Every once in a while, you may drive through Cincinnati and pass a bar or restaurant, unaware of the deliciousness that is hiding inside. While the exterior of this OTR dive bar near downtown is fairly noticeable, you won’t believe the fresh, flavorful, and authentic food that is being prepared inside. Forty Thieves is a bit of a hidden gem and a delicious Middle Eastern restaurant in Cincinnati that is worth discovering.

Newer to the popular dining and bar scene in OTR, Holiday Spirits calls itself a dive bar as it sits on the corner of Race and Liberty.

Facebook/Holiday Spirits In the warmer months, you’ll find guests outside on this fantastic patio and likely ordering food from the walk-up window, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Cincinnati called Forty Thieves.

But this dive and eatery is open all year long, and the interior is just as eye-catching.

Facebook/Holiday Spirits It does feel like your best friend’s basement on the inside - albeit a fancy friend who has pool tables and Skee-ball. In addition to the wide variety of drinks available at the bar (try the slushies!), you can also grab food from Forty Thieves.

Forty Thieves serves up authentic Arab and Israeli street food, including this mouthwatering beef shawarma.

Facebook/Forty Thieves You can get this flavorful meat, as well as falafel or grilled chicken, tucked inside a pita, on top of hummus, or piled onto couscous.

The hardest part of visiting Forty Thieves is deciding between the falafel and the meats.

Facebook/Forty Thieves All of the food is full of flavor and it’s difficult to find authentic dishes such as this around town. When you combine that with this unique atmosphere, you have a must-try restaurant in Cincinnati.

Forty Thieves knows good food, and they also know how to take a drool-inducing photo of it.

Facebook/Forty Thieves Their Facebook feed is filled with colorful, enticing shots of their pita, falafel, and beef shawarma, so you may want to steer clear when you’re hungry.

Unless, of course, you can head down to Forty Thieves and order this shawarma bowl over hummus with Za’atar fries.

Facebook/Forty Thieves If you’ve never enjoyed this type of food, Forty Thieves is an excellent place to be welcomed into the flavorful party.

Be sure to ask about any specials Forty Thieves is offering at the moment. You may get lucky with this stuffed burrito.

Facebook/Forty Thieves Anything on the small but mighty menu is worth a try, so head downtown to OTR and discover this hidden gem for yourself.

Venture out and try something new in our delicious city. Forty Thieves is a Middle Eastern restaurant in Cincinnati with incredible flavors, fresh and authentic dishes, and a unique dive bar atmosphere you won’t soon forget. Have you discovered this hidden gem in Cincinnati? What’s your favorite thing on the menu? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Facebook/Holiday Spirits

In the warmer months, you’ll find guests outside on this fantastic patio and likely ordering food from the walk-up window, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Cincinnati called Forty Thieves.

It does feel like your best friend’s basement on the inside - albeit a fancy friend who has pool tables and Skee-ball. In addition to the wide variety of drinks available at the bar (try the slushies!), you can also grab food from Forty Thieves.

Facebook/Forty Thieves

You can get this flavorful meat, as well as falafel or grilled chicken, tucked inside a pita, on top of hummus, or piled onto couscous.

All of the food is full of flavor and it’s difficult to find authentic dishes such as this around town. When you combine that with this unique atmosphere, you have a must-try restaurant in Cincinnati.

Their Facebook feed is filled with colorful, enticing shots of their pita, falafel, and beef shawarma, so you may want to steer clear when you’re hungry.

If you’ve never enjoyed this type of food, Forty Thieves is an excellent place to be welcomed into the flavorful party.

Anything on the small but mighty menu is worth a try, so head downtown to OTR and discover this hidden gem for yourself.

For more information on Forty Thieves, including hours, visit its website and follow along with them on Facebook. Just beware – they share a lot of mouthwatering photos of their food!

And for more on the adjoining dive bar, read all about Holiday Spirits in our previous article.

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Address: 1538 Race St, Cincinnati, OH 45202, USA