Newport, the river city in northern Kentucky, may have a seedy past, but its future is bright—if not electrified—with an impressive stream of new businesses and attractions making it the place to be.
Yes, from the 1940s until the ’70s, Newport was known as Sin City. It was the place to go for illegal gambling, strip clubs, houses of prostitution and other questionable establishments. But those businesses are long gone, and the past is mentioned only to help visitors see just how far the city has progressed.
The heart of Newport is historic Monmouth Street, which runs perpendicular to the Ohio River. Start your day, as many locals do, with breakfast at either Sis’s on Monmouth or the Pepper Pod Restaurant. Both have been serving home-cooked meals in a casual, friendly setting for decades. Either one will work for a traditional eggs-potato-meat kind of breakfast. Plus, both have goetta on the menu, a German meat dish made of steel-cut oats, ground beef and ground pork, which is popular in the area. If you are not familiar with goetta, you might want to try it with an order of eggs.
Another Newport tradition for breakfast is the Cookie Jar Bakery, also on Monmouth. In business since the 1920s, these people know how to make a lot more than cookies. Each buttery flavor of cookie is delicious. The owners are up baking way before the crack of dawn each day, and almost everything is ready by 3 a.m., so you can get sweet treats fresh from the oven. During regular breakfast hours, the baked goods are still amazing. Aside from the cookies, the bakery offers pastries, cupcakes, breads, cinnamon rolls and more.
As long as you are on Monmouth Street, poke around the shops. There is an eclectic mix of old-school clothing shops and funky, hipster specialty shops. You’ll find Galaxie Skate Shop right next to Arcadian Comics and the Costume Gallery, all on the same block. There is also Urban Chick, a reasonably priced women’s clothing and accessories shop, as well as the Lilly Pad Gallery and several antique shops.
It would be hard to miss, but as you travel north on Monmouth Street, take a minute to admire the World Peace Bell between Fourth and Fifth streets. At 12 feet high and 12 feet wide, it weighs in at 66,000 pounds and is the world’s largest free-swinging bell. It rings every day at noon, so plan to be in the area around that time if you’d like to hear it.
Speaking of noon, it must be getting close to lunchtime, and, luckily for you, there are lots of great lunch choices nearby.
If you want to eat like a local, your best choice is Dixie Chili, a Monmouth Street staple. The Sarakatsannis family brought their Greek chili recipe—what some call Cincinnati chili—to northern Kentucky in the 1920s. It is a secret blend of meat and spices, made fresh every day and served over spaghetti or hot dogs with loads of shredded cheese on top. The menu also includes salads and deli sandwiches, if chili is not what you are hankering.
Another fantastic choice for lunch—well, any time of day, really—is Mokka and the Sunset Bar & Grill. The eatery has a fabulous selection of gourmet burgers as well as jazzy sandwiches and salads. Try the meatloaf Philly or the Thanksgiving ciabatta sandwiches. Another tasty choice is the surf-n-turf burger, which features a ground-beef patty covered with a fried crab cake, provolone cheese and horseradish mayo.
Are you a carnivore? If so, you might be interested in Packhouse Meats. The restaurant is known for its hand-packed ground meats—picture a meatball covered with the gravy or sauce of your choice and served in a bowl, salad or sandwich. It is a hip place to hang out, and even cooler is the no tipping policy.
Newport has several independent pizza places, each one unique and worth a visit: Strong’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, Newport Pizza Company or Dewey’s Pizza. Strong’s is home to a giant Italian brick oven—hence the name—where pizzas and appetizers are baked to a delicious crisp. Although the pizzas are wonderful, save room for one of Strong’s signature dessert pizzas, like the white chocolate pizza or the Nutella pizza.
Newport Pizza is a warm, friendly place offering a menu filled with traditional pies and hearty sandwiches and pasta dishes. Dewey’s, which is inside Newport on the Levee, features pizzas with funny names and not-so-common toppings. Try the Porky Fig with a fig jam base or Socrates’ Revenge, which is like a Greek salad on a crust.
Looking for something sweet after lunch? A visit to Newport is just not complete without a stop at Sweet Tooth Candies. The shop, which has been around for decades, is an old-time candy store. The homemade chocolates—familiar favorites like opera creams, turtles, caramels with nuts, and more—will truly melt in your mouth. Sweet Tooth also has handmade ice balls with or without ice cream in the middle, a delightful treat you can’t find just anywhere.
After lunch, make your way toward Newport on the Levee, which sits at the base of Monmouth Street and the Ohio River. The Levee, as everyone calls it, is a collection of chain retail stores and restaurants, and unusual entertainment venues. It is built right atop—you guessed it—the Newport floodwall, also known as a levee. For entertainment, the Levee is home to AMC Movie Theatres; Gameworks, a modern-day arcade; and Axis Alley, an upscale lounge offering bowling and billiards.
But the biggest attraction at the Levee is the Newport Aquarium. While it features thousands of aquatic animals that you can see and sometimes even touch, the real draw is the seamless acrylic tunnels that visitors can walk through as fish, sharks and rays swim all around. Other exhibits spotlight penguins, seahorses, alligators and frogs. A jellyfish gallery lets you watch the creatures swim as if they were dancing a classical ballet. With so much to see, experience and learn, Kentucky’s only aquarium is a must-do when in Newport.
After a few hours inside the aquarium, your next stop should be the Purple People Bridge. Adjacent to the Levee, the former railroad and auto bridge spans the Ohio River and is open only to walkers and bicyclists. Offering fabulous views of Cincinnati, Newport and Covington, depending on which direction you are walking, it is a fun place to stretch your legs. There is also a Cincy Red Bike station near the base of the bridge, where you can rent bikes and ride around for a few hours.
Wow, is it already time for dinner? There are so many choices; the decision is going to be a tough one.
One of Newport’s most-beloved restaurants is Pompilios. This Italian eatery has been a Newport staple since 1933. People go for the delicious pasta, homey atmosphere and authentic bocce ball court out back. Whether you want lasagna, ravioli, rigatoni or the classic veal parmigiana or chicken cacciatore, you will not be disappointed.
Pompilios became somewhat of a tourist attraction in the 1980s with the release of the movie Rain Man starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. The film was shot primarily in the Greater Cincinnati area, and the famous toothpick scene—in which most of a box of toothpicks spilled and Hoffman’s character determined their number with a single glance—was filmed in the bar area of Pompilios. The spot where the scene took place is marked, but please don’t try to recreate it (or mention it).
If you’ve always wanted to experience an authentic German bier hall without crossing the pond, then the Hofbräuhaus in Newport is your best bet. Modeled after its 400-year-old sister establishment in Munich, the Newport edition offers a grand dining hall with live German music, an outdoor bier garden that seats 400, an authentic Bavarian menu, and, of course, hearty beers that are brewed on site. The Hofbräu Premium Lager is its signature beer, and seasonal favorites are offered throughout the year. Although each beer is delicious, it is potent and can be upward of 6 percent alcohol, so keep that in mind when ordering. The menu has German favorites like the Wurst of the Month—as in brats and metts—schnitzel and sauerbraten. Hofbräuhaus also offers American classics like burgers and salads, and—because it is in Kentucky—there’s even a Hofbräuhaus Hot Brown.
Another choice for dinner is York Street Café. Housed in a charming Queen Anne-style building that dates to the 1880s, it is a snazzy, eclectic mix of old and new. The eatery still has all the amazing woodwork, drawers and shelves from its early days as a pharmacy. Now, instead of potions and tonics, it boasts the owners’ classic collection of all things kitsch. Add to this the mismatched tables and chairs, stained-glass windows and antique accessories, and you will realize this is no ordinary restaurant. As the host takes you to your table, make sure you check out the cakes in the glass dessert case. They could, and should, be a factor in what you order for lunch or dinner. The multi-layer cakes are unbelievable. The dinner menu, which changes with the season, includes interesting beef and chicken dishes, and you can always get one of the café’s award-winning burgers. Another option is its conversation boards, a collection of appetizers meant for sharing but so delicious you might want to attack one solo.
Newport offers quite a few choices for evening entertainment, in addition to the establishments mentioned at Newport on the Levee. There are all kinds of bars throughout the city, as well as music venues, historic tours and even a distillery.
The Southgate House Revival, a former church that has transitioned into a concert hall, hosts live music almost every night of the week. You can listen to local and well-known acts, sometimes simultaneously, as it has three stages on two floors. It also sports a full bar.
If you are intrigued by Newport’s bad-boy past, take the Newport Gangster Tour. It is a walking tour of the city where visitors can hear about the secret gambling houses, the rumored mafia connections and the, ahem, ladies of the evening who were seen regularly along the streets. The tour is fun and lively and takes you past some of these former places of ill repute.
And since you are in Kentucky, there must be bourbon, so make sure you pay a visit to New Riff Distilling. This urban distillery, which opened in 2014, may not have the lush setting of limestone and bluegrass many of the Commonwealth’s distilleries possess, but the owners and employees are working to make a fine bourbon. Take a free tour and learn how they have perfected their craft. Free samples are offered at the end of each tour, so you can decide which is your favorite.