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". thefoodlooked 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 thefoodis 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 thefoodselection.

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 thefoodwas 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 theirfoodand 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 thefoodhere because it doesn't seem their employees do. first, i have to say, that the beer, view and decor is all great. thefoodand the service, however, is lackluster. i came here with 4 people and we each ordered an entree. when thefoodwas 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, thefoodis definitely not. there are plenty of places in downtown cincinnati where you can spend $30 and get amazingfoodmade by professional and have great service. save the moerlein lager house for beers before or after a game.

the mediocrefoodis 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

always a staple in any of my visits downtown.foodis 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.

best place to get somefoodduring 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.

stopped in for a business dinner while traveling. an easy walk across the roebling bridge from covington hotels and i preferred thefoodto other nearby restaurants i've tried. thefoodwas better, the prices were better...the service was a little slow, but other than that, a great experience. i selected the dry-rubbed tri-tip sirloin with grilled asparagus and smoked cheddar mashed potatoes, and especially nice meal for the $20 price tag. the steak was well prepared, the asparagus tender and the potatoes flavorful. i finished with a apple almond bread pudding, which was excellent. not too sweet and not overly heavy, made it a very good finish. i would definitely recommend.

i have been a few times, and am simply not a fan of their beers. i am not terribly fond of theirfoodeitgrr, especially since the portions, imho, are outrageously huge and expensive.

out day was just ruined by the bad service and badfoodat this place. not only the service is slow and our appetizer never came, but thefoodis nothing special, in fact, is really below average; and considering the bill, i could have done much better at a good restaurant chain like chipotle.

thefoodis awesome (witness our meat and cheese platter by the time i got a picture) but the service is horrendous! i read the reviews but didn't want to believe it. as much as i like the beer and food, i won't be back.

we spent monday and tuesday night of the all-star game at moerlein,and i couldn't have asked for a better experience! the entire staff deserves a round of applause! i know many of them were running on a few hours of sleep but the quality offoodand service was not sacrificed! the establishment was packed wall to wall and it is a great example of of cincinnati has to offer! thank you!

do not waste your money. if you like over-priced tastelessfoodand poor service,than this the place for you.

the morlein lager house http://www.moerleinlagerhouse.com   overall grubgrade b+ the breakdown: atmosphere: grade a-: from an appearance standpoint, we haven’t been to many places as easy on the eyes as morlein lager house. the interior and exterior are both contemporary in décor with lots of dark wood accents and tasteful wall litter. some of the walls are entirely made of glass, which provided a spectacular view of the ohio river. overall, you get the impression that you are dining somewhere a little more upscale than a traditional lager house. tables spacing was appropriate and the background music was at an appropriate level to allow for dinner conversation. however, on our visit, which was on valentine’s day. morlein lager house was quite busy and very noisy. so were not sure if the noise level was due to the acoustics of the dining room or the volume of customers, but it became a little challenging to have a conversation with your dinner partner, which is kind of important on a day like valentine’s day. high marks: clean, upscale, breathtaking view low marks: noisy ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… service: grade a-: our server, sheena, was fantastic. she was slightly engaging and attentive without being oppressive. she also provided some decent recommendations regarding the menu. for the most part, we received exactly what we ordered. we did have a smidge of a wait for some of thefoodand drinks, but that may be less due to our server’s skills than the volume of patrons celebrating valentine’s day at morlein lager house. high marks: friendly, engaging service low marks: a little slow in some spot ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… food/spirits : grade b+: for drinks, katina started with something called a cherry smash. it had a strong, tart cherry flavor but no real alcohol bite to it. but we don’t think the drink was weak, because you could feel the drink on your tongue – like the alcohol was gently molesting