Sugar n’ Spice Diner — Restaurant in Blue Ash

Our party had a reservation for 10am. I was so excited because we had never been and brunch reservations on the weekends are hard to get and I had been trying for a while. We arrived at 9:55am. I went to the hostess and was told their reservation system was down but there was just one other reservation in front of me. There was no seating room at the entrance, so we stood, perplexed because there were open tables. We were told they were holding on seating for the kitchen to catch up.

After 15 minutes of standing, I asked if perhaps we could be seated and drink coffee while we waited for the kitchen to catch up. I was told no. After about 20 minutes, she called a party up. I figured that was the reservation in front of us. Then she called up two more parties. When she called a fourth, I approached again and told her that she had said there was only one party ahead of us. Clearly she had overlooked us, so she took us instead. Then I realized the hosts were seating everyone waiting all at once, which is course was going to bog down all the servers and the kitchens once again, because instead of staggering throughout that wait time, they will get all the orders in at once.

We went to one of the tables that had been sitting there vacant all this time. It was fine, though those chairs aren't the most comfortable. No one greeted us for 15 minutes. She said she'd be right with us. I had just watched for, for the past 15 minutes, as she greeted the table sat right before us, got them water and coffee, then came back and took their order before even greeting us. This is not how to handle being double sat. A couple minutes later a different person brought us water. Then the server still never came. After 20 minutes, the manager came over and asked if everything was ok. I said no. We had been sitting for 20 minutes after standing at the door for 25, and it was now 40 minutes past our reservation time and we didn't even have a drink order in. So she left and came back with a pad and took our orders herself. The server finally came and brought our coffee. Two cups at a time. I had to get cream from the neighboring table because ours was out. She didn't notice until after she had brought all the cups and we asked for more.

A short time later a cook brought the food out himself, again two dishes at a time. Do they not have trays there? Anyway, he provided the best service of the day. If I could have tipped him, I would have. The food was standard diner fare but tasty, which is the only reason this review is 2 stars instead of 1 star.

We didn't see the server again until the end. She asked if we needed anything and I said I would love some more water. I knew this was a pipe dream, and as you may have guessed, she did not bring more water, but she did bring the check and a basket of ducks. No one explained the ducks so we are still a little confused. She returned with a box and brought card and receipt back pretty quickly (that was the only thing that happened quickly all morning). Note that during our time there no one refilled any drinks or offered more coffee.

I left a 10% tip (this is the least I have ever tipped in my life) only because I don't believe any person should work for less than minimum wage and that's the way our tipped workers are treated in this country. Based on service, the tip should have been zero.

I can't imagine ever wanting to go there again, which is a shame since I...

Stopped in for breakfast for my family while visiting Cincinnati. Located across from the community center and short walk from a small parking lot. Funky colorful design inside that mixes with a retro diner vibe. Looked cool. Unusual amount of flies which was a bit distracting, our booth light had six which was distracting.

Food is Cincinnati Diner-Core eggs, sausage, bacon, home fries, hash browns, pancakes, breakfast burritos, burgers, french fries, and of course goetta. For those not from tge area, like me, this is breakfast sausage mixed with oats creating a crunchy sausage patty. It's like a crispy version of scrapple. It's not bad but I find it a bit underwhelming as it tastes like a muted but very crispy breakfast sausage.

Party ordered a mimosa flight, breakfast sausage sandwich with home fries, biscuits with sausage gravy, cold brew coffee, and kid's pancakes with chocolate chips.

The mimosas were strong with my wife tipsy after 2 of them, but she liked the variety of flavors, and she also liked the breakfast sandwich but said it was lacking in flavor. Kid loved the pancakes and ate the whole plate. They are interestingly thinner style and had a good amount of chocolate chips and syrup. The home fries were outstanding perfect seasoning.

The cold brew coffee was terrible. So bitter and needlessly dark I couldn't drink it. Avoid at all costs. The biscuits and gravy were a complete shame. The gravy was impressively devoid of flavor, tasted floury/gritty and had zero flavor. Plus almost no sausage was in the gravy. The small bits in the gravy were equally flavorless. The biscuits were crisp on top but a bit mushy inside. They were okay but for the price the portion was way too small. It seemed like outside of the home fries the food was begging to be properly seasoned. I coated the biscuits in salt, pepper, and hot sauce just to get them down.

We were also caught off guard the mimosa flight was $23.99, just FYI. Service was excellent though waitress was friendly, attentive, and accommodating. A few things were forgotten but were...

This is the first time I have ever walked out of a restaurant without getting my meal but after waiting an hour and twenty minutes I didn’t have a choice. My husband and I along with my daughter and her boyfriend were seated within 15 minutes of us putting our name in. Once we were seated, our order was taken and we waited and waited and waited. The server came back after 30 minutes and said that they were backed up in the kitchen, and that it would take a while so we continued to wait. After another 30 minutes the server then came back again said that our order didn’t get processed and that the manager was going to expedite the order and would make sure that we got our food right away. After another 20 minute wait, we still didn’t have our meals and my husband and I left. My daughter texted me five minutes later saying that they were plating up our food now but we were already in route home. My daughter and her boyfriend ate their meals and my daughter boxed up the food that my husband and I ordered so she could drop off to us. The server apologized and said they comped our drinks off of the order. My daughters boyfriend said to the server “can’t you do better than that we’ve waited an almost an hour and a half to get our meals”So the server asked the manager and he comped 2 side items. It was so surprising that the manager didn’t come over to offer an apology and at least comp the meals that my husband and I ordered. I have been going Sugar and Spice since I was 3 years old(I am 62)and have had nothing but excellent service and food. I guess the current owners don’t have the same commitment to customer service as their...