The Bow Tie Cafe — Restaurant in Cincinnati

Great for food and coffee, not the best in town for studying/working.

The Food and Drink Cheapest pour over coffee in town at $3.25! Lunch wraps are delicious Roaster: Intelligentsia, also sell Urbana Cafe beans Alcohol like wine and bourbon are available

The Vibe Great natural light pouring in from windows and cozy visual atmosphere throughout. Staff are friendly and do a good job

The Seating Large table for 8 - 10 people Several tables for 2 outlets are easy to find variety of seating: two types of stools, as well as benches and chairs. No sofas or sofa chairs. Great outdoor seating!

Other They keep tables wiped down after each guest, everything very clean clean bathrooms no bike parking facilities counter by window is sticky each time I've come even though they wipe it down after each guest. I think the varnish is coming off.

Bad Acoustics This might be the loudest café in Cincinnati. The cold drink machine is very loud and the hard surfaces reflect every noise. The music volume sounds a little louder than you'd expect, but I think it's competing with the machine. [May '21 update: machine still loud, music less loud, much better]The coffee grinder and people talking are expected, but it all adds up when the sound bounces around. Because they serve great food, it can feel more like a busy restaurant than a coffee shop. Nothing wrong with that, just don't expect a quiet space. The TV, although muted, also adds to the restaurant/bar vibe if you like that. Sound-absorbing foam would really help here like it did at BLOC in East Price Hill. It made a huge difference after installed. personal down vote that doesn't contribute to the 4 star rating: a lot of Christmas music. Great for a few songs, but not for hours on end. Call be a Grinch, but I would have stayed longer, maybe spent more money.

I will continue to visit the Bow Tie. You got to check it out if you're...

Very cozy and open; among the best locations Mt Adams has to offer. Service was okay- not overly friendly, but they got the order correct. Half of the staff has forgotten how to smile; they looked like they were at the end of a very long busy day, not the morning as it was. Food took a long time for what we got: oatmeal was ready almost immediately, but had to wait 20 minutes standing in a line for one bagel and 2 eggs scrambled. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Food quality also barely okay- oatmeal had a couple dry clumps in it; they didn’t take the time to mix it thoroughly. Eggs were watery. Granted, this was a Sunday morning around 11am, BUT they were hardly crowded. Not a super experience, but not terrible either. Just okay. You know, meh.

I think the managers/owners need to have a conversation with staff about the future of their employment at Bow Tie. One’s demeanor and attitude most certainly carries into their food product. This was plain to see here today. Bow Tie is such a good spot, if another cafe business or change of management took over, it would surely be that place people pin and make a point to experience again. As it is, the location is carrying the place, and I don’t plan on returning. This wasn’t the first such experience...

Very heavy student presence doing work. Depending on the day, I went on a weekday around noon. The wrap was a good size, almost the size of a burrito for the price, although not sure if they didn't have bacon or what, since I wasn't told about it. No bacon in my wrap, unless it's that single piece there but didn't taste nor look like it. I basically ate a cesar salad wrapped, the ranch was overpowering the flavor of the chicken so unsure if the chicken had any flavor, the ranch was also drippy & a bit sweet which was nice to have. I didn't know the bag & pickle was a separate charge, as it seemed when it was mentioned to me, it came with it as a side. But realized it was a separate charge when seeing the receipt. Nothing special about it, things you can get at Walmart since online it shows they sell it there. Overall, the atmosphere inside was pleasant, there's regular people chatting but there seemed to be more students studying. Menus are in front of the register & coffee beverages above but also...