Kinneret Cafe

Best kosher, vegetarian restaurant in the city and that’s coming from an organic gourmet and health coach! Get on this!

great food, great friends, KOSHER. What more can one want? Try the Greek pizza! Thursday Family Pizza Specials TAKEOUT ONLY

Best veggie matzo ball soup ever.

The only animal I eat are fish, so this place is perfect for me. I ordered the Kinneret Salad — HUGE portion and filled with wonderful toppings — garbanzo, avocado, feta cheese, olives. Will definitely be back to try more on the menu.

I definitely recommend Kinneret if you want authentic, fresh, and locally made. Hands down– the best baba ghanoush in the city. Make sure you ask for a side of their house made hot sauce.

Ate here for the first time this week and really enjoyed it. Very small and cozy. Not a vegetarian at all but thoroughly enjoyed everything. Had the matzo ball soup and falafel. Excellent.

We stalled for years, because the hours are inconvenient for us personally, and the location is a teeny bit gloomy. BUT: the food here is excellent. I had Moroccan platter (vegan shawarma on couscous), hubster had a platter w all sorts of Mediterranean stuff, we shared a starter of latkes (potato pancakes): All were waaaaay better than elsewhere in Cincy. If forced to choose, I’d have to confess that the vegan shawarma is most superb and most unique thing on the menu, but felafel was also great. If, like us, you appreciate warm service in a non-​fancy, non-​chain atmosphere: eat in. If (like anybody does some of the time), you need a drink and a swanky atmosphere: carry out. In any case, call ahead or check Facebook (they close for Jewish high holy days and sabbath) and BE PREPARED TO BE DELIGHTED. P. S. The fettucine alfredo, pizzas, and kinneret salad (with avocado, chickpeas, and hard boiled egg) looked delicious at the neighbors’ tables. Also the salmon.
From a culinary standpoint, this place is rather ambitious and a great asset to Cincinnati.

Decent food. Lots of vegetarian/​vegan options! The design and setup is simple and the prices are reasonable. I would have never found the place if not for the Unilocal app. My wife and I shared the Shawarma Plate ($ 10). It was well seasoned but came with just a few pieces of pita bread. The workers were young and friendly. Parking is available in the back and they are closed on Saturday.

Every time I saw this place pop up on Unilocal,I thought it was «Kinnernet», like a combination of a name and Internet Café. Now that that embarrassment is out of the way…
This is a tiny little place that sits beyond the Domino’s and across from Walgreens. There are a handful of tables inside, but menus sit at the counter for you to order. I got the lunch special hummus, avocado, and cheese sandwich with fries. First, the price is right. For $ 7 you get the full sandwich, a sample of Israeli salad and a little dish of pickles, and the side of your choice. For me, a full basket of battered fries. It’s basically money off your meal and a free side. Do it. Second, Muenster cheese is possibly my favorite cheese, so I love that the sandwiches use it. I saw Swiss mentioned in another menu, but they must have updated. My meal was good, but I wouldn’t call it great. The only complaint I would maybe have is that the ciabatta was so flavorful it kind of overpowered the rest of the sandwich. For $ 1, I added a chocolate cookie roll thing, and it was the show stealer. So good! From the consistency of the chocolate bit, I would guess that the cinnamon one tastes just like a cinnamon roll.
Service time for my to-​go order was mediocre. I ordered and paid, then walked to Walgreens to pick up a photo order, and had about ~5 minutes to wait upon return. There was a table of 3 ahead of me. I don’t think I would eat in here. Being that the place is so tiny, there is a sink (along with an area to drop dishes) outside of the bathroom and beside one of the tables. I’m not sure if there is an additional sink inside the bathroom, but if not, I think they should at least put up a small partition between the sink and tables. They’re very close together.
I’ll be back because of the pictures of the calzones. They look incredible.

Dinner was excellent.
Great service and a wonderful quiet atmosphere.
We will definitely be back.

Are here for the first time tonight and loved it!!! I am so excited to have a new place to go with healthy vegan options. My kids loved their grilled cheese (even though it wasn’t the «yellow» kind). I will definitely be back!

I think this would be a hit or miss type of place. In our case although we appreciate the effort of providing vegan options the hummus and baba ganoush werent too good in my opinion. The falafel was good. The vegan shawarma was good. The lady was very friendly.

I tried the calzone. The crust and that was the best crust I’ve ever had. It was flaky light and delicious. I also had an apricot cookie that was wonderful.
If you’re looking for me, you’re not going to find it here. Most to be foods are vegan or fish.

Delicious, hot, and fresh food! Definitely recommend the Mediterranean plate for vegetarians/​vegans. The falafel was nice!

A great place for vegans, vegetarians, or pescatarians! I had the schwarma plate (made from seitan) with the hummus and babaganouj. All of the menu items tasted really fresh and authentic. I loved the vegetarian take on what used to be a favorite Mediterranean dish of mine. The atmosphere is really unassuming & pretty basic. You order at the counter & most of the food is served on plastic/​paper, but it makes for a quick lunch spot (the lunch deal is great) and wonderful take-​out. The man at the check-​out — who informed us was from Morocco — was very sweet, courteous, and helpful with choosing out menu items. I got the impression he may have owned the place, which I like because of the small-​business aspect. Overall a great menu filled with healthy & tasty items that I certainly would have a tough time replicating at home!

Went for lunch this past week; delicious food. Tip: they have coupons on their web page. We were the only ones eating in. I got the big platter with the falafel, grape leaves, babaganoush, hummus and salad. Great deal. I asked for more bread and they gave it.

A friend was craving a falafel sandwich, so we ended up at Kinneret Café. (We tried going elsewhere first, but they didn’t offer falafel sandwiches for dinner and weren’t willing to accommodate.) Of course, it wasn’t a problem, since I’d been wanting to try Kinneret for quite a while.
I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. It’s pretty basic and very small. You can sit at a table to review the menu and then you order at the counter. They bring your food too you. Drinks are only in bottles or cans, no fountain service.
We each got a falafel sandwich (billed as the best falafel in town) and an order of fries to share (there were plenty for two). The falafel was definitely worth the visit and I can see why it has gotten billing as the best in town. The falafel was tasty, moist and soft (sometimes they can be dry and hard) and the pita was very fresh… best of all, totally vegan and absolutely delicious.
Don’t go to Kinneret Café expecting anything fancy, but if you go there expecting great food you won’t be disappointed. I can’t wait to go back and try out something else… or maybe another falafel sandwich.

Had the falafel sandwich. It was delicious. The service was speedy and friendly. The falafel were made fresh when I ordered them. Not sure if I like this falafel better than that at Ali Babas on Red Bank. Both are great. Where Kinneret shone was the Israeli salad. It was super fresh and delicious. I will definitely come back when I’m in this area.

**4.5 stars is my vote!** This place is great for carryout!
I am a long-​time pescatarian, so Kinneret is right up my alley. They offer Kosher-​certified, mainly vegetarian food, with a few fish options thrown in. I’ve gone deep into the menu, and so far have not had a bad experience once. This is a great place that you can indulge just a little and still have an overall healthy, balanced meal. As some have mentioned, sometimes you have a bit of a wait for food, but it is because everything is handmade by the family that owns the restaurant. The family is so friendly and caring — it’s just an old-​school, family run joint.
I highly recommend the matzoh ball soup — it is the rare vegetarian matzoh ball soup in this region, and it has a nice flavored broth and 2 homemade matzoh balls — very good. I’ve had other soups — like the chickpea soup — that were also pretty good, but I always go back to the matzoh ball.
All the Mediterranean appetizer options are top-​notch. Go for the Mediterranean platter if you have a big appetite or want to share — then you get to try a little of everything. The Moroccan Cigars are also good, if you have a craving for something a little fried but still a little healthy.
AMAZING Sandwiches — I just heard that Kinneret received a nod from Cincinnati Magazine for some of their sandwiches and paninis. One thing that makes the paninis so good is that they regularly bake up fresh ciabatta bread in the kitchen. I can hardly tear myself away from the KING DAVID PANINI — Tuna, Avocado, and Muenster cheese. It’s delish. Also a huge fan of the falafel in pita with hummus — which is one they were recognized by Cincinnati Mag for! TIP: Be sure to request the special hot sauce — it’s great on this sandwich. I like both the fries and the salad options as a side.
Other options that are also very good: Salads — I sometimes like the chicken caesar, and all the dressings they make are very good. Seafood — I’ve had positive experiences with the fish and chips and the tilapia. I think the fact that everything is hand made really makes the fish and chips shine.
I haven’t tried the pizza yet, but I’ve heard good things. Kinneret has also started serving breakfast and brunch options that sound decently good. Looking forward to trying that sometime.

We ended up eating here on the 4^th of July since they were one of the first places that we confirmed were open. Walking in, i wasn’t sure if we were to order at the counter, but after a few seconds of puzzlement, we were told to have a seat wherever we liked. I think a simple sign at the door directing customers in what action to take would be helpful. It’s a small interior with limited seating and an unassuming exterior. It seems a bit dingy inside but acceptable — and there’s a random sink up front by the counter. The menu is all vegetarian and fish, so the vegetarian part was much appreciated. After we’d looked over the menu, we went to the counter to place our order — although she did later come to other tables to collect orders. The place started out empty, and she was kind enough to warn us that a larger party was coming so we might want to switch seats. We took advantage of this advice and it did get pretty loud once other people showed up.
I started out with the Shawarma in Pita and my husband got the Shnitzel on Pita. I ended up trading him cuz’ I preferred his. We were never offered water, which seems odd. But all of the food was very good.