High Street gallery row between downtown and Ohio State, the densest restaurant and bar corridor in Columbus. Northstar, The Pearl, Brassica, Forno, One Line Coffee and Jeni's scoop counter all sit on or near High.
Service Bar on Courtland Avenue is the chef-driven new American counter inside Middle West Spirits, the Columbus distillery cocktail pairing.
Signature: Seasonal small plates, Cocktail pairings
Order: Whichever seasonal small plate the chef is featuring with a Middle West Vim and Vigor cocktail.
Tip: Counter seats facing the open kitchen book up first on Resy; weekday dinners are easier than Friday night.
The Pearl on North High Street is the Cameron Mitchell oyster bar and gastropub anchoring the Columbus Short North strip with a deep raw bar.
Signature: Oysters on the half shell, Steak frites
Order: Half-dozen oysters from the daily list and the steak frites.
Tip: Reservations on OpenTable, but the bar takes walk-ins; oyster happy hour weekdays from 16:00.
Speck Italian Eatery on North High Street in downtown Columbus is the modern Italian counter for fresh pastas, wood-fired pizza and house salumi.
Signature: Hand-rolled pastas, Wood-fired pizza
Order: Whichever house-rolled pasta is on the chalkboard, plus a slice of speck off the salumi list.
Tip: Reserve on Tock for the prime 19:30 window; the bar seats face the pasta pulling line.
Forno Kitchen and Bar on North High Street is Columbus's Short North wood-oven Mediterranean room with a long bar and a weekend brunch service.
Signature: Wood-oven pizza, Weekend brunch
Order: The wood-oven pizza of the moment, plus a brunch mimosa flight on Sunday.
Tip: Brunch fills first; reserve on OpenTable for any seating after 10:30.
Brassica on North High Street in Columbus's Short North is the Mediterranean fast-casual counter with hearth-baked pita and house-made falafel.
Signature: Hearth-baked pita, Roasted vegetable bowls
Order: Build a bowl with falafel, roasted carrots, hummus and the marinated eggplant.
Tip: No reservations, line moves fast; the to-go counter side door beats the dining room queue at lunch.
Bodega on the corner of North High and Third Avenue in Columbus's Short North runs the city's largest craft beer list with a tight gastropub menu.
Signature: Smash burger, Craft draft list
Order: The smash burger with a flight from the rotating Ohio brewery taps.
Tip: Kitchen runs until 01:00 on weekends; one of the few solid late-night sit-down rooms in the Short North.
Northstar Cafe on North High Street is the Columbus Short North outpost of the founded-here chain, with the Big Sky organic burger and Yoga bowl.
Signature: Big sky organic burger, Northstar bowl
Order: The Big Sky organic burger with the side salad and a fresh-pressed juice.
Tip: Counter ordering, no reservations; weekend brunch waits an hour, weekday lunch is easier.
Northstar Cafe on North High Street is Columbus's Short North outpost of the founded-here chain, with the Big Sky burger and the Northstar daily bowl.
Signature: Big Sky organic burger, Northstar bowl
Order: The Big Sky organic burger with a fresh-pressed juice.
Tip: Counter ordering, no reservations; weekend brunch waits an hour.
The Pearl on North High Street is the Cameron Mitchell oyster bar and gastropub anchoring the Columbus Short North restaurant strip with a raw bar.
Signature: Oysters on the half shell, Steak frites
Order: Half-dozen oysters from the daily list and the steak frites.
Tip: The bar takes walk-ins; oyster happy hour weekdays from 16:00.
Brassica on North High Street in Columbus's Short North is the Mediterranean fast-casual counter with hearth-baked pita and house-made falafel.
Signature: Hearth-baked pita, Falafel
Order: A bowl with falafel, roasted carrots, hummus and marinated eggplant.
Tip: The to-go counter side door beats the dining room queue at lunch.
Mikey's Late Night Slice on North High Street has been the Short North's late-night pizza counter since 2009, with by-the-slice garlic pies until 03:00.
Signature: Garlic pizza slice, Pepperoni slice
Order: A spicy pepperoni slice with the garlic finish at 02:00.
Tip: Cash-tip the counter; the bar next door spills out after closing.
Forno Kitchen and Bar on North High Street is Columbus's Short North wood-oven Mediterranean room with a long bar and a weekend brunch service.
Signature: Wood-oven pizza, Brunch flatbreads
Order: The wood-oven pizza of the moment plus a brunch mimosa flight Sunday.
Tip: Brunch fills first; reserve on OpenTable for any seating after 10:30.
Bodega on North High and Third Avenue in Columbus's Short North runs the city's largest craft beer list alongside a tight gastropub menu kitchen.
Signature: Smash burger, Craft drafts
Order: The smash burger with a flight from the rotating Ohio brewery taps.
Tip: Kitchen runs until 01:00 on weekends; one of the few late-night sit-down rooms.
Pistacia Vera's Short North outpost on North High Street in Columbus is the second French patisserie counter for macarons and the kouign-amann daily.
Worth the queue: Pistachio macaron
One Line Coffee on North High Street in Columbus runs a Short North showcase roaster with sample roasting and a coffee cupping education center.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Kenya, Guatemala, Colombia
How they serve: Espresso, Pour over, Whole bean retail
Forno on North High Street in Columbus runs an Italian-leaning wine list alongside the wood-oven pizza, with a long happy hour at the Short North bar.
Signature pour: Italian glass list alongside the wood-oven pizza
Wine focus: Italian and Mediterranean wines
Food: Wood-oven pizza and small plates
Speck Italian Eatery on North High Street in Columbus runs a regional Italian wine list paired with the pasta and house salumi counter downtown daily.
Signature pour: Glass off the regional Italian list
Wine focus: Italian regional wines
Food: Pasta and house salumi
Service Bar inside Middle West Spirits in Columbus runs a small-producer wine program alongside the cocktail line and chef-driven small plates daily.
Signature pour: By-the-glass paired with the seasonal plate
Wine focus: Small-producer wines and natural list
Food: Seasonal small plates
Denmark on High is the second-floor Short North cocktail lounge above North High Street, with a rotating seasonal menu and immersive cocktail classes.
Signature drink: Design-forward seasonal cocktail menu
Food: Snacks and shareables
Bodega on the corner of North High and Third Avenue runs Columbus's largest craft beer list, with a long happy hour and a kitchen until 01:00.
Signature drink: Rotating craft beer flights
Food: Smash burgers and snacks
Service Bar inside Middle West Spirits on Courtland Avenue in Columbus runs the distillery's cocktail program alongside the chef's seasonal small plates.
Signature drink: Middle West Spirits cocktail flight
Food: Chef-driven small plates
The Pearl on North High Street in Columbus runs the Short North's reference oyster bar, with a martini list paired against the daily oyster selection list.
Signature drink: Pearl martini with oysters
Food: Raw bar and gastropub
Brassica on North High Street in Columbus serves house-made falafel pulled to order, stuffed in hearth-baked pita with roasted vegetables and tahini.
Try: Falafel hearth pita
Mikey's Late Night Slice on North High Street is the Columbus Short North late-night pizza counter, by-the-slice until 03:00 weekends since 2009.
Try: Pepperoni slice
Middle West Spirits on Courtland Avenue is a Columbus grain-to-glass distillery with bourbon, rye, gin and Vim and Vigor vodka, paired with Service Bar.
Highball Halloween at Goodale Park in the Short North runs the last weekend of October, with twenty-plus food trucks, a costume contest, fashion show and live music. Free entry; food and drinks ticketed.
The Northstar bowl at the Columbus Short North counter is a big plate of grains, greens and protein under $13, the cheap healthy lunch in the city.
Try: Northstar bowl
Brassica's falafel pita with two sides on North High Street runs under $14 in Columbus, the Short North's cheapest sit-down Mediterranean lunch.
Try: Falafel pita with sides
Mikey's Late Night Slice on North High in Columbus runs single pepperoni or garlic slices under $7, the Short North's late-night cheap bite since 2009.
Try: Single slice pizza
Northstar Cafe Short North on North High Street is the Columbus reference healthy brunch counter, with the Big Sky organic burger and the Yoga bowl.
Order: Big Sky organic burger with a fresh-pressed juice and a coffee.
Forno Kitchen and Bar on North High Street runs a Columbus Short North weekend Mediterranean brunch with wood-oven flatbreads and mimosa flights.
Order: Wood-oven flatbread and a mimosa flight.
The Pearl on North High Street pulls a Columbus Short North weekend brunch with oysters, the steak frites and a long bloody mary list service.
Order: Oysters on the half shell with a Pearl bloody mary.
Mikey's Late Night Slice on North High Street in Columbus is the Short North late-night pizza counter, by-the-slice until 03:00 weekends since 2009.
Try: Pepperoni and garlic slices
Bodega on the corner of North High and Third Avenue runs the Short North's reliable late-night kitchen until 01:00 with smash burgers and craft beer.
Try: Smash burger and craft beer
Mikey's Late Night Slice on North High and Fourth in Columbus's Short North runs the second pizza counter until 03:00 on Friday and Saturday weekends.
Try: Pepperoni slice
Denmark on High runs the Columbus Short North's late-night cocktail lounge above North High Street, until 01:00 on Friday and Saturday nights.
Try: Cocktails and snacks
Denmark on High on North High Street is the Short North's second-floor cocktail lounge, the design-forward speakeasy with rotating seasonal menus.
Bodega on North High and Third Avenue is the Short North's craft-beer and late-night gastropub, with smash burgers and a kitchen until 01:00 daily.