Wow! Haters gonna hate. Any complaint I've read would have easily been acknowledged and the eater would have been aware of had they just taken 20 seconds to check the website. Zero complaints. It was a fun afternoon adventure. Drove 4.5 hours out of our way on a beautiful Sunday for some adventure. Chicago has plenty of its own hands down yummy chicken places. The schoolhouse is right up there! Love a good mom n pop family business. Would again go out of my way to pop over and share a good meal with loved ones. read more

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This restaurant has sort of a cult following. They were even featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri. I went for lunch with friends. The menu is definitely comfort food. The sides are served family style but the entrees are individually ordered. My fried chicken was tender but lacked flavor. The green beans, corn bread and potatoes were excellent in flavor. It is located in a rural setting in an historic schoolhouse and on the property there are goats (which you can feed by purchasing goat food). read more

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Unseasoned fried chicken. Said they leave it unseasoned so we can season it ourselves, but how are you supposed to do that once it's cooked and brought out? Sides came out about 45 mins before chicken did. Took about 2 hours to get our food. Inside felt dirty and not kept up. Upon leaving we saw we cooks out back smoking, which could explain the 2+ hour wait for unseasoned chicken. Will not be back. read more

Nice historical building with a comfortable vibe. It was a little smaller than expected and a little warm. The upstairs was interesting to see as were the old bathrooms. Most of the food was decent with the corn fritters and chicken parm standing out. Our waitress was super nice and easily handled our larger group of 8. read more

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Food is absolutely awesome!! Service was great!!! Worth the cost. Takes you back. Great story about how the school house was utilized with underground railroad. read more

Another great time with friends at this restaurant. The family atmosphere and basic American menu are a welcome change from pretentious venues that offer small plates at a big price. This is a great choice for quality comfort food and good conversation. As the holidays approach, visit the Schoolhouse and reconnect with what really matters. read more

The food at Schoolhouse Restaurant is amazing. The hand breaded chicken tenders were moist and tasty paired with creamacaroni & cheese. And fresh made Cole slaw left us quite satisfied. They have a nice goat farm and store so the kids had a great time. read more

Schoolhouse Restaurant - Goats - American Near Me - Camp Dennison, Ohio

This concept of "family" style isn't ideal with the menu hand written on an old chalkboard original to the build as neat as that was - it was almost impossible to read or see, and not accommodating to a good dinning experience- the restaurant was very loud, dirty, floor was sticky everywhere. The food was gross, canned beans, powered mash potatoes and gravy and the main corse was bland. (Skip the fried chicken and salmon) If you have $80 burning a hole in your pocket - save it, read more

Failing grade. The Schoolhouse Restaurant has quite a reputation due to being on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, so we were excited to try it out. We were extremely disappointed. First of all, the prices are expensive. We had a couple of small eaters in are party of four, so we figured they'd just split the fried chicken dinner. When ordering we were informed that there is a $14.00 charge to split a meal. The waitress explained since the sides are "refillable" the charge was necessary to prevent us from just taking home a boat load of sides. We went ahead and just ordered a full meal since the $14.00 charge is crazy. Be mindful that you order your main dish and whatever sides they want to bring you is what you get, no choice on sides. The meal then started with a salad and cole slaw. The salad has a french dressing on it, once again you have no choice. It was a bagged salad, so we barely touched it. The cole slaw was just chopped cabbage with a bland "sauce" on it. This would be an omen of what was to come with the flavor of the food. Our main dishes consisted of fried chicken and fried grouper. Absolutely no seasoning on anything. The group was a single piece of fish, at $28 it was extremely overpriced. I've heard people rave about their fried chicken, but it was bland and dry. I'd take KFC chicken over this without hesitation. Now about the infamous "refillable" sides...TASTELESS. We were served mashed potatoes, carrots, corn, and corn bread. Mashed potatoes were instant, no seasoning. Corn was from a can. Carrots had some kind of honey glaze with a strange aftertaste. Corn bread was just ok. No one in our party ate much of the sides, so the high expense of these sides was severely overrated. About the only positive for the experience is the schoolhouse setting is pretty cool But by no means is it worth a bill well over $100 for four people (with no dessert). Once again, a KFC family meal would be much more flavorful and a lot cheaper. Just save yourself the money and skip this place, it isn't worth enduring the bland food just to experience the setting. read more

I truly dislike leaving a bad review, but hopefully this is viewed as an opportunity for growth. My family & I have been wanting to dine here for quite some time & finally made a reservation for 7pm on a Sunday. We arrived 15 minutes prior to our reservation. Once seated, we received a complementary salad dressed with what I can only describe as a brown fruity dressing along with a bowl of coleslaw. Another table received a salad with a white dressing, which seemed odd. I won't comment on the coleslaw as I only had a small bite & am not normally a fan anyway. The salad was...odd. We didn't receive our food until a minimum of 40 minutes later even though they weren't particularly busy. We received corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, & cornbread as the sides. The only thing that tasted seasoned was the gravy. I never knew what people meant by gluey mashed potatoes until I had these. The texture was definitely off. I will say the cornbread was decent & the only thing I enjoyed eating. My husband ordered the fried chicken. It was completely devoid of any seasoning whatsoever. I ordered the salmon, but instead received the chicken Parmesan (which doesn't include spaghetti?). The waitress realized her mistake, but I ate the food anyway since I wasn't sure if I would actually get to eat if I didn't. It was just ok, not what I wanted. My son had the burger & fries. He barely pushed through half of it before deciding it was too flavorless. The waitress brought by the bill & explained we had to pay at the register. We waited & waited, made eye contact with other staff, & no one came to ring us out. I finally had enough & placed the cash on the counter with the bill & walked out, so hopefully they eventually got to it & another patron didn't take it. We will absolutely not be back unless MAJOR changes happen. Really disappointed. read more

Food was good and so was the service. The restaurant is very small . Also I know it sounds petty but parking is gravel and it was muddy.

Home style meal that satisfied my hardy apatight. The chicken fried steak was amazing. The mashed potatoes were amazing. read more

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The Schoolhouse Restaurant has great food, a fun atmosphere, quality service, and is an excellent value!

4.5 stars. Really fun throwback place. I've been twice in the past few months with my husband and kids and we really like how unique it is. Pros: - price is really good for what you get. $22 for a big meal of fried chicken with a bunch of sides is fantastic these days - food itself is a throwback to my 90s childhood. I don't want that every day but it's fun to have on occasion - ambiance is different from your normal place - my kids have loved feeding the goats while they wait for food, the chalkboard, etc. Cons: - a fair amount of flies on one visit - not on the food though - service can be slow - everyone is working hard just need time to prepare the food - bathrooms actually remind me of my elementary school in the 90s. read more

Still trying to figure out how they got on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (aka DDD)........ This is not a place you come to week after week. It's a one and done just to see what the excitement is about. We had a reservation for 8 people on Sunday afternoon. We were seated promptly at a round table that felt kind of sticky. The table covering (shelving paper) has been on the table since the early 1900's. It needs to be refreshed. The lazy Susan in the middle of the tablet needs to be oiled - it didn't turn easily. We were greeted immediately with a bowl of salad and cole slaw. The salad was already dressed with French dressing - I hope you like it since no other options were offered. The server took each person's drink order as they arrived. She was courteous and prompt. After ordering, it took about 20 minutes for our food to come out. All food was served hot. The issue is that nothing was seasoned. The green beans (which were featured on DDD) had no taste. They were bland and required salt and pepper. The mashed potatoes - same; the gravy on my roast beef - also needed salt and pepper. Originally, I was going to split a 4-piece chicken dinner with my mom. The kicker is that I would be charged $14.00 for my part of the refillable side dishes. In my opinion, that is highway robbery. I understand an upcharge for sharing..... but $14.00??? Our table of 8 did not get any of the side dishes refilled. I ordered the roast beef dinner. The portion size of the dinners is larger than most restaurants. No one left hungry. Another item featured on DDD was the peanut butter pie. It was okay - but definitely not TV worthy. And, for $8.00 a slice, you can get a better at Frisch's (too bad they are out of business). Overall, the service was great, and the food was average. This is a place you go to once to see what the fuss is about and then go back to your regularly scheduled restaurant rotation. read more

I love historical restaurants and this was a gem! The food is what comfort food dreams are made of! I got the fried chicken was it was delicious. Sides include: corn bread, corn, green beans, salad, Coleslaw, and mash potatoes and gravy. I left about 2 pounds heavier read more

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Went here as it's a DDD. Had fried chicken for entree. They bring salad, Cole slaw, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans and cornbread for everyone and it goes in a lazy Susan in the middle of the table. All the food was great. Cornbread was exceptional! read more

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One of my favorite restaurants. It is unique to anything else in the area. Food is brought out quick which helps turnover tables because there is not many. Usually always a wait. read more

Schoolhouse Restaurant - American Near Me - Camp Dennison, Ohio

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Good is pretty good. I don't think the sides are fresh ( I think they use can green beans, instant mash potatoes, and either can or frozen corn) corn bread is good. Expensive for the quantity and product. Slow service. Unique and cool restaurant with a lot of history. Indoor and outdoor seating. Games outside. Goats onsite. General store that has goat food. read more

Schoolhouse Restaurant - Parmesan crusted salmon - American Near Me - Camp Dennison, Ohio

We had the best time in this old time family style restaurant. The authentic schoolhouse ambience was worth it..

The food is really good, no complaints there. The place itself is small and cozy, which gives it a nice, comfortable vibe. That said, the prices are just way too high for the portion sizes. We spent over $100 for a family of four and all we ordered was fried chicken, which is hard to justify. If the prices were more reasonable for what you get, this would easily earn more stars from me. read more

Went there for the first time for Thanksgiving in the first seating for the day at noon. We were the last table to receive our main courses (at 1:20). In fact, there were four tables that were finished and left before we ever got our orders. Nobody in our group was particularly impressed with the food. It was decent, but certainly nothing exceptional. When asking for more of the family style sides that come with the meal, it was hit or miss as to whether we got them or not in a timely manner. The building gets very congested if there is a large crowd, but the footprint is small so that is unavoidable. Nice ambiance of an old time schoolhouse. All things considered though, we were underwhelmed. read more

Went there today for the annual Thanksgiving Day feast. The School House never disappoints! The food was delicious. The portions were large. Dessert was yummy. We had the berry cobbler. Highly recommended read more

No complaints at all,everything about this restaurant is excellent,from the delicious food to the employees,the owners,the tabels with the lazy Susan on it,the amount you get with a serving is so plentiful,friendly atmosphere,what more can I say the place is top of the list over all restaurants. read more

Me and couple of seniors citizens women when to Schoolhouse Restaurant for lunch. I order the meatloaf with mashed potato ( what a disappointment the meatloaf has no taste and was cold ) the share mashed potato cold the cornbread taste like box mix. One of the women order corn fritters tastes like dough without corn, her chicken sandwich was overcooked and hard. Just keep on driving. read more

We were told the restaurant had great fried chicken. Our experience mirrors many others. The thought behind the place is great; however....the entry carpet, dining room floor, tablecloths, etc were all sticky. The ambiance was like an extremely loud food hall. The food and drink menu was hand written in the front of the room on the old chalkboard; we sat in the back so between the messy writing, sitting farther back, and the amount of people's heads in the way it was very difficult to get a clear view of the menu, although the ordering concept is pretty simple and the waitress was quick to explain the ordering process. The food was very bland and overpriced. The fried chicken was well past over fried; dark, dry, and tasteless. The mashed potatoes are instant. Not sure anything is fresh or scratch made. We had to pay an incredibly high price to share the chicken, which was explained to us that this is because the sides are refillable, but they were not good enough to warrant a refill honestly. Truly a disappointment. The waitress and iced tea were very good. read more

1st "visit", visit in quotation because we didn't stay to eat. Ordered soda-machine was broken after we ordered, ordered meatloaf-would be another hour until it was ready (we went at 12:30pm so it's not like they sold out and needed to make more which I could totally understand), ordered chicken livers-sold out. Prices seemed high but supposedly you do get a lot of sides to share. $24 for 4 pieces of Fried Chicken, I'd rather go to The Eagle. Outdoor area seemed cute for warm weather. Not a great experience. Won't be back. read more

Great place for a family meal, little too much for just a couple, so take some friends-fun engaging old school team. Lively atmosphere, did take a while to get a table, but nice grounds to wait. read more

This restaurant has a very unique theme. An old schoolhouse converted to a restaurant. The schoolhouse dates back to 1862, while it was converted to the restaurant it is today in 1963. It is located right outside of Cincinnati and has a decent sized parking lot that it shares with its general store in the back. I highly recommend making reservations because the place is small, with only a few tables. I made my reservation the night before and I was fine. I was seated as soon as I got there. They have no paper or QR menus. The menu is written on the chalkboard inside the dining area (I like it). They have southern country food, dessert and cocktails that come in a mason jar. They bring you cole slaw and a salad for the table as an appetizer while you wait on your meal. I ordered the fried chicken dinner for me and got the littles some macaroni. The dinner came with some sharable mashed potatoes, green beans, and carrots. We also got some corn bread. The shareable food is placed on a lazy Susan, to be rotated around the table. Everything was delicious. The fried chicken was heavenly. You could really taste the ham in the green beans. We had to get seconds on the corn bread, it was that good. The garden salad was fresh and I don't know what type of dressing was on it, but mmmmmm. I got a Blackberry Vodka Lemonade to wash down my food. It came in a mason jar, as promised, and was very refreshing. The entire staff there is very friendly. They give the restaurant that down home feeling. My server was nice, but could have been more attentive. It took a while to place my order and it was difficult getting our drinks refilled. Outside of the restaurant is a tether ball pole, a small slide and a tire swing to help pass time if you have to wait or like I did burn off some of that energy after dinner. There is also a shelter with a bunch of picnic tables under it. I think it is used for those waiting, as well as for special events. The entire school house is able to be rented out and catered. This is a unique spot to catch dinner and their staff is very friendly and take pride in the place. It is not open much (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) or for long. Be sure to check out their hours. I highly recommend checking this place out. You are sure to enjoy it. read more

Found this hidden gem while visiting the Cincinnati Parks holiday lights display. And WOW, was blown away by this cozy, locally owned restaurant. First off: as name suggests, it looks like this restaurant was built inside of what used to be an old time schoolhouse (loved the vibes). But what really impressed me was the food and drinks. They had a lot of unique house made cocktails that sounded phenomenal (will be going back to try them all). The menu focused on comfort food type plates. The food was so cheap compared to how much you got ( I had enough leftovers for another meal). I got the fried chicken which came with shared sides of mashed potatoes, coleslaw, beans, and cornbread. Most importantly it was some of the best fried chicken I've had in Ohio. The desserts cannot be forgotten either; the pies were amazing! The staff was also very friendly and the service was excellent. If you live anywhere within a reasonable driving distance, check this place out! You won't regret it. read more

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If you are wanting a "family style" meal and a bit of history this is definitely a place to check out. It's not everyday you get to have a meal in a school house built in 1862. One suggestion call for reservations even if they say you don't need one when you call - make one. Get the corn fritters these were the highlight of the meal!! Choose your entree (we opted for fried chicken) the meal is served with shareable sides mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, salad, green beans, cornbread, and an additional vegetable, which was corn. Everything was very good with the exception of the green beans they were lacking taste and seasoning. Service was very good and everyone was very pleasant. We will definitely be back! read more

Schoolhouse Restaurant - Corn fritters-so good! - American Near Me - Camp Dennison, Ohio

When you pull in, there is a little country store (gift shop) where you can pruse and assortment of goodies mostly hand crafted. You can also feed and pet the goats . When you park and go in, it has a quaint, homey feel to it. You feel like you've stepped back in time to little house on the prairie. The menu is on the chalkboard, as you can see red & white checkered table cloth. The food was fantastic, service constant, and quite casual. read more

Schoolhouse Restaurant - This is the table with a lazy Susan in the middle with the family style sides, mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn. - American Near Me - Camp Dennison, Ohio

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This place has gone down hill. The food (fish, sides) was horrible and tasted like a cafeteria food. Everything is way over-priced. The desert cobbler was the size of a match book for $8, and they forgot the alcohol in our $15 (each!) cocktails. $130 bill for 2 people for cheap food made without love. It was my mom's 92nd birthday, too. We will never go back. read more

A 60 year old, one family restaurant that has survived a huge fire and Covid. This is more a historical food adventure. A unique dining experience. You eat in an 1800 school house. The chalk boards are the menu. There is only maybe 12 tables to serve. So filling those tables with supporting customers is vital. They have a limited hours because of the lack of finding help. This is family style dinning and comfort food. I read another poor review that claimed "not fine dinning". Ha, no it's not fine dinning and don't claim to be. I visit this place every Friday after thanksgiving as a tradition. ANYONE WHO READS MY REVIEWS KNOWS I SUPPORT SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS. YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE MODERN AND NEW. IF YOU WANT NOTHING BUT GIANT COOPERATE STORES YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE. Share your business with small stores for your own sake. read more

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This place has gone downhill fast. A few years ago it was great. As of Nov. 2023, just ok at best and certainly not worth the price.

Three of us went for Friday lunch at noon. It was busy. No outdoor seating. Two of us got chicken. One liked the burger. Chicken was good, not lots though. Slow service but expected. read more

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Great food! Great experience and atmosphere. We got right in on a Saturday right when they opened. One minor complaint - the "schoolboy double cheeseburger" is priced at $16, then they charge you $1.00 for cheese. Why not just make it $17 instead of being sneaky? Just not cool. read more

We've been there multiple times and have never been disappointed. Not only is the food great, but it's also fun to tour the schoolhouse.

This was our first time here and had a great experience. It was wayyy too cold (we came Jan 7th) to really take a look at the outside, but, it's an old schoolhouse. The inside is charming in it's own historic way and the dining room almost feels like everyone's at a big family get together (which is good depending on your family). Sides: We were started off with salad and coleslaw. The salad had a strange dressing but was pretty good. The coleslaw was unique as well, kind of finely diced, it was great. When the dinner comes out they give you all the classic fixins': mashpotates and chicken gravy (on the side), green beans, corn, and cornbread. The mash potatoes were kinda like boxed flavored but with the gravy it made them great. The green beans were good with a nice smoky flavor, the corn needed some salt, but, its corn so it's always pretty good, and lastly the bread was great; nice and moist with a nice flavor. Entres: I ended up getting the fried chicken as I've heard it was the best outside of The Eagle for years. I was kinda disappointed. Yes the outside was nice and crunchy, yes the inside was nice and tender, and yes the portions were large. But, it honestly lacked flavor. With that said, when I got home and ate the leftovers with some hot sauce I was satisfied. My girlfriend, as usual, got the country fried steak. This thing was huge. It came covered with brown gravy and looked great. She said it was great and that she would order it again. Overall, it was a good experience. I will order something different next time we go. The chicken fried cordon blu sounded delicious. Btw, they give you some boxes to take leftover sides and entrees home. So be prepared for leftovers. We both had a 2nd (full) meal. read more

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Really great experience, beautiful historic building with sheep out back that you can feed. A fun time and the food is delicious. We were seated promptly by a friendly server. We were in a room that was formerly a classroom for a big K-12 school probably more than 100 years old. The sides are served family style on a spinning table topper. We had carrots, green beans salad, cole slaw, and mashed potatoes. All were delicious, especially the thick hearty mashed potatoes. We ordered Fried Chicken, Catfish and shrimp. The portions are huge and the food was extremely hot, fresh and delicious. The chicken was crispy outside and tender inside. The flavor was subtly peppery and delicious. The cornbread was moist and a little sweet, outstanding. The prices were pretty high, but just about worth it as a special treat. The general store was a neat building but the merchandise was uninspiring. This could be a big area of improvement. read more

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