The Aperture named a USA TODAY best restaurant of 2025: Video
Take a look inside The Aperture in Walnut Hills, named one of USA TODAY’s best restaurants for 2025.
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and healthy fats.Cincinnati offers a diverse range of Mediterranean restaurants, including Turkish, Greek and Lebanese cuisine.From upscale bistros to casual market stalls, these restaurants offer varied menus and price points.
We’ve all heard about the Mediterranean diet, a term based on the traditional eating habits in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea – focused on lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds and healthy fats.
First promoted in the 1950s to help Americans lower their risk of cardiovascular disease, it’s one of the few diets that proved to be more than a mere trend. To this day, it is still regarded as among the healthiest and most successful dieting plans around. Another reason for its staying power might be that it draws from some incredible cuisines, including those of Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey and Spain.
Lucky for us, we have dozens of restaurants that serve all of them, from a destination Lebanese spot in Mason to one of the best restaurants in the country, in Walnut Hills. Here are some of my favorites.
Cafe Mediterranean, Hyde Park
I might be biased since Cafe Mediterranean is right around the corner from my house. But given how many people leave their own neighborhoods to eat here, it must have universal appeal. Owned and operated by Fahri Ozdil, a native of Adana, Turkey, the restaurant has a sleek interior, though many prefer its outdoor patio, where customers sip cold glasses of Kavaklidere Cankaya (a Turkish wine) and share plates of hummus, feta cheese rolls and grilled octopus. Ozdil also serves excellent lamb dishes, the meat sourced from Heartland Heritage Farms, a regenerative farm in Minnesota. Also try the lahmacun, a Turkish pizza with ground lamb and vegetables.
3250 Erie Ave., Hyde Park, 513-871-8714, mediterranean-cafe.com.
Truva, Kenwood
Located across the street from Kenwood Towne Center, Truva offers Turkish breakfast, lunch and dinner in a large, warmly lit dining room that’s fancier than its exterior strip mall facade might suggest. Faux stonework and an attractive open kitchen give it a sophisticated feel. Try the cheesy Spinach Borek or the Appetizer Platter for Four – the latter includes enough food to be considered an entree. Branzino is filleted tableside, giving Truva some white tablecloth flare. Other good options are the okra stew, moussaka and a shepherd casserole of lamb sauteed with garlic, onions, fresh herbs and tomatoes. Truva recently opened a second location in Mason.
5060 Montgomery Road, Kenwood, 513-407-6965; 5065 Deerfield Blvd., inside the Deerfield Towne Center, Mason, 513-486-1856; truvaturkishkitchen.com.
Fillo Modern Greek, Over-the-Rhine
The saganaki alone is worth a visit to this modern Greek restaurant in Over-the-Rhine. Served in a hot cast-iron skillet, it’s a nutty Greek farmers’ cheese that, when fried, turns firm on the outside and gooey and nutty on the inside. Owners Evan and Evi Papanikolaou pride themselves on offering authentic Greek cuisine with a few cheffy touches thrown in. Other highlights include the fried feta and the grilled shrimp that’s served on a bed of pearled couscous and an appetizer of earthy roasted beets over creamy, pungent garlic dip with a heavy pour of fruity olive oil.
1505 Race St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-873-1995, fillomoderngreek.com.
Abigail Street, Over-the-Rhine
One of Cincinnati’s best restaurants just happens to be Mediterranean, too. Abigail Street has kept things top level with its by-now-famous wood-grilled octopus topped with merguez. I also love the bouillabaisse with its seafood and vegetables swimming in an aromatic saffron broth, and, of course, the Moroccan-spiced broccoli with Ethiopian spices, sesame seeds, miso and tahini.
1214 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-421-4040, abigailstreet.com.
Andy’s Mediterranean Bar and Grille, Walnut Hills
Opened in 1999, this OG Mediterranean spot is tucked in a residential area of Walnut Hills inside an old Victorian house, and it looks like the kind of neighborhood joint you might find on a backstreet of New Orleans. The restaurant, which specializes in Lebanese classics, has a warm aesthetic with its earth-toned tiles and a wall of glass-fronted wood cabinets containing curios and upper shelves with assorted hookahs on display. I’ve only been here for lunch, but I’ve heard it perks up at night, with live belly dancing. Try the kibbeh and the shish tawook.
906 Nassau St., Walnut Hills, 513-281-9791, andyskabob.com.
Artemis Bistro, Montgomery
This Turkish bistro, owned by Mehmet Coskun and his wife, Sarpil, is a friendly neighborhood spot with an upscale vibe. It’s the kind of place where parents take their grown children and younger folks take their first dates. The service is friendly and professional, and the menu ranges from a spot-on babaganoush with just the right amount of smokiness to an excellent tilapia in mushroom sauce. The wine list includes several bottles and by-the-glass options from Turkey, Moldova, Argentina and the Pacific Northwest.
7791 Cooper Road, Montgomery, 513-802-5500, artemisbistro.com.
Phoenician Taverna, Mason
If you haven’t been to this strip mall destination restaurant, what are you waiting for? Yes, the Lebanese-focused menu is outstanding, but the restaurant’s owner, Wassim Matar, has a keen ability to make a night here feel like a lively family gathering. Definitely go with Matar’s mezze plates, especially the muhammara, a blend of walnuts with a pomegranate reduction, the eggplant ratatouille and the pumpkin kibbeh. The super tender sliced lamb loin with fresh herb sauce is also a must. Actually, almost everything else on the menu is, too.
7944 Mason Montgomery Road, Mason, 513-770-0027, phoeniciantaverna.com.
The Aperture, Walnut Hills
Chef Jordan Anthony Brown serves a unique take on Mediterranean food while embracing Italian, French and African cooking techniques. The menu is ever-changing but currently features promising dishes such as an Iberico pork coppa with charred broccoli rabe and white pea cassoulet and lamb ribs with tandoori spices. And you can never go wrong with Anthony-Brown’s black garlic hummus nor his calling card carrot that’s poached in labneh, charred in a wood-fired oven and rolled in Middle Eastern and African spices. The Aperture was named one of USA TODAY’s 2025 Restaurants of the Year, to boot.
900 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, 513-872-1970, theaperturecinci.com.
Safi Wine Bar, Over-the-Rhine
Jose Salazar’s Moroccan wine bar hits all the right notes with its lamb tagine for two, a succulent slow-cooked lamb shank served with hand-rolled couscous that will no doubt be the best couscous you’ve tasted in Cincinnati. Smaller plates include merguez sliders topped with pickles, white cheddar and harissa, and the Zaalouk, a babaganoush-like dish where the eggplant is cooked with tomato compote and served with house-made Moroccan bread.
1401 Republic St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-763-1201, safiwinebar.com.
Dean’s Mediterranean Imports, Over-the-Rhine
When Beirut native Dean Zaidan opened his now-famous market in 1985, it was known simply as “Dean’s Nuts.” Back then, you could find an assortment of imported nuts that Zaidan roasted on-site. You still can. But Dean’s has also grown into one of the city’s best specialty grocery shops with an enormous selection of olive oils, bulk spices, yogurts and pita. They also serve excellent food, including Turkish delight, falafel wraps, kafta wraps and spiced fries with herbs and kibbeh.
108 W. Elder St., Findlay Market, Over-the-Rhine, 513-241-8222, mediterranean-imports.com.