Photograph by Stacy Newgent
I’m afraid I’m going to have to be blunt. I can’t sugar-coat it: At Demetrio’s IV, it’s all about the portions. Everybody walks out with a doggie bag. For you, it’s lunch the next day. For the more—ahem—mature diners, tonight’s entrée comes with a side of tomorrow’s lunch and tomorrow’s dinner. That’s three for the price of one! The food? It’s the typical Cincinnati Greekish place. They’ve got the standard chili (multiple ways), double-deckers (you need to eye them a good two minutes before you figure out how to attack them), tasty gyros, and a solid breakfast menu, but they also do hefty, home-cooked dinners (the comforting kind that trendier restaurants seem to have forgotten.) When was the last time you had a rib eye or pork chops that didn’t require financing?
This is eating out like it used to be. Everybody dining here has something in front of them they’ll gladly tell you is to die for. But it never seems to be the same thing for any two people. I think that’s just the way comfort food is: Despite the ample menu, you come here for the one thing you had last time because for that one hour, it kind of grounds you. Humanity is safe because there are 20 items like that on the menu. The decor? Well, imagine a glorified chili parlor that merged with a nice restaurant. There was no consultant who agonized over colors here. It’s just a nice, dark interior that’s a little out of date. And it’s intended that way. The decor all fades into the background so you can focus on that heaping plate of coziness the waitress just set in front of you.
Demetrio’s IV, 4002 Plainville Rd., Madison Place, (513) 271-7550.
Facebook Comments