An Evening at Margaritaville in Cincinnati {Review}

Who wouldn’t enjoy the thought of a cold drink in their hand, feet buried in the warm sand, wearing shades and a hat while listening to some island music? Well, recently I was able to spend an evening at Margaritaville in Cincinnati for dining, drinks and fun! And while I kept my shoes on and kept my sunglasses in my bag, I did have a cold drink in hand and great food and company with the music.

The Margaritaville in Cincinnati is at the downtown Horseshoe Casino; you can access it from the street or by walking through the casino. We parked in the garage and walked through the casino just to take a look since we were already there. Upon arrival, my party was seated and given special menus, while our server explained how the special tasting menu we were being given would be presented. First things first, drinks were ordered. Look at this rainbow!

1. Planters Punch: Appleton Rum VX, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, our house-made sweet & sour, pineapple juice, pomegranate and a dash of bitters
2. Bahama Mama: Margaritaville Spiced and Coconut Rums, Cruzan Aged Dark Rum, crème de banana, pineapple and orange juices. Shaken and served over ice with a splash of grenadine
3. Tranquil Waters: Cruzan Mango Rum, blue curacao, pineapple juice and mango
4. Watermelon Margarita: Margaritaville Silver Tequila, triple sec, watermelon purée and our house-made agave margarita mix

Now, no one in my party was a real drinker, but we thought we’d at least taste a few of their adult island drinks! But we did enjoy soda, water, and iced tea the rest of the evening. Next up for the evening was a plate of every one of their new appetizers. Oh my, our table couldn’t hardly fit all of the plates!!

So here is a little about each item, starting from the left (random order, not favorites):

• Carne Asada Steak Quesadillas: Griddled flour tortilla, Oaxaca and Monterey Jack cheese served with lime crema, guacamole and pico de gallo; soft tortilla filled with goodness!
• Grilled Shrimp Skewers: Jerk-glazed shrimp dusted with sugared coconut served with pineapple; these were grilled perfectly and the seasoning had a little kick but the coconut balanced it out
• Asiago Crab Dip: Lump crabmeat in a sharp asiago and artichoke cream served with crostini bread; definitely one of the table’s favorites, hot and creamy, made just for scooping out with the crostini
• White Cheddar Cheese Curds: Served with LandShark Lager BBQ and marinara; piping hot when they came to the table with two sauces to choose from, yum! If you haven’t tried cheese curds yet, this would be a great place to get your first helping!
• “Drunken” Shrimp Skillet: Sautéed with tequila key lime butter, roasted garlic, onions and peppers, with a mini baguette for dipping; the vegetables were delicious with the light saute, and were wonderful with the shrimp

As if we hadn’t already had 5 whole plates of delicious Margaritaville food, now it was time for dinner! I ordered the Grilled Chicken Breast which was marinated and grilled with a bunch of delicious spices, and it came with mango salsa (loved the sweet heat) plus fire roasted corn and “island rice” on the side.

My friend ordered the Landshark Lager Fish and Chips; the fish is hand dipped in Landshark batter and fried, and served with jalapeno tartar sauce and cilantro/lime coleslaw on the side!

Our dining partners were Ryan and Katrina from It’s A Weghorn Life.

Stuffed to the gills, so to speak, we had definitely more food than we knew what to do with. But all of it was wonderful, and at the end, everyone was reaching over to everyone’s plate (we’re all friends) to try a bite of something. Our helpful server made sure our to-go boxes were all fixed up and sent home with the right people.

We were chuckling at the facial expressions of a group sitting near us when their monster of a dessert came out! It looked like a mountain of chocolate and candy and more!

Well…come to find out? We were getting one too.

Let me show you the video first, then I can tell you more about it.

This beautiful and mile high dessert is called the Chocolate Hurricane! Oh my.

Everything the name implies. Vanilla bean ice cream served with brownies, Kit Kat and Heath bars, pirouette and mini shortbread cookies, sliced banana, whipped cream and chopped macadamia nuts. Swirled tableside with chocolate and caramel sauces. Made for sharing.

As if this sweet treat wasn’t enough, we also got to try the Key Lime Pie. It was sweet but tart and I love that it didn’t have the food coloring so many restaurants use to make it lime green.

If you couldn’t tell already, we loved our visit to Margaritaville. We loved the service, atmosphere and the food of course! This is a great place for dinner or a group of friends from out of town. I loved the new menu items we got to try and the laid back “feel” of the place would be wonderful at the end of the day to unwind and relax with food and friends.

Check out the Margaritaville webpage or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: I was provided free food and drinks in exchange for my fair and honest review. This did not influence my review, however, and I would only recommend products or places that I would like to visit again in the future.