cheapside cafe

cheapside cafe is one of those restaurants that’s been on my list for awhile.  if you drive around downtown cincinnati very often, you might have spotted this corner restaurant with the teepee outside.  cheapside cafe, sitting on the corner of e. 8th street, offers a strong breakfast and lunch menu.  although small, the restaurant is bright, light, and clean.  the white paint and wall of windows works nicely with the naturalwoodfinishes.  considering the number of customers coming in for takeout orders, cheapside’s location makes it convenient for downtown employees to get fresh and filling food! this place is hopping!

i've been to cheapside during the lunch hour before and got their challah french toast. while it's bonkers good and worth getting again, my usual sweet tooth was drawn more to the chocolate chip cookie at the register and i ordered the chorizo + egg sandwich. great decision. full of crumbly, perfectly spiced chorizo and a folded egg on ciabatta bread, it tasted amazing and was big enough to take the other half with me! cheapside is a great little place that feels light and airy thanks to the white walls, sparsewoodinterior, and breezy attitude. it is such a treat in the middle of downtown. i will definitely be back sometime this summer for the cold kegged coffee!

recently we branched out to try cheapside cafe with a coworker and her husband. most of us were newbies so it was fun to see so many menu options in just one visit.   cheapside is downtown and you have to pay attention - it's easy to pass up. the outside looks really cool with a teepee type structure on their patio.  it's a very "earthy" restaurant - it's all white and prettywood- very granola (haha). it gives you a feeling that you're being healthy! why yes i want ginger soda and chips in brown bag with the ingredients on them! i think this is the grilled chz - spaghetti squash, slow roasted tomato, green chile and cheddar on multi-grain - it wasn't my lunch but it was such a pretty picture i had to give it to you big!  here's a sampling of some of the other dishes - the french toast looked amazing (and was drooled over by everyone), someone got a salad and the curried chicken salad was a hit.  i tried the hen of the woods salt & vinegarwoodchips. they seemed very organic and such

not cheap. don’t be fooled by the name. this is not a cheap place to eat. i had a chicken salad sandwich which cost $9. a pretty good sandwich but just chicken salad – no lettuce or tomato or even any attempt to garnish...served on bare plate with no chips or pickle. my lunch buddy had a $9 salad which was served on same sized plate – mixed greens, some apple chunks, golden raisins and a few nuts. we both left hungry. cute place but not any ambiance to justify the high prices – you order at the counter and get your own fork and napkin and sit at barewoodtables. we noticed there were 8 employees working in this little breakfast/lunch place which may be the reason they have to charge such high prices. there are probably 20 places within a 2 block radius for a good lunch. this place will need to make some changes if they want to compete.