Diners' Choice: Innovative restaurants in Cleveland / Akron / Canton

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for the best restaurants that are fit for foodies in Cleveland / Akron / Canton? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Cloak & Dagger

4.9

4.9 (1132)

$31 to $50

Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service

Tremont

About the restaurant

A cocktail lounge with focus on hospitality and craft located next to Lincoln Park in the historic Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland.

Top review

marianaVIP

Dined on Jun 21, 2025

Best cocktail in town, love ambience and staff is fantastic!

The Blue Door Cafe

4.8

4.8 (269)

$31 to $50

Contemporary European

Cuyahoga Falls

About the restaurant

Located in the heart of Cuyahoga Falls, near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Blossom Music Center, The Blue Door Cafe now also offers an elevated but casual dinner service. Showcasing an eighteen foot poured concrete bar, more spacious and comfortable seating and many other nuanced improvements, The Blue Door offers a seasonal and rotating menu featuring charred burgers, house made pastas, hand formed dumplings, air shipped seafoods, and wagyu steaks. The Blue Door proudly sources ingredients from local farms as well as nationally recognized purveyors such as Portland Maine's Browne Trading Company and Ohio's own The Chef's Garden! Dishes with a European and global flair are carefully created and prepared using techniques that draw upon and showcase the skills of our culinary team. Join us for curated whiskeys, bourbons, cocktails, beers and wines, an elegant, clean and ever improving dining room, attentive and friendly service and of course exceptional food!

Top review

Raymond

Dined 5 days ago

Food was fantastic and the service was exceptional!!

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse - Canton

4.7

4.7 (116)

$30 and under

American

Canton

About the restaurant

Time counts at BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. Since our humble beginnings back in 1978, we've continued to refine our brewhouse experience to make BJ's a place where you can make the most of any meal. We want BJ's to be a place where the moment you leave is the moment you plan on coming back. We pride ourselves in our craft and attention to detail. Our guests come here for our award-winning handcrafted beer. They come here for the Southern California twist we've put on the Chicago-style deep dish pizza. And they come here for our Pizookies®, our world-renowned dessert. But above all we know people come here to make their good times better. So in many ways we haven't just crafted a brand, but a mindset. And our guests are the reason for this. And it's because of them we're continually striving to make sure every moment they choose to spend with us counts. Welcome to BJ's, a restaurant with a Brewhouse soul.

Top review

greg

Dined on Jun 21, 2025

Everything was great. My mom enjoyed her 1st birthday dinner without my dad

Rood- Lakewood

4.7

4.7 (97)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Lakewood

About the restaurant

Creative interpretations of seasonal American dinner fare
2023 Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards: #1 West Side Restaurant and #1 Desserts in Cleveland

Executive Chef | Josh Erickson
Executive Pastry Chef | Annabella Andricks

Top review

christineVIP

Dined on Jun 24, 2025

Our 1st time and it was delicious ! We will be back

Prohibition at the Caverns

4.6

4.6 (98)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Mansfield

About the restaurant

Experience dining approximately 30 feet below ground in historic caverns that were hand built in the 1800's. Accidentally discovered in 2018 during the building of our parent restaurant, Hudson and Essex, we have refurbished the caverns once used to store beer before air conditioning into a one of a kind dining experience. Every Friday and Saturday night we provide an 8 course dinner with wine pairings from our home winery ( Cypress Hill Winery ) using wines made with California grapes. Prepaid reservation only. Also available to book out for events.

Top review

David

Dined on Jun 21, 2025

Fantastic evening! We loved talking to the owners to start off the evening. The ambiance and staff were wonderful, but the food even more impressive. We will definitely be back. Go hungry!

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Experience

4 Course Friday Dinner Underground

Experience

8 Course Dinner in the Caverns

The South Side

4.5

4.5 (76)

$30 and under

American

Tremont

About the restaurant

Walk-ins welcome!
We proudly work with local producers and farms to bring you the best dining experience. Our chefs work directly with local growers, collaborate with local small businesses, producers and farmers and love cooking for you everyday. All our sauces, dressings and soups are made in house from the freshest ingredients, and have been this way since day one. Our signature cocktails are all made from fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. We crate original syrups and infusions based on the seasons, precisely designed to pair perfectly with your food.

For a cozy dinner date, enjoy the indoor patio room with a beautiful fireplace. Large groups are welcome, we offer party planning for special events. Grab a seat at the 20 seat bar and enjoy craft cocktails and a huge beer selection. Catch the game on large TVs on Sundays. Dog friendly patio, weather permitting. Great Happy Hour specials M-F, and the Late Night Menu is served everyday until 2am.

Top review

DonaldVIP

Dined on Jun 19, 2025

Had the Shortrib pasta special....and it truly was special! The menu is varied with something for everyone.

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Experience

South Side Happy Hour

Goma

4.5

4.5 (618)

$31 to $50

Japanese

Downtown Cleveland / E. 4th Street

About the restaurant

GOMA is a new Japanese fusion located at the corner of E. 4th and Prospect in downtown Cleveland. As Dante Boccuzzi’s newest restaurant, the menu draws upon Chef Boccuzzi’s worldwide award-winning culinary career, which includes serving as the executive chef at Nobu in Milan, where he worked directly with Nobu Matsuhisa and Giorgio Armani at the flagship establishment. **Validation for parking through East 4th Street Valet is available upon request.

Top review

RachelVIP

Dined 7 days ago

Always a great time at Goma! Brought people from work here for a dinner. It was a blast. Love the staff, the food, the drinks, everything. We will for sure be back. Thanks for an amazing time😊

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4.5

4.5 (46)

$31 to $50

Tapas / Small Plates

Solon

About the restaurant

Crafted for You: Modern Tapas and Cocktails.
We look forward to seeing you soon.

Top review

Ellari

Dined 4 days ago

This is my second time at this restaurant and again my husband and I loved this place! I love the food is so consistent and a small focused menu. I love everything I try there and the dessert is amazing every time. Cannot wait to go back. This is perfect for a date night or girls dinner. The cocktails are so delicious and well crafted and even the mocktails as well. The ambiance is so beautiful. A real Gem!

The Melting Pot - Lyndhurst

4.4

4.4 (2210)

$50 and over

Fondue

Lyndhurst

About the restaurant

The Melting Pot Lyndhurst is a modern, romantic, interactive, upscale, casual & fun fondue restaurant. From an intimate dinner for 2, to a girl’s night out, to a banquet of 100, The Melting Pot Lyndhurst is a place to escape the day to day & relax! Our beautifully appointed dining rooms, superior service, Wine Spectator award winning wine list, luscious and creamy cheese fondues, crisp seasonal salads, succulent entrees including steak, lobster, chicken, shrimp, vegan & vegetarian meals plus our decadent chocolate fondue desserts make for a perfect dinning experience in casual elegance! Winner of Smart Business Magazine's 2007 World Class Service Award for the Great Escape, the 2005 Silver Spoon award for best new restaurant & winner of Wine Spectator's 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008 Best wine list!

Top review

Kailey

Dined on May 23, 2025

Food was delicious, service was very friendly, and we had such a great time!

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4.3

4.3 (67)

$30 and under

Gastro Pub

Lakewood

About the restaurant

Your neighborhood gastropub — come for friends, fun, and a diverse array of entertainment throughout the week. Stay for creative takes on your favorite pub fare along with rotating food and drink specials.

Parties of 8 or more have an automatic 20% gratuity added to the bill. Minimum purchase required for dine-in. For Trellis Rooftop reservations, please contact events@studiowest117.com.

Top review

Andre

Dined on May 31, 2025

Oh my god food so amazing also Draq show is bombs good show we enjoyed with friends Deaf we will come back june 7th thank you I appreciate Love y'all guy

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Experience

Trivia Night! Every Wednesday

Explore Diners' Choice best of Cleveland / Akron / Canton