moerlein lager house

5/10. i have total mixed reviews about this restaurant. its always packed and youre lucky to snag a bar seat. the staff is too busy to really concentrate on you. however, the three times ive been there the wait was 2 hours plus so we were in the "garden". the food looked better than it tasted; but the candied pork belly is fantastic!!! the view is really great too; but i have a view of cincy at home, so it wasnt a big up for me. always cool to support a local brewery though.

pretty good, not for kids.. i have eaten at moerlein twice and both times were good. the first time i was meeting a few friends before a reds game and i brought along my 5 year old son. i got the ridiculous more burger and he got a hot dog with fries. the more burger is good, but just way to messy and it just falls apart from the egg. very hard to eat. my son's hot dog was tough to bite into. it was like a rubber coating around the outside. i am all for a sausage with a snap, but this was even hard to cut with a knife.
the next time i went was with the wife. we ordered the muscles for an appetizer. now i am not a big fan of muscles, it is more my wife's thing, but these things were simply awesome! she eats them all the time and she said that this was the best muscles she has ever eaten. entree's came a little later, and honestly they were good but nothing to rave over. i got the braised short ribs. everything was done well. the green beans and potatoes that were with it were good. the ribs were good.... but i can make the same thing with a chuck roast and some thyme.... or time. the wife got the surf and turf, which i was jealous she got and not me.... at first. her filet was good. cooked well, and seasoned. the crab cake was good. then there was the spinach risotto that came with it. it may be petty to complain about a side dish, but this was awful. it was stiff, under seasoned, and way way over cooked to the point of it being mush. however, let's face it, risotto is only good when it is made to order and i doubt that this is.
anyway, moerlein has some great great beer. we had the best muscles ever, but the food is just good. nothing to rave about but nothing to turn my nose up at either. just if you bring the kids be sure to pack a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for them or something.

$45 for lunch for two people. first off, the ac was not working (or not turned on)......it was hot and humid inside. thought the cold beer would help. the otr was good....however, my husband ordered the chimay on draft (a treat)....and we're fairly sure the wrong beer was delivered. now for the food.......all i can say is really? this is the best you can do? the beer battered cod was swimming in fry oil, the tarter sauce was runny and the sweet potato chips were stale. the beer can chicken sandwich was decent....but not overwhelming. while the beer selection is wonderful.......i think the operators need to rehab the food selection.

bring your earplugs. good food, good beer, nice view, but forget about having conversation. it is so loud!

great beer terrible food. go for the beer, which is truly inspired, and the atmosphere, which feels more like a cool place in seattle or vancouver than cincinnati, but eat somewhere else. i've been here twice and both times the food was terribly disappointing. i love spicy indian and thai, but the amount of peppers used by their cook literally made me run to the bathroom, thinking i was going to throw up after the first bite of shrimp. the calamari was smothered in a thick remoulade sauce that was pretty disappointing and their flatbread pizza was just okay. the only thing that wasn't bad was their pretzels, a large portion and as good as the hoffbrau house.
for atmosphere and beer, it puts the hoffbrau house to shame, but as for the food, it's as if some frathouse cook has taken over the kitchen and is trying to punk all the diners by overly spicing all the dishes as a joke

picture removed. apparently taking a picture of a huge chicken bone found in their food and posting it to urbanspoon is frowned upon. definitely won't be back and will tell everyone i know to avoid this place like the plague.


-----08 may, 2012-----

overall disappointing. i sincerely hope the owners read, and take seriously, the reviews regarding the food here because it doesn't seem their employees do. first, i have to say, that the beer, view and decor is all great. the food and the service, however, is lackluster. i came here with 4 people and we each ordered an entree. when the food was brought out we were missing the blackened tilapia. after about 10 minutes, waiting for the server to come back, he told us the tilapia was burnt and that it would be out shortly. my friend ordered the chicken melt sandwich and found a huge bone in it (picture attached). she brought it to the attention of the server, who apologized but left the plate, bone in all, on the table. at this point the tilapia still hadn't arrived. when he saw me take a picture of the bone he came over and said the manager would be out shortly. about 15-20 minutes later, when we were all finished with our meals, a woman brings out the tilapia and offers a halfhearted apology. my friend asked her if she was the manager and she said she was. my friend then asked her if she had seen the chicken bone and if it was brought to the attention of the kitchen. she said it was. i have my doubts. i really, really, wanted to like this place. the beer is a great representation of this city, the food is definitely not. there are plenty of places in downtown cincinnati where you can spend $30 and get amazing food made by professional and have great service. save the moerlein lager house for beers before or after a game.

the mediocre food is way overpriced and the wait staff is very rude. the view is awesome, but you would be better off packing a picnic and eating it at eden park

good beer. nice staff. calamari was decent. a bit "saucy" for my taste but came with what looked like a side salad. i then ate the tuna burger which was tasty (moist) and flavorful with sweet potato chips (a bit greasy). patio was closed so sitting next to beautiful view of river would have added a lot. nice selection of local beers. variety on menu. next to ballpark. pretty solid. in baseball terms...a double.

horrible service!!!!!! here right now and been waiting over an hour for our food. there isn't even a home game!!!

not great. my sandwich was tasty. service was ok. but everything else was not great. salad was not great, fries were cold, lava cake was cold, plates were never cleared, and every single dish was dirty. napkins had old hair in them. i have been here before and loved it. maybe an off day?

frustrating. listed for delivery. they don’t deliver. our order was planned. timing was set. but they don’t deliver. i hope someone communicates with them to update their listing.

always a staple in any of my visits downtown. food is good, view over looking the river is fantastic. i've been there several times and have never received bad service. great place for a business outing as well.

i love coming downtown to moerlein on a nice day. eat and then walk through the park. tonight i had the philly cheesesteak with sweet potato chips and parmesan risotto. sandwich was a little oily and bottom bun a little soggy, but very good flavor. chips and risotto were awesome. otr beer to go with it. nice combo. service was great. downstairs seating has a good view but very loud.

moerlein's is located at the riverfront. got a nice view and usually gets full during the games days!! i have been there a few time now for dinners and special occasion. their flatbreads are great options for lunch/dinner. i tried buffalo chicken and caprese. both were quite nice. caprese has a distinct flavour of basil pesto and balsamiic glaze. wheat beers on the tap are good too.

best place to get some food during a bengals/reds game. pork belly bruschetta is amazing. can't go wrong with a sausage tray either. love this place no matter what time of year it is.