I love this place because it's kind of sentimental to me. My grandpa brought me and the rest of my siblings here when I was little. I'm now an adult and I visited the other day. The place is exactly the same as it was when I was little. Same people, same decorations, same old smell, same menu, same everything. The only thing wrong with this place is its not with the times and usually restaurant don't make it just because of that. I hope this one stays. I got the open faced roast beef meal. The mashed potatoes and meat were fine but the gravy tasted a bit old. My boyfriend got a burger and some fries. It was a very blast seeing something that means so much to me.
(4)
Snickers W.
Paper sign on the door "Cash Only" made me leery. Talked my daughters into giving it a try. Walking in we were skeptical, but turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. We had coney dogs and a gyro, both were excellent. Place was very clean including the restroom. People were friendly.
(4)
Cacique G.
If you can deal with the cigarette smoke, the breakfast is great and cheap... really cheap. Do not be fooled, the food was great.
(4)
Ben B.
Having been born, raised, and a staunch supporter of everything Covington for all my years I must be the first to admit I am ashamed that today was my first visit to Covington Chili. I've always seen it sitting there across from the Madison Theatre on Madison Ave and always thought that it looked tasty, but never have I ventured inside. Today, we make it right. The chili parlour itself ranks up there with some of my other favorite contenders. Long, narrow, and dimly lit, it's the quintessential diner with the long bar and stools on the left overlooking the cooking, and tables up against the wall on the right. At the front of the restaurant sits a large jukebox that remained quiet throughout our stay. The menu items have your typical parlour items of chili, sandwiches, and breakfast fare. On a non-chili note I saw the chicken wrap and it looked fantastic! We sat at the bar and was waited on by one of the youngest chili servers we've experienced on our tour. Service was prompt and enjoyable, even though we overheard that someone else missed their shift and our waitress was running the whole show. I was quite impressed that she kept everything flowing pretty solidly even though the restaurant was filling up with the lunchtime rush. The chili was meatier than some of the other contenders, yet still had a bit of soupiness left at the bottom of the 4-way. There didn't seem to be too much of a spicy punch to the chili though, and the aftertaste was minimal at best. There was definitely ample chili on both the 4-way and the coney and wasn't sloppy. The onions were flavorful and the cheese was fluffy and thinly grated, as it should be. The bun was OK, not too soft yet didn't seem to be two day old bread, one day at most. We had to ask for oyster crackers, and that may have been due to the lunch rush, but when delivered they fresh and crunchy. The hot sauce was in a squeeze bottle, and not too hot. Maybe they fill their squeeze bottles with Frank's or Texas Pete's, a mild yet flavorful burn. Overall, and hometown Biases aside, I rate Covington Chili towards the top. The combination of parlour ambiance coupled with a pretty decent chili and decent price makes this a solid 3 out of 5 stars. A repeat visit is certainly doable.
(3)
J.D. S.
Old school! Not in the classic, it's all good way...more in the detention center / shop class, smoking in the bathroom between class way. Ugh! With 15 places to snag a coney, why would you do it here? All in all, 14 coney parlors will do just fine....
(2)
Johauna G.
This is one of the few local places on Madison Avenue that serves food. What drew me into the place was a menu similar to Gourmet Chili in Newport, KY. Total disappointment, it was in comparison; the layout , the service and food. The layout for seating is not appealing or convenient due to the one small aisle between the counter and the dinner like seats up against a wall. Imagine it as if this place could be crowded, one would be frustrated waiting as if on a plane or bus letting off people. Another complaint is the waitress forgot my family's knives out of the silver ware and wrote a sloppy receipt with the price of the meal on the back of it. The biggest topper of the meal was the gravy tasted spoiled on the mashed potatoes. Even though the manager was nice about the mishaps, there is alot of changes this local restaurant needs to make. Maybe it wasn't theirs or my day.
Miranda C.
I love this place because it's kind of sentimental to me. My grandpa brought me and the rest of my siblings here when I was little. I'm now an adult and I visited the other day. The place is exactly the same as it was when I was little. Same people, same decorations, same old smell, same menu, same everything. The only thing wrong with this place is its not with the times and usually restaurant don't make it just because of that. I hope this one stays. I got the open faced roast beef meal. The mashed potatoes and meat were fine but the gravy tasted a bit old. My boyfriend got a burger and some fries. It was a very blast seeing something that means so much to me.
(4)Snickers W.
Paper sign on the door "Cash Only" made me leery. Talked my daughters into giving it a try. Walking in we were skeptical, but turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. We had coney dogs and a gyro, both were excellent. Place was very clean including the restroom. People were friendly.
(4)Cacique G.
If you can deal with the cigarette smoke, the breakfast is great and cheap... really cheap. Do not be fooled, the food was great.
(4)Ben B.
Having been born, raised, and a staunch supporter of everything Covington for all my years I must be the first to admit I am ashamed that today was my first visit to Covington Chili. I've always seen it sitting there across from the Madison Theatre on Madison Ave and always thought that it looked tasty, but never have I ventured inside. Today, we make it right. The chili parlour itself ranks up there with some of my other favorite contenders. Long, narrow, and dimly lit, it's the quintessential diner with the long bar and stools on the left overlooking the cooking, and tables up against the wall on the right. At the front of the restaurant sits a large jukebox that remained quiet throughout our stay. The menu items have your typical parlour items of chili, sandwiches, and breakfast fare. On a non-chili note I saw the chicken wrap and it looked fantastic! We sat at the bar and was waited on by one of the youngest chili servers we've experienced on our tour. Service was prompt and enjoyable, even though we overheard that someone else missed their shift and our waitress was running the whole show. I was quite impressed that she kept everything flowing pretty solidly even though the restaurant was filling up with the lunchtime rush. The chili was meatier than some of the other contenders, yet still had a bit of soupiness left at the bottom of the 4-way. There didn't seem to be too much of a spicy punch to the chili though, and the aftertaste was minimal at best. There was definitely ample chili on both the 4-way and the coney and wasn't sloppy. The onions were flavorful and the cheese was fluffy and thinly grated, as it should be. The bun was OK, not too soft yet didn't seem to be two day old bread, one day at most. We had to ask for oyster crackers, and that may have been due to the lunch rush, but when delivered they fresh and crunchy. The hot sauce was in a squeeze bottle, and not too hot. Maybe they fill their squeeze bottles with Frank's or Texas Pete's, a mild yet flavorful burn. Overall, and hometown Biases aside, I rate Covington Chili towards the top. The combination of parlour ambiance coupled with a pretty decent chili and decent price makes this a solid 3 out of 5 stars. A repeat visit is certainly doable.
(3)J.D. S.
Old school! Not in the classic, it's all good way...more in the detention center / shop class, smoking in the bathroom between class way. Ugh! With 15 places to snag a coney, why would you do it here? All in all, 14 coney parlors will do just fine....
(2)Johauna G.
This is one of the few local places on Madison Avenue that serves food. What drew me into the place was a menu similar to Gourmet Chili in Newport, KY. Total disappointment, it was in comparison; the layout , the service and food. The layout for seating is not appealing or convenient due to the one small aisle between the counter and the dinner like seats up against a wall. Imagine it as if this place could be crowded, one would be frustrated waiting as if on a plane or bus letting off people. Another complaint is the waitress forgot my family's knives out of the silver ware and wrote a sloppy receipt with the price of the meal on the back of it. The biggest topper of the meal was the gravy tasted spoiled on the mashed potatoes. Even though the manager was nice about the mishaps, there is alot of changes this local restaurant needs to make. Maybe it wasn't theirs or my day.
(1)