Capitol Square business district with North Market on Spruce Street (since 1876), Veritas on Gay Street, Roosevelt Coffeehouse in the Discovery District and the Scioto Mile riverfront.
Veritas on West Gay Street downtown is Chef Josh Dalton's Columbus tasting-menu room, the city's reference fine-dining counter since the 2017 move.
Signature: Tasting menu, Seasonal small plates
Order: Whatever the kitchen is leading the tasting menu with this week.
Tip: Reservations on the restaurant's own site open weeks ahead; the counter seats facing the open kitchen book first.
The Wolf's Ridge Brewing dining room on North Fourth Street downtown Columbus runs a chef-driven new American menu alongside the brewery taproom.
Signature: Beer-pairing plates, Pizza Kitchen pies
Order: Whichever beer-pairing plate the kitchen is featuring with the seasonal IPA on tap.
Tip: Dining room reservations on OpenTable; the Pizza Kitchen takes counter walk-ins.
Graeter's at Easton Town Center is the Columbus-edge French-pot ice cream counter, churned in two-gallon copper kettles in Cincinnati since 1870.
Signature: Black raspberry chocolate chip, French pot ice cream
Order: A scoop of the black raspberry chocolate chip; it is the Graeter's signature for a reason.
Tip: Easton fills up on weekend evenings; the Bethel Road and Hilliard locations move faster.
The Wolf's Ridge Brewing dining room on North Fourth Street runs a chef-driven new American menu alongside the brewery's taproom for a beer-pairing dinner.
Wolf's Ridge Brewing on North Fourth Street downtown runs the Pizza Kitchen counter alongside the brewery taproom with house-brewed lagers and IPAs.
Signature: Pizza Kitchen pies, Brewery snacks
Order: A Pizza Kitchen pie with a Daybreak Belgian wheat.
Tip: Taproom and Pizza Kitchen take walk-ins; the dining room books OpenTable.
Sunny Street Cafe on West Nationwide Boulevard in the Arena District is the Columbus breakfast counter for stuffed French toast and skillet plates.
Signature: Stuffed French toast, Skillet breakfast
Order: The stuffed French toast and a side of bacon.
Tip: Open until 14:30; weekend brunch lines run an hour.
Brioso Coffee on North High Street downtown has been a Columbus specialty roaster since 2001, with a downtown coffee bar attached to the roastery.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala
How they serve: Espresso, Pour over, Whole bean retail
The Veritas wine room on West Gay Street downtown Columbus is the by-the-glass program alongside Chef Josh Dalton's tasting menu, with cellar Burgundy pours.
Signature pour: Sommelier-paired Burgundy off the cellar list
Wine focus: Old World fine wines and biodynamic producers
Food: Tasting menu plates
The Wolf's Ridge dining room runs a small wine list alongside the house-brewed beers, with a sommelier-selected glass paired with each plate.
Signature pour: Sommelier-selected glass with the beer-pairing course
Wine focus: Boutique wines paired with brewery food
Food: Brewery dining-room menu
Wolf's Ridge Brewing taproom on North Fourth Street pours the brewery's IPAs, lagers and the house Daybreak Belgian wheat, with a Pizza Kitchen counter.
Signature drink: House Daybreak Belgian wheat
Food: Pizza Kitchen counter
The Veritas bar counter on West Gay Street downtown takes walk-in seats facing the open kitchen, with cocktail pairings off the tasting menu.
Signature drink: Cocktails paired with the tasting menu
Food: Tasting menu plates
BrewDog DogTap Columbus on Gender Road in Canal Winchester is the Scottish brand's North American HQ since 2017, with a 42-acre brewery campus.
Signature drink: BrewDog Punk IPA on cask
Food: American gastropub menu
Hoyo's Kitchen inside North Market in Columbus downtown serves Somali sambusas, chicken suqaar and rice bowls, run by the Hassan family since 2014.
Try: Somali chicken sambusa
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at North Market downtown is the original 2002 Jeni Britton Bauer counter where the national ice cream brand began.
Try: Brambleberry Crisp scoop
Graeter's Ice Cream Easton in Columbus serves the Cincinnati-founded French-pot ice cream churned in copper kettles, with the black raspberry chip.
Try: Black raspberry chocolate chip scoop
Wolf's Ridge Brewing on North Fourth Street in Columbus downtown has run a family-owned brewery and dining room since 2013, the reference brewery.
BrewDog DogTap Columbus on Gender Road in Canal Winchester is the Scottish brand's North American HQ campus since 2017, with a 42-acre brewery and hotel.
North Market on Spruce Street in Columbus downtown is the anchor city food hall since 1876, with Jeni's, Hoyo's, Pistacia Vera and 30 plus vendors.
Pearl Market on East Lynn Street alley downtown runs Tuesday and Friday lunch hours May through October, with food trucks and downtown office crowds.
The Columbus Greek Festival on Labor Day weekend at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral on North High Street is the city's largest cultural food fest.
Festival Latino in 2026 moves to Columbus Commons and Ohio Theatre on South High Street, the largest Latino festival in Ohio in its 29th year.
The Columbus Arts Festival on the downtown Scioto Riverfront runs the second weekend of June, with over 40 food vendors and the city's biggest June outdoor.
Sur La Table at Easton Town Center runs the national cooking school chain's Columbus location, with knife-skill, pasta and international cuisine classes.
North Market on Spruce Street hosts vendor-led culinary demonstrations and tastings, with seasonal cooking classes from the market's merchants.
The Learning Kitchen in Mason, north of Cincinnati and a day-trip drive south of Columbus, runs hands-on cooking classes across many cuisines.
Hoyo's Kitchen at Columbus's North Market sells beef, chicken and veggie sambusas with rice under $12, a cheap meal at the downtown food hall.
Try: Sambusas with rice
A single Jeni's scoop at the Columbus North Market original counter runs under $7, the city's icon for cheap dessert at the founded-here brand.
Try: Single ice cream scoop
Sunny Street Cafe on West Nationwide Boulevard in the Arena District is the downtown brunch counter for stuffed French toast and skillet plates.
Order: Stuffed French toast with bacon and a cup of drip.
The Wolf's Ridge Brewing brunch on North Fourth Street runs Saturday and Sunday morning with breakfast pizza and the Daybreak Belgian wheat.
Order: Wolf's Ridge breakfast pizza with the Daybreak Belgian wheat.