Review: Dilly Cafe

The Dilly Café, located in the heart of Mariemont, was on my mind on a recent Saturday. I had been there one time before, but that was about two years ago but remembered really enjoying it.  Dilly Cafe also has a wine shop connected next to it with a large variety of wines.  My husband and I went around 6:00 and sat in the bar area.  We decided on a bottle of wine that we ended up thinking was just okay. 

We were pretty hungry so we ordered the jerk scallops as an appetizer.  We were expecting these to have a bit more flavor, but they were perfectly cooked.  They were served on a polenta cake with roasted tomatoes.  These were pretty good overall. 

We asked the server what he suggested from the menu and he recommended the meatloaf and homestyle pork ribs; these both sounded delicious.  I normally love meatloaf, but I decided to try something different and go with pork ribs and my husband got the meatloaf.

These pork ribs were delicious!  They were served with mashed potatoes and green beans which were both very great as well.  They had a barbecue-mustard sauce on top that was unique and added a great spicy flavor to the ribs. I liked that there was plenty of sauce but not too much to overpower the entire dish.  The ribs were very tender and juicy. 

I tried the meatloaf and thought it was great as well.  It had a wild-mushroom demi-glace and was also served with mashed potatoes and a mix of vegetables.  The demi-glace had a nice sweetness that was perfect with the meatloaf.  These vegetables were a mix of red and yellow peppers and zucchini that were great.  My  husband liked this as well. 

We decided to stick around Dilly Café for a bit longer because a blue grass band started that was really good and fun to listen to.  We noticed that it got a lot busier in the restaurant and many people were waiting.  We looked over their beer menu as well.  It had many choices and there was a wide range of beers on tap. 

We really enjoyed Dilly Café.  Our server was attentive and gave lots of good suggestions and descriptions.  He was friendly and gave a couple laughs.  It is a perfect place to go for dinner on a weekend night, especially if there is a band.  Their entrees range from $9-24 and they also have a lot of sandwiches and salads.  Their menu is pretty diverse and what we had was delicious.  There is outdoor seating when it is warm. This would also be fun to go with a group of friends but you might need reservations for a weekend night!

~Kate

Food: 4

Service: 4

Overall Experience: 4