How To Visit Cleveland in 24 Hours

We live in Columbus, Ohio (if you didn’t know) which is about two hours south of Cleveland, Ohio. I’ve lived in Columbus for 27 years and have never visited Cleveland, which is kind of strange because we’ve visited Cincinnati about 12472910 times. Lucky for me and my stomach, my wonderful husband planned a 24 hour baby free trip to this lakeside city to eat ourselves silly. 

I shall brag for a moment, Joel is literally the BEST travel planner. He researches everything including proximity of other restaurants, type of food, what kind of booze is available, and location to other activities like parks/casinos (for me)/shopping/etc. Maybe someday I’ll write up a “how to build an itinerary” with his help. But, for now you’ll just have to settle with this quick and dirty outline of our 24 hour trip to Cleveland. 

Stop One: Banter Cleveland

• Location: 7320 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102
• Details: Banter brings a unique food and beverage experience featuring the region’s finest curated selection of craft beer and fine wine from around the world (and around the corner). We also specialize in gourmet house-made sausages and Quebec-style poutine.

Banter is known for “bottles, sausage, poutine” and they delivered on all my expectations. We ordered a sampling of a few items and shared them so we could each try a few different things. I’d also like to point out that our bartender made a comment about us sharing, so I told her we were doing a foodie tour of Cleveland and were from Columbus. WOULDN’T YA KNOW, she is also from Columbus, graduated high school the same year as me and knew one of my closest girl friends. #Ohio

Specifically, we got the Cowboy slider (beef patty, pulled pork, bbq sauce, onion ring), Banter Poutine (frites, gravy, cheese curds), and the Fried Chicken (crispy chicken, braised greens, animal gravy, chilis) slider. We loved them all! You can check out their full menu here. 

While Banter had excellent food, they also have a beer and wine shop on the other side of the restaurant! They had a full room of wine then another room filled with coolers of beer. They also give you the option of opening any of those beverages for an extra fee while enjoying your food! If they ever decide to open up in Columbus, I’ll be first in line for poutine and sliders. 

Stop Two: The Happy Dog

• Location: 5801 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102
• Details: The Happy Dog is a neighborhood corner bar in the best sense of the term. We’ve got hot dogs and beer, and lots of live music, from rock and country to punk and polka. 

The Happy Dog lets you create your own hot dog which is equally fun and overwhelming. I love places like this but ALSO really like when they have suggestions so I don’t make a bad selection. They had so many options, I wanted to get all the things but I know that too many toppings is a bad combination. 

These all-beef hot dogs were actually pretty big and are totally worth the $6! We just got hot dogs here, but they also had tater tots that you could load up with creative toppings. We both opted for Cheeto’s on our hot dogs and honestly, best decision ever. I don’t remember all the toppings we got, but just know you can’t go wrong with Cheeto’s on a hot dog. Seriously, do it. 

One thing we learned in Cleveland, their portion sizes are huge. We actually had some other spots on our itinerary but got too full to visit them all. We can typically eat big portions, but man oh man, we got full! 

Stop Three: Momocho

• Location: 1835 Fulton Road, Cleveland, OH 44113
• Details: Hip, dimly lit cantina with wrestler decor, patio seating & creative, modern Mexican dishes.

When I shared our itinerary on our Instagram Story, I got so many messages from people saying this was “the best Mexican food” and it did NOT disappoint. They have two locations, but we visited the one in Ohio City since it worked well within our travel pattern. It was like 5 degrees outside, so the less time we had to walk or wait for a Lyft, the better. 

I’m going to give you all a big travel tip. ALWAYS sit at the bar, if you can.

Heck, you don’t even have to travel to use this tip. 95% of the time you will get better service while sitting at the bar because bartenders tend to be more chatty and *sometimes* have more available time than a server to focus on their patrons. We tend to find more details about the area, menu hacks and even sometimes get free drinks. 

I ordered the margarita flight and knew I wanted to try the cucumber margarita but our bartender suggested the hibiscus flower and blood orange one, all were phenomenal. The hibiscus flower margarita was rimmed with black ant salt and yes, it was actually delicious! 

Joel got the “killer bee” cocktail which was pretty darn delicious and definitely warmed us up from the 5 degree weather outside. Our snack at Momocho was the “machaca taquitos,” coffee + chile ancho braised beef brisket with guacamole served alongside soft corn tortillas. Honestly, if I lived in Cleveland, I would be here ALL the time. 

Stop Four: The Flying Fig

• Location: 2523 Market Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113
• Details: The Flying Fig is located in the historic neighborhood of Ohio City just outside of downtown Cleveland. Perhaps its most noteworthy attribute, following the delicious locally-sourced meals for brunch, lunch, and dinner, is its atmosphere. The restaurant is known for its warm service and neighborhood-friendly environment. The Fig has become a place for folks to gather and come together over food and community. Staples of the impressive menu include seasonal meat and plant-based shareables and large plates, as well as an expansive and evolving wine and cocktail menu.

We got a few drinks and an appetizer (tempura fried green beans at The Flying Fig. I won’t lie, the atmosphere was a little weird and the decor was kinda strange. The green beans were very delicious but our drinks weren’t great and the service was a little iffy. 

Stop Five: Cathy’s Creamery

• Location: 401 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114
• Details: Cathy’s is a gourmet ice cream sandwich shop located in the heart of downtown Cleveland. We pride ourselves on serving all natural cookies from 100% real ingredients. All of our cookies are a family recipe and made from scratch in our store. We proudly partner with Ashby Ice Cream Co. and Cleveland Cold Brew in serving exquisite ice cream and coffee beverages. Our store marvels at good vibes and sweet treats. Stop by and see us and be served by some of the best people in the 216. Cathy’s is Cleveland!

Did we get ice cream sandwiches in 5 degree weather? Yep, sure did and it was DELISH. Cathy’s Creamery is right inside The Arcade Cleveland. You get to cook freshly baked cookies and they smoosh in some ice cream and roll it in toppings! I got a chocolate cookie & a snickerdoodle with key lime ice cream rolled in fruity pebbles – DEF remaking these at home this summer. 

Stop Six: Brewnuts

• Location: 6501 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102
• Details: At Brewnuts we combine the hospitality of the corner donut shop with the comfort of your favorite watering hole. We encourage you to belly up to the bar and stay awhile.

We walked into this donut place and were like “oh, we’ll get a dozen to take home” and then saw they were $32 and were like “say what” and then we saw the DONUTS. Trust me, they are worth every single penny. They are the size of your head and absolutely delicious. Their menu changes routinely but we had flavors like butterfinger, strawberry sprinkle, maple bacon, pineapple fluff, and raspberry glaze. Columbus needs a Brewnuts. 

I took these to my sister’s house and there were 5 adults, 1 toddler, and 3 babies. We ate 8/12 donuts in about 30 minutes. 

Stop Seven: West Side Market

• Location: 1979 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113
• Details: With origins of the land dating back to 1840 the West Side Market is Cleveland’s oldest publicly owned market. Today the market is home to over 100 vendors of great ethnic diversity. You can find not only fine meats and fresh vegetables, but also fresh seafood, baked goods, dairy and cheese products, and even fresh flowers. There are also booths that sell ready-to-eat foods, herbs, candy and nuts.

I feel like it isn’t a trip to Cleveland without a trip to the famous West Side Market! We didn’t buy much because we had to drive back to Columbus but it was such a fun little market full of meat, seafood, treats, pasta, and coffee. I did grab a coconut latte from the coffee shop in the market and it was literally perfection. 

Stop Eight: The Greenhouse Tavern

• Location: 2038 East 4th Street, Cleveland, OH 44115
• Details: In 2007 a young cook named Jonathon moved back to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. After spending most of his culinary career cooking in New York City kitchens, he decided that it was time to come home.  Chef Jonathon Sawyer brings love and happiness to each plate that is put out of The Greenhouse Tavern’s kitchen. Using local produce, protein, and grain Chef Sawyer supports our revitalizing economy in Cleveland, Ohio. 

All you need to know is that this brunch was amazing. I didn’t take like any pictures because my sweet husband worked with my dear friend to surprise me at brunch! This lovely woman married us and holds a dear spot in my heart so it was so so wonderful to see her.

The perfect ending to a perfect 24 hours in Cleveland.