Alfio's Buon Cibo — Restaurant in Cincinnati

I was visiting friends in Cincinnati on a Friday night and dinner plans was a last minute thought. Alfio's buon chibo just happened to have an opening for 815 on OpenTable and Italian/Argentinian sounded fantastic to all of us and Hyde Park Square was only a 15 min drive away! Also, after previewing the menu, the chimichurri made me tap "Book Now".

The restaurant was loud, in a good way, like a big family party (not like a party full of obnoxious hipsters-I was recently in a very loud restaurant, in a bad way, in Hyde Park/Tampa, Florida). Alfio's was warm and inviting, the red colored walls, dim lighting and everyone felt local. There was a bar and the restaurant space was like a rectangle, extending toward the back. We were seated in the back near a corner of wine bottles. My 2 eating partners were local and it was their first time dining in. But they had sampled their tasty empanadas at a Taste of Cincinnati festival, which made them add Alfio's to their list of restaurants to try.

The hostess was lovely, and we had Alli? as our waitress & a sommelier who helped us pick wines. We tried one of the Argentinian wines not on the menu, a Trapiche Malbec. And a Barbarossa.

Our waitress was the best - so friendly, took the time to explain all the dishes, never felt rushed and had a beautiful sincere smile. I felt she really enjoyed working there. There was a tasting menu (which had lamb and duck-my partners were trying to observe no meat Fridays, which failed in the end), a Specials Menu, and a booklet for the wine list.

We started with the Empanadas Quatro, Funghetti, and 2 appetizers from the Specials Menu-lobster deviled eggs and lamb arancinis (4 pieces). We tried to cut the empanadas in threes, for us all to sample (we should have gotten a 2nd order); I was able to try the spiced beef or korean bbq? And it was tasty! My partners loved the spinach/cheese and corn? The Funghetti has no mushrooms (which was why I wanted to try it) but its name comes from the mushroom cap shaped pasta! It was still delicious- bits of butternut squash, sausage?, chimichurri sauce. It was my fav app. The deviled eggs were good, nothing special. Lamb arancinis were served hot and crispy with a white sauce smear - each ball a perfect 2-3 biter.

We shared the flame grilled halved romaine Caesar-delicious dressing with big chunks of shaved parmesan (oh and crunchy tasty croutons!)

My partners got the Choose Two pastas. Agnolotti (very rich/heavy w/ the gouda and short rib) & mushroom ravioli (wonderful). Gnocchi (definitely tasted smoky) & i don't remember his 2nd pick.

I was torn between the skirt steak (the chimichurri was sparking my curious tastebuds) and the Halibut from the Specials Menu (which they say rotates often). I went with the skirt steak and it was my favorite dish of all. It was recommended to be served "medium". It was served on top of grilled Asparagus and large Yukon steak fries. My 2 dining partners sampled the steak and both loved it too. The generous amount of chimichurri sauce drizzled on top of the steak = perfection. We took the potatoes home for a future air fry snack bc they were delicious too!

It was my belated bday dinner and our waitress gifted us a carrot cake with goat cheese frosting- little bundt shape and moist. Perfect for sharing. But we also tried the limoncello creme brulee which was a nice palate cleanser, not too heavy/light, creamy & lemony.

Looking forward to coming back and trying the tasting menu and basically everything else!

And I cannot compliment the service staff enough - incredibly attentive, sincere...

We went to Alfio's to celebrate my 35th birthday with our 2 kids under 2 year old after a long day at the aquarium. We can not stop raving about the experience. Doing upscale dining with little kids is always a little bit daunting but the staff there didn't make us feel out of place at all. I will admit we started the night roughly with me breaking a wine glass when trying to get my kid into a booster seat (I managed to elbow the menu in the wrong way and it knocked over a glass). The staff though assured me it was no issue and that it happens all the time. While I doubt that it happens a lot it meant the world to me that they were so friendly and kind about the accident. The team quickly cleaned up the mess and got me a new glass of water.

For starters we ordered the empanada platter and subbed in the short rib empanada special. We had driven over an hour to try their empanada and they didn't disappoint. My husband loved the korean bbq one and I loved their spin on elote. The waitress had brought our little ones out some butternut puree the chef makes for kids, but our 2 year old loved the empanadas so much we ended up ordering him another empanada just for him 🤣 For our 2nd course we ordered the short rib arancini and the goat cheese and apple salad. People had told us to come for the empanada but those were the best arancini we have ever had. They are crisp, but moist and served with the best sauce. The salad was also surprisingly good. I normally do not like arugula but it paired amazingly with the citrus dressing and dried fruits. It was another dish that was shockingly 2 year old approved. For entrees we ordered the skirt steak and the short rib gnocchi. Both were incredible. Our 1 year old ate more short rib than I did and the gnocchi were like light pillows floating in a pool of truffle cream. The strip steak was cooked a perfect medium and had a flavorful chimichurri on top. It was paired with giant perfectly crisp steak fries. We ended up skipping out on dessert since the kids had helped make a cake at home.

Overall it was an amazing experience. Our drink glasses were full the entire night and the waitresses kept checking on us and the kids making sure we had everything we needed. Having a nice dinner out with kids can be hard especially when you feel out of place. I'm so glad we didn't feel that way at all during our meal there and highly reccomend it for anyone looking for a nice evening out with or without...

TL;DR: 5 stars. Amazing.

As a first time visitor to Alfio's, I was blown away. Long review here, but I feel it's worth it. My wife and I went for dinner to celebrate our anniversary, as I recently found out about Alfio's and thought it looked good. I was very right. Alfio's had personalized menus recognizing our occasion, and made sure to congratulate us as well. If you like wine, this is the place for you. They need an entire BINDER to hold all of their by-the-bottle wines, and they have dedicated sommeliers ready to assist you. Crazy.

Atmosphere: 5 stars. Good location, with the only thing to worry about being finding parking close enough, but that was a very minor thing at worst. Restaurant was cozy, with an upbeat, energetic vibe from the staff. You could tell the other patrons were enjoying themselves. It was a full house the whole time we were there. Our table was a table for two in an alcove corner, with comfortable booth-type seating. We actually prefer that, and found it nice. Decor was appropriate and helped set the right tone.

Service: 5 stars. Tyler, my man. Excellent waiter. Knew as much as you could want about the food and wine, was knowledgable about the owner and the restaurant's history, loved the food himself, and seemed very active with the restaurant in general. Very nice, very good at what he does. I've rarely had service as good, if ever.

Food: 5 stars. Oh my god, was it good. Just the smells were enough to know we were in for a treat. Drinks were 2-1-2 Manhattan and a Riesling. Appetizer was the Burrata. Entrees were the choose-two pasta (veal short rib and gnocchi Bolognese) and the seafood alla goat cheese pesto. Desserts were chocolate tort, vanilla bean gelato, and the tiramisu. (Tiramisu was generously comped to celebrate our anniversary.) All the food was top notch, but our favorite was the veal short rib dish. Just unbelievable. I can easily see how so many of their dishes have won awards.

I have been struggling to remember a time where I had a better overall experience at a restaurant. Just fantastic. Very highly recommended. I'm just sorry I didn't know about it sooner. If you go, ask for Tyler if...