14 Best Foodie Spots To Enjoy In Columbus, Ohio

When it comes to Midwestern metropolises, Chicago takes top billing for its soaring skyscrapers, iconic architecture and art, and of course, world-class food scene. Just a couple of states over, another city is on the rise — in more ways than one. For all the same reasons as Chicago, from museums and festivals to eclectic neighborhoods and cuisine, Ohio's capital city packs a wallop of cultural awe. With nearly 1 million residents, it ranks as the 14th largest city in the nation (via United States Census Bureau). It's likely only a matter of time before this often underestimated Midwestern metro gains more of the front-and-center position it deserves.

This prominence is particularly true of its low-key staggering food scene. From Italian Village to the Franklinton Art District, Columbus' neighborhoods are teeming with unique and innovative restaurants, bars, bakeries, breweries, and everything in between. With snazzy jazz bars and panoramic rooftop haunts, extravagant tasting menus, historic food halls, and Euro-chic cafés, the city has it all. For proof that Columbus is one of the nation's most underrated powerhouse food cities, here are several foodie spots to check out.

Look no further than Chapman's Eat Market for a clear indication of Columbus' ascending food scene. One of the toughest reservations in town, this newly minted German Village icon is famous for good reason. In 2021, The New York Times ranked it as one of the best new restaurants in the nation. It's a testament to chef BJ Lieberman, his menu of worldly comfort foods, and the restaurant's "Friendly Food, Delicious People" ethos, exemplified by its warm hospitality, commitment to supporting local charities, and an ambiance that feels like a pastel-hued cottage. It's also a rightful coronation for a restaurant that opened in 2020 during the pandemic's peak, initially offering a pared-down menu of burgers, salads, and ice cream to make it through.

Within two years, the restaurant was at full steam, offering dishes inspired by cuisines across the globe, made with the brightest and best local, seasonal ingredients. Dinner starts with a bang of small plates like General Tso's cauliflower and crispy wings glistening in bourbon-fish sauce caramel. Heftier portions include Sea Island red pea falafel salad, chicken and shrimp khao soi, and succulent braised lamb with creamy yellow corn grits and mushroom conserva. One meal here (if you're lucky enough to get a table) is confirmation of its kitchen talent, the heart and soul behind it, and its role in catapulting Columbus onto center stage.

A century ago, the Open Air building in Old North Columbus was a school for children with tuberculosis, featuring wide-open rooms and huge windows to encourage airflow (via Columbus Underground). Nowadays, that building is home to Understory, a truly one-of-a-kind dining complex and wedding venue with a hip lounge, a fast-casual restaurant, and a vast patio nestled against a forest. The storied space still has the look and feel of a vintage schoolhouse, but instead of textbooks and homework, it's mezcal Negronis and goat cheese croquettes.

The atmosphere alone is immersive, unique, and fun, best savored at the main bar area with a cocktail in hand. Seasonal drinks are ever-changing and fiercely fresh, like the zesty Nola Fizz with Creole bitters, aquavit, strawberry, cucumber, lemon, and Italian apéritif soda. The wine list is small but expertly curated and esoteric (orange wine is available by the glass and bottle, for instance), and the shareable snacks run the gamut from chicken potstickers to buttery burrata with fried bread and Granny Smith agrodolce.

Downstairs, the Commons offers a more casual dining experience with cheese plates, salads, dips, and sandwiches. Take your meal outside to the sprawling patio, which borders the lush Olentangy Trail, and don't be surprised to see deer traipsing through the forest as you chow down on pork rinds with pimento dip.

The American food hall scene is thriving, and Columbus stands out with a mighty market distinctly its own. Budd Dairy Food Hall in Italian Village is run by Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, the city's powerhouse restaurant group behind heavy-hitters like El Segundo Mexican Kitchen, Mitchell's Ocean Club, The Pearl, and The Guild House. This multi-story behemoth located in a former dairy plant features 10 kitchens, three bars, and a vast rooftop with panoramic views of one of the country's most underrated skylines.

The rustic-chic property offers a kaleidoscope of eclectic and authentic flavors, from Filipino food and Italian comforts to lobster rolls, barbecue, and poke bowls. Counter-service restaurants are all anchored on the first floor, but customers can take their food and drinks anywhere on the property. So stock up on steamed buns, Polish sausages, pulled chicken sandwiches, and cannoli, grab a locally brewed beer, and mosey around. Beyond the food and views, the hall also features regular events like live music, karaoke, and trivia.

No matter which location you're patronizing (Italian Village, German Village, or New Albany), Fox in the Snow is one bakery that's easy to spot. Just follow the inevitable line out the front door, weaving its way to a counter laden with some of the most beautiful pastries in town. Rustic and rigorously scratch-made using the highest quality ingredients, the charming cafés feel at once like a classic European-style bakeshop and a contemporary Columbus innovator.

In addition to craft coffee and espresso drinks, Fox in the Snow is best known for its sweets and baked goods. Highlights include buttery croissant morning buns filled with custardy chocolate, sugar-kissed galettes dotted with plump blueberries, sour cream coffee cake, and mile-high buttermilk biscuits flecked with salt and honey. The café is equally versed in savory fare as well — try the fluffy souffléd egg sandwich on crackly ciabatta or the delicate tomato tarts.

At Pistacia Vera, a gorgeous and twee little bakeshop in German Village, it's all about European-style confections done authentically and beautifully. Here, dainty macarons come in a rainbow of colors and fillings, sandwiches come heaped with egg salad, and éclairs come stuffed with the toasted custard of crème brûlée.

Offering brunch, lunch, and a boatload of sweets, this quaint café is among the best bakeries in Columbus (via Edible Columbus), revered for its hearty Euro-style fare and butter-rich pastries. For a meal, try the cheesy mushroom quiche or croque monsieur with smoked cottage ham, aged Emmentaler cheese, Mornay sauce, and Dijon on fluffy brioche. But save room for sugar because the madeleines, palmiers, and cocoa buttermilk cakes are not to be missed. Other originals include the molasses-kissed rye croissant, lavender shortbread cookies, and blueberry cornmeal macarons. Even the espresso drinks go above and beyond, with rotating specials like strawberry matcha and pistachio lattes made with pistachio praline paste.

Located in a sprawling historic building constructed in the Short North in 1876, North Market is a stunning food hall that's been a downtown mainstay for years. Now, along with a second location in Bridge Park, the original is a frequent fixture for locals and visitors alike, thanks to its timeless motif and diverse array of edible on-site options. Strolling through the bi-level hall is a festival for the senses, with bright neon lights, flowers, sundries, and aromas clamoring for attention.

Open since 1995, long before food halls were all the rage across the country, North Market has long emphasized cultural inclusion and diversity while uplifting and highlighting local independent businesses and artisans. Nowadays, vendors run the gamut from Somali rice bowls and Nepalese dumplings to Indian curry, Polish pierogi, and Bavarian pretzels, making this one of the most diverse markets in the nation. Especially popular for lunch, North Market merchants include barbecue-seasoned Barrel & Boar, Block's Bagels, Hubert's Polish Kitchen, and Hoyo's Kitchen, which specializes in homegrown Somali cuisine. There's also a bar, a second-floor restaurant called Hot Chicken Takeover, and groceries and gifts galore.

When talking about Columbus' on-the-rise food scene, it's impossible not to mention — and bow down to — Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. The vision of real-deal dairy queen (and local celebrity) Jeni Britton, she's gone on to open wildly popular scoop shops in cities like Atlanta, Austin, Charleston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and well beyond (via CNBC). But it all started in Columbus, where several locations are dotted around town. Her rampant success is a testament to the fact that her ice cream — from the classic flavors to the whimsical novelties — is simply some of the freshest and highest quality around.

Each ice cream shop wafts with the aroma of fresh waffle cones and draws an inevitable queue of people screaming for ice cream in dazzling new styles, flavors, and colors. Menu mainstays include brambleberry crisp with oat streusel, gooey butter cake, and sweet cream biscuits and peach jam, adjoined by an ever-changing roster of seasonal innovations. On any given day, said flavors could include wedding cake, powdered jelly donut, everything bagel, and banana cream pudding. For a true taste of Britton's magic, try the modest-looking Sunshine, a gray-colored ice cream with surprising notes of tangerine, lemon, and passion fruit. As the menu explains, it "tastes like sunshine on a cloudy day."