Bodega is an american gastropub restaurant in Short North, Columbus.
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 dishes: Smash burger, Craft draft list
Must 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.
Address: 1044 N High St, Columbus, OH 43201
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 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.
Hoof Hearted Brewing on East Fifth Avenue in Italian Village runs the brewery's Columbus taproom, with house-brewed lagers and the kitchen's smash burger.
Signature: Smash burger, House-brewed lagers
Order: A flight of the rotating IPA and lager line, with a smash burger.
Tip: The Marengo brewery is the production site; this is the Columbus pour room with a kitchen.
Land-Grant Brewing in Columbus's Franklinton runs the 12,000 sqft renovated factory taproom on West Town Street, with the largest beer garden.
Signature: Beer garden plates, Rotating food trucks
Order: A pint of the Land-Grant Greenskeeper Pilsner plus whatever food truck is parked that night.
Tip: The Wintergarden adds seasonal heated tents; The Extension on West Chapel runs Land-Grant's cocktail and natural wine line.
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.
Donatos Pizza, the Columbus thin-crust square pie founded by Jim Grote on Thurman Avenue in 1963, defines the city pizza with pepperoni to the edge.
Signature: Edge-to-edge pepperoni, Thin-crust square pie
Order: The signature pepperoni in the original square thin crust.
Tip: The original 1963 Thurman Avenue location reopened in 2023 for the 60th anniversary; the South James Road shop is closest to the family operations.
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.
