good burger...but not a good experience...... zip's café is another stop on the cincinnati top burger tour, again post theater with one of my daughters. i know this place is legendary in the queen city, so we needed to see what all of the hoopla is about.
we stopped in on a late winter sunday afternoon (twilight - that fading light comes into play later). the restaurant was already packed, but unfortunately there is really nowhere to stand and wait. the tables are packed pretty tightly, and the small entryway doesn't allow passing bodies to go by each other without getting rather intimate. as it was only 10 degrees outside, waiting al fresco was not an attractive option. fortunately, a small, albeit wobbly, table for two opened up pretty quickly, without us having to undergo much "stranger rubbing" during the wait. immediately after squeezing in, the server approached us and asked if we were ready to order. unaware that the small menus were tucked in a holder on the table, we were not instantly ready. this apparently displeased our server. the restaurant was so dark at our table (there was no light at all along our row of tall tables - twilight, remember?), we almost could not read the menus. the only dim lights were along the wall next to the booths. it was awful. i always include a photo of the food if i can, but there was not enough light to do that, as i didn't have a flash. people waiting for a table were literally breathing down our necks. we ordered drinks, and looked at the limited menu. it's pretty much burgers, a handful of sandwiches, three salads and some sides.
we settled on two of the famous zip's cheeseburgers: mine with swiss cheese and a side of onion rings ($3.00 for the side), my daughter's also with swiss but with a side of fries ($2.00 more for these). the burgers come as they make them, approximately medium well to well, you can't get them made to order. the burgers arrived quickly, and they were hot. both were well seasoned, moist, and came on a honey-egg bun. my daughter was very impressed with the flavor on the first bite. this resulted in another "oh my god" moment from her. i thought the burger was good, but not up to arthur's, or incahoots by any means. the fries were good, but nothing extraordinary. the onion rings seemed homemade, and were actually quite good. they had a nice batter, and were good sized. our drinks were refilled promptly, without us having to ask.
so.....the atmosphere was definitely dive-like. we felt rushed and unappreciated by the staff, and the "hovering" waiting diners made us very uncomfortable (they were actually bumping into my daughters back as they stood there while we ate). it was dark and uninviting. wait staff seemed hurried, not unfriendly, but hustling to get people in and out as quickly as possible. on the upside....they were good burgers - like i make at home. they are simple, and that has it's own nice quality to it. the onion rings were good, but the prices were just ok. add cheese and fries, and this is a $7.00 burger - more than arthur's on any given sunday.
i may go back, we may try it again. perhaps if it were not so busy, and we were seated in a lit booth, and we didn't feel as rushed, it might be a better experience. based on the whole experience and not just the burger, i have to keep it at "i don't like it". but for now, is it a good burger? - yes. is it the best burger in cincinnati? - absolutely not.