Spooky Eats at The Haunted House Restaurant in Cleveland

Ever since moving to the Cleveland metro area, I’ve been wanting to dine at The Haunted House Restaurant. I watch my fair share of spooky movies around Halloween (typically fantasy based only i.e. Hocus Pocus, Goosebumps, and Beetlejuice – no bleak Saw or Hostel type torture movies for me!).

Last Halloween season, I was unable to book a reservation in time, but I made plans in advance this year. Although it’s open all year, I really wanted to experience the full ambiance during the prime of the Halloween season. This horror themed restaurant opened in Cleveland Heights in 2021 so it is a relative newcomer to the foodie scene.

This is one of those touristy restaurants where you come more for the theme, rather than the food. While the menu is overpriced, the food was decent enough. They offer classic American fare in a spooky over-the-top themed room where you can dine alongside your favorite horror villains. Everywhere you look you will see spooky themed decor, so it’s not the best dining choice if horror is not your preferred genre.

If you are looking for something fun to do this Halloween season, you are already too late as they are completely booked out every weekend throughout October. I recommend making your reservation now for next year.

The concept

Right when you walk in, you can tell that this restaurant is unique. Instead of a hostess stand, you will walk up to a ticket booth. The lobby looks more like a movie theater than a restaurant with posters and murals on the wall of various horror movies past and present, like It and Scary Movie.

The murals are super colorful and creative; I really love the realistic details on Slimer from Ghostbusters and Pennywise. Unfortunately, it was a bit too crowded to take any decent pics.

As you walk into the bar and dining room area, you will see many horror movie props, movie posters, and animatronics. They usually have a movie playing in the background; it was Gremlins on our visit. Much of the staff dresses in costume and characters (we saw Michael Myers and Ghostface) walk around attempting to scare you. I have to admit that Michael Myers creeped me out pretty badly.

Photo opps with your favorite villain are available, and you may get a chance to pose with Pennywise, Ghostface, or Michael Myers depending on who is there during your visit. I got my pic next to Ghostface. Also, there is a scary photo opp near the entrance not to miss out on!

I enjoyed looking around at the various memorabilia; it’s definitely a fun throwback to the past to anyone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s. Most of the movie decor is from classic franchises like Scream, Saw, Ghostbusters, and Gremlins, although we saw some newer props from modern classics like Megan.

On one negative note, the walls are up pretty high on the tables, so it was hard to view the entire dining area from our seat. I wish we could have enjoyed a bit more of the decor while dining after paying such a high price. It was busy, dark, and hard to take pics due to the layout, so you’ll have to visit for yourself to take it all in.

2 decorations which really stood out to me where the giant Pennywise and the animatronic Chucky. As a fan of Child’s Play, I loved this throwback. I’ve seen IT numerous times and I find it really creepy and sinister – that being said it’s a great movie and one of just a few of the darker movies which I’ll watch every year. This giant clown prop is really scary; it feels like he is watching you the entire time.

I noticed a lot of people celebrating birthdays here on a Friday night. One cool quirky thing they do is announce a “purge” whenever it is someone’s birthday. First, the purge announcement is played and then there is music and fog and all the costumed characters start walking around. It’s a fun time and it happened at least 5 times during our visit. Basically, the entire restaurant is high energy and fun; something different than your typical dining experience for sure.

You can learn more about the restaurant’s origin on their website.

Spooky Cocktails

They offer all your typical drinks, but they are most well known for their extensive menu of spooky cocktails. Here are a few examples of the creative concoctions:

• The Ghostbuster: a chocolate martini
• Poison Ivy: a sour and sweet based candy apple cocktail
• Potion Bowls: 51 oz fruity cocktail topped with candy prepared tableside to be shared amongst your party. Dry ice creates a fun foggy effect
• Vampire teeth: a mocktail featuring pineapple and fruit punch, topped with whip cream, candy, and strawberry drizzle
• Blood bag cocktail: I saw a lot of tables with this fruity cocktail served in a hospital IV bag

I rarely ever order drinks in a restaurant but figured I would just to enjoy the ambiance a bit longer. I went with the Smoking Peach Bellini which was a champagne and peach puree base, topped with fruit and a splash of peach schnapps. The drink wasn’t very strong but I loved the smoky presentation.

“The only thing that is scary is how good the food is”

The above mentioned phrase is the restaurant’s slogan. While it was not the best food I’ve ever had while dining out, it was a bit better than the reviews led me to believe. They could us a few more vegetarian options; I’m not really a fan of fake plant based meat products. For example, they had no substitute for the chicken on the scooby snack nachos. They serve dinner and brunch, and you will also find some “brinner” (brunch for dinner) selections on the menu.

You will notice that everything on the menu has a creative name.

A few highlights:

• Nightmare on Elm Street Corn: Street corn with feta cheese, garlic aioli, cilantro, and smoked paprika.
• Jaws: A creative pizza featuring shrimp, salmon, spinach, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, and a seafood cream sauce.
• Chucky Rolls: Egg rolled filled with sweet potato puree, greens, chicken, and mac and cheese.
• The Slimer: Green waffle sandwich with 2 eggs, American cheese, sausage, candied bacon, and powdered sugar.

What we ordered

For our app, we went with the Scooby snacks – basically nachos topped with sweet chili queso, chicken, pico de gallo, and guacamole. They were tasty but a bit pricey considering we were unable to substitute any veggie friendly choice for the chicken. Most restaurants sub beans or some type of veggie, so a bit of a disappointment.

For our main entrees, we went with The Pennywise and the Creepy Seafood Pasta

The Pennywise: Fried chicken tossed with hot sauce, 2 over medium eggs, pepper jack cheese, powdered sugar and a honey drizzle are all stuffed inside a red waffle sandwich. Mike wanted to try this entree out as we have heard from others that it was delicious. He was pleased with both the taste and presentation.

Creepy Seafood Pasta: My options were a bit limited as I avoid red meat and chicken, but I decided to go with the seafood pasta dish. Surprisingly, it was pretty tasty and filling despite the high price tag. This dish basically consisted of shrimp and salmon in an alfredo sauce. The addition of caramelized onions, spinach, and roasted red peppers give it a bit more flavor. It tasted a bit more like shrimp scampi than alfredo to me.

Note: Be aware that an automatic gratuity is added no matter the party size.

Location & Additional Details

• The restaurant is located at: 13463 Cedar Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH
• Hours: 4-9pm (Mon-Thurs), 10am-3pm, 5-11pm (Fri-Sun)
• Reservations on Open Table

Visit the website for the full menu and to stay updated on future events. They offer costume contests and more.

Recommended Halloween Movies

Here are a few of my favorite Halloween/horror themed movies to see this season if you haven’t already. I prefer those with more of a fun/whimsical/fantasy/campy/supernatural vibe over a sinister, depressing horror theme.

• Hocus Pocus
• 1408
• Scream 1-4
• Child’s Play 1-3
• The Cabin in the Woods
• Fright Night (original & remake)
• My Best Friend is a Vampire
• Ghostbusters 1 and 2
• Urban Legends
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space
• Beetlejuice
• Identity
• Halloweentown 1 and 2
• As Above So Below
• Gremlins 1 and 2
• Poltergeist 1-3
• Teen Witch
• IT
• Halloween series
• The Watcher in the Woods
• Ernest Scared Stupid
• The Lost Boys
• Casper
• Edward Scissorhands
• The Faculty
• The Frighteners
• Brainscan
• The Hole
• The Burbs
• Megan
• The Haunted Mansion
• Tower of Terror
• Twitches
• Goosebumps
• Leprechaun series
• Idle Hands
• Drag Me To Hell
• 3 Ghosts
• The Gate
• Pulse
• Secret Window

More to do around the metro & beyond

If you are looking for more to do around the city and Lake Erie, you can take a look at my Ohio Travel Guide. There are plenty of indoor attractions for those all too often gloomy, rainy, and snowy days, plus so many incredible parks and easy access to beaches.