For many of us, the last year and a half has been a blur, a foggy morass during which time crept and progress seemed to slow to a standstill. And yet, since March of 2020, the official start of the pandemic, there has been a remarkable amount of activity in the restaurant world.
Don’t believe us? Here are 40+ new and notable arrivals on the Cleveland food and beverage front.
Explore the Van Aken Market District
3401 Tuttle Rd., Shaker Heights
The Market District is one of the more exciting spots to open in the area in the last few years. There’s a food hall where you can grab food from a bunch of awesome local spots like Lox, Stock and Brisket and Banter, then grab a pastry at On The Rise bakery and a coffee at Rising Star. Then grab some cheese from Old Brooklyn Cheese Co before exploring the local shops like Whiskey Grade, Emily Roggenburk, Xhibition and Double Rainbow if you have a little one.
Photo via Scene ArchivesUJerk Caribbean Eatery
850 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
A little taste of Jamaica recently made its way downtown thanks to UJerk Caribbean Eatery, which opened in the former Cleveland Pickle/Hatfield’s Goode Grub space in the City Club Building. The fast-casual restaurant specializes in jerk chicken in various forms and is a fresh new concept with nothing like it around.
Photo courtesy Scene ArchivesThe Sleepy Rooster
5120 Chillicothe Rd., Chagrin Falls
In February, Craig and Sarah Fitzgerald opened The Sleepy Rooster in Chagrin Falls. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu Institute in Pittsburgh, Craig worked in fine dining restaurants in Pittsburgh and Florida. At Sleepy Rooster he focuses on top-flight breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes like fresh-baked biscuits and gravy, goetta and eggs, avocado toast and fried bologna sandwiches.
Photo via Scene ArchivesHibachi Japan Steak House
6025 Kruse Dr., Solon
For decades, Hibachi Japan Steak House has entertained and fed generations of Cuyahoga Falls residents. Last year, owner Morgan Yagi expanded northward, converting the former Akira restaurant in Solon to a new Hibachi Japan. The main dining room has 12 hibachi tables where guests can enjoy teppanyaki-fired dinners built around soup, salad, fried rice and a choice of chicken, shrimp, lobster and steak, but also sushi in the form of rolls, platters and pieces.
Photo via Scene ArchivesSummer House
12900 Lake Ave., Lakewood
In March of 2020, Summer House opened in the former Swingo’s space at the Carlyle in Lakewood. This restaurant from Tony George promises guests a summertime vibe 365 days of the year. The large space has been completely reimagined, with a 50-seat bar and stellar views of Lake Erie and downtown Cleveland. The bill of fare is Mediterranean, but there are plenty of creative American dishes on the menu as well.
Photo via Scene ArchivesSoba
1827 Coventry Rd., Cleveland Heights
It’s been ages since we sat with friends around a hissing hibachi table while an animated teppanyaki chef entertained us with his impressive culinary skills. COVID might have slammed the brakes on those wild and carefree feasts for many, but the food is still well within reach. Drowning succulent morsels of sautéed shrimp in too much yum-yum sauce and then chasing it with aggressively salted fried rice – all while in the comfort of one’s own home – really is the hack we’ve been waiting for. In fact, the closest we’ve come to reliving that gratifying experience was when we ordered food from Soba Asian Kitchen on Coventry. The menu sidesteps countless appetizers to focus squarely on the main event, which is framed around a small handful of proteins like shrimp, chicken, steak, pork belly and tofu. Those items are griddled with an assortment of veggies and paired with rice and sauces, just like at the full-service restaurant.
Photo by Doug TrattnerSixth City Sailor Club
668 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
Joseph Fredrickson and the team from Society Lounge snatched up the former Hodge’s space downtown just in time to take advantage of that spacious courtyard patio and outdoor bar. The affordable, approachable neighborhood bar features slushie drinks, draft cocktails and quick-fire cocktails. To go with the refreshments is a seafood-focused menu starring items like clam chowder, shrimp fritters, crab cakes and fried clams.
Photo via Scene Archives17 River Grille
17 River St., Chagrin Falls
Last summer, Rick Doody unveiled this well-appointed restaurant in the former Jekyll’s Kitchen space in Chagrin Falls. The interior has been completely reworked to open the space up and better align it with those dramatic water views. All new furniture, fixtures, fabrics, flooring and lighting complete the transformation. Classic American grill dishes like lobster bisque, wedge salads, cedar-plank salmon, pork chop Milanese and steak frites with Bearnaise are what’s for dinner.
Photo via Scene ArchivesShinto Japanese Steakhouse
857 Columbia Rd., Westlake
Sheng Long Yu, owner of the 17-year-old Strongsville restaurant of the same name, opened this splashy west-side eatery in the former home of Miami Nights. Inside the meticulously renovated space are multiple hibachi tables, conventional tables, a sushi bar and cocktail bar. Japanese food fans can enjoy an extensive menu filled with sushi, teriyaki and lively teppanyaki-fueled feasts.
Photo via Scene ArchivesSauce The City Galley
1400 West 25th St., Cleveland
With the addition of Pearl’s Kitchen in late winter, the Sauce the City Galley became, for the first time since the Ohio City Galley closed, fully occupied with restaurants. In addition to original tenant Sauce the City, the food hall now features chef Jose Melendez’ pan-Latin Twisted Taino, serving mofongo bowls, tostones, empanadas and tripletas, chef Tiwanna Scott-Williams’ Pearl’s Kitchen, a comfort-food spot selling Southern-inspired dishes like blackened salmon BLTs, shrimp and grits and bourbon bread pudding, and Good Meal Jane, an enigmatic pizza ghost kitchen. Next on leader Victor Searcy Jr.’s to-do list is getting the bar back in business.
Photo via Scene ArchivesProof Bar-BQ
2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland
After years of delay, Proof was set to launch on March 18, 2020. That didn’t happen. Instead, this barbecue joint located in the lower level of the Tremont building Crust Pizza and Visible Voice Books opened its doors in May. Inside or out, the inviting restaurant specializes in Texas-style barbecue like slow-smoked brisket, pulled pork and chicken, which are sold by the pound or in dishes like nachos, steamed buns and tacos.
Photo via Scene ArchivesPizzeria DiLauro
17800 Chillicothe Rd., Chagrin Falls
For three years, pizza lovers in Northeast Ohio got to know Adam DiLauro and his pies thanks to the Pizzeria DiLauro food truck, a mobile trailer with a built-in wood-fired oven. Last winter, DiLauro parked the rig to refocus his attentions on a brick-and-mortar pizzeria of the same name. When it opened in February in Chagrin Falls, Pizzeria DiLauro brought a little taste of the East Coast to the far East Side.
Photo via Scene Archives Credit: Scene archivesLeavened
1633 Auburn Ave., Cleveland
Ian Herrington devoted a decade of his life to the art and practice of baking before opening Leavened, a European-style artisan bakery in Tremont. The sleek, modern storefront anchors the Tappan, a new residential building on Auburn. Visitors can expect fresh-brewed coffee, fresh-baked loaves and a light café menu of soups and sandwiches. Don’t miss the rustic sourdoughs, rosemary focaccia, cardamom buns and fruit-filled Danish.
Photo via Scene ArchivesCloak and Dagger
2399 West 11th St., Cleveland
This bookish cocktail lounge has nicely settled in at the revolving-door space in Tremont that has been home to many short-lived restaurants. Billed as a neighborhood craft cocktail bar, the library-themed salon boasts a book-like menu filled with libations described with tasting notes like herbal, floral, smoky and spicy. The beverages are buoyed by an all-vegan roster of bar bites like fries, “pork” rinds, BBQ “chicken” skewers and banh mi sammies.
Photo via Scene ArchivesCleveland Breakfast Club and Cleveland Vegan Club
13228 Shaker Square, Cleveland
Yours Truly closed its Shaker Square location after nearly 30 years, but it was quickly replaced by a twin-concept eatery from the owner of Angie’s Soul Café. Cleveland Breakfast Club and Cleveland Vegan Club operate out of the same property, with the former focusing on breakfast, brunch and lunch service and the latter vegan smoothies, bowls, sandwiches and wraps.
Photo via Scene ArchivesKindred Spirit Kitchen
3396 Tuttle Rd., Shaker Heights
Cleveland-based Forward Hospitality completely reimagined the former Sawyer’s space at Van Aken District into a more approachable casual restaurant. The space now offers unobstructed sight lines from end to end, inside and out. A chart-style menu is ideal for grazing, with dips and spreads, composed salads, wood-fired meat, fish and veggie kebabs and a few mains. In addition to the roomy front patio, guests have access to Garden City, a cocktail-focused rooftop bar that also opened in the past year.
Photo via Scene ArchivesYonder
3859 Superior Ave., Cleveland
The folks behind the fast-growing Boiler 65 concept opened Yonder last fall in the two-story brick building in Midtown formerly home to La Bodega and Angie’s Soul Café. This updated breakfast and lunch place offers counter service and some dine-in seating. On offer are creative breakfast sandwiches and brunch dishes, some of which are jazzed up with funky additions like Fruity Pebbles.
Photo via Scene Archives Credit: Scene ArchivesKeep The Change Kitchen Collective
5601 Tillman Ave., Cleveland
Chef Ben Bebenroth wasted no time closing his farm-to-table bistro Spice Kitchen at the outset of the pandemic. A year later he launched Keep The Change Kitchen Collective, a virtual food hall that operates out of the 10,000-square-foot Spice Catering HQ in Detroit Shoreway. Pick-up and delivery customers have their pick of multiple concepts like Winner Winner’s roasted chicken dinners, Leif’s “burly” salad and grain bowls and Woo! Noods & Rice.
Photo via Scene ArchivesHome Bistro
12022 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland
Little Italy didn’t get to celebrate the Feast in 2020 but it did score a wonderful new restaurant. Home Bistro is a revival of a Chicago spot of the same name that husband-and-wife team Victor Morenz and Emily Gilbert owned before returning to Northeast Ohio. The transformation of the space, formerly Gusto, has restored much of the turn-of-the-century elegance to the property. From the kitchen, Morenz turns out an eclectic roster of globally influenced dishes that always hit their mark.
Photo via Scene ArchivesHell’s Fried Chicken
11324 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
Sheng Long Yu, the entrepreneur behind Shinto, Kenko, Dagu Rice Noodle and Ipoke, opened this streamlined fried chicken concept in University Circle. The fast-casual eatery offers a concise menu of fried tenders, whole wings, thighs and sandwiches, fresh-cut fries, coleslaw and garlic bread. An assortment of available sauces ranges from sweet to hot.
Photo via Scene ArchivesHabesha Ethiopian and Eritrean Restaurant
16860 Lorain Rd., Cleveland
When it opened in Kamm’s Corners this past December, Habesha Ethiopian and Eritrean Restaurant increased the number of Ethiopian restaurants in Cleveland to three and is the only such eatery on the West Side. Fans of the cuisine will discover a familiar assortment of platters that combine vegetarian and/or meat-based items – all served with injera bread for scooping and enjoying. Of course, the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, accompanied by the heavenly aroma of freshly roasted beans, is part of the experience.
Photo via Scene ArchivesLakewood Truck Park
16900 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
Located at the corner of Detroit and Edwards, this spacious lot is now officially home to a year-round courtyard coupled with an indoor bar, rotating food trucks and al fresco entertainment. The outdoor venue could not come at a better time for consumers, who desire to be outside as much as possible.
Photo by Anisa RrapajCity Pop Sushi
1816 East 12th St., Cleveland
When City Pop Sushi opened downtown in April, it became one of the most visually stimulating eateries around, a candy-colored homage to Japanese pop culture. “Our entire theme is based around `80s Japanese city pop music,” says owner Bryson Strowder. Sushi based in the tradition of California Rolls – think rice and seaweed wrapped around cooked ingredients – is the focus of the food. Rolls, both grab-and-go and made-to-order, star fully cooked items like bacon, steak and shrimp. They’re joined by dipping sauces such as wasabi mayo and yum-yum.
Photo via Scene ArchivesAcqua Di Luca
500 West St. Clair Ave., Cleveland
The transformation from XO Prime Steaks to Acqua di Luca is complete. The eight-month process has netted a gorgeous new seafood-focused Italian restaurant from the owners of Luca and Luca West. Exposed brick walls, expansive fold-away windows, new blond wood flooring and an open kitchen give this prominent Warehouse District space a whole new lease on life. Chef-owner Luca Sema beams from that shiny open kitchen while preparing dishes like crudo, frutti di mare and roasted whole fish.
Photo via Scene ArchivesCitizen Pie Roman Cafe
2057 East 4th St., Cleveland
Chef Vytauras Sasnauskas, who also operates wood-fired pizza shops in Collinwood and Ohio City, opened Citizen Pie Roman Café in the former home of Erie Island Coffee on E. Fourth Street. Unlike the Neapolitan pies he bakes to order at his other pizzerias, Roman Café sells Roman-style pizza al taglio, a focaccia-like pizza that is baked in advance. A daily assortment of rectangular-cut slices are at the ready for take-out or a quick reheat in the shop’s oven.
Photo via Scene Archives Credit: Scene ArchivesChimi and Amba
1975 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights
Since the start of the pandemic, chef Doug Katz has opened two ghost kitchen concepts. Chimi, a South American-themed eatery, launched last summer while Amba, an Indian one, debuted in early winter. Both are pick-up or delivery only. Chimi offers customers dozens of options that range from small bites to large plates. Warm wraps are used to scoop up grilled chicken, braised short rib and shrimp Veracruz. Amba stars vibrant dishes like mixed vegetable pickles, biryani with saffron, chicken masala and chicken kofta. Amba proved so successful that Katz will open a brick-and-mortar version of it in Ohio City later this year.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Last Page
100 Park Ave. Ste. 128, Orange Village
Within a tsunami of fast-casual monotony, The Last Page at Pinecrest is a welcome detour. This modern-day supper club offers an immersive, upscale experience, from the luxuriously appointed waiting area to the grand bar in the rear of the drama-filled dining room. A lengthy menu avoids categorization of any kind, presenting instead a blitz of 25 appealing items that lean on various cultures and cuisines.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThai Thai
13735 Madison Ave., Lakewood
From the day it opened in 2016, Thai Thai was an undeniable hit. The only downside: the wee 15-seat dining room. After temporarily closing in October 2020, Thai Thai finally reopened in its new, larger Lakewood home last spring. Now heat-seekers can enjoy electrifying dishes like larb, gai yang, tom yum soup, pad Thai, kra praow and Massaman curry in a more comfortable environment.
Photo via Scene ArchivesChicken Ranch
13892 Cedar Rd., University Heights
No, it’s not your imagination. Cleveland, like many American cities, is awash in fried chicken places. It’s nearly impossible to take a step without feeling the crunch of runaway breading beneath one’s feet. While many modern fried chicken projects seem to have been formulated in a boardroom to achieve peak profitability, Chicken Ranch clearly originates from the mind of an obsessive chef. Given his years as chef-partner at places like Forage Public House, Oak Barrel and Bold, all of which boasted lengthy and eclectic menus, there are few foods Demetrios Atheneos doesn’t excel at. But fried chicken has been omnipresent, a pet dating clear back to his days at Deagan’s, and something he clearly excels at, which you can tell within one bite of trying Chicken Ranch.
Photo via Scene ArchivesBoaz Cafe
20630 John Carroll Blvd., University Heights and 2549 Lorain Ave., Cleveland
“If you’re in the area, come here! They’ve got a great selection of veggies, proteins, and toppings to choose from for every palette. It’s basically a mediterranean twist on Chipotle, but better. Super fresh food and naan made right where you can see it, and you still get your slice(s am I right?) warm! They have free wi-fi and ample seating to enjoy your meal dine in. Don’t forget to try the smoothies, they’re made to order and are fantastic!” Toyfact3 on Yelp
Photo via Scene ArchivesBetts Restaurant
2000 East Ninth St., Cleveland
In March, the Kimpton Schofield Hotel in downtown Cleveland shuttered its restaurant Parker’s, making way for a transformation that netted Betts. The new breakfast, lunch and dinner eatery opened last summer with a menu built around elevated, health-conscious fare. The name “Betts” was chosen as a tribute to Elizabeth Schofield, the wife of the building’s architect and namesake Levi Schofield.
Photo via Scene ArchivesBar Oni
2173 Professor Ave., Cleveland
Last summer, chef Matt Spinner announced that he was closing Ushabu, his shabu-shabu restaurant in Tremont. But he also announced its replacement, Bar Oni, which opened last fall. The hip, casual izakaya specializes in yakitori items like grilled chicken, sausage, pork belly and assorted vegetables. The skewers are joined by tempura, dumplings and pork katsu. To drink there’s beer, sake and craft cocktails.
Photo via Scene ArchivesAvo Modern Mexican
2058 West 25th St., Cleveland
Gabriel Zeller and Julie Mesenburg, who also operate Char in Rocky River, grabbed the keys to the slick Bakersfield Tacos space in Ohio City and opened Avo in December. Avo’s aim is to elevate the “mod Mex” experience with tacos starring house-made tortillas, arepas topped with barbacoa and larger plates like grilled shrimp in spicy cream sauce with corn cakes. An excellent bar program is the cherry on top.
Photo via Scene ArchivesGoma
2079 East 4th St., Cleveland
East 4th Street’s third act is well underway after the departures of Lola, Greenhouse Tavern and Chinato in the past two years with Dante Boccuzzi being the next powerhouse Cleveland chef to set up shop on Cleveland’s restaurant row. Goma, Boccuzzi’s ninth restaurant, is opening around July 1st in the former Chinato space, which will be unrecognizable to anyone who enjoyed a meal there. Gone are the dividing walls and newly installed are two garage doors on the Prospect Ave. side, opening the space and putting it right in the action at the corner of East 4th. Split between sushi much like you’d find at Ginko and the addition of shabu shabu, tempura, salads, seafood and veg-focused apps as well as udon and ramen, the menu draws on Boccuzzi’s experiences in kitchens in Taiwan, Tokyo and the famed Nobu.
Photo via Scene Archives
