ESSEN Kitchen

This is the second time I am writing this review because yelp will occasionally just not post a review that was written nor save a draft. I apologize if my fury towards the time wasted shines through.Anyway, I was thrilled to see this place during research for my recent trip to Cincinnati. I think every town (every city might be more reasonable) should have a place like this. I, like some other reviewers, was surprised to see that this place is only pick up and delivery. It actually works out because you are able to peruse the menu in peace instead of the person behind the counter impatiently staring at you like a (I had to remove a word here because Yelp thought I was being "offensive" in my hypothetical scenario, use your imagination) who didn't immediately know what to order within a second of seeing the menu. There are a few picnic tables outside if you wanted to eat on location.This was our last 1/2 day before a flight later in the afternoon and had a lot of eating to do so we decided to just split the breakfast sandwich. The sandwich contains vegan sausage, seasoned tofu, vegan hollandaise sauce all in between a homemade biscuit. The sandwich was FIRE. The proteins were hearty and that hollandaise sauce was absolutely delicious. I only meant to have a bite but I couldn't stop eating it. My only criticism is that the thing was very small, much smaller than expecting for the price of over $10. I interacted briefly with someone I think is probably the owner and she was super nice. She mentioned that their biscuit cutter has gotten smaller and that they plan on getting new, larger ones. She told me this completely unprompted when I went inside looking for a trash receptacle. Thinking about it now it was as if she read my mind but upon further reflection the glass between where she was and the picnic tables outside probably wasn't sound proof lol. From our sample size, the food here is very good. I would probably order something like the burrito next time to get my money's worth.

I truly don't remember ever eating anything else from Essen with the exception of their DECADENT chocolate chip cookies, of which I ate a ridiculous amount over the course of the year that I lived in Cincinnati.Gooey, soft, large, and utterly delicious, these are a must-try when ordering from Essen.

Essen has lovely food and their staff is very friendly. I do have to say that I was slightly disappointed to see that the size of the bread is much smaller than it was the last time I ordered one of their pesto grilled cheese sandwiches.

Delicious food! I had the breakfast bowl with beyond chorizo. Very flavorful! Highly recommend if you are wanting healthy alternatives for breakfast.

As I write, this is basically a takeout place. They do have a couple of picnic tables outside of their little kitchen, which is near the Findlay Market, which is not a great-looking area.The menu, while all vegan, is a mix of styles, and sometimes I wonder if I'm harder on vegetarian restaurants about my tastes than I am on normal ones. I'm not really into the whole fake meat thing, but they still had some interesting options. The lunch box I ended up with had biscuits, mac and cheese, and a soupy side of beans and greens. It was a little more liquid and a little less of the actual beans and greens than I'd hoped, but when you throw in a good quality vegan butter, it was tasty stuff. The truffle mac and cheese was lightly coated with something that wasn't cheese, but was delicate and nuanced enough in flavor that I was happy with it.It was pricier than the non-vegan equivalent would be, but at least it's something worth eating for those who have a hard time eating out.

Absolutely fabulous. How I have missed grilled cheese sandwiches and bisques as a vegan. Miss it no more, Essen makes vegan versions that are as good as the originals. Fantastic vegan Cincy chili and chocolate chip cookies. And you can eat it at the hippest bar in the Nati, the Orbit Room. Thank you to both!

Wow!! We were absolutely blown away by the flavors, truly inspired!! Keep up the great work ladies

Great place with tasty food. Definitely love stopping by and grabbing lunch here on the go

A to-go only, all-vegan breakfast eatery with top-notch food.I showed up around 9:45am not having realized it was online orders only. The woman who greeted me was nice enough to put my order through in person. I ordered the breakfast bowl ($12 after tax), and she had it out in 5 minutes -- nice!The bowl comes with tofu scramble, vegan chorizo, and breakfast potatoes, on a big bed of spinach, drizzled with spicy mayo and perhaps some Mexican spices. It was lightly spicy, very flavourful, and filling. Really great stuff. Highly recommended.

Super good! I was surprised all the vegan food was good but it was excellent. Would definitely get again.