Best Places to Eat in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland’s diversity shines in its culinary scene. While Eastern European workers helped build the Rust Belt city—leaving a legacy that includes pierogi—there’s much more than meat and potatoes on menus in “The Land.”

Sample everything from classic Sicilian red sauce to Asian specialties as you explore some of the best places to eat in the city’s 34 neighborhoods. The vibrant food scene has spurred local redevelopment: Trendy Ohio City, home to the historic West Side Market, is a prime example.

Cleveland chefs benefit from the bounty produced by local farms: arguably the sweetest sweet corn anywhere, pork from the 800-farmer-strong Ohio Pork Council, and abundant fresh produce. Regionally produced goods—nearly 90 percent of Ohio’s 75,000 farms are run by families or individuals—and low city rents have attracted fresh talent. Local chefs have earned James Beard recognition as a result.

Here are 5 foodie neighborhoods where you can explore the culinary rhythms of the city.

1. AsiaTown

Near Cleveland’s center, AsiaTown began as a home for Chinese Americans who came mostly from the West Coast as early as 1860. There are now significant Korean and Vietnamese populations as well.

Small dishes of dim sum on a table at Li Wah

For dim sum, go to Li Wah, the choice of locals and visitors from throughout the Midwest. Photo by Nathan Migal

Within the Asia Plaza mall, Li Wah is Cleveland’s go-to destination for dim sum. It’s especially popular on weekends from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Rolling carts proffer an impressive variety of small plates. Eye-popping specialty items, such as shrimp balls and chili crab, are served from large platters. Each week, fans come to feast from Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Toledo.

In a row of shops a few streets away, Beijing street food is the calling card at Han Chinese Kabob & Grill, a specialist in Northern Chinese cuisine. Go with the lamb kebab jazzed up with a spicy cumin herb mix. Closed Wednesdays.

Hong Kong egg tarts selling for $1.50 apiece

At Koko Bakery, the sweet choices include Hong Kong egg tarts. Photo by Wil Lindsey

Save room for dessert. A few doors down at Koko Bakery, glass cases display Eastern and Western treats such as Napoleons, chocolate mousse, Hong Kong egg tarts, and fried sesame balls stuffed with sweet bean paste. Closed Tuesdays.

Steaming bowls of rice noodle soup served at Superior Pho feature a rich broth created by simmering meat and spices for 24 hours. Simply finding the restaurant adds to the allure—you access a small shopping complex from a parking lot through the back door, as if entering a speakeasy.

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2. Tremont

Once populated by workers in Cleveland’s steel industry who walked from the hilltop to the mills, Tremont is now a hipster hangout, though some old traditions remain. One is The Rowley Inn, in operation since 1906. The “Cleveland-style comfort food” menu offers handmade potato, cheese, or vegan potato pierogi. Order as part of a kielbasa (or vegan sausage) and pierogi dinner with buffalo wing sauce and sour cream. For brunch, pierogi can be part of a breakfast omelet or sandwich.

A diner squeezing lemon juice over their fish fry

Prosperity Social Club recommends a locally brewed Gotta Haddock lager with its beer-battered fish fry. Photo by Heidi M. Rolf

The Prosperity Social Club occupies a historic building that’s been a local nightlife spot since 1938. (During Prohibition, the original owner bootlegged beer and gin from a deli down the street.) Inside is all dark wood and art deco influences. The menu has some of the best potato pierogi in town, served traditionally with sautéed onions and sour cream. If you want meat, order the Ethnic Platter with pierogi, stuffed cabbage, a potato pancake, and Polish sausage with cabbage and noodles. Closed Mondays.

Fat Cats buttermilk chicken breast sandwich

At Fat Cats, a buttermilk chicken breast sandwich is topped with pickle, crunchy cabbage slaw, and sriracha aioli. It comes with sweet potato fries. Photo courtesy Fat Cats

A popular neighborhood gathering spot since the 1990s, the Fat Cats gastropub does global cuisine with a nod to Filipino dishes such as lumpia (crispy spring rolls) and adobo fried chicken—thanks to Chef Ricardo Sandoval, whose father arrived in Cleveland from the Philippines in the 1950s.

A bacon-and-egg–topped burger is a worthy caloric splurge, but vegetarians will also find much to like. Dine indoors or at picnic tables on the covered patio. Half a block north, glimpse a panoramic vista of downtown across the winding Cuyahoga (meaning “crooked”) River. Closed Sundays.

3. Downtown

Snow covering the ground surrounding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

If visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland makes you hungry, there are plenty of places in “The Land” to sate your appetite. Photo by Cody York

Along with 3 major sports teams—the Guardians, Cavaliers, and Browns—Downtown Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the city’s marquee attraction, and Playhouse Square, the country’s second-largest arts complex. You’ll also find fine dining, with a price tag to match.

Staircase leading down to the Marble Room

The Marble Room, one of Cleveland’s finest steakhouses, is located in an 1893 building that once housed a bank. Photo by Nathan Rogers

For a memorable date night, make reservations at the Marble Room. The jaw-dropping dining room is lined with 35-foot pink marble Corinthian columns, a reminder that this 1893 building served as the opulent home of the National City Bank from 1921 to 2008. The expensive steaks are also well-marbled. For big appetites, a 42-ounce long-bone tomahawk comes with sides such as creamed spinach and truffle pommes frites. Start with treats from the raw bar. Closed Sundays.

Cordelia is known for fried chicken with schmaltzy za’atar and its connection with area farms. Photo by Dylan Palchesko

Cordelia, the newest darling of Cleveland’s culinary scene, opened in 2022 with a menu of what the owners call “Modern Grandma”–inspired cuisine. Sample the pimento cheese and crackers, crispy schmaltzy fried chicken, and other dishes that reflect whatever is fresh from local farms. The restaurant is on historic, pedestrian-only East 4th Street, a dining and entertainment hub. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

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4. Little Italy

On the East Side, family-run eateries, boutiques, and galleries line the brick streets of Little Italy. For a quick bite, head to Murray Hill Market. Grab an Italian BLT with pancetta, arugula, tomato, balsamic vinaigrette, and warm Brie, or a chicken Parmesan sandwich slathered in house-made marinara. Nosh at an outdoor table and watch the world go by.

Then satisfy your sweet tooth with cannoli (plain or dipped in chocolate) from Corbo’s Bakery, a neighborhood fixture for 65 years. For a social café scene, order an espresso and a slice of Cleveland-style cassata cake (sponge cake loaded with custard and strawberry filling) at Presti’s Bakery and Café, founded in 1903.

On the East Side, Little Italy is filled with checkered-tablecloth eateries such as Mama Santa’s and Guarino’s. Photo by Cody York

Mama Santa’s, a Sicilian-style red-sauce and checkered-tablecloth venue, has been serving pizza and parmigiana to Cleveland families since 1961. Closed Sundays.

La Dolce Vita sits in a 1915 building with outside tables perfect for people-watching in good weather. Local ingredients shine in pasta dishes such as fettuccine Fellini (fresh pasta in a gorgonzola-tomato sauce.) Bonus: The restaurant hosts special dinners featuring live opera performances on Mondays (reservations required).

5. Ohio City

In 1912, the city replaced a 72-year-old open-air market with a huge brick building topped by a 137-foot clock tower. The busy West Side Market, designed by the same architects that worked on the Cleveland Museum of Art, is home to dozens of food purveyors—bakers, butchers, fishmongers, cheesemakers, pasta makers, and spice sellers. A separate covered arcade houses fruit and vegetable vendors.

Peruse the aisles as you munch on sticky rice in a banana leaf from Kim Se Cambodian Cuisine or a frank from Johnny Hot Dog. Satisfy your sweet tooth with Death by Chocolate doughnuts at Jack Frost or the Hungarian strudels at K&K Bakery. Closed Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Anchored by the market, restaurants and breweries have started popping up in Ohio City, an increasingly popular neighborhood in which to live, work, and play. A longtime star of the local food scene, James Beard Award–nominated chef Karen Small went casual in 2022 by opening Juneberry Table.

The breakfast-and-lunch café’s Appalachian-inspired menu takes advantage of what’s fresh from Ohio farms. Try sweet sorghum butter with your steel-cut oats, bourbon-apple buckwheat pancakes, and house-made biscuits. Closed Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.

Cross section of a beef brisket sandwich

Larder Delicatessen and Bakery bakes its own rye bread for a killer sandwich of beef brisket with mustard and sauerkraut. Oy! Photo by Nathan Migal

At Larder Delicatessen and Bakery, a trio of young chefs are pushing boundaries and winning James Beard Awards for their efforts. Pastrami is cured with koji, a mold used in Japanese cuisine to make soy sauce, sake, and miso paste. Thick slices of Certified Angus Beef brisket come with mustard and sauerkraut on house-made rye.

Order at the counter in the historic firehouse and dine on long tables indoors or out. Goods such as jams make nice souvenirs, as do copies of Koji Alchemy, chef Jeremy Umansky’s book about mold-based fermentation. Pick up a chocolate babka for the ride home. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

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Cleveland-based travel writer Fran Golden’s work regularly appears in such publications as Bloomberg and Travel + Leisure. She is the author of numerous cruise and travel books including 100 Things to Do in Alaska Before You Die (Reedy Press).

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