Foodie Scene

Cleveland has a vibrant foodie scene with diverse restaurant and food market offerings plus innovative chefs and entrepreneurs. The wide variety of options include traditional foods from a variety of cultures, a robust Little Italy, American dining at its best, and everything in between.

Local Restaurants

Cleveland Independents

If you want to experience local cuisine, we encourage you to start with Cleveland Independents, an organization of 60+ locally owned and operated restaurants. Cleveland Independents protects, nurtures, and promotes independent restaurants in our region. Their list of members is impressive!

Ethnic Foods

The diverse restaurant scene is inspired by the more than 120 different ethnic groups here. If a certain type of food reminds you of home or you simply enjoy it, you can find it. Although we are known for delicious pierogis, Polish boys, and paczki, you'll find Korean kimchee, Russian borscht, Ethiopian doro wat, German wiener schnitzel, Mexican enchiladas, and Indian tandoori at authentic restaurants including Italian, Vietnamese, Greek, Turkish, Irish, French, Lebanese, and many more.

Great Patio Dining

Kicking back and relaxing on a restaurant patio with a cool beverage in hand is cherished activity in Greater Cleveland. During the warm months, many restaurants, cafes, and bars offer patio seating. There are patios to frequent for both a night out and for the whole family. Here is just a small sampling of some great options that we enjoy.

Downtown Cleveland

East 4th Street Restaurants

Hofbrauhaus Cleveland

Clark-Fulton (CLE)

Johnny's Bar on Fulton

Gordon Square/Edgewater (CLE)

LUXE

Toast Cleveland

Little Italy (CLE)

Guarino's Restaurant

Ohio City (CLE)

Great Lakes Brewing Company

The Harp

Larder, Hingetown Neighborhood

Tremont (CLE)

Barrio

The South Side

University Circle (CLE)

L'Albatros

East Side Suburbs

Anatolia Cafe, Cleveland Heights

Batuqui Brazilian Restaurant, Chagrin Falls

Batqui Brazilian Restaurant, Larchmere

Boss Dog Brewing Co.,Cleveland Heights

Cru, Pepper Pike

The Fairmount, Cleveland Heights

M Bevy, Chagrin Falls

M Italian, Chagrin Falls

Pranzo!, Willoughby

Sapphire Creek Winergy & Gardens, Chagrin Falls

Van Aken District Restaurants, Shaker Heights

Winking Lizard Tavern, Bedford Heights

West Side Suburbs

Barocco, Lakewood

Harlow's Pizza, Lakewood

Georgtown | Vosh, Lakewood

Legacy Restaurant & Grille, Avon Lake

Rocky River Wine Bar, Rocky River

Tartine Bistro, Rocky River

South Side Suburbs

Don's Pomeroy House, Strongsville

Akron Area

DBA (Dante Boccuzzi Akron), Akron

Gervasi Vineyard & Italian Bistro, Canton

Ken Stewart's Grille, Akron

Michael Angelo's, Richfield

Waterfront Dining

There are many waterfront dining options around Northeast Ohio with many more popping up all of the time. Our city centers and suburbs are located along several bodies of water: Lake Erie, the Cuyahoga River, and the Chagrin River, to name a few. Some of these wonderful restaurants are seasonal, and most offer beautiful patio dining.

17 River Grille, Chagrin Falls

Alley Cat Oyster Bar, The Flats

Beau's on the River, Cuyahoga Falls

Chez Francois, Vermilion

Collision Bend Brewery Company, The Flats

Creekside Restaurant, Brecksville

E55 on the Lake, Cleveland

Lindey's Lake House, The Flats

LockKeeper's, Valley View

Merwin's Wharf, The Flats

Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar, Downtown Cleveland

Pier W, Lakewood

Summer House, Lakewood

Tinker's Creek Tavern, Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Whiskey Island Still & Eatery, Whiskey Island

Roll out the Food Trucks. Creative food at every price point.

Food Trucks

Cleveland Chef Chris Hodgson got the ball rolling with his appearance on the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race." He was first runner up with his truck. Today, Greater Cleveland/Akron has a lively food truck scene.

Every year, Cleveland.com publishes an excellent guide for the 40 food trucks driving around the region with food ranging from basic hotdogs and pizza to gourmet dishes and cocktails. There is a food truck event somewhere in the city every day of the week.

And there are several food truck parks scattered throughout the region.

Street Food Finder will show you which food trucks are near you at any given time. And people often book food and drink trucks as their caterers when hosting parties.

The West Side Market

Sometimes it takes a newcomer to remind us of something we all take for granted. This happened when a transplant from Spain said, "Cleveland is so lucky to have the West Side Market. There just aren't many year-round indoor food markets left in America anymore. This reminds me of La Boqueria in Barcelona. I'm so excited to shop here!"

The West Side Market's clock tower stands a proud 130' tall in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood and looks like a steeple that beckons foodies to the neighborhood. Locals lovingly think of the market which turned 100 in 2012, as Cleveland's Cathedral of Food.

The West Side Market.

The West Side Market is a true foodie institution, both a staple and a destination.

Groceries and Markets

Heinen's Downtown Cleveland. Farmers Markets

Farmers markets are in nearly every neighborhood, even in the winter when they find indoor spaces to continue selling seasonal produce, canned and bottled foods, bread, cheese, desserts, etc.

North Union Farmers Market is one of the most well-known as it has been operating for over 28+ years and has many locations. Visit Ohio Proud to find farmer's markets, roadside markets, and more. Farm to Table Food a.k.a. CSA

While Cleveland/Akron is a major metropolitan area, Ohio is in the heart of farm country. Within an hour there are farms, giving us plentiful access to locally grown and raised food. Join a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) group for a weekly bag of food or eat at one of the many restaurants that sources food from within 100 miles. One of the most popular CSA groups grew out of a student project at Case Western Reserve University. As a student, Trevor Clatterbuck wrote a paper on how to get farm to table food out to the masses not just restaurants. He turned his concept into a thriving CSA, Fresh Fork Market. It now has hundreds of subscribers going to more than 20+ pick locations for weekly bags of fresh foods sourced from hundreds of local farmers and artisan food makers. Trevor also opened a brick-and-mortar market, Ohio City Provisions, where all items in this mini grocery come from within 75 miles of the shop. It is a great source for farm to table foods.

Local Grocery Store

While Greater Cleveland/Akron is home to recognizable grocery store chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes, in the highly competitive world of supermarkets, we have a thriving locally owned grocery store chain. Heinen's has 20+ stores in Cleveland and Chicago. It has been around for 90+ years and has been ranked as high as the third best grocery store in the country. Their full-service grocery store in the historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda Building in Cleveland is a must-see for its exquisite beauty even if you don't need any groceries. Plus, this location now has the delicious Mitchell's Ice Cream!

Local Markets

Our region supports many independent markets. Some specialize in ethnic foods while others have gourmet ingredients and more. All of these have excellent prepared food options.

EA Favorites

Constantino's Market, Downtown Cleveland

The Farmers Rail, Bath, Cuyahoga Falls, and Hudson

J.Pistone Market, Shaker Heights

La Plaza Supermarket, Cleveland

Metropolitan Market, Pepper Pike

Miles Farmers Market, Miles Road, Solon

Murray Hill Market, Little Italy

Mustard Seed Market & Café, Akron

Nature's Oasis, Lakewood and Shaker Heights

Ohio City Provisions, Ohio City Click Here for more CSAs

Foodie Events

Restaurant Weeks

Cleveland Independents organizes biannual Cleveland Restaurant Weeks. Restaurants serve up special three-course prix fixe menus for just $39 (not including tax and tip) - this price rarely changes.

Downtown Cleveland, Akron, and Canton often have Restaurant Weeks as well.

Food Festivals

Food festivals flourish in Greater Cleveland/Akron and the variety of festival foods is astounding. There is an exhaustive list of food festivals through TasteCLE and below is a small sample of the types of food festivals that we enjoy.

Akron Greek Fest

Akron Pizza Fest

Berea's National Rib Cook-Off

Cleveland Asian Festival

Cleveland Garlic Festival

Feast of the Assumption

Kirtland Strawberry Festival

Taste of Tremont

Uncorked: Cleveland

Food Movers and Shakers

Celebrity Chefs

Greater Cleveland/Akron has its fair share of excellent chefs. Every year, the James Beard Foundation recognizes culinary excellence. Local chefs often appear on their list as winners, semi-finalists, and nominees. Our list of regional "celebrity chefs" includes Dante Boccuzzi, Zack Bruell, Doug Katz, Brandon Chrostowski and Michael Symon.

Food Entrepreneurs

Many food entrepreneurs are making their marks using incubator spaces dedicated to helping them find the resources they need to be successful, including Akron Food Works, Prep Kitchen-CLE, the Central Kitchen where companies like Pope's Kitchen were created.

There are 370 food processing and manufacturing establishments in Greater Cleveland/Akron. Locally produced items appear in restaurants and grocery stores including Brew Nuts (donuts made with beer), Cleveland Bagel, Cleveland Coffee, Cleveland Kraut, McKenzie Creamery (local goat cheese), Ohio City Pasta, Raddell's Sausage Shop, Randy's Pickles, Saucisson (sausage).