Northwest residential suburb with Kenny Centre's Japanese Marketplace, home to Belle's Bread, Tensuke Market and the Northwest Boulevard suburban dining strip.
The Refectory on Bethel Road, run inside a 19th century church since 1976, is Columbus's contemporary French tasting room with a 700-bottle Burgundy cellar.
Signature: Classic French canon, Burgundian wine list
Order: The bistro three-course at the bar with a glass from the deep Burgundy list.
Tip: The fifty-year anniversary runs through 2026; the bistro side at the bar is the unsung deal.
Pho Asian Noodle House on West Lane Avenue near Ohio State runs Columbus's reference Vietnamese counter for pho and banh mi at a college-town price.
Signature: Pho tai, Banh mi
Order: A bowl of pho tai with the herb plate, plus a banh mi to go.
Tip: Cash and card; lunch is faster than the OSU weeknight rush Walk-ins usually OK.
Belle's Bread at Kenny Centre's Japan Marketplace is the Japanese-French bakery and cafe, with milk bread, melon pan and strawberry cream cake.
Worth the queue: Strawberry cream cake
The Refectory wine cellar on Bethel Road carries 700 selections, the largest cellar in central Ohio, paired with the contemporary French tasting menu.
Signature pour: Burgundy from the 700-bottle list
Wine focus: Burgundy and classic French
Food: French canon tasting menu
Tensuke Express at Kenny Centre's Japan Marketplace runs the carryout bento, onigiri and ramen counter inside Ohio's largest Japanese grocer.
Try: Bento and onigiri
Tensuke Market on Old Henderson Road at Kenny Centre is Ohio's largest Japanese grocer, the anchor of the Japan Marketplace complex with Belle's Bread.
Pho Asian Noodle House on West Lane Avenue near OSU runs a big bowl of pho tai under $14, the Columbus reference pho at the college-town counter.
Try: Bowl of pho tai