All of the winners will have their winning dishes (and more) available at Taste of Cincinnati, which takes place Saturday, May 24 through Monday, May 26. Best of Taste winners will be designated with a gold, silver or bronze ribbon on their respective restaurant’s menu.
Here are the 2025 Best of Taste winners:
Best restaurants
Appetizer and side dish
Gold — Fried Green Tomatoes — Hankering Southern KitchenSilver — Street Corn Hummus and Seasoned Pita Chips — KabobskeBronze — Korean Pork BBQ Empanada — Alfio’s Buon Cibo
Entree
Gold — Braised Short Rib over Gnocchi — Alfio’s Buon CiboSilver — The LB Crab Cake Slider — Lobsta Bakes of MaineBronze — Smoked Carolina Street Tacos — Hankering Southern Kitchen
Dessert
Gold — Black Raspberry Chip Cheesecake — The CheesecakerySilver — Tiramisu Cookies and Cream Cannoli — Pompilio’s RestaurantBronze — Lemon Poppyseed Waffles — Taste of Belgium
Best Findlay Market start-ups
Appetizer and side dish
Gold — Peach Thyme Soda — Honey Child PopsSilver — Jerk Chicken Wings and Pineapple Jerk Sauce — Jay’s Nyam & JamBronze — Shrimp & Grits — Magnificent Morsels Catering
Entree
Gold — Jerk Chicken “Jamaican” Bowl — Jay’s Nyam & JamSilver — Chicken & Basil Handmade Wonton — Yee MamaBronze — Chicken Taquitos — Sabor Alaniz
Dessert
Gold — Judgy Jenn Ice Cream (baked brie base, ginger pecan praline, fig jam and salted honey swirl) — WalkerbarSilver — Mixed Baklava — Olive Tree CateringBronze — Gooey Butter Cake Gelato — Dojo Gelato
Best food trucks
Appetizer and side dish
Gold — Ono Hash — Dine-In HawaiianSilver — Mutha Clucka — Maw Maw’s Creole KitchenBronze — Deep Fried Feta — Twisted Greek
Entree
Gold — Hera’s Garden Gyro — Twisted GreekSilver — Pumba — Quite FranklyBronze — Classic Burger — Fifty West Brewing Company
Dessert
Gold — Salted Caramel Brownie Sundae — Sugarsnap! Sweet TreatsSilver — Peach Cobbler Blondie Sundae — Eliza Jane’s BakeshopBronze — Strawberry Crunch Sundae — Davis Cookie Collection
Best beverage
Winner — Ramblin’ Roast Coffee’s Lemon Vanilla Latte
For a full list of all Taste of Cincinnati 2025 vendors, visit https://tasteofcincinnati.com/vendors.
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