levels.
I would definitely return to Johnny’s and probably stick with their traditional spaghetti, but I’d skip the other things which bump the price tag up x100. The atmosphere inside and out are totally unique to this Cleveland institution – an experience not to be missed.