Quán Hapa

I don’t typically enjoy Asian food, and this place did nothing to change my mind. The food was meh, and the service was worse. We barely saw our waitress. If I had to give any advice, skip this place if you’re feeling in the mood for Asian food and go to Kaze across the street.

In a neighborhood that is saturated with restaurants, I have to say that Quan Hapa has one of my favorite eatery spaces in OTR.
In warmer months, the restaurant opens its garage doors and welcomes the outside in – truly the space becomes one with the outdoors and many tables feel like outdoor seating. It is casual and features a great menu of Asian street food. During my first visit, I got to try their take on chicken wings, the Hapa Wings, tossed in nuoc mam and honey. They were fantastic. When I returned and got to try an entrée, I decided on the Steak Bibimbap Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake with steak, carrots, cucumber, kimchi, green onions, korean bbq, fried egg). I’d had the House Okonomiyaki (Japanese mayo, tonkatsu, bacon, green onion, fried egg) and really liked it, but wanted to try something different. Plus, I’m a sucker for heavy carbs and don’t really care for noodle dishes. It was good, but I liked the House version much more. And to my surprise, I really enjoyed the Miso Pork Mazemen dish, which my date had ordered (he’s a noodle guy).
Quan Hapa also serves alcohol and has specials during the week (Okonomiyaki Night on Mondays and Wing Night on Tuesdays), plus happy hour M — F from 4pm to 7pm, and brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 11am until 3pm. Prices are fair, service is great, and parking is nearby at either Mercer Garage, Washington Park Garage, or on the street.

Really great food. Has a variety of different beers that I’ve never seen before. The Japanese pancakes tasted amazing. Ramen noodles were good, but I’ve had better in Austin, TX. I really like the ambiance here as well. They constantly play animé on the TV which is pretty cool. Also, our server was really helpful and nice! Definitely recommend going here! ALSO, no wait time unlike most OTR places.

Paul and I visited Quan Hapa on a Wednesday afternoon. When we arrived around 4:45 P.M., we were the only patrons, which means we got a good seat. I like to watch people, and the semi-​outdoorish seating at Quan Hapa makes that easy.
Paul had the short ribs and noodles, and I ordered the bibimbap pancake. Paul’s dish was very good; mine was okay. The egg on mine was burned, which was rather unappetizing, but the pancake was tasty. The kimchi was an especially nice touch.
Our server, who also doubled as the bar tender, was friendly and appropriately attentive, but he had issues with his hands. He was constantly touching various parts of his body and then handling plates and glasses. When another patron arrived, he was literally scratching his crotch while he was taking her order. That was the end of my meal.

This place is a great hangout spot. Very low key with some interesting asian street food choices. I would highly recommend their House Wings and the Hapa Ramen. Their Selection of craft beer is also excellent.

The place is kinda drab. Service seemed confused as to what was going on. There was also no indication if we sat ourselves or if someone came and sat us. And the name of the place is not displayed anywhere outside so it might be hard to find. Despite all this the food was good.

Had the Miso Ramen. Fun quick eat. The broth was very good. Just added a touch of Sirracha. Lively noise as your street level with open sliding doors. Tried the spicy garlic sauce — too intense from me — but looked good. Need to work on ramen wrapping skillz.

Oh cry, ye Fates!!! Cease, ye cruel Furies!!! Why was the Short Rib Okonomyaki removed from my life? This perfect dream, the tasty heaven of flavor was my light at the end of a bad week and the go-​to craving.
Still, now I console myself with the steak okonomyaki which is pretty good too. My co-​workers go crazy when I order some in (53T is a godsend). The sandwiches (Banh Mi) are also quite tasty. I love what these artists can do with cauliflower and I am in love with their short rib grilled cheese.
Their cocktails are also quite fun. I really love this place, but still working through the heartbreak of losing the Short Rib Okonomyaki.

I’ve been wanting to try this place to try real ramen for the first time for weeks, and finally got around to it!
Wasn’t impressed with the ramen at all, though I don’t have anything to judge it on or compare it to, as it was my first time having non– Top ramen. I got the soy broth vegetarian one and it was just bland and okay. Nothing special to me.
The spicy papaya salad that we started with was pretty good, just not something I would go out of my way to come back for.
Service was basic and fine.

This place is legit. I thought it was suppose to be a take on Vietnamese Fusion street food but it doesn’t matter. It is solid. The Ramen is incredible the DIY Salad Rolls were also really good. This was a great place to go for dinner if you wanted to eat a bit lighter.
The place itself is little frills and just about serving good quality comfort food. Great little spot.

Perfect lunch. I had the miso ramen and the soft boiled egg was The Best egg I’ve ever had in my life. I could happily eat that bowl of ramen every day for breakfast for the rest of my life. It’s a bowl of happiness and I’d love to start my day with it. The house made chili garlic sauce is not to be missed. Happy happy

«Hapa» is the word for a mixed race Asian or Pacific Islander, the perfect nomenclature considering Quan Hapa’s food is an iteration of the best dishes and spirits from Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Hawaii. Owners Duy and Bao Nguyen and David Lee established themselves with Findlay Market’s Vietnamese staple Phở Lang Thang, but at their new eatery with chef Matt Cranert, you won’t find banh mi sandwiches or phở. This OTR Asian gastropub melds the experience of pairing haute Asian cuisine with international beverages.
To make a long review end, this establishment provided me some of the best Ramen I have ever had and we all left very happy. I highly recommend this place if you are ever in Cincinnati.

It is nice to see a little more diversity in OTR and with Quan Hapa it is a great addition. If you want to expand the palette and get a taste of some Asian street food influences right in the heart of OTR, this place is worth checking out!
Now I had my reservations coming here because coming from a viet background what better food is there than moms’ home cooking. I finally decided to try it with a few friends and we weren’t disappointed. The moment you walk in, it’s a very laid back atmosphere, limited seating if you’re coming with a bigger party. They have a shared table seating style and bar seating where you can watch the chefs work their magic.
We ordered the House Okonomiyaki, Balut, and Hapa Ramen. They’re so few places in Cincinnati that serve up some exotic dishes like Balut we had to try it. It’s a Filipino street dish, a little boiled embryo in a shell YUM! Definitely an acquired taste. The Okonomiyaki was a nice portion and delight, crisp, filling, and flavorful. The ramen was not the best I’ve ever had but it was nice to see their spin on it.

The small space is juxtaposed with the vast free flowing air and distinctive flavors! I’d like to return during the summer nights as I believe it would be the ideal setting for good company while sharing some apps, mixers and ramen. The Happy Mary Bloody Mary is spicy excellence! The Miso Ramen is a plentiful bowl of scrumptious shiitakes, caramelized carrots, vibrant bok and scallions with a creamy soft-​boiled egg.
To top off your visit: the message on the receipt is «Don’t be lazy, be crazy!» ;-D

All I have to say is well done! Their pork ramen bowl is out of this world good. The ramen noodles were cooked perfectly with the right amount of spice and salty flavoring. The pork was so tender it literally broke apart in my mouth. They also offer siracha to give it an extra kick in your face. Let’s not forget the wings you can order as an appetizer. These are the right down my alley in terms of spiciness. Last but not least, they offer some great craft beers on tap and have a great selection of bourbon. This place is truly a great staple to the OTR food scene!

Meh. We had a kind of disappointing experience here tonight. I feel like they have changed the menu a bit — they got rid of the seafood Japanese pancake which was a bummer but the house pancake was delicious. I almost wish we got two of those for our meal instead of as an appetizer to share. My fiancé had the hapa ramen which to me was a little bland and lacked flavor. I had the short rib noodles and was pretty disappointed as they were not what I expected. I had thought it was more of a noodle bowl with broth but it was a kind of compressed noodle on a plate with short rib, red cabbage, and 2 pork dumplings. To me, there was not a lot of flavor to the meal and the short rib was a little fatty. I don’t see myself or my fiancé returning here again anytime soon.

This trendy little Asian restaurant was a nice find while we were visiting Cincinnati for a short get away from Indy. We were searching for restaurants in OTR on Unilocal but many we were interested in were closed on Monday. It ended up being a blessing as it led us here. Service was great, food was yummy, atmosphere was trendy and cozy.

I came here during a quick layover in Cincinnati and was very pleased! I ordered the shrimp gumbo, and I need to find someplace that makes something like that near my home because it was amazing.
It is a rich smoky gravy with great flavor and texture served in a large bowl with rice. But this isn’t just any rice, it is almost a sticky rice but not quite and definitely cooked in some kind of stock because the rice itself is amazingly flavorful. The combination of the gumbo with the rice is a hot, smoky, intensely flavorful meal.

I have been there two times.
I would say the first time the steak Okonomiyaki, it was something amazing. The 2ed time I tried getting Okonomiyaki steak, but sadly they did not have the steak, although the burger is not bad. I have not been there in for sometimes just because I live in a other part of Cincinnati, but definitely going to soon, hoping the steak is back!
a great setting, small, but beautiful, and fun!

As new residents of the Queen City, DLW and I are still exploring the nooks and crannies where good food may be hiding. I am at least a little familiar with the town, since I went to college not far from here. Back then Over-​the-​Rhine was a slum, a depressing and dangerous place that no one wanted to be near. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that OTR is now hip and happening, with nightclubs and restaurants galore.
This place gets raves for its pan-​Asian menu. We love most things Asian, so a weekend trip was called for. The building is right on a corner in a newly upgraded neighborhood, although some suburban types may still find it scary. Parking is a bit of a hassle as well, since it is a downtown atmosphere with no lots you can park in legally for the nightlife. You will be towed if you try to sneak into the Kroger lot nearby, so don’t try. We took a metered spot a couple of blocks away, and considered ourselves fortunate.
The space is pretty minimal, with communal tables and sushi bar-​style counters holding 40 seats or so. Animé plays on the TV’s above the open kitchen, which is remarkably tiny for an operation like this. Although we sat at the bar, we had full service from a regular waiter, who was quite helpful and prompt.
Immediately we were drawn to the okonomiyaki, a savory pancake and a classic Japanese snack food which is not easy to come by in America. They had three variations on the menu, and apparently have specials occasionally. We had a classic version, which was delightfully crisp and not too heavy, just right as an appetizer for two. DLW had the house ramen, which was also not a huge portion, but was good quality and included fish cakes, her faves. I had shrimp gumbo, most unexpected on a menu like this, and the flavor profile was more Asian than Creole, but it was still very tasty. Warm sake came in a cute little steel carafe.
This place is doing something right, and people in town appreciate it.

A Good Option to Get Ramen in Cincinnati
Quan Hapa is a decent option for finding ramen in OTR. True, it won’t blast your pants off like ramen in larger cities will, but it hits the spot without being poor quality.
Our orders all were versions of their staple ramen. They had a good amount of noodles and protein, but weren’t the «everything and the kitchen sink» kind of ramen you would get other places. This has its good and bad. The good is that it tends to focus on a few flavors and do it well, but the bad is that it isn’t everything you could ask for and more.
They do have happy hour where some of their beers are cheaper as well.
Overall a good, but not crazy good place to eat in OTR. Make it your backup for when every other place has a 2 hour wait.

Oh my Quán! Great food, drinks and cool outdoor seating make this a great spot in the OTR area. I’ll give a special shout out to the pancake thing okonomiyaki (?) and to the bartenders that make some great cocktails and serve some great beers. The Sangria Saki is too good, one is not enough.
If you sit at the bar near the kitchen you will be face to face with some of the hardest working chefs in the smallest kitchen. It’s about the size of a food truck.
This is one of those places that might be really crowded on a weekend evening, so maybe swing by during the week for happy hour drinks and dinner.

Holy Quan Hapa! After seeing a few absolutely reveling reviews of this restaurant pop up on my Unilocal feed — I knew I had to try it! It also intrigued my boyfriend and I after reading their menu and seeing some extremely exotic /​specialty Japanese food. My boyfriend lived in Japan for about five months, and since coming home, has not been able to find a truly authentic Japanese restaurant but Quan Hapa delivered!
After making reservations earlier in the week, we arrived around 8PM on Friday. Their seating is primarily group seating — four long tables that are shared by smaller parties — but we luckily got a seat on the end. After our waiter walked through the menu, we ordered our drinks. I got their «Cincinnati River» house cocktail that was strong, but delicious, and my boyfriend got a Chu Hi. In Japan, a Chu Hi is type/​brand of beverage similar to America’s Four Loko. It sells in a can in gas stations and comes in a variety of flavors with a high alcohol content. Quan Hapa’s Chu Hi’s is actually a concoction of the bar, but still has the same flavor and tastes great!
For dinner, we ended up splitting the house okonomiyaki and the hapa ramen. The okonomiyaki was delicious — somehow the perfect blend of salty, savory, and sweetness. It reminded me of something you would find on a menu for breakfast, but was a great introduction for dinner and complemented the ramen. The ramen was absolutely perfect as well! Our bowl was filled with broth that was flavorful and succulent. If you have any passion or preference for ramen, get over here and try Quan Hapa! My recommendation would be to split as many of the appetizers as you prefer or desire with a group/​date, but then order your own ramen. Sharing that bowl full of joy was hard (we kept passing it back and forth to each other) and we each could not get enough.

As one of the few asian restaurants in town, I frequent Quan Hapa pretty often to get a little taste of home.
Everybody talks about the ramen here. My two cents — I think it’s the best ramen in Cincinnati, but it doesn’t really compare to the ones I’ve had in NY or CA. It’s not something I’d go out of the way for, but when I’m craving ramen, this is the place to get it. The broth doesn’t have the same depth of flavor that I crave, but everything else about it is great. Perfect noodles, and fantastic pork belly. It’s also a good portion for the price. I’ve had Kaze’s ramen before, and Quan Hapa definitely beats it!
I think one of their best dishes is actually on the brunch menu which is on Saturdays! The pork congee is absolutely fantastic! I loved the broth, and the pork sung and the little pieces of chicken in it. Reminds me of home for sure! It’s the ultimate comfort food on a cold day.
Also on the brunch menu is the Banh Xeo which is also great! It’s kind of like a DIY dish that involves wrapping things in lettuce. It gets a little messy but it’s worth it! It’s similar to the dinner DIY salad rolls which are also fantastic and fun.
Finally, WINGS! I went on Tuesday for wing night. Half price wings — $ 5 for a basket of wings is a great deal! The flavor of the house wings are amazing. Must try!