Last Week in Cleveland Food News: The Best of Dining in 2024

Never Say Dive, Old Brooklyn From the outside, Never Say Dive looks like every other workingman’s tavern from back in the day. But cross the threshold and you land in a playful escape from the outside world, where a handsome 1920s-era saloon underwent the full “revived-dive” experience. The whimsical nature of the interior belies a seriousness behind the food, beverage and hospitality. Sharp cocktails, housemade hard seltzers and cheap beer bolster a menu loaded with culinary surprises. Elevated bar staples like burgers, dogs and buckets of fried chicken join an eclectic roundup of ambitious plates, many of which are vegan and vegetarian. (Read full review here.) Credit: Photo by Doug Trattner

There’s plenty of news to catch up on this week, but we’ll start with Scene dining editor Doug Trattner’s recaps of the year in Cleveland dining.

– After dozens (and dozens) of meals around the region in 2024, here are the very best things we ate.

The Best Things We Ate in Cleveland in 2024

– Cleveland was blessed with a bounty of refreshing and invigorating new openings this year. Here are our picks of the very best.

The Best New Cleveland Restaurants of 2024

– Our annual look at the local dining trends we love, and hate.
– Fiamma, a new kosher Italian restaurant (with a heavy pescatarian bent) is now open at Eton Chagrin.
– Say goodbye to the Rice Shop at Van Aken in 2025 and say hello to Tony’s Burger Shop.
– One Star Bar recently opened its doors in Lakewood with a low-key vibe and a menu led by the chef from Heart of Gold.
– Shinto is coming to Legacy Village.
– Jaja, which closed on Halloween night following a car crash at the INTRO building, will remain closed until spring.
– Old Brooklyn is set to get a new cocktail bar with The Witch Doctor.
– Finally, Michael Symon’s newest and ninth cookbook is all about grilling out. Once again co-authored by Scene dining editor Doug Trattner, it’s now available for pre-order.
Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.

This article appears in Dec 18-31, 2024.