Anyone have suggestions as to a good restaurant in Columbus. Visiting my daughter in a couple of weeks. She wants to “dress up”!
Thanks!
There was a fairly recent thread on this…
https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/columbus-oh-recommendations/56512/1
I’ve never been to the Refectory, but it appears to be on the high end.
Alana’s or Rigsby’s. Refectory might be in the top 5 or 6.
Alana’s, Rigsby’s and Refectory are all good recommendations
In German Village, Lindey’s and G. Michael’s are worthwhile.
For steak, Hyde Park in Upper Arlington.
Just tried DeepWood in the short north for the first time, and was impressed.
Can’t go wrong with any of those… Let me know if you have any questions.
Also, that thread reminded me of Kihachi, which is tremendous, albeit expensive, but not particularly “dressy”… not for the unadventurous though.
If your daughter want to dress up and you want steak, I would go to the Hyde Park location on the Cap near downtown, great atmosphere. I would also recommend "M’ in the Miranova building downtown and also Rigsby’s and Lindey’s. In the suburbs, Refectory would be the logical choice and also has a superb wine list.
The Refectory is such a bad call…the food is good, not great…the service is good to great but the atmosphere is abysmal. Also, my entree was one of the worst I have ever had in any restaurant, others at the table were better…Alanas is a better bet.
I’ve recently been impressed with Sage. It’s worth checking out. Also, we went to G. Michael’s for the first time in a few years when they hosted a dinner with Fred Scherrer a few months ago and they did a very good job.
10 years ago, Refectory might have been a good bet, but I agree with others that Alana’s is the place to go. I like Rigsby’s in Short North as well.
Alana’s, Lindey’s or th eFish Market (in Easton shopping center) are all fantastic spots. The patio at Lindey’s is the best in town hands down!
Alana’s and Rigsby’s are still two of my favorites. Rumor has it Alana has a new restaurant on the way. Gave up on Sage when the menu had not changed for months - food was good, just no different 3 trips in a row over the span of a year. G Michael’s can be very good. Till serves some interesting food, but the place can be ridiculously loud. Also a new restaurant that might be interesting called White Rabbit on the way to opening soon by the owner of Commonweath (killer sandwich joint near campus), which should be worth checking out.
For Italian, my favorite remains Scali Ristorante in Reynoldsburg. Best veal dishes in the area and his specials are usually my go to (it probably helps that I’ve known Frank Scali since he opened the restaurant 20+ years ago 
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For Japanese, yes, Kihachi (though it is in a strip mall next to a cigar shop and cigar smoke smell was a bit of a problem during our last visit).
Steve, before you judge, check out the patio at Barcelona
Steve, Jeff et al, have you tried Deepwood yet? If so, what were your impressions?
Our favorite Italian place in town is Pasqualone’s (formerly La Playa) at 161 & Cleveland. The selection and prices of wine are not good but the food is exceptional.
RE: Barcelona, it’s lost a lot of its luster to us in recent years. We ate dinner there a few weeks ago and it was good but not like it used to be.
Went to Rigsby’s Saturday night. It was really good across the board…had multiple apps and everyone had a different entree and everything was great. Wine list is ok with some decent finds.
I had a really disappointing experience at Deepwood around Christmas and have not been back…all the food was over or under seasoned really noticeably and the 7 of us never got our food at the same time (like 10 minutes apart for apps and 15 for entrees). The wine list was good if IIRC. We drank Chester’s Anvil.
Another vote for Alana’s.
Went to Oscar’s in Dublin last night…i really enjoyed the food there. The wine list is meh but the food and atmosphere are both good +
I’ve not been to Deepwood for dinner for a long time (since shortly after they opened). For some reason, it is just not on our radar. I know some in the restaurant business that think highly of it.
One restaurant I’ve been interested in trying is the Gallerie Bar and Bistro in the Hilton (downtown, near the North Market). It is run by Bill Glover (owner of Sage).
I can’t quite remember the food - I haven’t been back to Columbus in years - but Lindey’s is great looking place. My wife and I both celebrated our law school graduation there.
Just went to M at Miranova for the first time…really good, albeit a very rich dinner…i think this is more of a fall/winter place as the menu is so heavy. The foie appetizer was excellent as was the steak and porkchop dishes, the beignets for dessert are great.
One caveat, my wife and i have a 6 month old and went on a date night without him, i asked the hostess if we could have a drink at the bar before we sat down at our table and she said sure…it took 15 minutes for the bartender to speak to us and then another 10 before we got our drinks…after that the service was great, but i would skip the bar.
Ate at The Pearl in the Short North last Sunday. Really fun atmosphere and great gastro pub style food. Wine list is ok, beer is the star there.