3/5 stars
This is being written after my second trip to Lager House, the first being during Opening Week. Considering that a first week experience should always go null and void, and that my last week experience was in a private party room, my opinion lacks scope. So with that in mind, get cozy in your cubicle as I assist you in wasting work time to read this review.
1) The Crab Cakes, which were officially endorsed by my waiter, are pretty good. They're much better than the crab cakes at Cock and Bull, but I bet a better crab cake exists in this city. Still, if I go back to Moerlein, I may get the Crab Cakes again because the rest of the menu is not really my kind of food (that is, highbrow bar food).
2) The calamari is pretty good too. Again, there's probably better calamari SOMEWHERE but if you're in a squid mood, then get your squid on.
Like the upstanding citizen I am, most of my dinner budget went towards beer, so that concludes my comments on food.
And speaking of beer, the Moerlein OTR is maybe my favorite local one, so it was cool to source it straight from the mother teet that is the Lager House.
I also was highly appreciative of the quirky menu copy - don't let it go unnoticed. Quirky, though, is not how I would describe the clientele, nor the clientele's closest friends. The clientele here seems like they just got out of their Reds suite, or gave up their suite tickets for the day to their Bradley-Cooper-in-Wedding-Crashers brother-in-law.
As other reviews have noted, the main appeal of this place is the view; the only other restaurant in Cinci that can compete with this view is Prima Vista in Price Hill.
Also, as previously mentioned, I was here for a private party. And let me tell you - the service for 18 people (4 of which who were in a full blackout), was OUTSTANDING. If you're trying to impress a sizeable group of well-to-do out-of-towners with the "new" Cincinnati, Moerlein Lager House would be a good bet.
So what are you waiting for? Hit that.