Ron’s Roost

Been going here for over 20 years. Great food especially if you love German food. Chicken is amazing. Customer service is hit or miss though. Servers and front reservations tend to be rude and unhappy but the food is worth it.

A gem of the west side of Cincinnati. I love their Friday dinner buffets, and their fried chicken is the best in the city. I also love their hot slaw.

I love this place. I’ve never had a bad experience here. Best German Sauerbraten & hot slaw ever. If you haven’t been here yet, do yourself a favor and check it out.

I’ve written this review as so-​so there’s a lot of improvement in the customer service aspect of this restaurant that needs to be worked out. The fried chicken is just a step above KFC or Lee’s. It’s crispy. Very crispy. I decided to go there with my girlfriend’s family, and to be completely honest I’m not sure what the hype is about. The fried chicken is good, but it is lacking something regarding the flavor.
The cole slaw was not something I enjoyed personally; out of four people trying it, only one enjoyed it. It was extremely watery, it tasted bland, reminded me of soup as opposed to a slaw. It was the German Hot Bacon Slaw. I wanted to like it, I kept trying it and trying it — it just didn’t make the cut.
Mind my review, this place is an icon on the Westside of Cincinnati. Just about everyone I know has eaten here at least once in their lifetime, I’ve had a family member work here when they were a teenager a zillion years ago and loved the job. I just think that there is a lot lacking regarding the customer service at this place. It’s almost as if this place has training on how to be rude to customers. They don’t make one feel comfortable, I feel like I’m bothering them them by stopping by to eat. For example one occurrence in waiting to pay and someone goes, «You need to wait. I’ll get to you whenever I can.» Mind you, I didn’t complain about waiting, I stood there very patiently for over five minutes. That just made me feel uncomfortable.
There’s more expensive places in Cincinnati to get better fried chicken with better service, but go ahead and try this place is you’re looking to try something new. Not saying it’s great, surly not saying it’s awful either. Just needs to work on small things.

I’ve been here a few times and have never had a bad meal. I took my family here when they were in town as well and they all loved what they got as well! Its a rarity these days that you encounter a restaurant like this, which specializes in fried chicken, but they definitely know their stuff! I have had a few issues with my food taking far longer to come out than it really should have, based on presentation/​how complex the meal is and that’s my reason for a 4 star review instead of 5. Usually I have ended up there on buffet nights though, so that usually solves all issues with waiting on stuff. Their food is really reasonably priced, and their wait staff is delightful and friendly.
There are tons of tv’s everywhere, so if you want to be able to watch a game, this is kind of like a fancier sports restaurant. I don’t know that I’d go on a fri/​sat night, simply because of the size of the crowds there and how insanely loud it can get, but that’s just my personal preference. Sometimes they have music there, which is a nice idea but in execution the space is too small to have a band w an amp, the tvs and all the folks in the restaurant. Their patio is a nice option when the weather is nice and it is covered in cooler weather, so its a nice way to skirt some of the noise issues.

I live on the east side of Cincinnati, but Ron’s Roost is definitely worth the drive all the way over to Cheviot if I am really craving some fried chicken.
The atmosphere: as other people said, don’t expect a cramped, hipster-​designed space like many OTR favorites; it definitely has a hometown diner feel. And honestly, it is kind of refreshing to have room at your table, unlike many of the OTR/​downtown Cinci joints I frequent. And it definitely has the excellent and friendly service you would expect from a hometown diner.
Now, the food: the fried chicken is the star. It has excellent crispy skin, without too much grease, and juicy meat inside.
I also really like their hot bacon slaw. This is seconded by my significant other, and thirded by my mom. Ron’s is actually one of my favorite places to grab dinner when my family is in town, because we all agree that their fried chicken is excellent. We also appreciate their open face roast beef.
The German potato salad is another good side, and their fries are good, with some kind of crispy exterior; however, I usually don’t order them because I find fries/​fried chicken to be a bit too much fried food at one time for me. I usually order the mashed potatoes when I get fried chicken (and hot bacon slaw, of course). The mashed potatoes aren’t anything special, they are plain, smooth mashed potatoes with gravy, but good.
The chicken dinners come with dinner rolls, and they usually bring slaw or salads out when they bring those to your table.
Their menu is extensive, and unfortunately, I haven’t tried much outside of the fried chicken, because it’s so good. Hopefully at some point I will get around to trying some other items, but we’ll see.
Ron’s also does a great job with carry-​out, and is reasonably priced. I will definitely be continuing to visit Ron’s Roost!

Fried chicken livers awesome. Ordered without gravy otherwise comes drowned in brown gravy that takes all the crunch away. Great dipped in their hot wing sauce. Disappointed mashed potatoes are chemical box tasting. Service excellent. Friendly.

The chicken is good. We must of had the worst server in cincinnati. Table after table who came after us ate and left while we were still waiting.

More west side of Cincinnati adventures. Always have heard about this place for years
Another lunch excursion!
The hot bacon slaw was just ok. My partner is from the south so I’ve had much better. Seems like they need to let it marinate for a bit
The potato salad was really good one of the best German potato salad I’ve ever had
& yeah. The chicken is cluckin good! We both really enjoyed it

Delicious homemade fried chicken, very fresh and crispy. I had the fried chicken and ribs platter and my friend had the fried chicken leg and breast meal. The mashed potatoes were just ok, but the green beans were very good. The chicken was outstanding! The ribs were very good and their BBQ sauce is homemade. It tasted very brown sugar/​maple-​y. Definitely delicious if you like sweet BBQ. They also have yummy homemade pies! Banana cream — yum-​O!
Don’t expect a high class joint, it’s like a family diner. Lots of choices, including German staples. Try it!

It is a long time staple of family dining that has a very strong following. Folks can be picky around here and if they don’t like something then they will not spend their money time and time again… so what does that say about Ron’s
They have been here a long time, are wildly popular and they have great food and good service at a decent price. It’s a win, no other way to say it.

They have a huge menu and I’ve tried several things that were all good but the Chicken livers here are awesome, never overcooked and the prime rib dip sand which is heavenly. great pies too! Love it and the nice waitresses!

I have eaten here many times and I have given it higher reviews. Sadly, almost everything seems to be frozen and or prepackaged. Bagged salad is not appropriate for the price they charge. The fried chicken is great. I think the mashed potatoes are boxed. All in all, fresh is best. We were there on Sunday the 20^th of July 2014. I took my parents there for the chicken. They were here from the Vegas area. Over all, they loved the slaw and the chicken.

Just not great. Service was fine, which is why i am giving thee stars.
Breakfast buffet was average, lunch fare was below par. Nothing stands out, though nothing was just terrible, either.
Won’t be returning.

Visiting from out of town and stumbled on Ron’s Roost while we were looking for someplace else and decided to check it out. We were glad we did. The menu said they were famous for their fried chicken and that’s what three of us chose. It was delicious and servings were very generous. The fourth person in our group had sauerkraut & metts and said it was delicious as well. Our waitress, Barbie, was very friendly and attentive. We will make it a point to go back next time we’re in town!

Just had lunch here today with my son. I have eaten there once before & had the wings. It was good then & good again today. I had the mushroom & Swiss Burger. It was good but for some reason the mushrooms weren’t the greatest so I ended up picking most off. I really liked the Fries the most out of my meal. Tasted kinda like Long John Silvers Fries, so good. That pie case looked mighty tasty too but I was too full for dessert. I love how they have a lottery machine in there. Got some scratch off’s & won $ 16. So that kinda made my day a little! This place has been a Westside favorite for years & I can see why :)

Your kid may scream at you to go to a place with a giant chicken on the roof. In this case you will find yourself at Ron’s Roost. The place was packed and I only saw three other people there under the age of 65. The food is SUPER bland. The burgers appear to be the frozen JT burgers. The bread, the fries, everything seemed like it was bought from the closest Krogers. My friends had the buffet and said it wasn’t good either. If I had friends over for a cookout I would feel guilty serving this, much less charging someone money to eat it. I assume there must be a massive senior citizen discount or the beer is really cheap as the bar seemed really busy.

I love their fried chicken. I have never had a bad experience there. All of the food was excellent for our whole group of 4 today.

i have only attempted to eat here once. my family stopped in one night and we were seated, got some drinks and bread, and were browsing the menu. all of a sudden our waitress told us that they wanted to leave and were closing for the night. it was eight o’clock!!! the sign said there hours were open until 10. i will never go here again after the awful experience we had there. they even made us pay for our drinks. ridiculous

Ron’s Roost is apparently a West Side staple. Not having spent a lot of time in the West Side, I’m going to have to take people’s words for it. But I can see why — it’s an expereince.
You can’t miss Ron’s Roost, it’s the building with the giant chicken on top of it. Find the giant chicken, you know you’re in the right spot (I’ve always been a little amused/​disturbed with restaurants that have pictures or statues of animals that I’m about to eat as their logo.)
Ron’s Roost is a family restaurant /​local sports bar. It kind of feels like a Cincinnati-​themed TGI Friday’s, with the jerseys and helmets of the local West Side highschool teams filling the walls instead of wacky old ads and memorabilia.
Our waitress was friendly and quick, which was nice. She sat us at our table and handed us menus, which were giant, plastic and had pictures of all the food (with bright colors and large fonts). It’s ok, we knew what we were getting: the fried chicken buffet.
Yes, Ron’s Roost is known for their fried chicken and they do a down-​home southern style buffet to celebrate it at about $ 10. And down-​home southern style it was: the chicken, the mashed potatoes, the bread, the corn, the slaw, the fritters, the delicious. All tasty.
Now, the chicken … not my favorite. It was good but I was expecting mind blowing amazingess and it wasn’t. A little too dry for me. Maybe because it was the buffet chicken that has been sitting out for a while. Next time I’ll get a real piece and see how it compares.
The buffet did come with how slaw, which was hot coleslaw in a delicious vinegar sauce with bacon on top (have we talked about how unhealthy this place can be.) And it was indeed tasty.
So all in all, it was a good but not great spot. If I was on the west side, I would come back … if only to stare that giant chicken on the roof in the eyes one last time.