FOOD & DRINK
The Baker’s Table rewrites the restaurant’s menu each week. P H OTO : M I C H A E L T IT T E L
Jazzing Things Up Rustic seasonal cuisine and live music enhances the charming ambiance during Sundays at The Baker’s Table in Newport. R E V I E W BY PA M A M IT C H E L L
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f you live north of the Ohio River, the plentitude of chef-driven restaurants makes it easy to dine in Cincinnati and not venture far afield. We have convenient access to meals from kitchens helmed by the likes of Jose Salazar, Jean-Robert de Cavel, Vanessa Miller and Josh Campbell, to name just a few favorites. What attracted me to dinner at The Baker’s Table in Newport
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was the chance to hear a jazz duo that plays a regular Sunday gig there. To my surprise and delight, the meal turned into one of my top dining experiences this year. I had enjoyed dinner at The Baker’s Table a couple of times before COVID19 upended everything. The talent behind the establishment deserved wide attention from its opening day
JUNE 15, 2022 - JUNE 28, 2022
in late 2018, but it didn’t seem like an essential destination, given all the more accessible options closer to my Clifton home. Now, however, I think it may be one of the very best restaurants in the region, worthy of frequent visits. Owners Dave Willocks and Wendy Braun have made a few crucial changes since the 2020 early-pandemic days and subsequent shrinkage of the restaurant world. They switched from day and evening service to dinners only and moved from an a la carte menu to a fixed-price menu. They also opened a fast/casual place across the street, The Baker’s Table Bakery and Pizza. As we move – however cautiously – out of pandemic mode, Willocks says that these efforts have paid off, creating a more thriving, stable business. The result for diners
is evident not only in the delicious food but also in seamless, attentive but unobtrusive service. The utility of having a separate bakery increasingly made sense after the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, Willocks says. After all, the importance of bread and other baked goods to the mission of the restaurant is clear from the name they chose. Willocks says that they have never bought a loaf of bread, pie crust or even crackers from another purveyor. When the restaurant closed and then reopened at reduced capacity in 2020, he realized that they needed more baking capacity. Although the bakery seats only 30, it’s also set up for easy carry-out, not only for bread and other baked goods but also for a selection of 12-inch pizzas now offered
