Photograph by Catherine Grace
Chef Jose Salazar has juggled many plates in many kitchens. Adapting to the fickle whims of the industry is a valuable skill, but when his namesake restaurant shuttered in 2023, foodies mourned something special. November brought Salazar’s reincarnation, right across the road from Mita’s, another of the chef’s restaurants. The new venue is nearly five times the size of the previous location. Hosting more customers, with more room to innovate behind the scenes, offers a unique opportunity. The larger footprint accommodates more equipment in the kitchen, and there are more possibilities for events, guest chefs, and philanthropic efforts.
There are only a handful of menu holdovers from the restaurant’s first life, namely the local breads with bone marrow butter, the Little Fried Oyster Sandwich, and the Bruce Banner cocktail. The new menus are longer, more varied, and full of fresh twists.
It begins with the nibbles. Once you’ve had one Caesar salad, you’ve had them all, right? Wrong. This salad has everything that makes a Caesar what it is and then some. Rye croutons and Parmesan share the greens with dill and cured egg yolk, a combination that works surprisingly well. The dill adds an aromatic hint of something fresher than fresh, and the cured egg yolk lends the dressing a rich, punchy kick.
Seasonal dishes appear across the menu, and they are always worth the splurge. While a few core dishes will be available year-round, the flexibility and elbow room in his new kitchen play to Salazar’s vision of a locally driven, highly seasonal restaurant.
Photograph by Catherine Grace
The drink menu is one of the best in Cincinnati, not to mention one of the most considerate. In addition to a beautifully curated wine list, a full bar, and signature cocktails, guests will find zero-proof beers, mocktails, and wine. It’s an inclusive spread that doesn’t skimp on the non-alcoholic offerings like the NOKOK (NA agave blanco, tandoori, passion fruit, and bubbles). This mocktail arrives with all the excitement of the first day of a tropical vacation. It’s naturally sweet, but far from cloying. The tandoori and passion fruit do the heavy lifting, and the NOKOK is as memorable as its alcoholic alternative, the AKOK.
Every level of your visit highlights Salazar’s focus on crafting the ideal customer experience via friendly service and exceptional ingredients. Quality isn’t a matter of trust. Fresh seafood gets the VIP treatment all aspiring raw bar ingredients deserve, shuttled by Salazar straight from CVG to the restaurant’s kitchen. That tender loving care stands tall in Salazar’s seafood towers. However, sometimes the best parts of life are the little things.
Photograph by Catherine Grace
The Little Fried Oyster Sandwich (kimchi, garlic mayo, and radish sprouts on a brioche bun) made the move to the new venue, but it has to fight for its place as the cutest dish on the menu. The mini lobster rolls (Maine lobster and yuzu kosho mayo on split-top rolls) are coming for the crown. Served on the same housemade brioche in pairs, these fun little appetizers are hard to share. The tender lobster and brioche create a sweet base that’s elevated by the savory mayo and sharpened with tart hints of yuzu.
If you can’t ignore the call of the sea, let the tide carry you through to the scallops (hijiki risotto, leeks, miso, and togarashi). Artfully seared, the delicate meat takes on a silky texture and a bewitching flavor that suggests the scallops are much richer in fat than they really are. The risotto pulls its most memorable elements from Japanese cuisine, namely the seaweed, miso, and togarashi (a Japanese spice blend featuring sesame, chiles, fruit peels, ginger, seaweed, and seeds). Combined, they deepen the overall flavor while lightening the dish’s creamy foundation. They bring out the best in the scallops, too, conjuring exquisite hints of the shellfish’s natural flavor while still developing a pleasantly unique profile.
Although the nibbles and seafood are great, Salazar has something special on the menu for all tastes. The pasta ranges from gnocchi to rigatoni, and you’ll spy power players like wild mushrooms, crispy prosciutto, and blue crab in the sauces. Mains include tandoori spiced cauliflower, New York strip, pasture-raised chicken breast, lamb shank, and fish (crispy skin king salmon when we visited). If you aren’t feeling adventurous, the half-pound burger (house blend patty, pepper, cheddar, pepper bacon, tomato, pickles, and “mac” sauce on a sesame seed bun) will still take you on a journey, and any vegetable you order as penance will still taste divine.
Photograph by Catherine Grace
Wrap things up with the dark chocolate cremeux (coffee-almond crumble, smoked ice cream, meringue, and salted caramel), which is as good as it sounds and even better than it looks. It’s solid, decadent, and positively swoon-worthy. Everything else orbits this dark star. Toasted shards of meringue circle the chocolate like caramelized bites of marshmallow, the salted caramel pools on the side, and the coffee-almond crumbles always land where they’re needed most. Of all the moving parts that make this dessert so special, however, the most important is the smoked ice cream. The whisper of smoke that’s settled into the cream is as innovative as it is surprising. It isn’t sweet. It isn’t salty. It’s refreshingly dark, like the puff of a candle extinguished at the end of a meal.
Salazar, 101 W. Fifth St., downtown, (513) 345-1500
Hours: Dinner Mon–Thurs 5–10 p.m., Fri & Sat 4–10 p.m.
Prices: $8 (Little Fried Oyster Sandwich)–$115 (Grand Seafood Tower)
Credit Cards: All major
The Takeaway: Salazar is a culinary playground with an emphasis on local and seasonal foods.
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