Upscale in Columbus

Law Bird

• ★ 4.8
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Brewery District

Drink Rotating seasonal cocktails

Law Bird on South High Street in Columbus is Luke and Annie Williams Pierce's intimate cocktail and natural-wine bar in the Brewery District since 2019.

Denmark on High

• ★ 4.7
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Short North

Drink Design-forward seasonal cocktail menu

Denmark on High is the second-floor Short North cocktail lounge above North High Street, with a rotating seasonal menu and immersive cocktail classes.

Veritas Bar Counter

• ★ 4.7
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Downtown

Drink Cocktails paired with the tasting menu

The Veritas bar counter on West Gay Street downtown takes walk-in seats facing the open kitchen, with cocktail pairings off the tasting menu.

Service Bar

• ★ 4.6
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Short North

Drink Middle West Spirits cocktail flight

Service Bar inside Middle West Spirits on Courtland Avenue in Columbus runs the distillery's cocktail program alongside the chef's seasonal small plates.

Seventh Son Brewing Taproom

• ★ 4.6
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Italian Village

Drink Seventh Son rotating IPAs

Seventh Son Brewing on the corner of North Fourth and Fourth Avenue has been Italian Village's brewery since April 2013, with a long IPA and lager menu.

The Refectory Wine Cellar

• ★ 4.6
• Wine bar
• $$$
• Upper Arlington

The Refectory wine cellar on Bethel Road carries 700 selections, the largest cellar in central Ohio, paired with the contemporary French tasting menu.

Lindey's

• ★ 4.5
• American
• $$$
• German Village

Order The roasted half chicken from the Lindey's classic menu and a glass of bubbles on the patio.

Lindey's on East Beck Street has been German Village's brick-paved district anchor American room since 1981, with a covered patio in Columbus.

Bodega

• ★ 4.5
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Short North

Drink Rotating craft beer flights

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.

Wolf's Ridge Taproom

• ★ 4.5
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Downtown

Drink House Daybreak Belgian wheat

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.

Veritas Wine Room

• ★ 4.5
• Wine bar
• $$$
• Downtown

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.

Speck Italian Eatery

• ★ 4.4
• Italian
• $$$
• Short North

Order Whichever house-rolled pasta is on the chalkboard, plus a slice of speck off the salumi list.

Speck Italian Eatery on North High Street in downtown Columbus is the modern Italian counter for fresh pastas, wood-fired pizza and house salumi.

Comune

• ★ 4.4
• New American
• $$$
• German Village

Order Whatever the kitchen is doing with that week's farm haul, plus the seasonal cocktail.

Comune on Parsons Avenue in Columbus's Schumacher Place is the plant-forward dining room serving in-season vegetable plates and small dishes.

Wolf's Ridge Brewing Dining Room

• ★ 4.4
• New American
• $$$
• Downtown

Order Whichever beer-pairing plate the kitchen is featuring with the seasonal IPA on tap.

The Wolf's Ridge Brewing dining room on North Fourth Street downtown Columbus runs a chef-driven new American menu alongside the brewery taproom.

Land-Grant Brewing Taproom

• ★ 4.4
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Franklinton

Drink Land-Grant Greenskeeper Pilsner

Land-Grant Brewing in Columbus's Franklinton runs the largest outdoor beer garden in the city, with the Greenskeeper Pilsner and rotating food trucks daily.

The Pearl

• ★ 4.3
• New American Gastropub
• $$$
• Short North

Order Half-dozen oysters from the daily list and the steak frites.

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.

The Pearl Oyster Bar

• ★ 4.3
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Short North

Drink Pearl martini with oysters

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.

Comune Bar Counter

• ★ 4.3
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• German Village

Drink Seasonal vegetable-driven cocktails

Comune's bar counter on Parsons Avenue in Columbus pours vegetable-driven cocktails alongside the plant-forward small plates kitchen in Schumacher Place.

Speck Italian Eatery Wine Bar

• ★ 4.3
• Wine bar
• $$$
• Short North

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.

Cosmic Bird Bottle Shop

• ★ 4.3
• Wine bar
• $$$
• Brewery District

Cosmic Bird, the Law Bird natural-wine bottle shop on South High Street, sells bottles for retail and pours by the glass with tinned fish snacks.

Lindey's Wine Program

• ★ 4.3
• Wine bar
• $$$
• German Village

Lindey's wine list on East Beck Street pairs the German Village fine-dining menu with Old World and California classics from the deep cellar.

Forno Kitchen + Bar

• ★ 4.2
• Modern Mediterranean
• $$$
• Short North

Order The wood-oven pizza of the moment, plus a brunch mimosa flight on Sunday.

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.

Tucci's

• ★ 4.2
• Italian Seafood
• $$$
• Dublin

Order The whole-fish special of the night plus a glass from the deep Italian list.

Tucci's on North High Street in Historic Dublin has run as the Columbus suburb's Italian seafood room since 1992, with a fine-wine cellar list.

Hofbrauhaus Columbus

• ★ 4.2
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Grandview Heights

Drink Mass of the Original Hofbrau lager

Hofbrauhaus Columbus on Goodale Boulevard is the city's full-scale Bavarian beer hall in the Grandview Yard development, with house-brewed lagers.

Hoof Hearted Brewing Fifth Avenue

• ★ 4.2
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Italian Village

Drink Hoof Hearted rotating IPA flight

Hoof Hearted Brewing on East Fifth Avenue in Columbus is the Italian Village pour room for the Marengo brewery, with the house IPAs and a kitchen too.

The Sycamore

• ★ 4.2
• Wine bar
• $$$
• German Village

The Sycamore on East Sycamore Street in German Village is the neighborhood wine bar, with bar pizzas, cheese boards and a rotating natural list.

The Extension

• ★ 4.2
• Wine bar
• $$$
• Franklinton

The Extension on West Chapel Street is Land-Grant Brewing's natural-wine and cocktail bar in Franklinton, featuring the brewery's Cultivation Series.

Service Bar Wine Program

• ★ 4.2
• Wine bar
• $$$
• Short North

Service Bar inside Middle West Spirits in Columbus runs a small-producer wine program alongside the cocktail line and chef-driven small plates daily.

Watershed Distillery Bottle Shop

• ★ 4.1
• Cocktail bar
• $$$
• Grandview Heights

Drink Watershed Old Fashioned

Watershed Distillery on Chesapeake Avenue runs a bottle shop and cocktail tasting room since 2010, the city's reference small-batch distillery.

Wolf's Ridge Brewing Wine Program

• ★ 4.1
• Wine bar
• $$$
• Downtown

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.

Forno Kitchen + Bar Wine Program

• ★ 4.1
• Wine bar
• $$$
• Short North

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.

BrewDog DogTap Columbus

• ★ 4.0
• Cocktail bar
• $$$

Drink BrewDog Punk IPA on cask

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.