Historic restaurant serves one of Dayton’s best steaks

What is the food like at the Florentine?

Age does not always come with experience, but in the case of the Florentine in Germantown, it comes with flavor.

>>BEST OF DAYTON 2018: 3 incredibly delicious steaks

The historic eatery at 21 W. Market St. traces its history back to 1816 and is Ohio’s second-oldest inn.

>> The Dayton area’s oldest restaurant has reopened, and we have the menu

Florentine has had 43 owners in its time.

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

The current ones, husband and wife team Clay Alsip and Beth Vanden Berg, reopened the place in February after it was on the market for more than a year.

>> RELATED (January 6): The historic 202-year-old Florentine restaurant sells — finally

With exposed red brick walls and wooden beams, the place teems with history and warmth, particular the cozy tables near the fireplace.

The oak, cheer and walnut staircase grabs the eye, as does the restaurant’s historic bar.

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Before being acquired for the restaurant in the 1970s, the bar was at an ice cream parlor in New Orleans.

The Florentine’s original bar is at The Grand Finale in Glendale near Cincinnati.

>> PHOTOS: Take a look inside the beautiful, historic Florentine Inn in Germantown

The restaurant’s history is impressive, but so is its food.

On the waitress’ recommendation, we started our meal with the Florentine’s creamy artichoke and spinach dip which offered plenty of both.

I went with the special, a dry aged New York Strip.

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

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Like the regular strip on the menu, mine came topped with a deliciously garlicky compound butter.

The meat itself was tender and came out at the right temperature, medium rare.

For my sides, I went with Brussels sprouts and a loaded baked potato stuffed with cheese, sour cream and a strip of crispy bacon.

Instead of a side salad, I chose the restaurant’s coleslaw made with mayo and chunks of cabbage.

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

The restaurant raves about its orange roughy, and one of my dinner companions ordered hers pan roasted.

The sauteed fish was moist and nicely seasoned. It is also available beer battered or deep fried.

Another highlight of our meal was the Florentine’s bone-in pork loin chops.

The two chops came out juicy and thick. They reminded me of the delicious pork chops sold at the now closed Barnsider on Main Street.

Nearly three years later, I still really miss that place.

>> RELATED: Food that made us love the Barnsider

Next time, I am going to try the meatloaf dinner. I had food envy after seeing a waitress walk an order of meatloaf to the table next to our table. Then my New York Strip came, and all was good in the world.

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

WANT TO GO?
Where: The Florentine Restaurant

Hours: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 4 p.m. to midnight Friday; 7 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Connect: 937-855-7759 | Facebook  Website

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

Credit: Amelia Robinson

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