Maghony’s On The Banks

I had confirmed reservation on Monday for Saturday I was told that they would be oped then Tuesday state of Ohio shuts them down because of this I have lost all interest in reassuring at the banks in Cincinnati ohio

My wife, myself and two close friends went to Mahoganys Resturant for dinner Saturday evening. Our friends have eaten there numerous times and didn’t know where the negative comments were coming from. My wife and I are new to the Cincinnati area and they suggested that we try Mohoganys Resturant and being a big fan of Opentable we read some of the comments. We were seated as soon as we arrived and the wait staff was right there. Within 23 minutes upon our arrival we were eating good food.(We had the rib, catfish and salmon dinners + deserts). Give them a second look and see if you aren’t pleasantly surprised.
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I reserved seats for myself and coworkers to celebrate a new venture at our place of employment. After being seated… our waiter took our order for drinks. I ordered the WHO DEY drink which by the way was written on their menu. After waiting several minutes for our drinks… a lady walked over to bring us our drinks and asked if I would like the Southern drink she had «just» made… and if I didnt like it… she would bring me the WHO DEY… you know the drink I actually ordered… and I said yes that it would be fine… I dont know why I agreed… after taking a sip of a drink that had obviously had been sitting… as evidenced by it being room temperature… no ice present… and it being watered down… I went ahead and ordered my food. I ordered the fried chicken where literaly the nail of the chicken was still present on my piece of chicken… the potatoes were old… and the mac and cheese was alright but honestly. ANYONE can make that mac and cheese… I requested my money back for the drink I didnt order and was still full from the sip I had taken… but no… BOTTOM LINE… DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR ENERGY AT THIS PLACE… there is NOTHING special about this food whatsover.

After hearing my family’s horror stories, reading a myriad of subpar to down right awful reviews of this place, and following the restaurant’s financial troubles over the years, I wasn’t too enthused about ever spending my coins at Mahogany’s @ the Banks. My co-​workers have planned outings there over the months that I flat out ignored or the plans fell through because of weather conditions and the restaurant’s unreliable operational status. I relented this time because my co-​workers were curious and wanted to support the establishment before it bites the dust and has its pitiful ashes scattered to the wind. Plus it was a nearby uncharted place to toast to our promotion. WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE.
The place was empty as hell on a Red’s game day when every other place was poppin’. My co-​workers and I were the only 3 people in the building aside for the bored staff for most of our stay. Also during our meal, several smarter prospective customers came in, balked at the foolery, and went within a matter of minutes. I smh at the nearly abandoned reserved sign on our table, when I could have had my pick of seats. The waiter, bless his heart, did his best but his efforts were undercut by the overpriced glorified mess hall food and the top of the line bull my co-​worker/​friend endured.
My friend enjoys her libations, and as such, she ordered the Who Dey Martini off the drink list. This martini is similar to a LIT in that it contains several shots of liquor. The waiter took the order and a few minutes later the bartender comes back offering my friend a Cosmo (#played) she «just» made. She said that it was a great drink and that if my friend didn’t like it, she’d be willing to make the Who Dey Martini. Excuse me, but wasn’t that the drink that was ordered in the first place. Okay?! This Cosmo was half-​hours old and was clearly some previous person with high self-esteem’s abandoned drink that the bartender didn’t want to discard and pay for. The drink was practically all cranberry juice and wasn’t even chilled/​cold. The bartender could, at the very least, have swirled it over some ice and strained it prior to so generously foisting it off on the next one.
(Sidebar: My other co-​worker order the world’s most watered/​soured down Appletini in America.)
The waiter, who diligently checked on us throughout the meal and chatted with us during our wait, noticed at one point that Cosmo went virtually untouched save for the initial sip. He half-​heartedly volunteered an explanation that the Who Dey Martini was $ 11 and the Cosmo was included as part of the Happy Hour till 9, so it was $ 5. Um, thanks for looking out, but no one asked the bartender to assess how much we could afford or would deem reasonable to spend on our cocktails. None of that staff knew us from Adam and to assume that any ol’ drink would do or that we were looking for a bargain was highly offensive. I know he meant well in saying this, but we all were insulted.
Needless to say I won’t be back. I had the basic fried catfish with overly salty fried okra and some bangin’ (!!) baked beans. My co-​worker with the Apple-​juicetini is serious about her meals and left the sides to her pork-​chop uneaten. My friend with the «really good» (mmhmm) Cosmo’s fried chicken had a nail and probably feathers involved. The Pillsbury biscuits and the cornbread were unmemorable. Such a shame. I thought this place would step their game up after the Churches saved them with some collection plate loans and with the business brought in by the Jay-​Z/​Beyonce tour crowd last month, but unfortunately that is not at all the case.
The best thing I can say about my experience is that many past Unilocal reviews and family have remarked on the length of the wait for service/​drinks/​food, but since tumbleweeds were blowing during my stay, the service was fairly quick. And thank God, because now I can proceed with the rest of my black @$$ life.

I called the day before for a reservation for 20 after my son’s graduation. When we arrived, they had no record of our reservation. Fortunately, they jumped into action and seated us all together within 15 minutes.
The atmosphere was pleasant but much more crowded than I’d ever seen on a weeknight. Our party arrived in waves, but our server did a good job getting all of the drink orders as they arrived. Eventually, we all ordered together.
I was pleasantly surprised that all of our food came out hot. and at the same time. The portions were large. I had the tilapia, collard greens, and mac and cheese. My food was good, but I think the recipes have changed. Last time my food was fantastic. I actually added salt to my greens and salt and pepper to my mac and cheese. The fish was fantastic though. My sister in law was in town from Louisville and did not like her catfish. When she told the server, he had a bit of an attitude. He told her that he could discount he food, but wouldn’t be able to take it off of the bill. I didn’t understand the logic behind not offering her something else. He took the entrée back to the kitchen ($ 17.00) and took $ 5.00 off of the bill. I thought he could have managed that situation better. The service was decent for a large party, but our glasses sat empty unless we filled them ourselves from several crafts that sat off to the side.
Overall we had a great time. My mother-​in-​law is already talking about coming back when she visits Cincinnati again. It’s nice to have an upscale soul food restaurant in a prime location… a claim not many cities can make. Don’t want to take Mahogany’s for granted. I know we’ll be back!

The food and service were great. I had the grilled tilapia with fried corn and yams. Everything was fresh and served hot. The only problem I had was that I wasn’t offered a refill and had to request silverware after our food was served.

My family and I recently visited Mahagonys. We almost didn’t after reading all of the negative reviews on Unilocal.Luckily, I had a conversation with a woman that works at the Underground Railroad that raved about the place so we decided to gave it try anyway. The food was great! The prices were a little high end, but the portions are large. My 18 year old athlete son took a doggie bag home.(that doesn’t usually happen) We all 4 ordered different entrees and sampled off of each other’s plates. Everything was delicious. We had zero complaints. The wait staff was attentive. They teamed up to get our food out and refill drinks, etc. Our server, Andrew, was very helpful in providing some background on the restaurant and owner and also gave us some ideals on things to do in Cincinnati.
I was a little confused on some of the reviews that don’t think this restaurant is upscale. It is as far as «soul food» restaurants go. The soul food restaurants that I patronize (with the best food) are usually store fronts with a few «cafeteria style» tables. Mahagonys has a nightclub atmosphere along with a bar area and also a small stage. It’s nicely decorated and has plenty of comfortable seating. I live in Columbus and I’m originally from Chicago. I have been to 1 or 2 restaurants like this in the past and unfortunately they don’t get the kind of support they need from their own community.(I don’t mean just Black folk) They don’t end up staying around for long. I really hope this one succeeds. It will definitely be on the agenda for my next visit to Cincinnati.

Some of the slowest and least attentive service I have ever received. It was made worse by the fact that the waitress wasn’t very friendly.
When the food finally did come out, it definitely wasn’t worth the wait. It was fairly bland and not memorable at all.
I came out to support a struggling local business, but after dining there I can say that I completely understand why it’s in the situation it is.

The food is always great at Mahoganys and on Saturday, February 22 was my forth time and I have been a customer at their former location in Hamitlon, OH. Once again the food is terrific for a restaurant that does not need to have salt and pepper on the table other than requesting hot sauce.
Our food server seemed to be new and I noticed that the other food servers were on point for service. The server we had did not have the up-​selling training that they should of had and should learn to consolidate trips for time management.
A BIG major problem is not having a full staffed bartenders to handle bar and table service patrons. We ordered our food and our food came before our bar requests. Typically bar requests and appetizers are paramount before the main meals come.
I will return to Mahogany’s during their off-​peak times

Mahoganys tries to look upscale, but it definitely is not. We got here at 7:45pm on a Friday night, hoping to start off the night with some drinks. What appeared to be a fully stocked bar was sorely lacking. All they had were 4 domestic beer options (e.g., coors, heineken) and an equally limited selection of craft beers. They had a couple other beers listed such as yuengling, but they were already out on a Friday night!
As we perused the menu (which was falling apart), we noted that there appeared to be repetitive entrees (pork chops in both grilled and Mamma’s favorites sections), entrees for only certain days of the week, and high price points (at least $ 17 per entrée). When we asked the waiter about the menu, he informed us that several entrée options had run out, including an entrée that was listed as only for Fridays and Saturdays. Our poor waiter appeared incredibly embarrassed to be working in such a poorly run establishment; he was apologetic the entire night.
We ended up ordering the following:
— Grilled Turkey Ribs: Jim says — «The server mentioned the turkey ribs were ‘huge’ and the only huge thing about them was that it was a huge mistake to place the order! They were nothing special and were lacking in flavor.»
— Mamma’s Pork Chop Dinner: Tiffany says — «Tasted fine, but where was the ‘rich, savory gravy’?? I didn’t realize green scallions were considered to be gravy.»
We both got collard greens and yams as our «Down Home Fixin’s» sides. These tasted fine, but were nothing spectacular and totally overpriced ($ 5 each) if added as an extra.
We also shared a sweet potato muffin ($ 3), which was only a bit bigger than the mini muffins you can get at the grocery store. Though the flavor itself was good, the muffin was rock solid! We could have broken our teeth on it!
Also, it was so cold in the restaurant that several patrons were wearing their coats during dinner, including us. If this meal was supposed to fly us to Southern warmth and hospitality, the plane was malfunctioning.
We came here because of a living social deal. Save yourself the time and money — don’t come here! The deal is not worth it.

The food was absolutely incredible! The fried catfish was crispy outside and juicy inside… add a little hot sauce and WOW! My son had chicken and waffles, and he remarked «so this is what really good chicken tastes like.»
The only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars is that they were out of a lot of things (7:15 reservation on New Years Eve). My first choice of entrée was sold out and there weren’t a lot of dessert options. Even with the flaw in planning, the food was so awesome, that we will definitely return!

The restaurant itself is beautiful and impeccably clean. The servers are all well dressed and friendly but the service is really slow.
I arrived before most of my group did. I took a seat at the bar and after waiting for 5 minutes flagged the bartender down. I am not sure if maybe she assumed I was just waiting so I did not want a drink but I did! Once she made my drink it was really good.
For dinner we had a large group and it took a while for our meals to come out to us but (about an hour). When our meals did come out they tasted pretty good. I especially loved the sweet potato muffins (yum melted butter on top!). The chicken was very well seasoned and tender. The Mac and Cheese was loaded with cheese and butter but it was only lukewarm (I did have plenty left over for later). The potatoes and onions were the only part of the dish about which I was not fond as they were cold. I probably left with enough food for two more meals.
Overall this is not an everyday kind of spot for me, but if I have extra time I might stop here– or maybe try it for take– out.

Oh, where to start…
My dad has been raving about this place for awhile so he finally decided to take our family and some friends down there for dinner one Saturday night when we were downtown. We were all a little skeptical with what ease we were able to grab a table for 6 down at the Banks on a Saturday night… but happy about it nonetheless.
Long story short (because I really don’t want to rant), it took an hour and a half of waiting for our food before we got up and left. I have never done that before and felt absolutely terrible and awkward. The thing was, that even though it was taking forever to get our food, 1) no food was even coming out of the kitchen… I mean, NONE. To anyone. It was SO odd. 2) No manager ever came over to our table, no one offered us anything while we waited (until we asked for free drinks — they obliged). 3) Our server completely disappeared. When he walked by he wouldn’t make eye contact with our table. I guess I don’t blame him, but c’mon!
Mahoganys gets 2 stars (instead of 1) because I honestly feel bad for them. I come from a place where I know what it’s like during those busy nights where you can’t catch up and the kitchen shuts down. But it’s really unacceptable to have that type of service in that situation, with that location. I felt terrible for my dad who brought a whole group there that night under his recommendation. It was a worse than poor display of what the place has the potential to be.
I want to go back to try the food, it sounded delicious. I was really looking forward to my fried chicken and side of greens that I never got to eat. I look forward to maybe updating my review, hoping that Saturday night was a one time thing.

This is one of the the only ‘upscale’ southern comfort food place that I know of in the area. Menu items include entrees like salmon patties, shrimp and grits and oxtail to name few. Sides like fried corn, fried okra, collard greens…
Service was good and drinks (at least the wine) seemed to be cheaper than some of the other restaurants around the banks. The food is great, but don’t step foot in here if you are trying to stay to true to any kind of diet.

I’ve been here three times in the last 24 hours… this should tell you how delicious the place is. Grilled wings, fried catfish, blackened chicken salad, fish tacos and the desserts are amazing. Be sure to get the sweet potato bread pudding with bourbon sauce and sweet potato ice cream! Yummy!

It’s my own fault, really. I shouldn’t have believed the hype.
Mahogany’s is touted as an «upscale soulfood» restaurant, and while they do serve soul food, I have to insist that upscale is a bit of a misnomer. Let me explain.
The food I has was inconsistent in quality. I ordered a fish dinner, and the fish was piping hot and clearly fresh off the stove but the sides I ordered tasted like they had been sitting around for a while. They were cold and tragically unseasoned. This is felonious! You are a soul food establishment! But like I said, the fish was good and the corn muffin as well, but it doesn’t make up for the whole experience.
The service was… odd. Everyone there was very friendly and easygoing, but they were all kind of bad at their jobs. It’s really unfortunate because it makes me not want to go back. My server, bless his heart, he got my order wrong twice and we waited for about 20 minutes between putting in drink orders and ordering food. I don’t know, I think I just expect to see more of a sense of urgency on a busy Saturday evening.
I don’t know if I will make a return trip to Mahogany’s, but I’m leaning heavily towards no.

«Would give five stars, but the fried green tomatoes were not that good. Everything else was top notch. Have fun and eat good!»

Great location for a soul food place. Nice atmosphere and service was friendly. When ordering my takeout i was told it would be ½ hour wait. (GAG). I assume the side dishes were already prepared that evening. but whatever. I was offered a free beverage while waiting and that softened the blow.
48 minutes later i (finally) get my order. I ordered the Sunday Dinner Special (Baked Chicken, Dressing and got Collard Greens on the side with Mac N Cheese).
The Baked Chicken was competent. Mildly seasoned and tender. The gravy was good. Collard Greens were toooo salty. And a bit undercooked for me. Not that i wanted them mushy but a little more tender would have been nice. The Mac N Cheese was surprisingly bland.
Due to the wait (and price of the food $ 17.99), which im sure was due to location MY experience here was not worth it. 2 stars for the service as the waiter and bartender were friendly.
Although, an american staple Soul Food should be taken seriously. A venue offering it should make people want to come spend their money instead of cooking it themselves. I would have been happier had i prepared my own food. Shame.

I always have a good time at Mahogany’s! That’s why I question a few of these reviews. The staff is friendly and the food is good. Can’t go wrong with the BBQ Wings, Mac & Cheese or Tilapia. I always sit at the bar eat and have a cold beer…

Terrible, absolutely terrible.
I was at Tin Roof on Saturday and got a call from a friend who was celebrating her birthday on the patio at Mahogany’s. I walked next door to have a couple drinks with her party. First things first, Mahogany’s target audience is much more limited in scope than the rest of the Banks. You won’t see the same diversity there that is found elsewhere. You’ll have to go to see what I really mean. Anyhow, our table on the deck was ignored the whole time. I had to walk inside to order my one and only drink, and a couple people from the table walked across the street to get a burger from Johnny Rockets and brought it back to eat on the patio. They had menus in front of them for almost an hour, but nobody took their orders.
It honestly felt like the twilight zone. The Banks was packed on Saturday with the streets blocked off for live music. Every establishment was bustling, with the exception of Mahogany’s. There’s definitely a reason for that. If Johnny Rockets is doing more business than you, you should probably rethink your business model. Good luck!