NOTE: I went for brunch, and don't claim to know anything about dinner offerings.
Pluses: Â Reasonable prices, quality ingredients prepared flawlessly, VERY attentive staff. Â Self-Serve coffee bar was clever with good offerings.
Minuses: No liquor license (more about that below), location deep into the west side is a haul for many, Bohemian feel of the building might not be for everyone (though I liked it).
If Mt Lookout Square and Northside had a love child, and it served brunch, this would be it. Â Both my friend's french toast and my goetta were cooked EXACTLY the right way, which is testimony to the skill levels in the kitchen. Â Indeed, this is a chef-driven restaurant rather than a business-driven business. Â Vitor's has recently given up its liquor license (no Bloody Mary with that brunch, pity) because, at the admission of an employee whom I will not name, "Westsiders are unwilling to pay 'extra' to be served alcohol at a modest markup, and order so little of it that the 10k worth of insurance and licensing costs was unprofitable." Â Instead, they have opted for corking fees for BYOB guests. Â If this restaurant were anywhere east of I-75, they'd certainly more than recoup their additional real estate expenses, but Vitor (the chef/owner's actual name) seems committed to his neighborhood. Â Don't worry--it's worth the trip, even if it means using a GPS to figure out how to navigate the journey. Â Also worth noting: Â They have a private dining room available for that group of 10 Saturday night dinner that's impossible to book in a restaurant without that amenity.
Disclaimer: I made a poor menu choice. Really poor. So I'm sure that has colored my review. I'll update after a few more trips.
To get it out of the way, I got the chef's special that morning, which was a fruit and cheese omelette. The waitress actually warned me against it (yes, really), but I didn't heed that warning. My mistake. Perhaps my palette is unrefined, but I just did not "get" it.
Luckily my wife had ordered the French Toast. She loved it, and I enjoyed my bites from it as well. Another highlight was the donut holes. They are a perfect appetizer with a delicious dipping sauce. A must get!
I was disappointed by the slow service. It seemed like we were always waiting for something. With such a small place, I expected more attentive service.
Another oddity is the parking lot. It's like a gravel no man's land back there. Pick out a spot and hope for the best.
I definitely want to give Vitor's another shot, but it's not high on my list at the moment.
I believe that the great kinds of foods takes you back to your best childhood days. When world was simple and beautiful. When a simple snack made by mom with banana and shortening seems like heaven. I was taken back to that heaven when i tasted the french toast at Vitor's. The french toast here is said to be the best of Cincinnati, and it is no hyperbole. It was toasty and crunchy on the outside, and soft and delicious on the inside. It had a pastry cream over it which was just the right amount of sweetness.
I always thought the french toast would be too sweet for my breakfast, so i had ordered a breakfast duo - a half order of french toast and an omelette, choosing ham,red onions,spinach, and broccoli. It was a very balanced meal, with the french toast being not too sweet really, and the omelette providing a savory complement.I had the french toast all by myself, much to the surprise of my wife who accompanied me in my adventure.She had a crepe of the day, which was also very tasty.
My next guests, this would be one place I would take you to.
I've heard great things about Vitor's, so I was very excited to go. However, I've only heard good things about the breakfast/brunch menu, so I'm sad to say my dinner experience was sub-par.
To start, the lighting in there is too bright for the ambiance they're aiming for. I would have liked some dimmed lighting for a more intimate restaurant, but every light seemed to be shining brightly. We ordered the 5 course meal (via Groupon) and overall, the food good but I was a bit surprised that there didn't seem to be a continuous theme or progession in flavors for the courses. Also, surprisingly, the dessert was the largest dish out of everything that was served, however, needless to say, each individual dish was pretty good. Â
I'm hoping to go back another time for the famous brunch that people have raved about, but in terms of dinner, it wasn't what I was expecting.
I'm really surprised I haven't reviewed Vitor's yet. Â One of my friends from college suggested we meet here for brunch and it was amazing! Â Parking is a little tricky (as it often is in the area) but the dining experience is well worth the parking hassle. Â
I would highly recommend ordering a chef's course as we did.  We have a bit of a picky group (I am not a fan of seafood, a friend is not a fan of pork, another friend is a vegetarian, etc) and we were very impressed with the courses selected for us.  Each dish is gorgeous and delicious  and totally worth the calories.  We had hot donuts (yum), a special that had chicken sass and spice (not sure what it was called), a creative take on eggs Benedict (stroganoff, seafood, etc) and the amazing French Toast.  The copious coffee also makes it a great place for brunch.  Service is excellent and the chef is very personable.  We plan on meeting here again and having a larger group event here as well.  This would be an awesome place to take out of town company as well.
Lunched here today. The building is so attractive - modest yet charming. Nothing Disneyfied (a la Findlay Market) or pretentious. Loved the low key, casual and comfortable interior. The host (possibly the proprietor?) was very outgoing and charismatic, nice attention to the customers around me, and to myself.
The food was so delicious that I had to eat very slowly, savoring it in small bites. Truly a slow food experience. I had the seafood risotto - crab and shrimp in a creamy risotto, laden with garlic. The rice was so creamy and delicate, perfectly cooked, and the sauce made me want to do the happy mouth dance. Even the bread that came with the meal was perfect for capturing every drop of remaining sauce - perfectly tender on the inside with a nicely crisp crust.
I will definitely have to go back and explore other items on the intriguingly varied menu.
Vitor's Bistro was a very pleasant surprise in an otherwise gloomy West side this morning, and honestly after having their food, I think if this place were downtown it would have a line around the corner to to get in every weekend.
To start off the building is very quaint. I love that. The character of the building is very warm and inviting. There is a Parisian theme all throughout the restaurant and even light jazz playing in the background. The tables are beautifully dressed, and the mood even for breakfast just made you feel relaxed, and like you were in a far off land.
The food, OH my wow, the food. We visited this place as a part of Yelp breakfast club and I actually would prefer not to tell them we were dining, much less that I was the community manager. But somehow it leaked. But from an honest standpoint, I think the food was incredible either way and I can't wait to try dinner.
I ordered a simple breakfast eggs, sausage, fruit, Â toast. I ordered my eggs over medium and they came out over easy, which I knew was going to happen. Although this was annoying, this is when you can tell a good restaurant from a bad one. The waiter acknowledged the mistake, and the chef was happy to bring out my eggs with a smile on his face. I just love that. If you have enough passion about your food and making the customer happy then that is the sign of a business that is going to go far. (PS when the eggs came back they were absolutely perfect and delicious!)
The waitstaff was incredible at handling our group, and I don't just shell out 5 star reviews but this place gets bumped up for service. The food was delicious, but ultimately service and friendliness  is what will keep me coming back.
A place on the west side that I will actually drive back too? Give yourself a gold star ;)
Breakfast Club gone fancy:
So we had a couple of suggestions from our Westsiders to check out Vitor's Bistro...seriously...we have to drive the WEST side? (o no, Cincinnati favoritism is starting to seep into my veins) BUT im so glad we did!!
Im not sure what was the best part, so I will start with the tastiest...Food. Vitor's is known for their french toast and man, rightfully so! I had the mocha french toast and it was crunchy toasty on the outside and super soft and delish on the inside, it came with a fruit cup that had fresh fruit that was exotic by fruit cup standards. My table mates ranged from omelets and other french toast offerings to goetta and eggs. You know when the group turns silent...the food is pretty good! Another perk, was a self serve coffee bar lined with different brews and fixings, no need to bother the waitress, great idea! O, who could forget mimosas and bloody mary's!
Speaking of the service...AMAZING! We showed up with a fairly large group, un announced (completely my fault) and they showered us with attention and any question or need was met. Â The chef, I believe Vitor himself, came out to see how we were doing...who does that for breakfast service?! No messy check situations and 13 happy bellies were filled.
I will definitely be back for dinner service and in the warmer months to sit on the patio! Check it out!
Came here a few weeks ago for brunch in the afternoon. I was walking in from the patio and had to flag a server down about where I should sit and they showed me to a table.
I was greeted by a server after about 7 minutes and he told me the specials and then another server came to take my order after 5 minutes.
I came here for the French Toast and thus I ordered it, it was very good, it seems every review mentions it.
It also seems like this restaurant loves Creme Brulee flavor as the coffee bar had creme brulee coffee, the french toast had a creme brulee cream and a few other things also had it.
I would like to come back for dinner and see how everything is.
I think this is a 5 for the food itself and 4 because of everything else. Vitor's is an adorable restaurant (unfortunately hidden on the west side), with a cute patio and cozy house-like interior. Â We had a groupon for the 5 course tasting meal, which was incredibly delicious. Everything tasted great. But in real life, the price would be pretty cost-prohibitive, even for a splurge I'n not sure we could justify it. The regular menu items though, look pretty manageable for a VERY fancy night out. It was definitely a slower process, especially upon arrival when it took a long time to get seated (the hostess said hi, checked us in, and disappeared for quite some time while we were waiting for the rest of the group). Then apparently the waitress that was supposed to be serving our table was a no-show, so a bit of a wait for that to be sorted out, too. The waiter who covered us was great, though, and once we got rolling I thought timing and everything was fine. The french toast is in fact, terrific, as everyone else has already mentioned.
Review Source:Vitor's is one of my FAVORITE places to dine. Not only is the food delicious but the service is excellent as well. I drive all the way from Hamilton just for Chef Vitors French Toast. It is that good and unforgettable as it is called. As a foodie I love unique treats and this is a satisfying fix for me. Lucas, one of the servers, probably pays more attention to me than most of my past boyfriends lol! He knows what my sister and I like and all the details without even pulling out a menu. Because he knows our tastes he always suggests perfect things to try. We finally moved off of the breakfast menu and onto the dinner menu last week after a couple visits. It took us a while not because we didn't think dinner would be good but because we didn't want to miss out on the french toast by getting dinner! Well....they have DESSERT french toast--just as good! So now we are on to the whole menu. I had the Citron Salmon  my sister had the Twisted Chicken Oscar. I don't even like asparagus and I ate them from here. Chef often comes out and mingles with the guests and entertains. He's really laid back and has a good sense of humor. Vitors has all the class and style of a top fine dining experience but all of the coziness and great people that you would hope for at your favorite local stop.
Review Source:I can't say enough good things about Vitors! My first experience was a few weeks ago. When we arrived, the restaurant had just closed. Once chef noticed we were outside, he COMPLETELY OPENED BACK UP! He didn't treat us any differently and even came out and talked with us. I've been back THREE times in one week. Food is delectable and the service is great!
Review Source:You'd easily pass Vitor's right by if you weren't looking for it, but it's in this great old building with really pretty outdoor seating. However, we did sit inside and the place just has a really great vibe, ya know? Not to mention a coffee bar!
  Me and the fam were there for breakfast on a Wednesday morning so it was slow and we were seated right away. My husband had the breakfast eggrolls (yeah, that's right, they have breakfast appetizers!!) and the mocha french toast and I had the 3 course breakfast which I shared with my 4 year old - which by the way fed us both (not that she eats much) and I had breakfast for the next day.
  The french toast, as everyone says, is ridiculous. It's so good. My husband loved it, though he wasn't all that into the sauce that comes with it. I tried it though, and thought he was nuts, it was basically awesome. Anyhow, the 3 course breakfast is a really fun idea. The chef choses what your 3 courses are going to be so you're going in blind (the server just asked my spice level and if I had any food allergies.)
  For an appetizer, I was served the seafood breakfast eggrolls. These were really good, though they were pretty greasy. Next I was served the french apple crepes. These come with a caramel-y sauce and the famous creme brulee cream. These were VERY good, but I will say that I have kind of a low tolerance for sugar and the combo of both sauces was pretty sweet for me. I probably wouldn't have ordered it on my own though, so I was glad to have tried it.
  Attention all of you manly (or womanly :-)  meat eaters out there!!! The last course I received was the spicy italian omelet. I am not usually someone who orders meaty breakfasts and I definitely would not have ordered this on my own either, but it would have been a tragedy! I told the waitress "mild" for my spice level since I was sharing with my daughter so I don't know if the omelet gets spicier than the one they gave me, but it had a nice amount either way. I honestly don't know what exactly was in it, as I didn't notice it on the menu before ordering, but it was some kind of spicy ham, the eggs themselves were seasoned and spicy and some kind of delicious cheese was in there.
  They had so many amazing-sounding items on the menu, I can't wait to go back to try more! If you're into schmancy breakfasts (as I clearly am) then this place is definitely not to be missed. BTW - they had a lot more on their menu when we got there than they had on their website.
We hosted 20 people here with reservations ahead of time, and high expectations. Our expectations were met and more so. Vitor was gracious, his server Jason was excellent and so were the rest of the team. Â The food was served hot, well prepared and elegant. The French Toast was a hit with all the French visitors, and of course the locals. Even the east-siders were impressed.
Review Source:I believe in rating on food first then the service. Â We went with a group of 8 for brunch this Sunday. Â Reservation for 12 pm. Â When we arrived we were seated in a back room with a couple of other groups. Â Coffee is self service. Â We got two orders of the fresh donuts which were good not great. Â Then we waited, and waited, and waited. Â Then we ordered. Â This was followed by waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Â Over an hour goes by and no food. Â Lots of coffee but no food. Â As one of my friends stated "If you ever want to know how long you can wait for breakfast this would be a great place". Â Another quote was "This would be a great place if you didn't have anywhere to be and or anything to do" The last quote I will share was "This is a great deal because you can divide the bill by the number of hours you wait and get the hourly cost of eating" Â Why the four stars? Â I think the french toast was delicious. Â I am not sure it is really french toast. Â There was none of the bad things you can think of about french toast and I may have been in starvation mode but it was yummy. Â In fairness we were there with 8 people which often makes getting a good meal much harder. Â I would recommend going but only if you don't have anywhere that you have to be and have a good attitude because you are certainly in for a wait. Â Good food is sometimes worth waiting for. Â Will I go here every week? month? NO, but I would go back.
Review Source:We have been to Vitor's twice (once was enough, but it's close to home and we thought we'd give brunch a try). My main issue with Vitor's is the ambiance. Â Specifically, Vitor's lack identity. Â It's a fine dining restaurant. Â It's a brunch mecca. Â It's a sushi bar? Â Actually, it's just confusing. Â The staff adds the the ambiance problem. Â While the staff is quite nice, they are a bit unprofessional. Â On our first visit, the waiter reeked of cigarette smoke and on our second visit we overheard the waitress discussing some of the restaurants financial issues (it was quite awkward). Â Also, the chef came out during our first visit and told a large group to give Vitor's good ratings on UrbanSpoon and Yelp - this doesn't seem like something that a chef at a fine dining restaurant should be doing. Â As for the food, my husband had the lamb during our first visit. Â There was barely any meat on the bones and it was over cooked. Â I tried the fish - the portion size was perfect, but it was incredibly boring - nothing offensive, but nothing even remotely memorable. Â Despite our general dislike of Vitor's food, we decided to give it a try for brunch. Â We tried the "famous" French Toast and one of the omelet specials. Â The French Toast was okay - not worth ranting and raving about, but not terrible. Â My hubby's omelet was pretty meh. Â Overall, the food is okay, but it is overpriced given the quality of the food and the ambiance is really pretty bad.
Review Source:Vitor's is a quaint place. Â They shop for all the ingredients themselves, A+. Â At times some entrees will not be available because not enough ingredients remain for the dish. Â That's ok. Â I like the idea that my food is made with thought and without a large delivery truck backing up to the rear kitchen entrance.
Review Source:Very good. The homemade donuts were amazing. I had a special, the Salmon Benedict. It was AMAZING. I will say, however, that a couple items were over-salted and the sweet menu items were FAR too sweet. I almost went into sugar shock from their pumpkin crepes and their french toast. It was a bit much. They would be delectable if they were just a bit more balanced.
Review Source:Awesome breakfast menu. Anything French Toast is excellent, especially the mocha. Fresh fruit all around, generous portions and extremely friendly service (Vitor himself came out to greet my table). Black Forest ham omlette was my favorite, spinach wasn't dominating and a nice compliment to the grilled onions and spiced ham inside. Breakfast 8-2:30, extra parking in the back.
Review Source:I had both a good and bad experience with Vitor's.
The french toast was indeed amazing. It was moist yet crunchy and was not as sweet as I anticipated (which to me was a good thing). Overall it was a taste party in my mouth.
Now for the not so great part. My friend ordered an omelet and as he was halfway through it he pulled out a long black hair (which in no way could have belonged to anyone at the table). Granted, sometimes these things happen but it definitely put a damper on the experience. Â
We parked in the lot behind the restaurant and when we arrived and when we left the staff (chefs included) were all standing out back smoking. Overall it's just something that I prefer not to see on my way into a restaurant.
My husband and I both got the french toast and he added sausage and coffee and the total was around $23. Even though it was super tasty, given the other not so pleasant circumstances I'm not sure I would return.
My hubby and I happened to stop by here on their first night back open after the fire. Although I tired of hearing that as the excuss for everything wrong with our experience, I liked the place overall! Â The decor and sitting is very intimate (great for date night) but is still casual and relaxed.
The food: not a fan of the french onion soup which was very heavy on the Sherry, but my entree made me forgive and forget quickly!! Â Their Seafood Pasta was sooo fresh, creamy but not over dressed, and the pasta was prefectly cooked! Â It was soo good that I can't even remember what my hubby ordered and we usually share. Â Dessert-not as impressed with the french toast as I'd hoped to be, but it would be great for breakfast I think.
Overall-This may become "our place", since it's the only option of it's kind on the Westside. Â I'm excited to try it again once everything back to normal.
We went for brunch on Sunday because everyone wanted to try the french toast which is battered in frosted flakes with a creme brulee topping. It was delicious, but not what I got. I tasted theirs, and had a delicious omelot filled with berries. I've never had a fruit filled omelot before and was curious. I think their french toast was better, but being kind of a health nut I wouldn't make a meal of it. So I figure I had the best of both. A taste of yummy french toast but a meal of healthier fruit,
Besides the food- I loved the atmosphere. It reminded me a a little French cafe (not that I've been to France) and found it all very relaxing on a Sunday morning.
I have now had dinner twice at Vitor's Bistro and had a great experience both times. Â Because the restaurant is so small, service is sometimes a bit slow with one waiter. Â However, the food is so amazing and unique that it's well worth the wait.
This bistro reminds me of restaurants where I've eaten in Europe. Â Make sure that you plan a long time to sit and enjoy your dinner. Â
Of the things I've tried on the menu, I highly recommend the pear, filet and brie appetizer. Â It is amazing, and well worth the price. Â The tomato basil soup is also a real winner. Â The filet medallions and lamb are the two favorite entrees at this point, although the sea bass and seafood cake that was prepared for us as the chef's choice was definitely an honorable mention.
Dessert was of course one of our favorites, and we were able to try three on my last visit there. Â The french toast deserves every accolade it gets, but my personal favorite are the donuts. Â Honorable mention on dessert goes to the key lime mousse with spiced pecans. Â The kick of cayenne with the tang of key lime made for an interesting and surprisingly good combination.
A few words to the wise...this restaurant should work to make itself more handicap accessible. Â My father is disabled and in a wheelchair and it is tough getting in and out of the restaurant. Â If you decide to go with the chef's choice prix fixe menu, be sure to let them know if there is anything that you truly don't like. Â It will help to make the meal much more enjoyable. Â
Overall, I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a special meal. Â It is expensive, but the price is justified by the chef's ingenuity and innovative culinary designs.
I ate at Vitor's for the first time this weekend with some friends for breakfast. On the one hand, it's probably good that it's not in my usual path of travel, but on the other, it's not good that it's outside my usual path of travel. The food is amazing! And thus it would be detrimental to my waistline were it close to where I work or live.
We all split an order of the doughnuts. Soft, moist and the creme brulee sauce was decadent. I liked that they offered a flavored coffee. I'm not a regular coffee drinker, but something hazelnut or cinnamon vanilla flavored and I'm in. I ordered one of the day's specials, which was a steak and wild mushroom omelet. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so flavorful and the steak was incredibly tender. I did get a taste of their famous french toast. Delish!!
It took a little time for our orders to arrive, despite them not  being very busy. But the little bit of a wait was worth it. I definitely will be back!
This was my second trip to Vitor's Bistro and outside of the little than longer wait, I was still very impressed. Â I, again, ordered the "Best of Taste" French Toast and was very, very pleased. Â When you see it on the plate, you expect it to be very heavy and rich. Â While it is a rich dish, it is suprisingly light and airy. Â I won't go into the details of the French Toast because another reviewer has already described it. Â But, I will say that it is one of those dishes where you are taken back and don't want anyone talking to you while you eat it. Â It is definately worth the trip to the West Side, as well as the little than normal wait. Â If you get there earlier (by 10:00) on a Saturday morning, it isn't as crowded so the wait isn't bad.
I plan to go back for lunch or dinner out on the patio. Â The patio looks like somtehing out of a French Cafe. Â They have also recently turned one of the rooms into a lounge area with leather couches, small cocktail table, and candles - great embiance.
I think Chef Vitor is definately on to something!
The quality of the food for the price outweighed the long wait time. I'd go back. We got the apple french crepes and the salmon asparagus cream cheese omelette. It was delicious.
They need to just serve it faster and I'd give it 5 stars.
The patio was really pretty, I'll go back to sit out there for lunch sometime.
I went to Vitor's Bistro after trying to find Cincinnati's best breakfast spots. I'm talking spots so good that I can't believe I've lived this long without them ... and that's when I came across the French Toast.
This French Toast was voted one of the best meals in the city. Its two pieces of Texas toast drenched vanilla bean cocoa batter and rolled around in crunched up Frosted Flaked. It's then topped with Crème Brulee cream, bananas and whipped cream. It even comes with a cup of fruit.
Dear god, friends, it was delicious. Not nearly as sweet as that whole paragraph makes it sound out (I was expecting a sugar rush from every bite but it was not coming. The toast helps balance out a lot of the sweet.) This is how I knew it was amazing though - I always need syrup for my French Toast. No matter how much butter or cream or jam or whatever they want to put on it, my meal is not complete without syrup ...
Here, I needed no syrup. It was perfect just as it was. Mmm...
I was really impressed with the food here. I also got the breakfast eggrolls as a starter to share with the table, and those were, as they said on the menu, "unlike anything I'd ever tried." They were all the breakfast foods - eggs, sausage, peppers, etc - served in a fried won-ton wrap with breakfast aioli as a side. Amazing! Mmm again...
There was also fresh squeezed orange juice (win) and a serve-yourself coffee bar (double win!)
This place is tucked away on the west side and you'd really never know it was there if you weren't looking for it. They have a sign outside but it's small and the restaurant is located next to an abandoned and decrepit red building. Still, it's a lovely eatery, decorated in a cool casual kind of way that I really enjoyed. Plus, free parking in the back. Nice indeed.
Now, here's where they dipped - the service. The food was amazing, but everything else was ... hmmm. It started when we were put at an awkwardly long table that was shoved up against the window with a giant pipe attached to it. I asked to move it away from the wall, as I was feeling a bit claustrophobic and they did ... only it turned out that it was that close to the window, because the legs were off and the table massively wobbled (a thing we found out when I shifted a bit and almost had a glass of water fall into my lap.) When I commented on it, the waiter tried to push the table back again the wall, bringing up the claustrophobic bit again! Gah. I asked if we could be moved to a new table and we were.
And then the meals ... this is not a quickly served place. When we sat down, we watched as a family angrily stormed out because it had been an hour and they had nothing to eat. Ours didn't take nearly that long, but it did take a while. Luckily, it was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I had nowhere to be. I was enjoying the company I was with and the food when it came was delicious.
The waiter was very nice though and checked on us frequently. I'm still giving this spot four stars. Good parking, amazing food, a hidden gem of a location - just know what you're getting into when you sit down.
This place is a must. They have the best French toast that I've tasted. Their "Unforgettable French Toast" is 2 fat slices of bread soaked in a Frosted Flakes filled batter flavored with vanilla and chocolate. Then they top that with a creme brule pastry shell, bananas and whip cream. Whoa! Seriously, you gotta try this.
Review Source:went here for a late breakfast.There was a nice ambiance to the place.Was worried that it would be all fancy and no substance to the place. The food was very good help yourself coffee. I had the award winning french toast b/c im from out of town and wanted to try the best.
for 2 slices of toast it was pretty filling. it was covered in frosted flakes but it didnt taste wierd or overly sweet.
would go back again.
Wife and I finally stopped in last night. Â We had gone to the restaurant that was there previously and hadn't been back since the changeover. Â This is really something not to be missed. Â I grew up on this side of town, so I don't mean to offend, but I hope they can continue to operate in their current location. Â It's not an inexpensive place to eat in a section of Harrison Ave that is mostly family run diners where you can get a full meal for about 8 dollars. Â I also hope it's "Westwood" address does not stop those from other parts of town of making the trip. Â
I really hope all of this because the food is phenomenal. Â We had the lamb crepes for an appetizer, two fantastic salads, split the pork scallopini and shared the french toast dessert. Â Our only issue is trying to decide how quickly we can return. Â We're already planning a dinner club return with several others and hope the weather cooperates to try dining on the outdoor terrace. Â Just a terrific dinner and a hidden gem of the Cincinnati culinary scene.
I live in Chicago, but grew up in Cincinnati. Â I was home for Christmas and our family went to dinner at Vitor's. Â It was one of the best meals I've ever had.
I had the 5 course chef's tasting menu which was on special. Â Each course was delicious - fried ravioli in a tomato basil cream sauce, deconstructed caprese salad, sauteed brussels sprouts with bacon in a red wine reduction, beef medallions with a sherry mushroom sauce and finally their french toast. Â Other members of the family had the surf and turf - beef medallions, sauteed vegetables and 1/2 pound of king crab legs - and the halibut served over crab and lobster risotto on a bed of the brussels sprouts.
While the price point is higher than most restaurants in the area, it is an experience not to be missed. Â Also the BYOB component saves a lot of money. Â
The service was good and while other reviewers called it slow, I see it as being able to enjoy a good meal at a leisurely pace. Â
I HIGHLY recommend checking out Vitor's.
If you have lots of time on your hands and are able to overlook an unknowledgable and unprepared service staff, then you can enjoy some delicious food here. Otherwise, I'd steer clear.
We were looking forward to an enjoyable evening out to celebrate my wife's birthbay and were excited about a higher caliber restaurant on the West Side. In the end we were very disappointed. When we got there we learned that the chef had just shown up and our server didn't know what the specials were. 15 minutes later we got to hear the specials, which I don't think the server actually even understood (and I quote "tar tar, whatever that is"), and 30 minutes after that we finally got some bread. Another 15 minutes and our appetizers then salads arrived. They were all fine, but nothing amazing. We waited probably another 20 minutes after our salads and had to ask about our entree as we did have other plans for the evening. The entree finally arrived an hour an a half after we got to the restaurant. Unfortunately, it was the highlight of our experience and we had to rush through in order to not be late for our other plans. This was my wife's birthday and we weren't even able to hear about dessert options because we had to leave.
While I really want this type of restaurant to flourish on the West Side of Cincinnati, we will not be coming back. Vitor's you have a lot more work to do to get yourself to the level you think you're already at.
I have eaten here many times. I will say service can be slow at times but the food has always been great. And almost every time we go Chef comes out to great us personally. He always seems to willing to please. This is the place you go when you have some time like a nice lazy Sunday morning or make a evening out of it.
 Their dinner service is very unique. They do have some items for dinner on the menu. But for the most part they like to push for a chef's choice which is a 3, 4,5,6,7 Course meal. My wife and I went their for our anniversary. We paid for the 4 course meal but ended up getting 5 for the price of 4. Chef Vitor even ended up including some extra because he knew it was our anniversary. I will say if you do the 7 course meal plan on being there a couple of hours. But wow it was amazing. The dinner is a little on the pricey side. We spent around 100 bucks but it was worth every bit of it. My wife still talks about the lamb he made that night.
 My friends and I try and make a trip at least once a month for breakfast. I recommend ordering the donuts. The breakfast is a lot cheaper. Generally my wife and I can eat breakfast for around 20-25 dollars.
After a stellar review in the December 2005 issue of Cincinnati Magazine, which cited what was then called the Coffee Cap Cafe (they changed their name to Vitor's Bistro in the summer of 2006) with the best French toast in town, we had to check this place out. Unfortunately our only visit to date was rather disappointing. Although they have table service, to call it that would be a, ahem, disservice.
Beverages were pretty much serve yourself and our server was less than knowledgeable. We didn't hesitate, however, and went straight for the French toast. Â Billed as French toast dipped in vanilla bean batter and crme brulee and served with bananas and whipped cream, this was mostly whipped cream... and cold... and waaaaaaayyyyyy too sweet. A great dessert, perhaps, but for breakfast? And one of the best in Cincinnati? Not on your life. We'll keep searching for that.
Regarding dinner, we have not been, but it is, according to the sign out front, by reservation only. Strange? Yes. Worth it? We'll have to wait and see.
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