Empress Chili

Those who are familiar with the history of Cincinnati Chili know that Empress Chili started it all. The history of every chili parlor in Cincinnati and Kentucky can be traced back to the original Empress Chili. This store, on Werk Rd is not a franchise. The owners lineage can be traced back to the Kiradjieff family, the first family of Cincinnati Chili. It is said the recipe has not changed. The chili you are tasting at this and any Empress Chili location is the same chili you would have had in downtown Cincinnati in the 1920’s. It’s delicious. The restaurant has that old chili parlor feel that a Cincinnati Chili Parlor should have. The service is great. The prices are low. Remember to cut your bites out of the three way. No twirling. Enjoy!

A Cincinnati original! Delicious and full of Cincinnati Chili flavor! And with 1.25 coney deals every Monday, how could you go wrong! Love the wall for the kids drawings! My daughter likes to see her artwork on display. Very family friendly!

I love Greek chili, I’ve eaten at every little chili parlor in Cincinnati, and Detroit, Empress Chili is my favorite. The big two in Cincinnati are obviously skyline and goldstar, but there are a lot of smaller chili parlors around, each unique, Empress is similar to skyline, with a thicker chili and a great hotdog. I love the restaurant, you can definitely tell it’s a small family operation, my only problem with Empress is its nearly an hour from my house.

I’ve heard the name Empress Chili around town. Supposedly it is the original Cincinnati style chili. All I can say is, that’s probably a bad thing. From what I tasted the other places took your idea and made it much, much better.
The whole experience was bland. The interior feels empty with no ambience what-​so-​ever, the staff is bored, and the food is forgettable. This is chili, right?! Where’s the flavor?!
One cool item. They have a order window to the bar next door, so that their boring chili can be served over there, too. I thought that was a pretty neat idea.
The window and the fact that there wasn’t an actual problem with the service makes it two stars.