Best Of2025

Cafe Mochiko is not your average bakery — or your average ramen restaurant. For starters, it is both, serving baked goods early in the day and ramen in the evening. The flavors are inspired by cuisines throughout Asia, as well as Cincinnati area favorites. The highlight of the menu? The ube halaya croissant. Ube is a yam used throughout Filipino cuisine, and ube halaya is an ube jam used in desserts. Known for its brilliant purple color, ube has a flavor reminiscent of vanilla. The large croissant — the perfect size to tide you over until your next meal — is full to bursting with the sweet, colorful cream. The ube halaya croissant is almost too pretty to eat, but it’s too delicious not to. cafemochiko.com.

Eats

Image: Eats
Here are the 2025 Best Of Cincinnati® Reader and Staff Pick winners for Eats.
  1. Sleepy Bee Cafe
  2. First Watch
  3. Sugar n' Spice
  4. The Echo
  5. Original Pancake House
  6. Maplewood Kitchen and Bar
  7. HangOverEasy
  8. Anchor Grill
  9. Taste of Belgium
  10. Proud Hound
  1. Gomez Salsa
  2. Chipotle
  3. Mazunte
  4. El Rancho Grande
  5. The Comet
  6. Agave and Rye
  7. Olla
  8. Tortilleria Garcia
  9. Cancun Mexican Restaurants
  10. La Mexicana Restaurante
  1. Skyline Chili
  2. Coppin's at Hotel Covington
  3. Incline Public House
  1. Avril-Bleh Meat Market & Deli
  2. Eckerlin Meats
  3. Jungle Jim's International Market
  4. Lehr's Prime Market
  5. Bridgetown Finer Meats
  6. Humbert Meats
  7. Wyoming Meat Market
  8. Bill Finke & Sons
  9. LK at Findlay Market
  10. (TIE) Hyde Park Meats and Redden Fine Meats & Seafood
  1. Sotto
  2. Agave & Rye
  3. Pepp & Dolores
  1. Marx Bagels
  2. The Bagelry
  3. Bruegger's Bagels
  4. OTR Bagel Bar
  5. Servatii Pastry Shop & Deli
  6. Big Apple Bagels
  7. Everything Bagels
  8. Skip's Bagel Deli
  9. Livia Jo's Bagels
  10. Bagel Brothers
  1. Eli's BBQ
  2. City Barbeque
  3. Montgomery Inn
  4. Lucius Q
  5. Pig Candy BBQ
  6. Just Q'in
  7. Bee's Barbecue
  8. Smoke Justis
  9. Sweets & Meats BBQ
  10. Beards & Bellies Barbeque
  1. Yard House
  2. The 859 Taproom and Grill
  3. Northside Yacht Club
  1. Goodfellas Pizzeria/Wiseguy Lounge
  2. Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar
  3. Smoke Justis
  1. Madtree
  2. Fifty West Brewing Co.
  3. West Side Brewing
  4. Nine Giant Brewpub & Fermentorium
  5. HighGrain Brewing Co.
  6. Dead Low Brewing
  7. Third Eye Brewing
  8. Moerlein Lager House
  9. Barleycorn's Brewhouse
  10. Voodoo Brew Pub
  1. Sleepy Bee Cafe
  2. First Watch
  3. Maplewood Kitchen and Bar
  4. HangOverEasy
  5. Taste of Belgium
  6. Greyhound Tavern
  7. Coppin’s at Hotel Covington
  8. National Exemplar
  9. Sacred Beast
  10. Cedar
  1. Allyn's Cafe
  2. Swampwater Grill
  3. Knotty Pine on the Bayou
  1. The BonBonerie
  2. Nothing Bundt Cakes
  3. Servatii Pastry Shop & Deli
  1. Skyline Chili
  2. Goodfellas Pizzeria
  3. Zip's Cafe
  4. Blue Ash Chili
  5. Gomez Salsa
  6. Mazunte
  7. Dixie Chili
  8. Camp Washington Chili
  9. Price Hill Chili
  10. Gold Star
  1. Jungle Jim's International Market
  2. The Rhined
  3. Urban Stead Cheese
  1. Penn Station
  2. AJ's Cheesesteaks
  3. Cincy Steak & Lemonade
  1. Jose Salazar (Mita's, Safi Wine Bar, Daylily)
  2. Dylan Jones (Jeff Ruby Steakhouse)
  3. Hideki Harada (Kiki, Sen by Kiki)
  4. Jacob Wood (Sotto)
  5. Drew Rath (Tuba Baking Co.)
  6. Alfio (Alfio's)
  7. Cristian Pietoso (Via Vite, Forno, Nicola's)
  8. Jeffrey Harris (Nolia)
  9. (TIE) Jawuan Coleman (Incline Public House) and Paul Barraca (The Governor)
  10. Mary Paff (Ivory House)
  1. The Eagle
  2. Galactic Fried Chicken
  3. Silver Spring House
  4. Ron's Roost Restaurant & Bar
  5. The Hitching Post
  6. Libby's Southern Comfort
  7. CityBird
  8. Greyhound Tavern
  9. Revolution Rotisserie
  10. Joella's Hot Chicken
  1. The Eagle
  2. Galactic Fried Chicken
  3. CityBird