Jeff Mathews

The six desserts our critic loved most this year.

Zula is no one-trick pony.

This year, M Wood Fired Oven started to hit its stride, settling into a streamlined menu with flavors that don’t stray too far from the owner’s Mediterranean roots.

A restaurant need not be loud to be triumphant, and Chef Michael Paley’s cuisine quietly focuses its energy on finely tuned flavors with both skill and restraint.

Boca’s third incarnation, powerful and refined, is a pitch-perfect aria that shatters conventional expectations while proffering rich, complex dishes originally created for comfort.

The buzz surrounding José Salazar’s eponymous new OTR bistro could have powered the imminent streetcar for a week.

Since opening last spring, Kaze has quickly established itself as a front-runner in Over-the-Rhine's restaurant renaissance.

Located in the subterranean space formerly inhabited by La Normandie, diners descend into a haunting grotto of exposed beams and candlelit tables.

The Nguyen brothers, Duy and Bao, along with partner David Le, have followed up on Pho Lang Thang’s success at Findlay Market by bursting onto the OTR scene with some of the boldest flavors in the city.