Butler restaurant resurrects Red Onion name

New owner says menu is good food in laid-back atmosphere.

A new Butler County restaurant shares part of a predecessor’s name, but its menu aims to be more accessible.

Shanae Revels opened the Red Onion Bar & Grill at 214. S. Main St. in the same space as the former Red Onion Cafe, which closed in 2014, only to be replaced by another now-gone eatery. The new Red Onion’s menu includes new offerings along with a selection of crowd-pleasing holdovers from the previous incarnation.

“The Red Onion Cafe, they loved it a couple of years ago so we wanted to bring back a few of the things that they had. Not necessarily everything because we’re not the same owners,” said Revels, a Butler County resident. “We don’t have the crab cakes or steaks because we’re not a four-course dinner kind of meal.”

Instead, the new Red Onion offers simpler fare that Revels said isn’t really bar food or fast food, but just good food in a “laid-back” atmosphere.

“It’s not something you have to be dressed up to come to,” she said. “You’re just coming to relax and have a good meal.”

One of the eatery’s most popular items, evident from its Facebook page, are its Jamaican wings — 10 chicken wings marinated in Caribbean spice, deep fried and served with a side of chipotle guava barbecue sauce.

Also popular are the beer-battered loaded fries with cheddar and bacon, the chicken Alfredo and shrimp Alfredo and the Red Onion club sandwich with turkey breast, bacon, tomato and Romaine lettuce, Revels said. Burgers are hand patted and never frozen, Revels said.

Besides dine-in or take-out appetizers, entree salads, sandwiches, entrees and desserts, the restaurant offers a full bar and a selection of eight domestic and imported beers on tap. A children’s menu starts at $3.49.

Revels said one of the most enjoyable aspects of opening the Red Onion Bar & Grill is meeting people in the community

“It’s really close-knit and everybody’s really nice and friendly,” she said. “They’re very, very supportive in this area.”

Beth McAfee said she has dined at Red Onion four or five times since it opened in June and plans to continue to do so.

“I love the service and the atmosphere and the drinks are great, especially if the owner makes them,” McAfee said, noting her favorite is the Blood Orange Martini. “There are some food items that I constantly keep on going back to get. I love the grilled chicken sandwich, the Jamaican wings and the chocolate cake.”

Wine Down Wednesdays will launch early next month, offering specials on wine including half-off bottles and $1 off each glass.

The restaurant, which is collecting signatures to get on the November ballot to allow Sunday alcohol sales, employs seven people but is still seeking a bartender and servers. For more information, call 513-360-7491 or visit www.facebook.com/RedOnionBarandGrill.

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