A restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio, was named one of the 50 best places to eat in America by The New York Times.
The New York Times released its “America’s Best Restaurants 2025” list on Monday, and Wildweed in Cincinnati made the cut. The restaurant on Walnut Street in Over-the-Rhine was the only eatery in Ohio to make the prestigious list.
New York Times food writer Brett Anderson said Wildweed is “one of the Midwest’s most impressive and regionally distinctive Italian restaurants.” Chef David Jackman and his wife, Lydia Jackman, own the Italian restaurant, which started as a pasta pop-up in 2018 before opening a brick-and-mortar spot in 2024, according to its website.
At Wildweed, the descriptions for each course at the restaurant “are filled with action,” Anderson wrote.
“It’s common for restaurants to highlight the busywork behind their creations,” Anderson said. “It’s less common for those efforts to end up accentuating the silky beauty of lake perch or to lead to dishes as coherent and novel as cool marcona almond tofu jeweled with raw tuna and pickled ramps.”
David Jackman, who was a 2025 finalist for the James Beard Award in the regional category of Best Chef: Great Lakes, cooks “like Southwest Ohio lit a fire inside him. Long may it burn,” according to Anderson.
In a post on Instagram, Wildweed and the Jackmans said the honor “means a lot.”
“Grateful to be in such good company on this list, and thankful for everyone who’s touched or been touched by our restaurant. We couldn’t represent a better community,” the post said.
America’s Best Restaurants methodology explained by NYT
To find “the 50 best places in America right now,” The New York Times said 14 reporters and editors took 76 flights to eat more than 200 meals in 33 states.
The newspaper said the reporters and editors showed up unannounced, using regular reservation booking tools or walking in, and did not accept special treatment.