Cincinnati Dinner Train

I went for my birthday 🎂 last summer. I went with my family and we had a BLAST! I see why people recommend going. It was totally worth the money.

A one-of-a-kind evening on the rails!

If you’re looking for a truly unique experience in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Dinner Train is an absolute must. I recently took the ride and it completely exceeded my expectations.

From the moment you step aboard the beautifully restored vintage railcars, you feel transported to a different era. The atmosphere is elegant but welcoming, and the staff goes above and beyond to make the evening special without being overly formal.

I had a delicious four-course meal (the calzone I chose was amazing!), and loved that you pick your entrée when you book. Everything was served hot, fresh, and beautifully presented. The train ride itself is smooth and scenic—you catch glimpses of the city that you just don’t get from the road.

Even if you’re not a train enthusiast, this is a wonderful option for a date night, special celebration, or hosting out-of-town guests. It’s the perfect blend of nostalgia, great food, and a little adventure. I’ll definitely be recommending this to friends and visitors!

Great time, food was excellent.

Our group of 14 (7 couples) experienced mixed feelings about our recent train trip. Prior to departure, we were informed by staff via email and phone that a mandatory, pre-paid gratuity of approximately $60 per couple was required to guarantee group seating. This policy was disappointing, especially considering the $260 per couple cost that we had already paid and the principle that gratuity should reflect service quality which we had not yet received.

Onto the actual experience....The train route began in an industrial area, resulting in unappealing scenery for roughly half the journey. The views improved significantly as we approached downtown. The service staff were consistently polite and attentive, and the onboard entertainment, including singers and historical commentary from the conductor, was enjoyable.

The food was adequate, but not exceptional. My prime rib steak, ordered medium, was very overcooked. While I understood the challenges of preparing meals for such a large group, it was still a notable disappointment. The other food served was decently okay but not exceptional.

In summary, while the service and entertainment were positive aspects of the trip, the mandatory pre-paid gratuity, the initial uninteresting scenery, and the average food quality detracted from the overall experience.

3 hour train with dinner

First time riding the CDT. Enjoyed the ride, good food. Only downside was getting dark early and not getting to see everything.

Love the ambiance of the train, food was tasteless, I've had better at a nursing home. When you pay $120 per person food needs to be on point.

Had a great time on the train. Everything is put together very well for anyone. I'd recommend trying to book in groups of 4 for an entire table, but don't be afraid if you don't! At the end we got to blow the train whistle which was a highlight

Amazing experience. Very friendly staff. Food was tasty. Prime rib and salmon. Desserts were very good. Highly recommend!!

Amazing experience! Great trip with history of the city and food is on point!!

The train was clean and nice looking but the food and the view were very disappointing. The prime rib was dry and had no taste whatsoever. It was not worth the money that I paid… will not be going back

We were on the New York train in early October. We were also on the train last year that caught fire and had to end our ride an hour in. We wanted to love it but it just fell so short of what we expected. Service was GREAT except our waiter had to confirm with us about three/four times what we ordered and still managed to deliver us the incorrect food. He was super friendly though. My parents prime rib was extremely dry and the green beans had tomatoes in them so that's pretty much what it tasted like, stewed tomatoes. My salmon was AMAZING and I'm glad I ordered that. My sister ordered the vegetarian plate and it was absolutely horrible. Vegetables overcooked in a circle stuck on top of marinara sauce. We told one of the waitresses and she said everyone that gets that says the same thing and doesn't eat it. Said they've told the cooks etc several times. Sad that you continue to put out that food then. Just awful. We were told AT LEAST 3 times to tip and there was even a placard on the table telling us to tip 20% of the $120 per person. I paid cash for my drink bill and the waitress decided to use my cash as the tip and charge my sister for her drinks as well as mine. Another waitress had to come over and apologize for the error and gave my sister my cash while still charging her for both of us. We enjoyed our company and we really enjoyed the scenery, even though most reviews didn't like it. We had an amazing time on the train but we won't ever do it again. Cost is to high and the food just wasn't that good for us

Had a great time on the CDT. The meal and service were much better than I anticipated. We went in mid November, so the views were limited by the darkness, but were still pleasant. The conductors provided historical information along the route. Would recommend this to anyone for a fun night out.

I recently enjoyed the Cincinnati Dinner Train, and it was a great experience! The vintage train cars and delicious meal made for a relaxing evening. While the views weren't spectacular, the charming atmosphere and friendly staff more than made up for it. Highly recommend for a unique night out!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Hickory Smoked Prime Rib

THE GOOD. I Loved the 1940s theme with actual train cars, music, dress that was fun.

Conductor BRETT was great as was the staff and service was good.

THE BAD The food itself very mediocre and overpriced for what it was.

Wine way overpriced and horrible selection $40 dollars for a 10 dollar bottle of 19Crimes Pinot?!
They only had very low end wines.

Drinks....$16 dollar 2 oz pour?! REDIC!
You're NOT Eddie Merlot or SOTO nor Jeff Ruby!!

I understand restaurant pricing! But 4X times markup for complete crap wine ..NO!
My bar tab all in was $150 for three people.

THE UGLY...
1.Was the scenery and lack there of! Nothing but backs of factories, parking lots, dumping areas, airport and freeways, NO RIVER VIEWS for the ride!
And we are on a river!!

Even a train ride in Europe pick a country you have some level of scenery, here you don't and it's dark out too!

2. Tipping policy.. mandatory 25% and weirdly on a small table note BTW with the fixed price of $140 per person of three that's $420 and over $100 tip plus the request for more tip to other staff..
Let us decide how much we want to tip.

Over $600 dollars for a little train ride for three that we had no scenery, crappy wine and mediocre food..?!

IN SUM...Just not worth it.

I've travelled extensively and happy to pay, if all the other pieces were in place and they weren't.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 4