Cleveland's 25 Best Restaurants of 2022
April 28, 2022
We are honored to again be named one of the 25 best restaurants in Cleveland by Cleveland Magazine! "Chef Rusty James Phillips enjoys a dichotomy. His 44-seat Fairport Harbor restaurant is cooking some of the region’s most innovative food, miles away from far hipper dining scenes."
Cleveland's 50 Best Bars, Clubs and Cocktail Lounges
January 27, 2022
We are honored to be named one of the 50 best bars, clubs and cocktail lounges in Cleveland by Cleveland Magazine! "Chef Rusty James Phillips’ fine dining tapas and seasonal craft cocktails, which often incorporate ingredients from the patio herb garden, shine at this stylish spot."
Best of the East 2022: Restaurant
July 26, 2022
"Small plates delivered in the Pompadour’s cozy, tapas-only dining room always create a buzz." The Pompadour breaks down one of its eye-catching delicious dishes that you won't want to miss in this article highlighting the restaurant as the 2022 Best Restaurant Winner.
Food + Drink: The Pompadour, Fairport Harbor Ohio
July/August 2022
"Depending on your preference, The Pompadour may draw you in with its small plates and hook you with its cocktails, or it may be the cocktails that get you in the door and the small plates that keep you coming back. Either way, this cozy, welcoming spot in historic downtown Fairport Harbor manages to balance its offerings in a way that consistently ups its overall game." - Ruth Corradi Beach, Ohio Magazine
Voyage Ohio: Meet Rusty James Phillips
July 7, 2022
Learn more about The Pompadour's Chef-Owner Rusty James in this Voyage Ohio Magazine interview discussing how he got to where he is today, the biggest challenges, and lessons learned.
Word of Mouth: Eugene Chef Michael Schoen Cooks (and Eats) What He Loves
January 19, 2022
Chef Schoen spills the details on his favorite spots in Cleveland, including for "Fine Dining: The Pompadour is a little joint in Fairport Harbor that’s blowing people away across Cleveland. I love the defiance of not having to be in Tremont or Ohio City. That's a one tank trip people should definitely know about.”
Cool Cleveland: The Pompadour Bar & Tapas
October 2021
"One doesn’t expect to find a chic little spot like The Pompadour Bar & Tapas in an unfashionable little lakeside town like Fairport Harbor, but that's where it opened in 2016, bringing signature cocktails and well-crafted small plates to an area better known for fish fries and working-class bars."
10 of Cleveland's Most Romantic Restaurants
February 8, 2021
Cleveland Magazine: "Why we love it: This Fairport Harbor favorite has an inviting modern atmosphere that proves the best things come in small packages."
25 Hard-to-Get Cleveland Tables That Are Totally Worth It
April 12, 2019
Cleveland Scene Magazine: "The Pompadour is a ways away, but absolutely worth the trip and the scheduling. Be sure to call ahead, and take in the great views and scrumptious tapas."
Cleveland's 25 Best Restaurants of 2019
May 9, 2019
We are honored to be named one of the 25 best restaurants in Cleveland by Cleveland Magazine! "With such a small footprint, snagging an open table or a seat at the bar on the weekend here is a feat, since locals know chef and owner Rusty James Phillips is a genius in the kitchen. So listen to us when we say that it's worth the trip to the sleepy lakeside community just to get a taste of what Phillips is cooking up for his seasonal small plates menu."
The Pompadour in Fairport Harbor Delivers Tapas Worth the Drive
August 1, 2018
Douglas Trattner, critically-acclaimed freelance writer and dining editor for Cleveland Scene Magazine, notes: "We worked our way through a third of the menu with one regret: that we didn't have room for more."
The Pompadour is a Tapas Paradise
June 7, 2018
Kim Schneider, managing editor of Cleveland Magazine: "Playfully named as a nod to a hair salon that once occupied the space, it still feels more like an intimate neighborhood bar than somewhere where you'd expect to find a stellar small plates menu and creative cocktail program. But that's the beauty of Pompadour -- it's not flashy or showy. It doesn't pretend to be anything more than a hidden gem serving simple, stripped down tapas that let the four or five ingredients shine."
Pompadour, in former Fairport Harbor dive bar, astounds diners with creative tapas
August 29, 2018
Lake County News-Herald's travel and dining editor, Janet Podolak: "Word of [Rusty Phillips'] bold, innovative food has spread to Cleveland's West Side, Erie, Pennsylvania, and beyond, luring diners to seek out his tapas-style dishes in the restaurant borrowing its name from the beauty shop that once occupied the space."
Small plates of The Pompadour big addition to Fairport Harbor
October 26, 2016
Lake County News-Herald restaurant reviewer, Mark Koestner's, visit left him "impressed with everything about The Pompadour. The service was excellent, and the creativity that food trucks have always seemed to embody definitely carries over to this brick-and-mortar establishment. Quality food and drinks in a cool atmosphere make for the night-time experience this great daytime area needed."