Welcome to my Neighborhood Guide for one of the more popular Cleveland, Ohio neighborhoods, Ohio City. As a resident, I may be biased, but I assure you this neighborhood should be on your to-visit list.
Overview
Just west of Downtown Cleveland, Ohio sits the historic neighborhood of Ohio City. Once a fierce competitor of the city of Cleveland, it’s now one of Cleveland’s most interesting and fun historic neighborhoods. Minutes away from Downtown, The Flats, Tremont, and the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood you’ll never run out of things to do.
My Favorite Eats & Treats in Ohio City
One of the primary focuses of my Ohio City Neighborhood Guide is to point out all the amazing places to grab a bite to eat. There’s a little something for everyone. Whether you want pizza, Mexican, French, Thai, Southern, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, German, or just good ole’ American bar food. There’s more! If you have a sweet tooth, Ohio City has you covered with Ice Cream shops and bakeries galore. There are a lot of options out there, here are some of my favorites.
Best spots for brunch & Breakfast
Le Petit Triangle for delicious French Toast, Crepes, and some of the most delicious breakfast potatoes.
Touch Supper Club has supper in their name but their Fruity Pebble Pancakes are worth going for during brunch.
The Plum Cafe & Kitchen has a simple but yummy breakfast with all the basics and some of the best toast I ever had.
Cleveland Bagel Company has some of the best bagel sandwiches out there. I highly recommend the egg & cheese on a sea salt bagel, perfection. (Good luck finding a parking space!)
Quick and delicious Bites & Lunch
Ohio City Burrito is perfect when you want some quick and delicious tacos or bowls.
Citizen Pie for yummy old world style, Neopolitan inspired pizza’s cooked in some crazy high heat quickly while you wait. Love the pepperoni and the Cacio e Pepe.
The West Side Market Grab a pepperoni bagel or other treat at the market and enjoy some people watching on the upper level.
Souper Market for a quick bowl of tasty soup, gooey grilled cheese, or a salad (or all three, I won’t judge).
Jukebox music-themed bar and trivia venue with tasty bites
Dinnertime Favorites
Momocho for the best guacamole and yummy chicken tinga taquitos.
Banana Blossom for some yummy Pad See Ew and Chicken Satay.
Heck’s Cafe for New Orleans courtyard vibes and really good burgers.
Saucy Brewworks for Apizza with the white sauce and mozzarella cheese, salad, and Saucy bread.
Ice Cream & Sweets
Mason’s Creamery when you want ice cream with unique and fun flavors (and a really cool Hypercolor spoon) FYI during the winter months they switch over to a ramen shop!
Campbell’s Sweets when you want tasty popcorn, cookies, and cupcakes.
A Cookie & A Cupcake is a newcomer to Ohio City from our next-door neighborhood. They’ve got some tasty cupcakes, cookies, and other sweets and make really prettily decorated cakes.
Larder Deli & Bakery is a grocery that also sells food and bakery goods. My favorite is their black & white cookie.
Bigmouth Donut Company
Drinks & Breweries
I’m not a coffee or beer drinker, but I would be remiss to not mention the huge amount of breweries and coffee shops in town.
Great Lakes Brewery for a locally brewed beer and German-inspired fare
Passport Cafe located inside the Cleveland Hostel
Rising Star Coffee my husband’s favorite spot to get beans to grind
Platform Beer local brewery and taproom
duck-rabbit coffee ethically sourced beans
Bookhouse Brewing the cutest and only book-themed bar and brewery in town
Best Places to Shop in Ohio City
Boutiques with unique and local finds, various antique curated vintage shops, and the cutest party supply shop you’ll ever find. Ohio Cities shopping scene continues to grow and add new and exciting merchants all the time.
Food & Grocery
The Grocery prepared meals and basic grocery items, fruits and veggies
The West Side Market 100+-year-old marketplace with many vendors selling food, flowers, and other goods.
Ohio City Provisions an all local butcher and grocer
Hansa Import Haus has a selection of goods imported from Germany, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.
Homewares & Local Goods
Cleveland Candle Company where you can create your own candle or buy their candle, bath, and body goods.
Salty Not Sweet for a super fun, sassy, and unique goods, many of them from local artists.
Oh, Pink! Party Shop has the cutest party supplies and balloons in town.
Helm Collective has curated vintage goods that are aesthetic.
All Things for You two floors of the coolest vintage goods, a little something for everyone
Things to Do
Visit a board game cafe, stroll along the river’s edge, have fun on the shores of the greatest lake, play shuffleboard. There’s an endless amount of fun things to do in the neighborhood, here are some of my favorites.
-Play an old-school game of shuffleboard at Forest City Shuffleboard.
-Visit Lake Erie at Wendy Park, 22 acres of green space on the shore with volleyball, kayaking, and home to a recorded 260 species of birds.
-Take a glass blowing class at Glass Bubble Project.
Ohio City Events
Station Hope usually hosted in early summer, this event is a jubilant community celebration focused on Cleveland’s social justice history and explores our contemporary struggles. It’s hosted at a historic church that was the last stop in the underground railroad in Cleveland – code-named Station Hope.
City Stages is one of my favorite events that runs on Wednesdays during the summer months. Each week is a new, international artist playing a free show.
Ohio City Street Festival in late September featuring local artists, food vendors, musicians, and fun for everyone
Don’t Miss These Photo-Ops!
My Ohio City Neighborhood Guide wouldn’t be complete without telling you all about the best photo-ops! While there are so many I could list, I will narrow it down to some of the must-see stops.
Downtown Skyline Views
Superior Viaduct Views: Once a bridge for streetcars, now a residential area with public access. Parking is primarily for residents so you may need to walk a bit to get here.
Top of Franklin Blvd. Hill: Great views of the downtown skyline. Parking on Franklin is available, but be careful as visibility is hard in this curvy street.
Iconic and Artsy Views
Guardians of Traffic: These statues are basically legendary at this point. They guard the entrance and exit to Ohio City’s south end from the Hope Memorial Bridge. Don’t leave the neighborhood without getting a shot of these iconic statues.
Murals and Street Art: Check out my post on the most Instagrammable murals in Ohio City to get you started. The whole neighborhood is full of amazing murals at every corner and empty brick walls.
Views Full of History
St. John’s Episcopal Church: Part of the Underground Railroad’s history
The West Side Market interior: Over 100 years old with incredible details throughout
Nature & Architecture
The Green Wall in the Hingetown part of Ohio City. Every year it looks different but is just as cool.
Unique homes and Architecture: Everywhere you look in Ohio City there are really unique and interesting details from the homes to the buildings. You’ll never run out of things to photograph on your walks through the neighborhood.
There’s so much more
Writing neighborhood guides are quite challenging. If you write about everything, you’re basically trying to replace Google. The above are just a selection of some of my favorite things about this popular, historic Cleveland, Ohio neighborhood. There is so much more to discover! I hope this guide helps kickoff your Ohio City exploration, enjoy!
