Wheat Penny Oven And Bar

My husband and I visited Wheat Penny during the winter restaurant week. It was super busy, but lucked out with seats at the bar. The bartenders are very attentive and craft superb cocktails. I highly recommend ‘I wanna know what shrub is’– it is delicious. We stuck with the specials for restaurant week. The highlights were the eggplant meatballs, braised pork ribs w/​polenta and the ricotta gnocchi. The desserts were so-​so.

The host/​hostess in this place are trash bags in human form. I really wanted to like this place but it is so Dayton. People trying so hard to be cutting edge but come up miles short. I’ll give it two stars just because the food was good but the staff screams east Dayton with a side of meth.

We tried the call ahead seating; arrived at the designated time, their were four groups still ahead of us and 45 minutes of waiting for a table (and we shared a table with people we didn’t know to speed it up).
Our food was unremarkable. The eggplant and mushroom balls were very good, my drink superb, but the rest of it bordered on inedible. My friend left ¾ of her main course. The desserts were bizarre, my tangerine chocolate ice cream tasted like coconut.
Previous trips to this restaurant were good, the chef blew this one. The potential was good, execution was poor. The people on the other end of the table sent their pizza back because the crust was burnt.
Here is hoping they were having a bad night, but the gnocchi swimming in butter was stomach turning (I finished mine only because it was so $$ I didn’t want to waste it).
Our server must be credited with doing a great job on timing the courses and serving drinks.

Great restaurant for Dayton. Dayton doesn’t have that many good local restaurants, so this one is for sure a must-​try! Their pizza is delectable with their crunchy, yet soft crust. They have many vegan options for myself, including Daiya cheese. I personally hate Daiya, but at least they have the option. I recommend they use Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet… It is way more like regular cheese. Much tastier. I just get my pizza without cheese because they are really generous on toppings. I love the simple taste of sauce, olive oil and veggies. Mmm. Their mushrooms are to die for. I always order the cauliflower steak in addition to pizza. It is so good! It’s a big meal that comes with two healthy sides. I love the broccolini and green beans. The roasted potatoes are amazing too. Eggplant fries are heavenly. Good job wheat penny! Please change your vegan cheese though.

Best pizza ever! We had out of town guests last evening and ordered two Taylor St pizzas. Our guests commented that this had to be the best pizza they ever ate. As Daytonians, we absolutely agreed!

Try the Hawaii 4.0 – so freaking good!!! Light and airy crust. And one of the few places you can substitute for non dairy cheese. I’ve been half a dozen time and haven’t been disappointed yet!

Very welcoming staff, lots of craft beers that they allow you to sample to find your right flavor for your palate. Pizza the thing to get, very interesting toppings and extremely tasty and shareable!

Checked out wheat penny for the first time (Thursday) and it was really good! At first I was surprised how crowded it was on a Thursday night but now I see why. Enjoyed the vibe and interior of the place. We tried the eggplant fries and, as expected, it was delicious (also had a pizza)!!! Drinks were also amazing: basil & limoncello drink is definitely one I recommend.

We had high hopes for this restaurant after reading the menu online and seeing all the great reviews on Unilocal.The menu reads really well and the dishes sound so interesting, but all the food ended up being merely mediocre.
— eggplant fries — the batter was killer but the eggplant itself was sorely lacking in seasoning.
— octopus — rubbery and undercooked, should have been more charred.
— pizza — extremely salty. The sauce tasted like it could have been simmered a few more hours for more depth.
— kale salad — TOO MUCH CHEESE. it felt like they were trying to disguise the kale with apples, overly-​acidic dressing and strong cheese. Kale should be the hero of the dish.
Sadly, a strong meh from my group although everyone at the restaurant was very nice. Bummer.

Came here for lunch on Friday and it was busy, but they were able to seat is promptly. Once seated, it took an unusually long time to be greeted by a server. Once we ordered, it took about 30 minutes to get our meals. I ordered the lunch special, two slices of pizza with a side. I went with the pepperoni and pepper pizza and a side of the pepperoni gumbo. The pizza had a great flavor but it was burnt. The pepperoni gumbo was extremely salty. Service was ok, food was just ok.

Called ahead for a 45 minute wait and put our name in then. Waited well over the original 45. Asked how much longer and was told 1.5 hrs longer. TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!

the Miss Ohio pizza is great! We also tried the egg plant fries based on Unilocal reviews and and Focaccia bread as appetizers. Both were delicious.
All around we loved this place from the nice dining atmosphere to the unique menu.

Wheat and Penny, a restaurant that offers some creative dishes and pizzas! Started with the focaccia bread with olive oil, garlic, and cherry tomatoes. The bread was awesome. However the appetizer that you need to try are the eggplant fries. Superb!
Also ordered the kale salad which portions were very generous. Finally on to the pizza! So many choices and you can order a pizza with two different halves if you want!
Great outdoor seating area, good food and service!

We had the Miss Ohio and the Sweet Meat pizza. The Miss Ohio was so good, tons of flavor. l want to go back tomorrow.

This is one of the very few locations I’ve found that will muddle mint for you to make mint juleps. Though, to be honest, I wasn’t paying attention while they muddled and my mint julep only had mint as a decoration. I assume they strained it. Having fresh mint on hand put them in my good graces, though. The bar outside had no tender but you can take drinks made inside out after paying. As always, Wheat Penny continues to impress me.

I loved this place! I have been wanting to come here for awhile and when my mom visited we came here for dinner. We sat out on the patio which was super cute with it’s outdoor bar. We both ordered a cocktail called autopilot and it is my new favorite drink. It was SO good. It was a gin cocktail, so it was perfect for summer. We had meatballs for appetizers. They were decent, nothing to write home about. We ordered a pizza with sausage, peppers and mozzarella. It was very good, but I did notice that toppings were not evenly distributed, so some pieces did not have sausage on them, etc. We ordered the homemade ice cream for dessert and this was also good, but it was only one scoop for $ 6, so that seemed a little on the small side. What definitely recommend if you are looking for a fun, casual place to go.

Earlier this year, whenI knew I would be headed to Dayton to live, I started doing research on good food joints and good cocktail joints. Low and behold, this place showed up as a potential place to check out. Lucky for me, my hubby did the recon on a remove trip and gave it the thumbs up (and even sent me photos of the cocktail he was drinking — so nice of him).
On our arrival in Dayton and after a very long day, this was our first stop for dinner and a drink. To start off with, I had their version of a Manhattan. Would have it over and over again; made with rye, a beer «jam», and bitters. It was very well balanced, just the right amount of all my favorites. I asked to sample the beer jam. Wow! They make it with a milk stout — made me want to try it on my own (once the house gets unpacked).
For dinner I had the Porchetta sandwich ($ 12.95). The bread was focaccia — nicely browned on both sides; and how can you not like pork shoulder wrapped in pork belly? I will definitely be going back again.

I love you Wheat Penny, and the great things you’ve brought to dayton.
Affordable. Delicious. World Class.
Wheat Penny, you have my heart.
Two most popular things on the menu:
Eggplant Fries: don’t care if you hate eggplant. Take the plunge, it’ll be worth it. I promise you. After all these years I’ve barely seen my father touch a vegetable. He couldn’t stop eating these fries!
Porchetta sandwich: For $ 13 you can’t beat it. The sofritto makes it.
My favorite cocktails:
Basil Smash
Bahama Mama– quite spicy with jalapeño vodka, but that’s where all the excitement comes from :)
I tried the pizzas once, they’re delicious too!
Oui Oui, très bon!

My wife and i have been here multiple times and have claimed it as one of our Dayton favorites. Its a cool local restaurant that is becoming known for their pizza but they offer so much more. We have only had pizza :)
They took over Cocos old location but man did they make it their own. It looks great inside and out. They recently finished their patio. Amazing!
My most recent experience I tried to make reservations because we wanted to bring my in laws. They dont take reservations for parties less than five people. The dude answering the phone was a touch rude :(Usually its just the two of us and we sit at the bar, so thats cool… I guess The bartenders always offer great service.
The pizzas are some of the best in Dayton. We have tried many of them and take advantage of the «make your own» option as well. We really need to make an effort to try the other menu items because everything I see coming out of that kitchen looks amazing.
They are almost always packed so prepare to wait. Its worth it.

As I scrolled the reviews of this place… It seemed like this place was known for their pizzas. I stumbled upon one review however that went against the popular easy choice and decided to order differently from everyone. And so, as I wasn’t feeling for the pizza I went for their recommendation.
Walking in, it gave me a feeling of a southwestern theme. My co-​worker did say that he felt a sort of old city/​warehouse type of feel though because of the high ceilings as well as the pipes being all open and such. But to me, with the paintings on the wall as well as a seating area in pure wood enclosure definitely gave off a southwestern vibe. The service was definitely friendly and the waiter also gave us suggestions on what Dayton Brewery
From the Unilocal reviews that went against the norm… I ordered the Porchetta Sandwich. This sandwich was awesome. Succulent with every bite you took, busting with flavor and then cooled off with that arugula. Absolutely. Delicious. If you want to go against the norm, this is the thing to get.
The service was top notch. The waitress that served us was very welcoming and helpful as we asked her several questions on where to go drink after our meal. But after learning that it was our first time in Dayton, what followed was absolute kindness. And who said northerners are mean?
I think if I were to stay at Dayton, this restaurant would definitely claim my place to go for that taste. I haven’t had a sandwich that good in a long while. If I were to ever come back, this place would be a go-​to spot.