Restaurant Recommendations for Visitors

I seem to be in a restaurant rut lately, so I will be eager to see the responses. Perhaps it will inspire me to try someplace new as well. :)

Whenever we have out of town guests we take them to the Beirut. Definitely a Toledo institution; growing up in an area with some many great Lebanese restaurants we tend to forget that most people from other cities don't know anything about it.

If it's nice out the patios at Zia's and Real Seafood are good option as well.

Lots of these friends are coming from cities where I have had the best meals of my life: Pittsburgh, Anchorage, Austin... I just want to make sure I offer up the best possible local options for them.

Bluewater Grille, Ciao, or maybe try the new steakhouse at the casino

Registry Bistro (Chef Erika Rapp formerly of Diva and Toledo Museum of art)https://www.facebook.com/pages/Registry-Bistro/155496504528782 opens on June 12 I believe. I know she is cooking for some of these events. It's Downtown in the Secor Building. Revolution Grille (Chef Rob Campbell formerly of Mancy's Blue water and Ciao)opens the same day, on Monroe St in the old Poco Piatti. https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionGrille Both will have a huge impact on the restaurant scene in Toledo, and a great way to put our best foot forward.

http://www.fifisrestaurant.com/ ****

http://www.roseandthistlepub.com/

***** Perrysburg

Echo Rose and Thistle. Chef Matt does some amazing things.

Grumpys for weekday breakfast and lunch of course! :)
http://Grumpys.net
http://Facebook.com/grumpysdeli

We had a great time last night at Manhattan's on Adams Street downtown. Exellent food, live jazz: what's not to love?

Rockwell's at the Oliver House.

Here's a few:
AMango
Avenue Bistro
The Dégagé Jazz Café
Mac and Tong's Place
Manhattan's
Maumee Bay Brewing Company

In addition, I also recommend:
Rose and Thistle - Fine dining, and the kitchen lives up to the ambiance, service and decor.
Rockwell's - Fine dining.
Rosie's Italian Grille on McCord - for the outdoor patio and the food.
Bangkok Grill on Monroe - the food's great.

I'd pass on Ciao Ristorante. The food isn't all that great, the service is okay (but not great) and the prices are high. The acoustics are bad, so the place sounds like a boiler factory.

Had dinner and cocktails at Basin Street Grill last weekend and the food was very good, fair in price and we were able to spend our time out on the patio listening to a band.

Fifi's Reprise...they have a regular dinner menu - including their famous Caesar Salad for two - and a lounge menu of lighter fare earlier in the evening.

Not just for the food, but for the atmosphere and a bit of history: Webbers in Point Place...best onion rings and perch sandwiches and right on the Ottawa River.

Georgio's - love their pate and cream of mushroom soup - makes a good (and inexpensive) lunch if the weather is chilly or rainy.

Tony Packo's - the original on the East Side - how could you not take them there? LOL

Tiger Deli - lots of great munchies and finger foods that make for good appetizers.

The Green Lantern.

Anchorage -- cool, we are from Alaska. We were recently pleasantly surprised with the Elephant Bar at Franklin Park.

CC

How long will your guests be around? Breakfast, lunch, dinner? Focus on the food? Quiet and laid back or fun loud?

From the previous rec's
BEIRUT
GEORGIO's
REGISTRY BISTRO if the food is as good as when Rapp was doing Diva it should be great.

Other ideas

ICE - Love the design and they have cooked my filet a perfect medium rare every-time. I've taken lots of large groups there and always had a great time.

MANOS - Greek food, coupled with copious amounts of inexpensive greek wine, flaming cheese with 3 feet of flame, and on the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month they mix in a belly dancer.

TOLEDO CLUB - Chef Mike who has been the head chef for roughly the last 2 years is excellent and always has a creative menu planned. The venue in the main dining room was built at the height of the city's wealth. You have to finish dinner with a Flaming Rope. It was invented by the club manager Miguel during the blizzard of 78 while snowed in at a club. It's a spectacle to see and tastes phenomenal.

Calvino's on Central for Italian.

Swig in P-burg

If you're up for a bit of a drive, Evans Street Station in Adrian is really special and might impress them. It's about half an hour from the Sylvania area.

http://www.evansstreetstation.com/

Evans Street Station is in Tecumseh. It's more like 45 mins away. But good food.

Sorry, yes, it's Tecumseh. Not enough sleep last night. :-/

It is 30-35 minutes from Sylvania, I just took mom there for Mother's Day, so I'm sure of that at least. Google maps overestimates it and the first time we went we were very early for our reservation.

Stella's, Swig, LaScola, Bluewater Grille, Registry Bistro(if it's open by then.

Artistic people are often amused by a 1970s retro vibe, and we are lucky enough to have several choices in the area. For a look at the good old days of Detroit gangsters and your grandparents' idea of a "supper club" I would recommend Angelo's Northwood Grill on Dixie Highway in Erie, MI. The food's good, and when I've been there I stare around with amazement at the retro decor.

J&G's Pizza in Sylvania is another place that looks like it was decorated in about 1975 and then left perfectly preserved. The food is pretty straightforward casual Italian, but again, I enjoy the blast from the past.

For breakfast, I would consider Rick's Original City Diner on Bancroft near the UT campus. Good breakfast choices, nice CLEAN interior (which you don't always find in Toledo breakfast joints :-( and I enjoy the mixed clientele: students, neighborhood folks, church groups, even some bachelors ogling the waitresses. It's the kind of peoplewatching mix you find in bigger cities. And good food.

I don't know if the above satisfy the requirement for local food, fresh, creative cuisine ... but all three are a blast!

If schedule permits, I would definitely go to Grumpy's for awesome food and the beautiful interior ... and KoreaNa on Reynolds, for something different (and for the woodworkers-gone-wild interior).

I second all of viola's comments re: Rick's Diner for breakfast (love the asparagus and Gruyère cheese omelette!). My wife and I are fairly new to Toledo (8 months), and we enjoy trying out different eateries. So far, in the diner category, Rick's is in first place.

Artistic people are often amused by a 1970s retro vibe, and we are lucky enough to have several choices in the area. For a look at the good old days of Detroit gangsters and your grandparents' idea of a "supper club" I would recommend Angelo's Northwood Grill on Dixie Highway in Erie, MI. The food's good, and when I've been there I stare around with amazement at the retro decor

Oh yes, that's definitely a neat place!

And it has a fascinating history from the Prohibition era...some people might be into that sort of thing.

These are fabulous suggestions! And I have to say that there are a few in the bunch I've never tried, but now will. For SURE! Thank you, everyone!

This might be the 1st TT thread about food not to mention tex-mex restaurants. Until now that is. ;)

Just to make sure that you haven't overlooked The Blade's restaurant reviews with locations on our Foursquare page.

Paul Hem
Digital Products Manager
The Blade