Main Bite

Great food. Love their patio. Service is good and fast, not sure about some of the other reviews mentioning bad service. Give them another shot. :) Parking can be tricky in the area so you might want to carpool or use one of the nearby lots. This place is a great starting point for a date as there are nearby bars and downtown Cincinnati is nearby as well. Use the Southbank shuttle to travel inexpensively between this area and downtown. I had a custom noodle dish and it went well with a beer (I forget which one I drank). Prices are fine and once again, I love the patio area and the people watching/​car drivebys.

I went there for lunch on Saturday. Found out immediately that their lunch wouldn’t start until 2pm on Saturday. So I ordered garden omelette. It was portioned just right. Tasted good. The server was friendly as well. Just a regret that we couldn’t try their lunch menus.

Delicious food and a great restaurant for vegans/​vegetarians. I had the Mushroom Marsala Polenta with the Tomato Soup. Best Tomato soup ever! It was not made with a creamy base it was just pure fresh ingredients. Oh and the Cowboy Cavier was a great starter. Would definitely recommend and return the next time I am visiting Covington.

My wife and I have been working to try all the restaurants in covington. Today we stopped at Main Bite. For a small place, the menu is very sophisticated. The specials are amazing. I had the pesto risotto with shrimp and sun-​dried tomatoes. It was the best risotto I’ve had in a very long time. My wife had the blackened tilapia tacos. These tacos are small, but pack big flavor.
We were there early in the evening to avoid the rush and the food came out quickly. My only complaint was that after we asked for the bill, it took our waitress about 20mins to bring it. Fortunately, the waitress was very aware of the time and decided to take my wife’s beer off the bill and apologized for the wait.
We will absolutely visit this little place again!

Tried this place out for the first time today. We had the tomato and artichoke dip, goetta burrito, and an omelette. Great food at a decent price. We will be returning here.

I really want to support local places like this, but we really didn’t have a good experience.
— Our waitress was slow and inattentive (got there about 7:15– she didn’t take our order until about 7:40). Our water was left empty, she forgot our iced tea, etc.
— Forgot our appetizer, when we asked after it, we were told «it was probably burning in the oven». No attempt to resolve.
— Long hair found in my salad!!! I know it happens, but ICK!
The salad was actually tasty, but my belly didn’t respond so well to it and I had horrible cramping later.
On the bright side– cool little patio. The inside isn’t very well taken care of.

Couldn’t get in Otto’s…walked across street to Main Bite and was very happy with our choice… good mimosas… and brunch was great… not busy when we got there… was busy when we left… but no wait… good choices on the menu. will definitely be back

Great service! Macaroni and cheese with the Caramelized onions & bacon was a must. The restaurant is one of its kind.

We were in town for a conference so we decided to have brunch at Main Bites.
My lovely companion ordered the breakfast bruschetta. The wheat berry toast was a nice complement to the poached eggs. A hint of lemon on the greens provided a nice acidity with the yolk.
I had the Goetta burrito. I found the Goetta to be spicy and delicious. Highly recommended.

Somewhere between a 2.5 and 3. Not bad but not great. I love the concept (Everything from scratch and local if possible) but the flavor was just not there for me. Everything tastes like I could have made it at home just a little bit better. Especially for the price, it was not worth it for me. We started with the Steak Sriracha Flatbread. Despite the name it was somewhat bland. It had a Sriracha mayo that was not spicy. Also said steak was ground. Two big hits for the dish. Otherwise it was not bad. Next we had the seasonal risotto. It was squash, Parmesan, and chicken. Again, somewhat bland. The squash had a good flavor. It could have used some texture variation. Maybe the chicken grilled on top instead of mixed it. We also tried the BBQ Sliders. The blue cheese slaw was and interesting pairing. I liked the combination with the BBQ. This was probably my favorite dish. All were «small plates» but the sizes were inconsistent. Pizza was a good size of a small plate. A bit pricy for what it was. Would have been fine if it had actual steak. The risotto and the sliders were quite sizeable. The place is advertised as a tapas place but the big plates and somewhat high prices make it hard to eat that way.

This is a nice place, and I love the small businesses in this area. The dining room seems a touch cramped even though we were there when there was hardly anyone in the place. The menu reads well and they have a wide assortment of beverages. All their stuff is made in house and it tastes super fresh. That said, the flavors on the menu were a bit pedantic, more of what I would cook at home than anything mind-​blowing.
I will say that I have impossibly high standards for flavors and textures, I am spoiled by living so close to the extraordinary restaurants in OTR, so this small cozy place failed to excite. I will say that they were fine for a weeknight meal and the prices were acceptable.

Was pleasantly surprised with this place. The menu was a bit «strange.» You aren’t going to just order a burger and fries here. I got a buffalo chicken flatbread. It was fantastic! We ate outside at this quaint bistro. Loved the atmosphere and the staff was very friendly. Would have loved to see some non-​foodie items on the menu for picky eaters. But overall, great place.

Tima: took them 34 837 mins to get my coffee
Sara: I would give NO stars if that was an option. Horrible service. Gave «6 ounces» of orange juice-​half a glass. They don’t have half the things that’s on the menu. Never again
Tala: they said they didn’t have much peppers and onions for the omelette so they would only serve the complete omelette according to who ordered it first.
Hammdy: waitress is a bitch. Out of stock from onions and peppers.
Safi: very limited options, and half of these options are not even available. This city has way better places than this shit hole
Sema: the only reason we are here is because the place across the street was full.
Mawajehhh: Mawajehhh made an Instagram yesterday and was very excited about it. He was taking a group photo and the waitress said she doesn’t want to be in it. Mawajehhh became very sad. So he decided to order one shot of orange juice so he can be happy again. The waitress came and told him no full orange glass for you. Just 6 ounces. Everybody then tzzzt Mawajehhh and we lived happily ever after.
This place fuckin sucks ass…

Can’t believe how good this tastes! The menu says they raise their own herbs and clearly the chef knows how to use them.

My bf found this place randomly on Unilocal and we went to Covington for food for the first time on a Tuesday night. Compares to otr, Covington is a lot friendlier. It is very townie and the crowd there is older. Everybody is very relaxed.
We went to main bite on a very sunny day and we were able to sit outside. It is absolutely beautiful with all the greens around us. If weather is allowed, I highly suggest you sitting outside.
The menu is less complicated than some of the restaurants on otr as well. I didn’t have to pull out my phone to look up ingredients. They are not small enough to be considered as tapas but just enough for a meal. We order an appetizer and two small plates and we finished the whole thing and were happily full.
We got the cowboy caviar and it was pretty good. The freshness works well with slightly salted chips.
Food came really fast and we got our siracha sirloin flatbread and risotto of the day with sundries tomatoes. The flatbread was not impressive at all. I could barely taste anything with its overwhelming amount of oil. It was so oily I wanted to wipe it off with a napkin. The risotto was pretty good however. It was very creamy and the shrimp was fresh and crispy.
Overall I think we enjoyed the environment more than the food but it is definitely worth a visit.

I had been to main bite twice before I went there with my husband.
Loved it both times. 8 women each time and we all loved what we had.
Same when my husband and I went. Egg salad is amazing.
Will keep going back because I have to try everything.
I have had the same server every time and she was amazing every time.
I almost gave it 4 stars because it is a little pricey but it’s worth it so they get 5 stars. Try it.

Unassuming exterior, but a cute, locally-​driven bistro lies within. I had brunch here today with friends and we were all very happy with our food and the experience overall.
My friends both got breakfast items (stuffed French toast and biscuits & gravy) and both plates were cleaned. I got the Thai chicken chopped salad and it was a large portion of crisp greens, carrots, herbs, chicken and a delicious peanut dressing. It was light yet filling and something I would definitely order again.
Service was welcoming and attentive. The interior is colorful and warm. Parking is available on the street out front or across the way. The front of the menu tells a great story about their local focus so take a few minutes to read before you order.
I would wish for a few more light/​healthier options – almost everything on the menu other than the 2 salads sounded very heavy. It would be great to add some turkey or chicken based breakfast meats to the brunch menu as well.

I was interested to see how they had re-​done the space, because it is very small. It’s certainly a tight squeeze, but it has a cozy feeling to it and not like you’re crammed in like sardines (although I imagine if the place was full you might).
The menu explains that all food is made in-​house, and all products are locally sourced. Some are even from the Covington gardens, and they grow some of their own herbs. Of course, I was hooked from here.
From the get go service was a little slow, but not in an inconvenient way… I felt like I was at home and mom was making a big meal and it was just taking time. From what I can tell, it’s a very small staff. And knowing that Main Bite was so heavily focused on making fresh and local food helped… things like that take time!
The roasted red pepper tomato bisque was spicier than I had anticipated, but absolutely delicious. I ordered the pasta special that night– 4 cheese ravioli. It came out a bit colder than I would have liked, but I let it slide. It was so good. Everyone’s food had incredible presentation and looked both parts tasty and beautiful– which seemed to be the consensus. The only thing I got to try a bite of was the maple roasted bourbon pork… and oh. my. gosh. SO. good.
My biggest complaint was that IT IS NOT A TAPAS restaurant. «Small plates» translates to «the amount of food you should be eating, and not enough to provide you with leftovers for 3 days.» Which is fine, but if you’re looking to share some things, just know it’s presented like a meal and not as bites to share.
Other than that, I enjoyed my experience and am looking forward to going back since the menu changes with the seasons! (Just one more thing I loved about Main Bite!)

On an anniversary trip to Cincinnati, m’lady and I decided to stay close to our hotel (The Raddison — Riverfront) and started out on a pick and eat adventure. We walked up and down this little street that was full of people, sitting, standing — talking. There were even a few street performers out, which I love.
We stumbled up on Main Bite, and being a lover of quaint hole in the wall establishments, we entered. My girlfriend loves to patio dine, so thats what we did — the walkway between the restaurant and another building served as a nice little sitting area, tables lining the brick building gave a very bohemian vibe to the place.
We were served our waters by the bus boy, then the waitress came with menus — this was the most attentive she was all night, though. There was a couple seated next to us, that got the history of the restaurant and an executive tour of the menu — all while we waited to order. When she finally came over, she asked if we had out DRINK order — we had already had nearly 15 minutes to glance at the menu — so we ordered and off she went.
I can’t discredit the food, it was phenomenal, I had the Manhattan Glazed chicken, which was bourbony and juciy, can’t complain. We continued to listen to the waitress (who we then figured out was the owners daughter) push every wine on the menu to the table next to us (he ended up getting a Bud Light) paid the bill, and left.
All-​in-​All great atmosphere, wonderful vibe — amazing food. However, maybe the owner should hire staff that are outside of the family, because I felt left out, unattended and ignored.

So, we headed downtown for a quick breakfast at Holtman’s, but there was a walk going on that made navigating the area a nightmare, so we decided to head over to the Kentucky side and ended up at Main Bite where we sat down for an incredibly tasty brunch. It is a very cute space with deep red walls, a worn wooden floor, and small granite-​topped tables.
The brunch menu was offered in addition to their normal menu. I had the Stuffed French Toast with Honey Goat Cheese and Berry Compote — such a unique combination that really came together beautifully! The husband had the Hillbilly Benedict (without the goetta) — very tasty and the biscuits were a nice touch. There weren’t a ton of vegetarian options, so I’m not sure that we would be too quick to return… but I would like to sample some of their tapas items since we only sampled brunch. Unfortunately, their online menu seems a bit outdated and can be confusing to navigate. For instance, the printable menu lists Chori-​Cheese Cremini, which sounds like a tasty vegetarian option, but I didn’t see it on the menu while we were at the restaurant nor do I see it elsewhere on their website where they list their ‘bites’.