Restaurants near Wilder-Swaim House

Sabrina and Sarah are two of the finest professional servers I have ever met…they went above and beyond to make our night special…the restaurant is blessed to have them on the staff!

My 4 colleagues and I met for lunch for our annual Christmas lunch. We wanted to go to someplace new so chose Cooper's Hawk. We were promptly seated in a comfortable booth and our server was very attentive and totally on top of everything! We ordered several appetizers; the Candied Bacon and Artisan Cheese Plate was yummy (especially the 2 goat cheese offerings) and the Sweet Chili Calamari was deliciously different than any other calamari I've had (they're typically breaded, deep fried and served very crispy like onion rings) . These were huge calamari (very tender, not chewy), lightly battered, and liberally blanketed with a medium-spice sweet chili sauce and served with a Sesame-Sriracha Aioli. Highly recommended! I also ordered a cup of the Seafood Bisque which was rich, creamy and included a generous amount of crab, shrimp and lobster; I shared it with 2 colleagues who also gave it a thumbs up. Two colleagues shared a white wine flight and a red wine flight; they expected small tasting-sized glasses so were surprised when 8 almost regular-sized glasses of wine (4 white, 4 red) were brought to the table. Two other colleagues each had an individual glass of the Pinot Gris and did a refilll halfway through their meals. Our entrees were a mixed bag... my Shrimp and Scallop Risotto with peas, asparagus, corn and spinach was underwhelming; I ate about half, brought the rest home but doubt I'll finish it. One colleague had a Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese sandwich with Fries and a side of Tomato Soup; he only ate half (too much cheese, not enough meat). One colleague had the Baked Parmesan Shrimp Scampi and said the shrimp was tough. Two other colleagues ordered the Dana's Parmesan-Crusted Chicken and both cleaned their plates. Several us of decided to split the Banofee Pie for dessert. While we were waiting, our server brought us 5 small glasses of a fruity dessert wine (didn't catch the name) and it was a delicious. The Banofee Pie was oustanding.

We had a lovely dinner with friends. Kate our server was fantastic- she struck a perfect balance of attentiveness and letting us enjoy our dinner without constant interruptions. The food was fantastic too. Great evening!

I’d been to The Park Pour in Blue Ash once before to have afternoon tea with two friends, M and G. But last night, we all decided to try the restaurant for a casual pre-holiday meal as their dinner menu looked great. I booked a reservation through the user-friendly OpenTable app; we arrived at 5 pm and were practically alone in the restaurant which was fine with us. I started off with a hot Chai Latte; the hot steamy latte had just the right amount of sweetness and spice, and I could’ve easily downed another cup but knew I wouldn’t have had room for dinner (M had a Blackberry Margarita, and G had a mug of hot water). For an appetizer, I ordered the Stuffed Cabbage Soup; it was so rich, so flavorful, so yummy, it reminded me of the sweet and sour cabbage soup my Bubbie used to make when I was a child (M and G both had the Soup of the Day, a Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice). For dinner, I ordered the Bubbie’s Brisket; the tomato-beef glaze the plentiful portion of very tender braised brisket was swimming in was scrumptious and had such depth of flavor! The bowl also came with some heirloom carrots (I wish there’d been twice as many), a sweet roasted Cipollini onion and two ample Potato Latkes. The portion was the perfect size, and was so satisfying I’d definitely order it again (M and G both ordered the Focaccia Burrata sandwich and left nothing behind but crumbs). About 90 minutes into our visit, a very large party of diners arrived; they were sequestered in the enclosed outdoor eating area just off the main dining space and that’s when the noise really started to escalate. Additionally, all the tables around us were filled by then; conversation still flowed between us but it became much harder to hear my companions. The service provided by the staff was professional, prompt and efficient; orders and payment are both facilitated via tablet. The Park Pour is now my new favorite local eatery.

Our dinners were delicious. This was our first time dining here, and we will definitely be back.