Blinkers Tavern

Came in one day last week and was crazy impressed. I sat at the bar and ordered the filet with the mashed potatoes, and a house salad with ranch. To die for. All of it. My steak was a PERFECT medium rare, like I ordered and everything else, including the complimentary bread was magnificent. Food was great, yes. The service, outstanding. Im kicking myself for not remembering the bartenders name but she was beyond great. Great personality and totally personable all around. I bartend at the Marriott so I am constantly sending business their way. For good reason clearly. You’re missing out if you don’t stop in at this place.

I went to Blinkers Tavern today for dinner and was very impressed! We initially sat at the bar and ordered some drinks. The Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale was sooo yummy! We got two appetizers, the calamari and the shrimp bruschetta. Both were very flavorful and we ate every single bite. The bartender was friendly and very attentive. We then moved to a table where we ordered our main meal. Two of us ordered the New York Strip steak and it was cooked perfectly as ordered. One of us ordered the scallops and they were absolutely delicious and cooked to perfection. Lastly, but not least, one of my guests ordered the Black and Blue Ribeye. He liked it but there was a little too much blue cheese on it that took away from the steak. After scraping off some of the blue cheese he thought it was delicious. Overall we had a really positive experience! Our waitress was very informative about the menu and had awesome customer service. I will definitely plan a trip back!

Weekend Brunch Buffet… more like an overprice breakfast bar! I could have gone to Frisch’s down the street for half the price and had the same food (powdered eggs and frozen potatoes). If they included pop, coffee or tea in the price I would have thought $ 10.95 a good deal for what they had, but to be charged $ 2.59 for a beverage is crazy! They also need to follow safe food handling practices when it comes to refilling the food… do not put new food on top of old in the same pan.

There is a bar to sit and eat at… Very important since I travel alone a lot…
I had the NY Strip with green beans, and salad…
Tuesday they have a special, that was great with the happy hour.
I drank the house wine, which was quite impressive…
The green beans were, okay nothing to brag about.
The salad was okay, nothing to write home about.
The 2 impressive points were…
The steak was very good, cooked as I asked.
The wine.

Great people, tenders are tender. Ordered the steak sandwich (next time a real entrée); server was happy to substitute sides. Highly recommended spot in Covington.

We stopped in on a busy Friday night. We were a group of six, but we were seated quickly. The décor is nice, however, it is quite loud. The full bar proved a great Manhattan and their signature cocktail, The Secretariat, was popular with the ladies in our group.
We ordered appetizers for the table, shrimp bruschetta, calamari and cheese fries. The bruschetta was good, a little too saucy. The calamari was great, lightly battered and lightly fried. Tender, not rubbery at all. The cheese fries were unique, Parmesan not Cheddar. Topped with garlic and green onions. I really liked them.
The burgers were good. The fries left a lot to be desired. They were soggy and greasy. This was a surprise because the cheese fries were crispy and light. The sirloin sandwich was exceptional. The Ahi tuna was nice. Sesame encrusted, cooked rare with a mild sauce that complemented the fish without overwhelming it.
The service was a little bumpy through no fault of the server. She worked hard to make it up. She sent dessert to the entire table. Bread pudding with a cinnamon twist. Yum.

Love the food it’s a little expensive. The service was good ave the staff is Friendly

Best bang for your buck steak in the Tri-​State, IMHO.

Great food. I’ve been twice. Ate the steak special once and the scallops. Great service too. Love the patio.

I’ve eaten here a few times. The atmosphere is nice, drink selection is good, but food is hit or miss. I’ve had the pasta, which was good, but it’s hard to screw up pasta. Last time I went, I got a steak, I asked for it medium, and it was WAY overdone. I had to really saw at it to cut it. Had we not been pressed for time, I would have sent it back, it was that well done. Next time I’ll just stick with the burger. Also, the server we had last time had to be stoned to the gills. He asked us if we were waiting for others, we replied that we were. He went and got us waters, then asked us again if others were joining us. Dude, we just answered you two minutes ago, try to keep up! I’m not in a huge hurry to go back, too many other good places.

After having lunch here for the first time with a group of ladies, I have to say I am impressed!
Parking: There is a very limited amount of parking around back (luckily we were able to snag a parking space)
Atmosphere: The space inside is larger than it may appear from outside and is clean and well-maintained.There are several different seating areas. Seating in the front was pretty full and the atmosphere was boisterous, but there were other enclaves for us to be seated and enjoy some quiet conversation.
Food: YUM! All the ladies I was with shared samples of each others food and I enjoyed almost everything I ate. I would recommend the chicken apple brie pita and sweet potato fries. I was not a fan of the Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich as it was a huge fat chicken breast put on a bun — you could really only taste chicken and bread, rather than the flavors of all the toppings mixing together with the chicken.
Service: Very fast and friendly service!
Price: Good value for the money.
If you are looking for something a but more upscale and unique than your usual lunch, definitely check this place out.

Thoroughly surprised and pleasantly so… with everything sampled from breakfast buffet which is remarkable considering it was the lasts hour dredges (served till 2:00 pm is why I drove 15 min.)
The biscuits were plentiful and fresh not dampened or doughy despite being nicely warmed under cover. The gravy was more than edible and not salty or one dimensional. The fresh fruit was just that; melon & strawberries sliced thin yet firm making it a cool compliment to the eggs and bacon (which was abundantly crisp).
I have bacon issues so if this wasn’t a freak occurrence, I’ll return.
Reasonably priced $$ given it was all well prepared. Happy to spend $ 14
Had french toast and orange juice which came in a very large glass as well!
Oh, ate outside which was nice. My server was not bothersome, simply attentive.
*can’t vouch for snausages, didn’t partake
** confused about straws — rims of glasses were clean but paper removed from straws before depositing in beverage? maybe I’ll ask for different cutlery next time like a steak knife in my milk :p

Mac and cheese with goetta.
Blinkers is a Kentucky horse-​themed pub with dark walls and bright cheery staff. We were here for a late lunch and cocktail in mid afternoon, so the place was fairly empty. Even so, it seemed the server would have treated us like the only patrons even if the place was crowded.
Yes, that mac and cheese with goetta is amazing, but it’s not the only version of this classic comfort food available. I suggest you try to try everything on the menu. It all looks good.
Our pre-​meal cocktail this day was a Knob Hill Old Fashion. It was perfect and strangely enough, it served as a great pairing with the Mac. I highly recommend this. Mac & Cheese & Bourbon, OH MY!!!

Solid place near the river. We often frequent before games
Have never seen it too crowded

I really enjoy Blinkers on a routine basis. This Tavern is not trying to impress with exotic twists to traditional pub fare. Rather, they seem to execute all of the classics well. This place makes a burger that is well above average, and their daily specials have always impressed. To the point I made earlier about classic dishes, I’ve been quite pleased with their pot roast, ham salad, chicken salad and various soups. The service has been a bit erratic at times, but their staff is largely solid.

Giant burgers, great service and outdoor seating. Though there isn’t anything that differentiates their burgers from others, our waiter was super friendly. Management stopped by to make sure we were having a good time and the outdoor seating and beautiful weather made for a great dining experience.
I hear the steak’s amazing… I’ll have to come back for it.

My burger was awesome! My broccoli was a little less cooked than i like but not bad. The service was very good and I loved the atmosphere! Nice place! I’ll be back. Nice and close to downtown, easy to park but it wasn’t the noon hour. I always avoid the noon hour! I had the burger with onion rings and I substituted blue cheese (my waiters’ suggestion) and it was excellent! I think it was called the french something burger. Very good with the blue cheese. My friend had the chicken pasta carbonara and she said it was very good too. The portion they gave her was enough to take some home for dinner. It was the first time for both of us and we were both very pleased.

I didn’t know what to expect after being invited to Blinker’s for a business lunch as I’m not accustomed to dining in «watering holes» to discuss the merits of a business relationship with a complete stranger. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at Blinkers. To be sure, it is decorated like a tavern, but it is a classier joint — not the type with neon signs everywhere and loud music blasting in the background.
On the day of my actual visit, I arrived 10 minutes early as I usually do for such an occasion and Blinker’s staff couldn’t have been more kind during the wait. They took mental notes of the person I was meeting, escorted me to a table to wait, and made sure my glass of ice tea was filled at all times as I waited for my lunch meeting. When my lunch meeting arrived, they escorted the person to my table without hesitation or confusion.
As for the food, I actually ordered the special, which just so happened to be pot roast on the day in question. The dish really hit the spot — it happened to be a day in which it was 15 degrees outside, but felt like 0 degrees with the wind chill. Pot roast certainly sounded nice on a day like that. The reason for my 4 star rating was because the roast itself was a little bit dry despite being quite tasty. Being a guy that eats pot roast regularly at home, maybe I’m just spoiled or too snotty about what is a good pot roast, but I can only imagine how hard it is to make a «mass quantity» dish stay fresh and juicy such as pot roast.
I would definitely give this place a try if ever in need of a good spot in Covington. Good service, food and establishment.

When my mom told me that we would be dining at a place called Blinkers Tavern, I was expecting a sports pub. I envisioned chowing down on chicken wings while having my attention pulled away from conversation by walls of TVs.
What I found was much different — thankfully so.
Instead of shouting sports fans, I found tables of friends laughing over shared experiences. Wine and bourbon took precedence over beer (though they have that too.)
Blinkers Tavern is definitely higher class than a pub, with a range of eats that are more interesting and complex than potato skins.
Truth be told, there are some more pub-​friendly items on the menu, but they are taken to a different level.
So, to get right to it, let’s talk specifics: I ordered the shrimp risotto scampi, a creamy concoction with a half dozen or so weighty shrimp. This so hit the spot. I’m a bit nutters for shrimp, but I admit that shrimp scampi can get too oily for my taste.
This was perfect. The shrimp was flavorful, definitely cooked in garlic, but not slimy.
I also tried a bite of the special of the night, pan-​seared scallops with gnocchi. This was also expertly prepared. I LOVE scallops but am nervous ordering it at new-​to-​me restaurants because it’s hard to tell if you’ll get good sized scallops or tiny dime-​shaped seafood. Blinkers was definitely a restaurant from Column A.
We also tried the spinach and artichoke dip, which comes in a rye bread bowl, and the roasted tomato and shrimp bruschetta. Both were so tasty that they were gobbled up by our group before I could snap photos of them.
And one last food rec: the truffle fries. Oh yes. These are fab. We could smell them coming to us from the kitchen. They make me salivate just thinking of them.
And on top of the great food, we experienced truly great service. Mike, our waiter, was great. He was attentive and quick to meet our needs. He even went outside to try and flag down my step father, to point him toward the somewhat hard-​to-​find parking lot, after my stepdad had circled the block a few times looking for a spot.
My parents, their friends and I left Blinkers very impressed, and I’m looking forward to returning.

Its nice to know that there are people reading my blog! The owner of Blinkers Tavern in Covington saw my review and was sweet enough to ask me to come back on her. This is why I love small businesses and try not to eat at chains. The owners actually care about you! And let me tell you, I’m so glad she had me go back, because this time it was AWESOME!
Again, let me hit on the décor and ambiance. This is a great date place. I said that before even in the negative review. It reminds me of Arthur’s downtown but is much easier to get into. Its so pretty and comfortable in this restaurant; I love it.
To start off we got the fried green tomato caprese salad. GOOD LORD, this was delicious. I will go there again and eat this no doubt. I’ve never had fried green tomatoes and didn’t know what I was missing. I ate the whole thing and Lauren didn’t get any!
She had just eaten lunch at school so I am the only one who ordered. I got the goetta grilled cheese. Hands down the best one I’ve ever had. Even better than Mokka. The bread was thick enough and piled on with enough cheese that the goetta didn’t overpower it like most places. (Yes, I eat a lot of goetta. Every time its on the menu somewhere I order it.)
After my meal I had a little left on the giftcard and decided to splurge with desserts. Lauren ate the 7 layers chocolate cake and by the fact that she literally licked her plate clean; I’m assuming it was good. I had the bread pudding. It was good too. I love bread pudding, but am not a fan of cinnamon. This is my fault though, I should have asked what kind it was before I ordered it. Lauren loved it though, she said it tasted just like Cinnabon.
So happy we came back here again. And a huge thank you to the manager/​owner who had us give it a second try. I just moved to Newport, and this will probably be my new go to place now that Incline house is farther away. I highly recommend it.