Andrea Louis| Special to Cincinnati Enquirer
A walkable little downtown.
Impeccable Italian dining to rival the best in the city.
Distinctive nightlife.
Dessert options by the fistful.
That's a chef's kiss of a date night.
Who knew Mason hasa quaint historic district tucked away from the city's big-box businesses thatborder Interstate 71?
If you're looking for fresh date night ideas, let us introduce you to our new Date the Neighborhood series. We'll test out all the fun things to do in super-datable Cincinnati-area neighborhoods, then share the ideas with you.
Shall we?
Where you're going: Mason, Ohio
We are taking you out to historic downtown Mason, a quite walkable little area along state Route 42 that's stuffed with great restaurants, bars, dessert joints and even a lovely little outdoor seating area in the middle of town.
Mason is also a Dora district (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area), which means you can grab a drink and walk around town or hang out in Mason Plaza in the middle of town. Find more info about where you can buy drinks and where you can go within the Dora at bit.ly/masondora.
What youneed for this date night
- An outfit for an upscale casual dinner (nothing terribly fancy but maybe not your yoga outfit).
- Comfortable shoes for walking around town, if you choose to explore that way (you can always drive, if you're not interested in walking or in the Dora aspect of the area).
- A big appetite.
First stop: Dinner at Luigi's Ristorante Italiano
By now, we have all heard of Sotto, Scotti's, Pepp and Dolores, Nicola's, etc. All are revered as Cincinnati's finest in Italian dining. And perhaps you've heard of this one, too. I personally hadn't, and now, I wish I had discovered this absolute gem years ago.
Tucked away on a side street in Mason is an unassuming little restaurant: Luigi's Ristorante Italiano.
It won't take months to get in, but the food and service are just as incredible as any of the above. It's founded by first-generation immigrant Luigi Berardo from Duronia, Italy, and this food is the real freaking deal.
We feasted on the very rich stuffed mushrooms, which made me involuntarily do that happy-food-dance thing, and arancini balls the size of fists. The gnocchi was cheese-stuffed pillowy heaven tucked into a delectable pesto cream and dotted with peas to expertly counterbalance all that richness.
The Gamberi e Capesante con Orecchiette (translation: shrimp and sea scallops with Luigi's spicy sausage, spinach fennel and roasted red pepper cream) was absolutely gobbled up by my seafood-loving husband.
Everything was indulgent, tasted from-scratch and was everything we wanted from an authentic Italian restaurant.
Plus it has outdoor seating.
Rounding things out, Luigi's offered a nice wine selection and lots of cordials alongside the traditional Italian desserts. We opted to split a cannoli. Next time, I'm absolutely getting a Caravella Limoncello or a Frangelico, but we had other stops to make, so I had to save room.
If you have to wait for a table, take a few minutes to check out the deli and meat section, and maybe take home a treat for later. All kinds of goodies are on display and not just deli items.
Make a reservation and check out the menu atluigishospitality.com/ristorante.
Dessert: Ice cream sandwiches
If you didn't have dessert at Luigi's or if you're just taking the night to indulge (no judgments here), just a block or so away from our first stop is Cincy Sammy's.
This place serves the classic-for-a-reason combination of cookies with ice cream. Or just get ice cream. Or a cookie. Or one of the special creations. When we visited, they were offering a special for the solar eclipse: a Moon Pie cake that was 100% mouthwatering.
Shop: Get musical
Maybe you want to take a nice walk after all that food and before the next stops, which involve more drinks.If that's the case, then stroll to Hey Suburbia Recordsto browse its vinyl collections. Pick out an album you think the other person would like, find an album for less than $15 or so that the other person would dig, or unearth that Beatles rarity you've been hoping to find.
Explore the Dora district
Next up on your stroll: Common Beer Co.,a nanobrewery (that means it's even smaller than a microbrewery). In honor of this walkable date, I'd choose the Walks Will Haunt, a 6.5% Red IPA with a flavor profile of "blackberry + sweet + malty."
Choose to hang out inside, take your drinks for a walk or lounge on Common's back patio, which has an exceptional view of the sunset, a fire pit and a box of blankets to wrap up in if it's a chilly night – such a cool touch.
A nightcap with international flair
If you're ready for another drink (please pace yourself), or you're not in the mood for the normal bar scene, head to Adesso, a cozy, low-key coffee shop with a Latin American flare. They have coffee AND wine or co*cktails, and on some evenings, some form of entertainment: Latin music, other varieties of music and open mic nights. Check out their offerings and events on Instagram @addessocoffee.
Although Adesso isn't open late on some nights, they do have later hours than most small coffee shops: closing at 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and open Thursdays until 7 p.m.
Want a quieter spot? Head to the sweet little backyard seating area under the shade of trees and the soft glow of string lights.
Just one more scoop
If you skipped the dessert up to this point – or you want a third dessert because this date is going awesome and you don't want it to end – then make your final stop of the evening and scoop up an old-fashioned whippy dip at Mason Whippy Dip. (Not even kidding: They have blue ice cream.)
And because, hey, we just couldn't find room in our evening (or our stomachs) to fit all the great Mason spots in, here are some more options. Many of them have great outdoor seating, too.
- Two Cities Pizza:twocitiespizza.com.
- Taqueria CDMX:instagram.com/taqueriacdmxmason.
- Quatman Cafe:quatmancafe.com.
- Wildflower Cafe:linktr.ee/wildflowermason.
- Big Dog's Pizza:bigdogspizza.com.
- Thai Terrace:thaiterracemason.com.
- The Mason Grill (breakfast/lunch):masongrill.com.
- Pleasure Inn: bit.ly/pleasureinn.
- Mason Cigar Manor:masoncigar.com.
- The Corner Deli:facebook.com/tonyspizzeriamason.
