Tremont is a popular Cleveland neighborhood thanks to its university-themed street titles like “Literary Road” or “Professor Avenue.” It’s a spot of cultural heaven, with places such as the A Christmas Story House and Museum attracting thousands of tourists. But Tremont is also Cleveland’s original foodie neighborhood.
Less than a mile southwest of downtown Cleveland, Tremont is still home to some of the best restaurants in the city. From Cleveland staples to the coolest brunch spots, Tremont has plenty of spots you can dine.
Keep on reading to discover the best 14 restaurants to visit in Tremont, Cleveland.
Best Restaurants in Tremont, Cleveland
The Bourbon Street Barrel Room
- Address: 2393 Professor Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 298 4400
- Known For: affordable delicious cocktails during happy hour
The Bourbon Street Barrel Room is a casual-dining restaurant offering a relaxing atmosphere to those seeking delicious food after a long day of sightseeing. Furthermore, if you are looking for the best Cajun cuisine in the city, Bourbon Street should be your destination.
You can feel that the people here genuinely love everything about the culture of New Orleans. The restaurant has a beautiful open space with tin ceilings, dark wood, and shadowed brick, and offers diverse flavors, scents, and textures throughout the extensive menu.
Specifically, the restaurant’s menu is Creole and Cajun-inspired. It includes classics such as gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, and beignets as well as thirty rotating craft beers and all the classic New Orleans cocktails.
Barrio Tremont
- Address: 806 Literary Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 999 7714
- Known For: unique tacos for all tastes and preferences
Barrio Tremont is an original to Tremont and is a must-visit restaurant. Pull up a chair, order a margarita, grab a pencil, and fill in the menu sheet to order your custom taco.
You can choose the filling, the shell, and the sauce you prefer. For instance, you can create a taco with Coca-Cola marinated steak, pulled pork, and Thai chili tofu. It may sound unconventional, but that’s precisely why it is a top taco spot in the area.
A favorite order is the green goddess shell, a soft taco encasing a hard taco shell with queso and guacamole, jalapeño lime shrimp, pico de gallo, and all that topped with chipotle crema. Also, don’t miss out on their stoner queso. It will blow your mind. The taste, the texture, it’s everything you ever wanted.
Grumpy’s Cafe
- Address: 2621 W 14th St, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 241 5025
- Known For: family-friendly environment
Grumpy’s Cafe is a family-friendly comfort-food favorite and serves up one of the best breakfast and brunch in Cleveland daily. They serve all the brunch classics and sometimes your favorite meals with a twist.
They have a wide selection of omelets served with toast and the house Cajun home fries, pancakes, and French toast. So, at Grumpy’s, you’ll never go hungry. For instance, you can select the Grumpy’s special, which consists of two eggs, a choice of meat, home fries, and toast, and if you want more, you can even add pancakes.
For something different, try the veggie Benedict with poached eggs over tomato and avocado slices or the amazingly fluffy and delicious cinnamon apple walnut French toast.
Lucky’s Cafe
- Address: 777 Starkweather Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 622 7773
- Known For: serving large portions with three meals in one
Lucky’s Cafe is famous for its fresh baked goods and large portions of rich breakfast dishes. It may be just a small cafe, but this funky place will surely leave you satisfied and happy. Specifically, if you ever wondered whether you can include anything and everything in your breakfast at Lucky’s Cafe, you have the chance to experience this.
Think gingerbread waffles topped with roasted apples, honey whipped cream, caramel sauce, and cinnamon sugar. Then, add baked mac-n-cheese featuring brie, cheddar, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese. You will feel as if you were transported to breakfast heaven.
If you’re hungry, order the shipwreck. With hash browns, eggs, veggies, bacon, cheese, toast, and fruit, this dish will definitely leave you full. Add one of their delicious selection of coffee, and you will have the best start to your day.
Rowley Inn
- Address: 1104 Rowley Ave, Cleveland, OH 44109
- Phone: +1 216 795 5345
- Known For: one of the oldest restaurants and bars in Cleveland
Established in 1906, The Rowley Inn has given the neighborhood of Tremont fantastic experiences for more than a hundred years. As you enter, the quaint charm of the bar tells a million stories of the hard-working steel mill workers that would rest here after a long day literally building Cleveland.
Here, you can experience delicious food as well as experience history. Not only by seeing the history through the walls of the restaurant but also by connecting with the regulars as they tell some great stories of the years past.
This is the greatest spot for great food, great drinks, fantastic craft beers, and fun games in a comfortable environment with reasonable prices while connecting with the locals.
Fat Cats
- Address: 2061 W 10th St, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 579 0200
- Known For: urban ambiance
Fat Cats’ ever-changing menu features unique meals like the crab melt with lump crab meat, gruyere cheese, and tarragon, or even a pumpkin tart complete with mushrooms, caramelized onions, and Lake Erie Creamery feta.
Frankly, their menu is very unique, urban, and international but also very filling. Some of their delicious options are the grilled octopus, bahn bao which is pork belly steam buns, and their divine salmon with pumpkin pancakes.
Its best feature is the Happy Hour which seems to be endless with all sorts of small plates that run at affordable prices. Options have included a solid Bahn Mi sandwich, Korean ribs, steamed buns, and more. They also have an outstanding selection of craft beer and plenty of New World and Old World wines by the glass.
Dante
- Address: 2247 Professor Ave C, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 274 1200
- Known For: lavish, gourmet creations by the chef
At Dante, Chef Dante Boccuzzi combines his love of music and food with harmonious pairings. His creations are all just perfect, making Dante into an eating boutique aimed to satisfy every taste preference.
But the best thing to order is the tasting menu. It is a tasting menu of sumptuous flavors that will leave you awed at the Chef’s imagination. Some of the tasting menu’s dishes have included squid-ink pasta, delicious white salmon over a creamy cauliflower sauce, and a delicious chocolate cake.
The restaurant also has offered an affordable and fun Happy Hour, also known as “Godzilla Happy Hour.” Menu items and discounted drinks can change, so check the current menu before planning around specific dishes.
Crust
- Address: 2258 Professor Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 583 0257
- Known For: unique pizzas with perfect crispy crust
Just as its name suggests, Crust specializes in the perfect crust. Hand-tossed and crafted from scratch, Crust accomplished to create the best pizza crust you’ll ever taste.
But, their crust isn’t the only from-scratch part of the menu. They also make the sauce by hand and slice the pepperoni up fresh every day. After all, their mission is to deliver fresh, delicious pizza, but with a twist.
Apart from traditional pizzas, they also offer unique pizzas you won’t find anywhere else. Try the spanakopita pizza with garlic puree, spinach, mozzarella, feta, lemon zest, olive oil, and black pepper. Another top pizza is the roasted eggplant pizza with red sauce, oregano, red peppers, tomato, eggplant, smoked mozzarella, arugula, olive oil, and a balsamic reduction.
Ginko
- Address: 2247 Professor Ave B, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 274 1202
- Known For: best authentic sushi in the city
Ginko is said to serve the best sushi in town. And frankly, that might be true. This modern and colorful restaurant is led by the talented Taishi Noma, who might as well be a Zen master.
Even though Cleveland is not known for exotic seafood, Ginko ships the freshest fish from around the world, including Japan. This is just another indication that Ginko is the best sushi place in the city. So, if you are a sushi lover, be sure to visit Ginko.
If you really want to immerse into the world of sushi, try their chef’s daily selections. That way, you can have the perfect plate of delicate sushi.
Read More: Best Seafood Restaurants in Columbus, Ohio
Dante Next Door
- Address: 2247 Professor Ave C, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 274 1200
- Known For: amazing brunch options
Dante Next Door is right next to the fine dining establishment of Dante and offers a more relaxed dining experience. Still, it is as delicious, innovative, and creative as Dante.
At this eatery, you’ll find everything you wished for, for brunch. From bloody Mary’s to French press coffee that comes to the table in the press, and even crab cake eggs Benedict and duck fat potatoes.
However, just like Dante, this isn’t your typical eggs and bacon brunch eatery. Dante Next Door is loved by its regulars for its unique brunch specials that’ll energize you for the whole day or just make you incredibly full.
Edison’s Pub
- Address: 2373 Professor Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 522 0006
- Known For: one of the largest selections of bottled beer in the city
Edison’s Pub is a favorite local hotspot in the city that has an old-world atmosphere honoring the famed inventor Thomas Edison. Its cozy patio makes you feel like you just visited an old friend, and you simply wait for a dynamite pizza made just for you.
Edison’s may not get the national press, but it’s an unwavering institution and a Cleveland classic. It is the best spot to try and explore different beers from across the globe. Specifically, they feature a hundred of the best beers in the world.
Additionally, the courtyard at this Tremont favorite features outdoor darts and plenty of wooden tables and is surrounded by beautiful houses, grapevines, and a flowing water fountain.
Cloak & Dagger
- Address: 2399 W 11th St, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Known For: creative cocktails and plant-based plates
Cloak & Dagger brings a moody cocktail-bar atmosphere to Tremont while still giving food lovers plenty to enjoy. It is especially useful for mixed groups because the kitchen focuses on plant-based dishes without making the experience feel limited or overly casual.
The drink menu is just as much of the draw, with theatrical presentations, seasonal ideas, and a setting that feels different from the neighborhood’s more traditional taverns. Menus can rotate, but the combination of cocktails and thoughtful vegan food makes it one of Tremont’s most distinctive stops.
Literary Tavern
- Address: 1031 Literary Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 862 1916
- Known For: cozy tavern atmosphere and elevated comfort food
Literary Tavern fits naturally into Tremont’s mix of historic charm and neighborhood dining. The space is intimate and polished without losing the comfortable feeling of a local tavern, making it a strong choice for dinner, drinks, or a slower evening in the neighborhood.
The menu leans into approachable dishes with a more refined touch, and the cocktail program gives the restaurant a little more destination appeal. It is a good option when you want something more relaxed than fine dining but still more memorable than a simple bar meal.
The South Side
- Address: 2207 W 11th St, Cleveland, OH 44113
- Phone: +1 216 937 2288
- Known For: patio dining, brunch, and a lively neighborhood feel
The South Side is another dependable Tremont favorite, especially when you want a lively setting that works for brunch, dinner, or drinks. Its patio is one of the big draws, and the restaurant has long been the kind of place where groups can settle in without overthinking the plan.
The menu covers familiar American favorites, salads, sandwiches, and heartier plates, so it is easy to find something for everyone at the table. It is a comfortable pick for visitors who want a neighborhood restaurant with plenty of energy.
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Final Thoughts
Whether you’re coming for a long weekend or staying for a while, a visit to Cleveland means searching out and feasting at the best Tremont restaurants.
Tremont offers a variety of foods to fit your tastes and desires. From staple restaurants to unique local eateries of traditional dishes and alternative or international cuisines. It is the perfect city for an amazing food experience.