Fat Cats

Nice dinner with my hubby. Window seat and nice drinks– try the «Out Cold» drink it is served warm! Stop by!

Fat Cats may be my new favorite brunch spot! And it’s on Saturday only, leaving room for ANOTHER brunch on Sunday!
The Bloody Mary’s were very spicy, the mimosas were made with real juice and they had a spiked coffee drink that also looked delicious!
The regular menu was diverse and everything looked delicious. I settled on the steak and eggs (my go-​to) and it was fantastic. We had the pork steam bums to start and they were definitely the best part of the meal!
They have weekly specials that also looked great — everything from salmon to savory stuff like waffles. I can’t wait to go back!

Great restaurant that changes the menu frequently. Been coming here for years and can’t say enough wonderful things. Well stocked bar and bartenders who know how to make a cocktail!
Happy hours are a blast with folks from the Tremont neighborhood.
Under appreciated at lunch times, great place to stop in and grab a bite.

Our top 5 brunch place in Cleveland… maybe top 2. Fresh/​organic offerings — they have their own garden. Musts: Brussels sprouts, ham/​cheese sandwich!

I called ahead and asked if they provided vegan options or could accommodate our dietary preferences. I was assured that the server would assist us and the chef would be willing to prepare vegan options. Our server, Hannah, was fantastic. She answered our questions and checked with the kitchen to make sure menu selections worked within our parameters. The food was excellent! We ordered several appetizers and an entrée and all were outstanding. We are so appreciative when restaurants are willing to accommodate us, and are thrilled when the food and service are so excellent. We can’t wait to return!

Don’t be stupid: this place is a win whatever you’re looking for. Chef-​owner Ricardo Sandoval is likely cooking, the menu shifts with the seasons, great specials, locally sourced foods, great bar, brunch to die for, great servers.
Can get loud with happiness. Handles babies well.
I’d tell you what’s good, but it all is. Cooks seafood perfectly so go for it. Tomato jam is amazing – sub it on the potato pancakes any time.
Seriously, stop reading, mark this as «helpful» or whatever, go here, thank me later.

I have no clue how I never knew this place existed. Stopped in for happy hour/​dinner with some girl friends after work and it was a great first experience. The food was delicious, the drinks were good and the service as good as well. The curb side appeal is a little off for me but maybe that is part of the look. One thing that I wasn’t a fan of was parking, I had to park on the street and walk in the rain.

Tremont is tucked away in Cleveland and Fat Cats is tucked away in the neighborhood. Fortunately for Jeannene and I, people are finding the restaurant easy enough as we would rue the day that it would close (yes, I was able to use «rue» in a sentence this week!).
The ambiance is a wonderful hip casual as Fat Cats operates out of a converted house with wood floors, warm colors and cool paintings. Then come the drinks, in addition to a decent wine list, the cocktails show some imagination. For instance their Oaxacan Cooler ($ 10) uses Mezcal, St, Germaine, honey syrup, lemon and grapefruit which gives a smokey twist on the usual tequilla cocktail.
We were there on Thursday and for an appetizer we got the Bahn Bao ($ 8). The two decent-​sized steamed buns each had a slice of pork belly (not just pulled or chipped pork) and then pickled daikon, hoison, and jalapeño cilantro to spice up the thick pork and gummy bun.
For the main course, either Jeannene or I always get their salmon dish and this time it was my turn. I am not a big salmon fan as it usually goes too much toward oily, but I love Fat Cats’ as it is always cooked perfectly with spices that counter the heaviness of the fish. In this case, we’re talking tandoori spice, chili oil and mint chutney to go with quinoa. The only downside is the portion size is a little skimpy but then again the price of $ 20 is going to be the least you’ll pay for salmon at a top-​notch restaurant. Jeannene went with the spring risotto ($ 16) (why she would do that since it had no meat I have no idea!) but she loved it.
For dessert we had a banana fosters bread pudding which was delicious — warm gooey bread with mushy warm bananas and a thick, and I mean thick, burnt caramel sauce.

I’ve had Fat Cats bookmarked for a while as I’ve really wanted to sample their eclectic menu. But it wasn’t until I saw their menu online and found that they offer Filipino lumpia that just lit a fire under me and finally decided to go there for lunch. As soon as we sat down, without even looking at the menu, I asked our server to bring us lumpia for starters. Our server then brought us some bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped olives for dipping. Nice touch! Browsing through the lunch menu while waiting for the food, decided to share the spaghetti squash with calamari and spicy marinara and the Korean barbecue ribs.
Ok, the lumpia arrived. There were 3 on a small plate with a couple of sauces. I think one was mustard-​based and the other was apricot-​based. I tend to be a purist and don’t really like sauces. I tasted them, but went without for much of the lumpia appetizer. The good part? They were crispy, but that’s about it. I could’ve sworn that when I saw the menu online, I saw pork lumpia. Traditionally, in Filipino cuisine, lumpia is filled with ground pork. The owner/​Chef, Ricardo Sandoval is Filipino… so there was no reason for me to think that this lumpia would be filled with any other protein but pork. Disappointedly, I discovered in my first bite that the mushy filling in this lumpia was tofu. It prompted me to grab the menu again to verify (again, I didn’t look at the menu when I asked for lumpia upon first sitting down). Sure enough, the menu says tofu. Definitely not grandma’s lumpia and far away from tradition. Such a bummer! But I’m not mad at Ricardo… Fat Cats is known for the eclectic menu, not a traditional menu.
Onto the entrees. The spaghetti squash and calamari was delicious. My only criticism with it was that I thought the spaghetti squash was overdone and mushy. I’m used to spaghetti squash being more firm. The ribs… they were pretty good — it just wasn’t what I expected, which was beef short ribs. The menu was a little vague with the description. When I hear Korean barbecue, I automatically think of kalbi — which I was really hoping for. The pork ribs that I got wasn’t bad — nicely flavor and well-​spiced. Aside from the spice, I failed to make the Korean connection. Loved the tiny fries that came with it.
Dessert… got the bananas foster bread pudding with ice cream. It was great! Deep flavors on the well-​done (burnt) and buttery caramel sauce flavored with rum was killer!
This visit was a-​ok, but there are so many more yummy-​looking items on their menu that I’d like to come back to try. This wasn’t a strong first impression, Fat Cats, but fear not… I’ll for sure be back to find something I like!

My friend and I were exploring the Tremont area and walking along and found Fat Cats. We decided to stop for lunch and rehydration since it was a very hot day and we had been walkng for some time. We were seated immediately and menus arrived. My friend ordered a salad and I got one of their sandwiches, both of which were very good. We sat for some time and there was no problem with this. The staff was most accommodating and the waitress attentive. I would recommend and return when I return to Cleveland.

Fat Cats is a really great restaurant in Tremont. The food has always been phenomenal and the staff is polite and knowledgeable. I highly recommend this place, the menu is great and the atmosphere is awesome!

It saddens to me to write this review. I have been raving about this place ever since I went here with friends last fall. It’s eclectic and there are usually plenty of vegetarian items on the menu. However, at this last visit, the food and service fell short. I will say that my husband enjoyed his bouillabaisse, and my butter lettuce salad was sweet with just the right amount of tangyiness from the raspberry vinaigrette.
But — our waitress did not know the menu well. I don’t expect you to know each and every single menu item. But I hate it when they say «I think it has this…» rather than going back to check. I ordered the summer risotto — what a mistake! It was runny, overcooked, and had more vegetable scraps than expected. So when I informed the waitress that it was not done well, she asked if I wanted to take it home…
Umm, no, I didn’t like it all! She got the point and then gave me back my menu. I then ordered the cheese plate, which was very tasty. Another waitress was assisting us at that point and she knew her stuff.
And lastly, why did we only get one slice of bread to enjoy the delicious olive tapenade and the table next to us had a whole basket?
This might sound nit-​picky, but I was really looking forward to my dinner at Fat Cats and was just disappointed. I didn’t even want to check out the dessert menu.
I will return once this experience fades from my mind, but next time, I need you to bring your A-​game Fat Cats!

This little «gem of Tremont» is a must try! Lovely atmosphere…
The menu is fantastic. Service was great. Went there for lunch on a weekday, and everything tasted fresh and homemade. They only use Locally Grown, Ohio Raised produce & meats. Very unique pairings of food & some nice selections of drinks!

I’ve been dreading writing this review… I just really wanted to like Fat Cats! And when I didn’t I was pretty bummed. I went here for a dinner date (so I didn’t take photos, wah!) and ended up getting to try the ginger beer, crispy brussel sprouts, pork belly bahn bao, and a pizza that was a special. The brussel sprouts were good actually, which is great considering I don’t like brussel sprouts really! The pork belly bahn bao was unmemorable. Even now looking back I don’t even have words to describe it because I just didn’t really feel anything when I ate it.
But now for the worst part… the pizza special was disgusting. It had all the ingredient descriptions to be great. What stood out and made us order it was that it had a fresh fish on it, trout if I remember correctly. Oh my god. It was the grossest, rotten, fishiest flavor ever. BLECH. I’m getting disgusted just thinking about it. Fortunately my dinner companion agreed and we did not finish the pizza. I can’t see myself returning to eat. How can a professional prepare and serve fish without noticing how barf-​worthy it is prior? It had to smell…

Came here in a large group for lunch. Feels like you’re dining in a friend’s house. The food was great, we had ordered several small plates out of which I was impressed by the ceviche. The «its about thyme» cocktail was pretty tasty. I didn’t eat an entrée here but everyone seemed pretty satisfied with their meals. The tacos and omelette get special mentions. I gave it a ‘3’ rating since no one was really blown away by the food. The experience was enjoyable overall.

I went with a couple friends and we got the Banh Mi, steak tacos, and fried chicken sandwich. First, the sweet potato fries are bomb. Probably one of the best I’ve had. My fried chicken sandwich was awesome. I tried the steak tacos, not my favorite tacos but pretty good. My friend said her Banh mi was very good. The service was good and prices were not too bad for the value. I’d come back again just for those fries.

This review is for the Happy Hour which is awesome. I’d give it a 4.5 if I could. During the week its 4 – 7 and throughout the whole restaurant, not just bar. We split a bunch of things including the pork bun, tempura shrimp, mixed greens, ribs and spicy fried chicken sandwich. All were very good, my favorite probably being the sandwich and pork bun.
Service great, drinks great, cute ambiance. Will definitely be back. If I loved closer could def see myself becoming a regular!
Next I wanna try their brunch!

Farm to table. Fresh every day. Ever changing imaginative menu items. fair prices for what you get. P.W. likes the place too. This place is good. It has everything.
One of those places where you have to have one of the chef’s special of the day.

Unfortunately, I waited too long to write this review, so some of the details have escaped me. Luckily, I took a few pictures while we were here for brunch!
The ambiance here was very laid back. Almost like you were going to a neighbor’s house for a casual afternoon lunch. We sat outside because their patio is dog friendly. I drank a strawberry lemonade (dee-​lish) and got a salad. I remember thinking ‘wow, everything tastes so fresh!’. I like when things taste like they were freshly picked.
I’ve also been here for happy hour and they have some pretty great deals. Next time I go here, I am going to write a review right away so I can provide more details than the bare bones that this review is!

What an interesting place!
I came here with the bf on his birthday, because we were intending on going for sushi nearby — but he was too hungry to wait over 1hr for a seat at their sushi bar. So we called the other hot spots nearby to see how long the waits were. They quoted us 30 mins here, so we ended up walking a couple of blocks… finding the location… and wondering if we made a mistake.
We walked in, they lost our reservation, they asked us to wait 30 mins at the bar… 30 mins became 40, which then became 50. During the wait, the bartender was super busy… she took foever to take our order, and my drink had just arrived when our table was set.
Given how the night was going, I had low expectations, but it is a restaurant after all… the most important factor = food. The food was delicious! We ordered the Brussel sprouts as appetizer… roasted with bacon and jalapenos. Yummy! He got the whole red snapper, crisped, with an amazing sauce that we dipped everything into. I probably ate a good quarter of it, and I don’t even like fish! I got the hanger steak which was a little bit of a let down. It came out cold. But it was at least cooked to a perfect medium rare (before letting it sit and get cold), and seasoned wonderfully. For dessert, the fallen chocolate cake was a delectable end to the meal.
They lost our reservation, the wait was much longer than promised, the service was super slow (but friendly) all night long. The room was freezing cold and they refused to adjust the thermostat. But I’ll overlook all that on this occasion given they gave me and my honey a great birthday meal.
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Explanation of my rating system —
5*: Epitome of something, the best I’ve had, would LOVE to go back
4*: Great food and happy to go back regularly, but not the best of the category
3*: Food is fine. I may spontaneously decide to go there based on convenience. But no need to go back either.
2*: If you insist, I guess I’ll come along. I’ll find something to eat. But I wouldn’t have picked it.
1*: No plans to come back. I’ll try to talk companions out of going.