Pennyflower Bistro and Bar

Blown away by the quality of the food and by the prices. The food came out quickly and was fantastic. Great spot for a date night. Would recommend.

My son's birthday dinner. 2nd time visiting. Awesome as always

Great cocktails, food, and service. We had the pumpkin milk punch, maple old fashion, and feta martini and all three were great. Feta toast was also delicious and pumpkin creme brûlée!

Penny Flower American Bistro delivers an exceptional dining experience. The chef, with roots from Boca, brings extraordinary creativity and precision to every plate. We began with the watermelon crudo and shishito peppers—both beautifully presented and bursting with fresh, balanced flavors. The standout was the bone-in pork chop (thoughtfully served without the bone), accompanied by red beans and Brussels sprouts. It was one of the best pork chops I’ve ever had. Combined with attentive service and a stunning venue, Penny Flower is a true culinary gem.

We went with our family and it was absolutely exceptional. Every part of the meal and honestly as good as any I have had in Cincinnati. Highly recommended.

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 experience. Jeff Thomas

This was a wonderful experience from the time we walked in. Everyone was so friendly and the cocktails were remarkable. We had the bone marrow & short rib, and feta toast for appetizers, lasagna with white sauce and s’mores dessert! 😋 Everything was absolutely remarkable!

We were here on a Saturday night and had no wait at all. Everything - our waiter, our cocktails, our entrees, and our desserts (which they generously comped and even threw in an extra one- happy birthday to me!) - was delicious! We had the hard-boiled egg toast, Caesar salad, grains salad, lobster bisque, and crispy lasagna. We'll definitely be back!

First time going and we loved it. The croquettes were so good and the egg toast was amazing. Even the grain salad was perfectly seasoned and topped with the perfect amount of dressing. We can't wait to go back!

This is easily the best new restaurant in Cincinnati! Chef Jacob is so unique in his approach to simple and traditional cuisine. European influences perfectly fused with classic comfort food. We started with the egg toast which I highly recommend, a light and flavorful dish to kickstart the meal. I ordered the Crispy Vegetable Lasagna and it was divine! It had layers upon layers of homemade pasta, cheese, and a touch of sauce bursting with flavor. My mate ordered the Chicken Pressade, which he gave a solid 10/10. The presentation was beautiful as well. We finished with the crème brûlée, which was perfectly delicate with the subtle warmth of the cardamom spice. I am generally a crème brûlée, purist (vanilla only!), but the spice was a lovely addition. I was blown away from start to finish and our server, Nick, was an absolute delight. Do not miss out on this dining experience!

Very accommodating for a large group. Squash soup was the best!

Small menu with exquisite choices! Every food item was fantastic! The only bad thing was the espresso but that's not too big a deal. Its attached to a hotel but you'd never know!

The crispy vegetarian lasagna was amazing! I also loved my whipped feta toast. Can’t wait to come back. Rachel was so kind and attentive to my needs.

Loved this place! Definitely worth a visit. Didn’t have a bad dish: burrata, croquettes, salmon bites, Nashville hot chicken and chicken! Finished off with s’mores dessert and crème brule. Add the service by Billy that was impeccable and it made for a great experience!

Loved the decor and enjoyed the Banh mi and the chicken schnitzel. We were the first lunch customers and waited for a server but after that service was competent and quick. Good place to meet a friend for lunch!

Nestled between the Two Oldest Bars in Cincinnati, Arnolds and Bay Horse Cafe this beautiful Bistro's name pays tribute to the historic farmers markets of the early 1900s in Cincinnati. The staff are well seasoned professionals. The chef is Classicly trained. The food and service are absolutely out of this world. If you are a fan of Boca and Sotto on 6th street you now have another option just a block away. Jess, Rachel, Reece, and Nick delivered an outstanding experience. I could eat here Everyday

Great food. Great service. Great atmosphere. I would highly recommend. I would definitely eat here again.

Rarely do you have a meal where everything hits, but that was absolutely the case at Pennyflower last night. Hubs and I started with an old fashioned and lychee martini - both on point. We split the tuna appetizer which was perfectly portioned atop homemade potato croquettes with a thin slice of jalapeno for a touch of heat - yum. My husband had the pork chop, which was plentiful and slightly pink, which he adored as he hates nothing more than dry meat. I tried the Amish Chicken and though I am not typically a fan of chicken thighs, it was perfection. So unique it is hard to describe - you will just have to go and try it! Excited to have discovered Pennyflower, and happy it is open for lunch as well! We will be back, soon!

We enjoyed a wonderful evening at Pennyflower. The food and cocktail menus are both excellent and feature special ingredients such as house made clarified milk (sounds weird but SO good). We got the filet, tikka, and crispy lasagna. Everything was excellent. We will definitely stay at The Clare and eat at Pennflower again.

The house made bread, tuna bites, and chicken sandwich were absolutely fantastic! Josephine was our server and did a great job as well. We will be back!

Enjoyed the most fabulous lunch at Pennyflower, and I’ll certainly be back. Great options, great atmosphere for a company lunch, girlfriend get together or a lunch date. I was impressed by each dish we enjoyed, and felt it was really well priced.

Good was good, but nothing so phenomenal that I felt it deserved 5 stars. Atmosphere and service were wonderful. I had the burger and fries and pear specialty margaritas. Drinks are a bit pricey but good was reasonable.

Bold Hits, Missed Opportunities, and a Cozy Vibe Pennyflower Bistro is ambitious, and when it lands, it really lands. But not everything on the menu hits the same high note. First, the stars of the night: Carbonara Croquette and Moroccan Tartare. These weren’t just good—they were transportive. The croquette had that perfect crispy exterior, giving way to a rich, silky carbonara core that screamed indulgence. The tartare? Spiced to perfection, balancing heat, acidity, and depth in a way that made every bite feel . Easily two of the best dishes we’ve had in recent memory—complex, flavorful, and executed with confidence. Then came the Pork Chop Challenge, and let’s just say, it didn’t live up to its name. Technically cooked fine, but where was the excitement? It lacked seasoning, depth, and any real hook. The plating didn’t help—whatever it was sitting on just felt… bland. A dish that needed more risk, more boldness, more something. The Smashburger? A strong player. Juicy, well-constructed, and carrying its own signature punch. But is it the best in the city? Not quite. It’s good—better than most—but it doesn’t dethrone the top contenders. Service was smooth, and the setting? Ideal. Sitting near the window, watching the snow fall over downtown, made for a perfect backdrop. Pennyflower has serious potential—it’s clear the kitchen can deliver incredible flavors when they hit their stride. But some dishes still feel like they’re holding back. When they fully commit, this place could be a heavyweight in Cincinnati’s dining scene.

Roasted bone marrow was very good. Great cocktails. Service was a bit slow and the server seemed rushed.

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 again sometime.

Overall very good. Friendly staff, attractive design, comfortable setting, and delicious food.

Delicious food in a funky place. We tried the crispy lasagna and Hot Nashville Chicken…tasty.

It was ok. The Amish Chicken my friend had looked and tasted like pork ribs. The smash burger was ok it didn't look smashed it was 2 quarter pound patties on top of each other. I brought one home for my dog. The server Olivia was great, very friendly, honestly she was the best part about the whole meal. That and the mirrored hallway with a mural by the bathroom. The creme brulee was delicious, the chef did his thing with that. We had some kind of pineapple papayas tart I believe, it was very tart and not very good. The s'mores dessert was delicious as well. Sorry I took the picture after we dug into the desserts.

We were so excited to try this place, and the main food was phenomenal, but the service was not. It was not busy. It took way too long for them to take our order, we could see the servers basically arguing over who wasn’t going to take the table. The 1 non alcoholic drink we ordered took forever to come out. The appetizer came before the drink did. Once all the food came no one ever came to check on us or see how it was. We ended up asking the host to get our dessert. The crème brûlée was not good. We had high hopes for this place and unfortunately were let down. Wish we would have gone to Crown right around the corner.

Food was below average for the price & setting. Would not go back. Pastas were better than the other items ordered. Still had a sticker in the window about being an OpenTable awardee...from 2018, when location was a different establishment.

Pork chop was good, not unbelievable but tasty and I’d eat that again for sure. The fried beans and rice were an interesting add which was nice. Good dish. The burrata was not so good, it was bitter and wouldn’t get that again - we like unique pairings but this one didn’t hit for us. The Vibe was strange, commercial feeling and bring attached to the hotel, ‘cold’ and sterile feeling I’d say. I’ve got celiac, and the staff seemed unconfident at times about it, and I always wish staff would announce on food delivery what food was prepared for allergens or gluten free for celiac, but wasn’t the case. Did not have any reaction so I think the kitchen must have done a good job limiting cross contact with gluten. Service was fast/attentive.

The restaurant is too loud, sound dampening is needed. But the young chef is excellent. The young service staff needs a bit more training.

The service was outstanding with Olivia. Everyone was friendly and attentive. The bar tender from the evening before was also great. Unfortunately, our meal selections were subpar. The vegetable lasagna was dense pasta with virtually nothing inside. It was not good. Maybe we got a bad piece. I got a smash burger which was alright, but when you’re paying $20+ for it, there’s an expectation it’s better than Wendy’s. There were no options for any type of vegetables on the side, except for salads a la carte.

Why, oh why, does the music need to be so loud? There is only one other customer in the dining room for lunch - The music is so loud. There are no sound absorbing features carpet, baffling etc I really wanted to try this place and to like it given that they say the chef was from Boca. However, it was a big disappointment. I had the chicken schnitzel sandwich. Wayyy too much slaw and other messy stuff, and the slaw was oozing sauce; fries undercooked; schnitzel was overcooked (I felt like it was a leftover dropped for the third time in a fryer) They need some training to sharpen things up.

We ordered the carbonara croquettes, tuna bites, prime beef carpaccio as our appetizers. We also ordered the amish chicken pressade, the crispy lasagna, and the smore's dessert. The appetizers were honestly just ok. The croquettes were nothing to remember. The prime beef carpaccio had a unique flavor, but again was underwhelming. The tuna bites were disappointing, as the fried potato vehicle for the tuna itself was too overwhelming, to where the entire dish just tasted like one tater tot. The entrees we ordered were quite delicious though. The Amish Chicken Pressade had a delicious red sauce with very juicy chicken. The potatoes were also delicious. The crispy lasagna was delicious. The flavors were so balanced and the dish was not too heavy. The Smore's dessert was very good. It was not too sweet and not too heavy. The prices were very reasonable for the amount of food we ordered, and we will definitely be coming back for the entrees and dessert, but will skip the appetizers.

We had reservations for 6:30pm on a Sunday night. It was probably the coldest day in recent Cincinnati history, so we were not shocked that the place was fairly empty. We were one of three tables occupied in the place. The decor was lovely, albeit totally akin to a hotel restaurant. We sat at a booth table that was very comfortable. There is individual LED lighting on each table bright enough to see the menu, which was great. Our server was energetic, helpful, and she kept a close eye on us without being intrusive. Here are our thoughts about the food: We read that the croquettes and crispy lasagna were dishes Pennyflower is known for, so we ordered those. The croquettes are gooey and rich but came to us barely warm. The lasagna was a very browned huge slab of layered pasta with ricotta and surrounded by an arrabbiata sauce. The flavors did not quite hit anything special for us, and the crispy aspect was way too much so. I also missed the meat, as we do prefer meat in our lasagna (I did order knowing it did not have meat). The burger was...well, just a burger, but the fries were fantastic. The best dish of the night was the house salad. It was perfectly dressed with bits of candied almonds, feta, and thin slices of fennel. We would order this over and over.

Disappointing was the theme of the night. We started the meal at a disadvantage because our sever didn’t know the menu. He couldn’t answer a single question about the items so we went in blind with our order. We ordered the beef tartar which had large chunks of meat but not a totally bad taste. The feta whipped bread was also good. Entrees, however, were just not good. The chicken dish was thigh meat in a rectangle shape with a chimichurri sauce that was orange. The smash burger was extremely dry and also had a strong black pepper taste. As a burger lover I was very sad about this and could only get halfway through it before I had to stop. The steak had decent flavor but fatty and chewy bites. Needless to say, we won’t be returning unless we stop at the bar for a cocktail.

Really wanted to like this place but we left dinner pretty bummed out. The prices here do not match the quality of the food. I will say though that our server was great. The bone marrow was good but the portion was way too small for $22 bucks. One bone and two pieces of toast. Tje croquettes were pretty good and it was a good sized portion. The pork entree came out raw. And I mean totally raw. The part that gets me is that someone sliced it and saw that it was raw and sent it out which is wild. I will give credit that once it was refired it did taste very good. The filet was not good at all. Hardly a sear, and no seasoning. Not even salt or pepper. I guess they rely on the sauce that they cover the whole steak with which was not good at all. Then underneath it all was a potato pancake with again no seasoning and drenched in grease. We usually give places the benefit of the doubt and go back, but we will not be back. Super bummed and feel like we wasted our money.

Back in the summer, i forgot to post a review, but since i am back.... the food was good but they forgot about us. We were limited on time as we were going to a show at the hardrock, , but plenty enough to eat a full meal. We only just got to put in an order for apps and drinks . While we were so happy with what we ordered initially, the wait for someone to return really put a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe 30 to 45 minutes. When someone did finally return, they did NOT ask if we wanted something, they ONLY brought the check. As if they didnt want to serve us. That is insane to me. I do hope service improved since then.

The food was so salty we couldn't eat it. I ordered beef carpaccio, and it had crunchy stuff scattered across it. Weird.And salt. Another ordered the Amush chicken. So salty, you couldn't eat it, and it tasted like the grill needed to be cleaned. Got the s'more dessert. Marshmallow tasted like jar marshmallow . Very disappointing