otto's

after probably a year of hearing about it from like half of my friends, i finally made it to otto's in covington for brunch. and let me tell you, it was definitely worth the wait! my mom and sister were in town for the weekend and i wanted to take them somewhere really good but not too expensive, and they have already been to slim's and honey. i figured with so many good reviews, i couldn't go wrong.

well otto's is awesome. it is so cute, it looks like your grandma's kitchen with all kinds of cute little salt and pepper shakers, cake plates, mismatched chairs, flowers, and lots of sun. the staff seems to be family (one waitress called the other "mom") and they are really friendly without being overbearing.

cakes: eeeeeeaattt meeeeeeeeee

i actually didn't try the coffee... i had already had coffee that morning and didn't want more. my sister had 2 cups though. i did have the iced tea and that was good. now the food... it was totally delicious. we all loved what we ordered (me: crab and potato hash benedict, laura: smoked salmon platter, mom: tomato pie).

the crab hash was unlike anything i have ever had and it was perfectly done. the egg was runny, the crab was crab (not krab), the seasoning was spicy and complex, the potatoes were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, and everything was hot (this is important!).

crab and potato hash... delicious AND pretty!

we all loved our own food so much that we actually did not even try each other's! we did all get the salad as our side and it was also very tasty. balsamic vinaigrette, kalamata olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, all with spring mix. sooo good.

but looking at those cakes over on the bar, we could not leave it at that, although we were full. no, we needed cake too. we tried the opera cream and the lemon raspberry. both were yummy. moist, delicious cake. creamy, not too sweet frosting. fresh fruit. and it was served with homemade whipped cream on the side, which for me was the highlight. oh my god. sooo good.

they are kidding, they loved the cake

we had thought that otto's had an outdoor garden and were hoping to sit out there, but we were seated inside and we never looked back. it is so cute and homey in there, and has so much sunlight coming in, that we completely forgot we ever wanted to sit outside. i am kind of an al fresco junkie in nice weather so that is saying a lot.

all of this was had for about $15 per person. i can't think of a better brunch experience in cincinnati (or i guess in the cincinnati area anyway). readers, do yourselves a favor and RUN to otto's asap!