Best Casual Restaurants in Evendale

Tonight was the evening before Christmas Eve. Everyone was in a festive mood. We met three friends we hadn’t seen in a while and everything was wonderful. My second time at Meritage this month.

Food is excellent, Eclectic menu and lots of great vegetarian options too. Coffee selections are great although Cappuccinos were not very hot. I think they need help with their host/seating/reservations management. Always make a reservation. It's small and fills up quickly. Two tables which would accommodate our party size were open, one was a high top and one a low top. My husband in particular does not do well with high top tables. We had a reservation, but were told the low top was reserved. High top our only choice. During our entire visit they never filled that low top table and several others came open also. So even though the reservations were full, during our visit many tables became open including the requested low table. There does not seem to be management on duty, during day. Servers covered host stand, rather awkwardly and not satisfactorily. Our server was the person who told us we couldn't have the low top table and never commented on it again during meal although I think it was clear that the high top caused some difficulties for us. We would have been pleased to move once they figured out they did in fact have multiple low tables open. Besides the rather lack of concern or personal touch, we had a great meal. Our server was friendly and did seem a bit overwhelmed. Possibly they were understaffed for the day. Food is worth the small hassles and we will definitely come back. Try the Beet and Burrata Salad and the French Onion Soup. Also the Deviled Eggs (!) Spectacular.

We had a great time while enjoying wonderful food and service! Very high quality meats and the salad/side bar is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. From fresh and roasted veggies to smoked salmon to charcuterie and everything in between! There’s something for everyone! My only negative comment is that we were there for a birthday dinner and were sat at a table right next to the servers stand/end of bar. So it was not as romantic as I would’ve liked but we still had a great time! Will def go back!

My 4 colleagues and I met for lunch for our annual Christmas lunch. We wanted to go to someplace new so chose Cooper's Hawk. We were promptly seated in a comfortable booth and our server was very attentive and totally on top of everything! We ordered several appetizers; the Candied Bacon and Artisan Cheese Plate was yummy (especially the 2 goat cheese offerings) and the Sweet Chili Calamari was deliciously different than any other calamari I've had (they're typically breaded, deep fried and served very crispy like onion rings) . These were huge calamari (very tender, not chewy), lightly battered, and liberally blanketed with a medium-spice sweet chili sauce and served with a Sesame-Sriracha Aioli. Highly recommended! I also ordered a cup of the Seafood Bisque which was rich, creamy and included a generous amount of crab, shrimp and lobster; I shared it with 2 colleagues who also gave it a thumbs up. Two colleagues shared a white wine flight and a red wine flight; they expected small tasting-sized glasses so were surprised when 8 almost regular-sized glasses of wine (4 white, 4 red) were brought to the table. Two other colleagues each had an individual glass of the Pinot Gris and did a refilll halfway through their meals. Our entrees were a mixed bag... my Shrimp and Scallop Risotto with peas, asparagus, corn and spinach was underwhelming; I ate about half, brought the rest home but doubt I'll finish it. One colleague had a Braised Short Rib Grilled Cheese sandwich with Fries and a side of Tomato Soup; he only ate half (too much cheese, not enough meat). One colleague had the Baked Parmesan Shrimp Scampi and said the shrimp was tough. Two other colleagues ordered the Dana's Parmesan-Crusted Chicken and both cleaned their plates. Several us of decided to split the Banofee Pie for dessert. While we were waiting, our server brought us 5 small glasses of a fruity dessert wine (didn't catch the name) and it was a delicious. The Banofee Pie was oustanding.

We come back often. Great food, drinks and service. Drinks are a little pricey. $100 for 2 ppl with drinks.