Pennyflower American Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Cincinnati

Penny Flower Bistro and Bar is a new gem for Cincinnati. Under the direction of Chef Jacob Benavides located in the chic boutique hotel, The Clair, brings extremely innovative touches to both comfort and world cuisine. Chef Jacob brings his ambitious talents to Cincinnati after working under the direction of Michelin star restaurants in Napa Valley and San Francisco and enjoying his last position as Chef de Cuisine at the prestigious Boca restaurant here in Cincinnati. To use the hillbilly expression, “My tastebuds slapped my tongue”! We enjoyed innovative offerings such as Carbonara Croquettes, Moroccan Beef Tartare and a creative presentation of Roasted Bone Marrow stuffed with Braised Short Ribs. The appetizers were so filling, we chose to split the Halibut and Spring Peas with Salmon Roe and Buerre Blanc. Being a diabetic, I should have passed on dessert, but Chef Jacob’s interpretation of the classic S’mores brings it to a whole new level that was worth the sugar spike!

Service and management were also delightful. As a recent retiree from a 40 year run of a distinguished catering company, Jeff Thomas Catering, I often remarked that the service can sometimes be more important than the food! The service was most enjoyable. Also, the decor is understated elegance. Smooth and contemporary as opposed to many high end local restaurants appearing garish and overly opulent. Spacing of tables was nice as well including very private semi circular booths. And one of my favorites, the long communal table. And for singles, you can make friends dining at the bar.

Being a hotel, they offer breakfast, lunch and dinner and offer all three seven days a week except lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Hard to find an upscale restaurant open on a Sunday.

As you can see, I was blown away with this fresh new restaurant on the Cincinnati scene. I can’t wait to return. Thanks Jacob, Kristi and Penny Flower for an exceptional...

What a pleasant surprise, our server was knowledgeable and delightful. Based on his recommendations we tried the croquettes. steak, chicken and lasagna. All of which I would recommend and happily have again. The croquettes are a lovely starter and easy to share, the hint of lemon a welcome surprise. We shared the grain salad, with farro and arugula tossed with green goddess dressing, it was a nice change up from the usual salad choices on most menus. Our waiter described the chicken pressade, and I am so happy he did. It is nothing like any chicken I have ever had before. Boneless Chicken thighs and skin, layered together and pressed down tightly over night then sliced in to a strip that will remind you of a thick piece of bacon, it appeared to be pan fried or placed on a hot grill. It had everything you love in a chicken thighs, rich meat and crispy skin! The spices are warm scented, it came out to the table and we were amazed how good it smelled. We also tried the steak, talk about imagination, this chef has it. The steak was of course beautifully prepared but the cheesy pearls, wow, all I have to say is I never would have thought of using tapioca as a savory dish. The one melts in your mouth. I am happy to see chefs taking one traditional dishes like lasagna and moving them forward. This one is not your grandmothers dish, you can tell from the moment it is set down in front of you. It has however all of the comfort of a traditional pasta dish. Our table finished with the Exotic Mille Feuille, we all agreed this is a perfect light dessert after a meal. The pineapple added the right hint of brightness to the airiness of the dish. So nice to see a restaurant making its own desserts, make sure to save room for one of theirs, it is worth it when they are going to the trouble of making...

We stopped in here last night for dinner. Overall the experience was pretty good for us and we all enjoyed the food, but I didn’t really feel like the front of house/service was necessarily on par with the food and the price point.

The space itself is absolutely beautiful. Tasteful design, beautiful furniture, and wonderful mosaic floors.

We ordered the roasted bone marrow for an appetizer, which was really good with a nice toasted bread.

The steak I ordered was a creative and flavorful dish, but you don’t really get much. It’s 3 pieces pre-sliced for you. The presentation was beautiful, but again, just not much. 1 of my 3 pieces was pretty fatty as well which was a little disappointing. I could tell it was a nice cut of steak, though and I don’t expect too much for $39. The dish was delicious, though, and I liked the Smokey barbecue flavored cranberry sauce as a garnish. Pretty cool idea.

We had some deserts as well that were good.

The service was perfectly acceptable for an Applebees or something, but with my bill being around $350 —I’ve become accustomed to a higher level of service from other establishments. Knowledgable recommendations about dishes would be a plus, and when we ask for a box at restaurants with a similar price point, it’s typically boxed up for you rather than us just being handed a plastic bag. Our plates were also “auctioned off” to us and we all had to switch plates at dessert because they landed at the wrong person. Again, it’s not like it was particularly annoying and we were still happy overall, but if I owned the restaurant I would want to know that a more polished experience could be possible.

We would like to go back...