Restaurant Reviews: The Gruff, Covington KY

I'm always in search of a pizza that I love in Cincinnati. I'm not sure why but I just never find one that I like that much. 

We found out about a new pizza place in Covington and decided to check it out. It's called The Gruff and it's across from the Big Blue condos by the Roebling.

Inside there's a little delicatessen and store with lots of liquor and the basics like milk, bread, beer. There are a lot of tables as well as bar seating.

Outside there are some tables and umbrellas and this guy was enjoying lunch with his pop-pop! I really wanted to pet him but decided I would try to remain as appropriate as possible. Ugh - why can't I be a 5 year old? They get away with everything!

They also painted an actual Gruff on the side of the bridge they are next to - you know - the 3 billy goats gruff!?!

We were deciding between two places and checked out the menu for The Gruff and saw they had PICKLE FRIES!!!! That sold us on The Gruff. We had to try the pickle fries ($6) - they came with a yogurt dill sauce.

They were pretty good - I still think the pickle chips at Toots are better - these were a little soggy and the yogurt dill was okay - but a nice thick homemade ranch would have been better. I think they're going more hipster - and that's fine.

For the pizza - we chose to get a half & half ($15) of the Margherita (olive oil, tomato, basil & mozzarella) and Meat & Potatoes (made-in-house sausage, parsley, thyme, yukon gold potato, mozzarella & goat cheese).

The crust is great - it's thin and crispy. The toppings were fine but all in all these pizzas left us all craving a little flavor. The Margherita probably was suffering from under-ripened tomatoes - it was fine but not much of a punch of flavor - garlic would have helped too. The Meat & Potato was my idea - I had a pizza with potatoes at Mellow Mushroom and loved it - so I went for it here too. Unfortunately - the sausage was bland, the potatoes were bland - just bland. More goat cheese and maybe some peppers? It just was all the same texture and not much flavor. :-( It's pretty though!

The delicatessen side has booze - big ol' vats of it and lots of sandwich & side options. The business for that was booming - there are a lot of law offices nearby with the courthouse there too.

Why Should You Go? I would give it another shot and try a sandwich or a pizza with a little more flavor. The restaurant itself is very nice and open and has a nice feel to it.