Wildweed — Restaurant in Cincinnati

It’s good, but it’s not great.

Even if the hype had not been so intense for Wildweed, I still would have felt distinct pangs of disappointment.

FOOD:

There are a few stand-out items on the menu, such as:

✅ The herb butter and olive oil that accompany the bread service

✅ The oysters

✅ The clams

✅ The beeswax ice cream

The halibut in tomato water is not good enough. Shockingly, the bass á la nage at the distinctly more humble Atwood Oyster House is a far superior example of a poisson en bouillon presentation.

The malfadine with rabbit ragu is nowhere rich and savory enough. It’s just not. The olives that are in the melange are fresh and interesting, but the rest is quite blah. It is also visually unappealing.

WINE AND BAR:

The champagne available by the glass is an excellent selection by the sommelier, but it is served in a banal and inappropriate white wine glass. This wine has a lovely and unique color, and a beautiful fine bead, but all of that is lost because of the choice of stemware. A $20 glass of champagne in the city of Cincinnati should be served in a high quality flute or at least in a coupe.

The white wines by the glass and bottle are interesting and there are a few excellent choices.

The red wine list, however, is distinctly disappointing. I’m glad I did not order the steak because there is no wine on the list that would have properly paired with the cut of beef offered.

The bar ran out of tonic. This should never happen, period. Send someone to Kroger.

The cocktails were underwhelming. Again, when I order a martini, I want it served in a proper martini glass. A Nick and Nora glass does not cut it.

SERVICE:

The service was not great.

We had several items incorrectly served.

Our opening round of drinks was partially served. We waited 12 minutes for a glass of wine to be brought to complete the round. I had to ask twice for one of my guest’s order be brought. All guests at a table should receive their drinks at once as a matter of basic service.

I found all servers on the team but one to be self-absorbed and a few of them obviously bored with their jobs.

I’m comparing the service we received to what I generally experience at venues with similar price points such as the Opal Rooftop, Atwood, Boca, Sotto, The Davidson, etc. I’ve had far better service this month at more modest restaurants such as Sudova, Primavista, Baru, Prime Cincinnati, Pepp & Dolores, and the Lonely Pine to name just a handful.

AMBIANCE:

The room at Wildweed is beautiful, and has some fascinating and pleasing design elements such as:

✅ A custom, giant, clearly handmade room divider of a soft pale wood - perhaps of ash or beech.

✅ Perforated metal light fixtures painted a pale azure

✅ Simple but interesting sconces

✅Integrated shelves that are works of art

However, the lighting is too bright. It gives Wildweed a lunchcounter feel.

Also, the surfaces are all very hard, so that the noise level is deafening. This is not like the noise level at, say, NYC’s Balthazar, which is also loud and heady and busy. Balthazar has baffling and some strategically placed soft materials that pull the sound away from the diners, so that the roar is what it should be. Wildweed has no acoustical charm. This needs...

Details !?

So the hospitality, at the beginning was nice , they greet us as a couple and gave us the possibility to choose a table , but didn't allowed us at the counter, even if we were a little earlier on our reservation, but is ok !!

After we sat , the "server" better I don't mention her name ! Brought us Tap water , without even asking if we had prefer a cocktail or not , acceptable , I thought she may had brought us a welcome drink or something!! Instead tap ice water , anyway !!

We kindly asked for some sparkling water and without ice , please , and she asked why ? I mention that in fact if the water was hot , otherwise I would have ask some ice , but I immagine the sparkling water is cold isn't ??

She had doubt and went to check !!

Anyway , let's leave the water , that at the end is called Aqua de pedra, from Mexico , that us not bad , but she didn't had a clue what was it and from where !?

She try to walk to us through the menu , without asking us we had allergies or any intolerance!! Not acceptable for those price !

Anyway we went through and ask some freshly baked bread , and other starters , that took more than 45 min to come , without to o many details , starters were good but the bread completely burned on the bottom of the crust and I'm Italian , don't play with bread , or homemade dough !

Anyway after gently asked some more bread and not burned, she charged us another basket , and better not mention how much was it !! Believe me !!

Anyway , we waited than from that point to the main almost an hour ! A ribeye of 1 pound or similar for 99 dollars , and we kindly asked with what I'm they served , cause in the menu was not clear and the server , always her that had no clue , reply that she would have go to check with the kitchen !!! Not acceptable!! I'm sorry !! 😭

Anyway , after she explained , a sauce of pork and bbq sauce and other ingredients, I was about to call theanager , but my fiancee stopped me and gently told me to ask if the ribeye was taking long for anh reason and if was possible to served with the sauce on the side !!

Mammma mia , completely awful , nothing that I could have done , this meat was unbearable to watch and to eat ! Only after removing the sauce I could eat a few slices !!!

Anyway 300 quit of bill for two starters , two mains , two sides of bread and salad and two bottle if water from Mexico , aqua de pedra , the only nice thing , and cause I'm a gentleman I like to pour the water my self to the lady so I kept the bottle always far from the reach of the server , I anyway left 20 percent for respect if the manager ! Xxx cause I work also in hospitality five star in Italy ! The true ribeye that this place will.never serve...

We were fortunate to snag a reservation for Chef David’s first “In the Weeds” dinner. This is a new series he is creating with guest chefs from other cities. This was a collaboration with Chef Colby Rasavong of Bad Idea in Nashville.

The restaurant has great energy, cool lighting, a great mural, and very comfortable stools at the chef’s counter. The top of the counter is a leather-feeling material that is a welcome change from wood or stone. There is a turntable and many albums by the window in the kitchen that delivers some great tunes. Since this dinner was on a Sunday night, we found parking right out front on the street.

It is obvious that Chef David, Chef Lydia, and Chef Colby place a huge emphasis on hospitality and service. They, along with their teams, explained every dish in detail as they were served. Leah was lovely explaining the wines, and the hostess was bubbly and helpful. We were blown away by how well we were taken care of. We will absolutely return for more dinners during regular service.

The food was fantastic! Such a mixture of flavors and textures. The seafood was the highlight. There were 12 courses in all with some extra smaller dishes. Proteins ranged from Scallops, Halibut, Striped Bass, Dungeness Crab, Chicken, and Rabbit (not our favorite). They were all prepared in such unique, delicious ways. I included a few of the pictures as 12 would be too many here!

Kudos to Wildweed! It is obvious why Chef David was nominated for a James Beard Award. This is such a fantastic new addition to the OTR and Cincinnati food scene.

Update: 3.23.25 Dining room with another guest chef (Dan Dan Noodles and Carpaccio were his dishes)

Dan Dan noodles were fantastic. Missed the usual pork, but the mushrooms rocked!!! Carpaccio was very chewy. It should have melted in our mouths. Interesting flavor combination that we have never had before. We would have like a few more sauce drops. Liked the dusting of whatever seasoning that was. Quark and Spring Pea Tortellini was very good but had too much mint in it for us. Would order over and over without the mint. Loved the peas and the pasta was nicely al dente. Spinach salad was also....different. Loved the avocado sauce underneath and combination of flavors. It was hard to eat to get a bite of everything. Needed more EVOO. Service was great, but watching everyone duck underneath the pass in the front bar was painful. Why does the water need to be there so they can't just walk through? Love the use of Urban Stead Quark and Rich Life Farm Mushrooms. Will be back seasonally to...