Cleveland's Essential Suburban Foodie Restaurants

Aurelia

16 North Main St., Chagrin Falls

Chef-owner James Balchak spent nearly six months converting the North Main Diner, formerly Dink's, from a dowdy luncheonette to a smart little supper club with a bangin’ brunch. Energy from the buzzy bar scene boosts the mood and spirit of the entire space, ensuring that the atmosphere never dips to melancholy. This farm-to-table restaurant which focuses exclusively on the freshest ingredients around has found its footing after testing some things out and figuring out what worked and what didn’t.

Boom’s Pizza

14370 Detroit Ave., Lakewood

Partners Ben Bebenbroth formerly of Spice and Jonathan Bennett of Moxie and Red started hosting “doughball Fridays” at Keep the Change Kitchen Collective, the now-closed virtual food hall from Spice Hospitality Group, during the pandemic. The pizza became so popular that they decided to open a brick and mortar space which opened in Lakewood in January as Boom’s Pizza. The Neapolitan-style pizza shop has quickly become one of the most popular eateries in town, and for good reason. It’s phenomenal.

Coppia

8623 Mayfield Rd., Chesterland

Out in Chesterland, this fine dining restaurant opened in late 2021. Chefs Talia Trovato and Hedy Pastran turn comfort foods into a high end dining experience and knock it out of the park. Everything is made from scratch and the menu changes seasonally. Definitely visit this place before it really blows up.

Cru Uncorked

34300 Chagrin Blvd., Moreland Hills

Maybe the fanciest joint in town, this Moreland Hills French fine dining restaurant is truly one of a kind in the region. If it wasn't for the table settings, it would be easy to forget that you were touring a public restaurant and not the private home of the wealthiest family on the street — a street that also happened to be located in the ritziest zip code in town. The actual building looks like it was plucked from the Normandy countryside.

Crumb and Spigot

16783 Chillicothe Rd., Chagrin Falls

This tavern located basically out in the cut in an unassuming strip mall is worth the trip out to far Chagrin Falls. Crumb and Spigot does a great job of seeming like any old tavern but it’s far from that. Highlights of the eccentric menu include a beer board featuring house-made jerky, their take on a sloppy joe, and their wood-fired pizzas.

Flour

34205 Chagrin Blvd., Moreland Hills

Is it just us or does Flour get better and buzzier over time? We've been fans of the Italian restaurant since the start, lured out to suburbia by the four skilled hands belonging to Paul Minnillo and Matt Mytro. This tag team of tagliatelle put the panache back in pasta, elevating the genre from dependable gut-buster to captivating, elegant cuisine. The perfect pairings of noodles and sauce, like rigatoni with lamb neck gravy, are memorable to the very last bite.

Giovanni’s Ristorante

25550 Chagrin Blvd., Beachwood

One of the last remaining grande dames of the region’s formal dining scene, this elegant Italian restaurant offers impeccable appointments, attentive service and a luxurious menu of steaks, veal chops, seafood and pasta. Yes, it is expensive. But the chance to put on a suit and feel like a grown-up and have pasta prepared table-side? Priceless. The bolognese is a must have.

Issho Ni

34302 Euclid Ave., Willoughby

This cherry little spot on the far-east side of town is serving up some of the best ramen in Northeast Ohio. Choices include a classic pork tonkotsu prepared with various levels of spiciness, kuro ramen made black from the addition of squid ink and fermented garlic, Hokkaido-style yellow ramen, soy-based shoyu ramen and the broth-less mazeman ramen.

JoJo’s Bar

87 West St., Chagrin Falls

With Jojo’s Bar, Chagrin Falls finally gets the restaurant it deserves. For his latest opus, restaurateur Rick Doody appears to have plucked all the best nuggets from his portfolio of restaurants, which includes 17 River Grille, Cedar Creek Grille and Bar Italia. Those pearls are polished for a more critical audience and presented with New York swagger in a drama-filled space. Rather than go one route or the other, the serial restaurateur opted to marry the timeless appeal of an elevated Italian trattoria with the flair of a classic American chophouse. Once again, Doody has partnered with designer (and wife) Wendy Berry to create a cohesive interior dripping with good taste. There’s also JoJo’s Backyard, an outdoor patio next door, with a totally different menu.

La Campagna

27337 Detroit Rd., Westlake

It’s hard to recommend just one dish on this ever-changing menu of Italian cuisine because the menu changes so often on the whim of chef/owner Carmella Fragassi and what she finds fresh at the market. Seasonal and local is the theme here at this authentic Westlake restaurant that is so authentic, you might think you’re in Italy if you didn’t know any better.