Check out more than 20 new Columbus-area restaurants that have opened this summer
The Columbus-area food scene has been very active this summer, with nearly two dozen new places to eat, drink and grab a cup of coffee around the city, and more on the way.
From wagyu burgers and grilled octopus to tacos, beef patties, vegan pastries and keto cookies, here are the restaurants freshly open for business so far this summer:
Agave & Rye in the Short North
Bourbon and taco bar Agave & Rye opened its first location in Columbus at 479 N. High St. in the Short North at the top of June. Agave & Rye's owners returned to Columbus to open their 11th and 12th locations after previously owning and operating Oliver's BSB, de-NOVO Bistro and Fin. The eatery serves up tacos with more than 90 tequilas and 90 bourbons.
Hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tudie's Cookies & Sweets
Tudie's Cookies & Sweets, 3009 N. High St., is a new bakery in Clintonville that opened in June. Owner Brittani "Tudie" Hoffman uses high-quality ingredients in her cookies, like banoffee pie, caramel brookie, oatmeal cream pie with cookie butter and lemon blueberry cheesecake, cold-brewed and hot coffee from Florin Coffee, plus a number of savory items like egg-and-cheese quiche.
Hours are Wednesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Worthington Tavern
Worthington Tavern, 671 High St. opened June 2 at the former site of Half Pint in Worthington.
The "modern-day old-town tavern" features American fare including burgers, pasta and seafood, with a full bar of 20 draft beers, 30 whiskeys and bourbons, and a cocktail menu. The restaurant is also a part of the city's Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area and is planning on introducing brunch hours on the weekends starting this month.
Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. to midnight and Sunday; 4 to 10 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
Kelley's Pub & Patio
Kelley's Pub & Patio, the new name of DeArini's Tavern & Grill, opened at 1940-42 W. Henderson Road on the Northwest Side under new ownership on June 3. The former Italian eatery features a new menu under chef Reggie Wilson of Ridiculous Eatz, who specializes in Cajun comfort food.
Hours are Monday through Thursday, noon to 1 a.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 1:30 a.m.; and Sunday noon to midnight.
Clean Eatz
Healthful food chain Clean Eatz opened a third Columbus-area location on June 4 at 5763 N. Hamilton Road on the Northeast Side near New Albany, following locations in Clintonville and Dublin. The eatery offers protein-rich, low-carb meals made daily on-site for dine-in and carryout, including build-your-own bowls, salads, burgers, wraps, flatbreads with gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options. Clean Eatz also has a meal plan menu with meals available for pick-up.
Hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Patty Shop
The Patty Shop, at 323 N. 20th St., opened June 7 on the Near East Side. The eatery serves Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine, including a variety of beef, chicken and vegetarian patties, pizza, smoothies, slurpies, ginger beer, Jamaican Irish moss, Ting and other specialty drinks.
Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The restaurant is closed Sundays.
Can't Believe It's Vegan
New Westerville eatery Can't Believe It's Vegan, at 584 W. Schrock Rd., opened its first brick-and-mortar on July 9. The fully vegan menu includes soups, sandwiches, salads, wraps, pasta, bowls, desserts and extras, including vegan ribs and crab cakes.
Hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m, and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Wednesdays.
Mandrake
Mandrake Rooftop, at 808 N. High St., opened early last month in the Short North. The rooftop lounge atop the Moxy Columbus Short North hotel features dishes like lobster mac and cheese, sushi, grass-fed steak tartare, pork bao buns, grilled Spanish octopus, branzino and reimagined classics for cocktails.
Dinner hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 4 to 10 p.m., followed by bottle service, private-lounge seating and DJ hours on Wednesday and Thursday until midnight, and Friday through Sunday until 2 a.m. Mandrake is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
The Buckeye Lady
The Buckeye Lady opened in its first brick-and-mortar space at 4493 N. High St. in Clintonville. The dessert shop offers traditional and stuffed buckeyes in over 30 variations, including vegan buckeyes and buckeyes for dogs.
Hours are Wednesday through Friday, noon to 7 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
SmokeOut BBQ
After operating as a food truck for a dozen years, SmokeOut BBQ opened a storefront restaurant in June at 1850 Winderly Lane in Pickerington.
Offering a variety of barbecue styles, SmokeOut features smoked meat and sandwiches, and specialties including chopped brisket, Carolina pork, chicken wings, and St. Louis-style ribs.
SmokeOut BBQ is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Chef Hiro
Chef Hiro opened on June 19 at 1297 Parsons Ave. on the South Side. From chef Jean-Claude Ba, the restaurant offers jerk tacos, including meat and vegan options, shrimp and grits topped with a lump-crab sauce, jumbo stuffed turkey legs and more.
Hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Agave & Rye in Grandview
Agave & Rye's second Columbus-area location, at 1295 Grandview Ave. in Grandview Heights, opened June 22 in the former home of Spagio. The Grandview location serves many of the same offers as its Short North sibling, but the larger space also features an arcade with vintage games and an outdoor mural.
Hours are the same, Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
J's Sweet Treats
J's Sweet Treats opened at the Greater Columbus Convention Center at 400 N. High St. on June 22. The location puts J's Sweet Treats at two sites, following the closure of the its Parsons Avenue location. The shop is inside the convention center's café and marketplace, in a space formerly occupied by Velvet Café & Ice Cream. J's Sweet Treats offers a streamlined menu to convention center guests, with treats made onsite.
Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with later hours during conventions and special events. The shop is closed on Sundays.
The Galaxy Coffee
The Galaxy Coffee launched its food truck on June 25 at 3282 High St. in front of Virtue Vegan Salon in Clintonville.
The menu includes pour-over and drip coffee, cold brew and frozen coffee, decaf, hot and iced espresso, iced tea and other beverages, as well as vegan and gluten-free pastries from Happy Little Treats and Patty Cake Bakery.
The food truck can be found Thursday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Virtue Salon, with hours outside of that available on Street Food Finder.
Columbus Keto Treats
Columbus Keto Treats opened on June 25 at 3306 Columbus St. in Grove City, offering desserts adhering to the popular high-fat, low-carb keto diet, with gluten, grain, and sugar-free products made exclusively with almond flour. The shop also offers vegan and paleo diet products, and some gluten-free products containing sugar which are solely available for pre-order.
Hours are Monday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shop is closed Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
Subourbon Southern Kitchen and Spirits
Subourbon Southern Kitchen and Spirits, which opened June 27 at 2234 W. Dublin Granville Rd. in Linworth, specializes in Southern comfort food. The menu includes cast-iron cornbread, okra, fried green tomatoes, pork rinds, gumbo, fried chicken, catfish po'boys, shrimp and grits and much more.
Hours are Monday through Saturday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.
New Ghost Kitchens
A few newer kitchens have arrived to Columbus Food Hall, the collection of ghost kitchens at 1282 Essex Ave. north of Downtown in Milo-Grogan. That includes Kim's Eatery and Poppin Freshh, which serve American fare, Kool Daddy's BBQ, and Our Little Kitchen, which serves soul food.
Torchy's Tacos
Torchy's Tacos opened in late June at 1478 Gemini Pl. in Polaris. On the menu are a variety of hand-crafted and made-to-order tacos, including fried chicken, pork carnitas and plant-based and breakfast tacos, a taco-of-the-month, chips and queso, refried beans, street corn, guacamole, salsa, margaritas, cocktails and beer.
Hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Junkyard Dogs
Junkyard Dogs, at 2245 W. Dublin Granville Rd. STE 108 in Linworth, opened July 1 and features dogs of all kinds: all-beef from Cleveland, all-pork from Michigan, wagyu dogs from New Jersey, Italian sausage, bratwurst and specialty dogs like coneys and Chicago dogs.
Hours are on Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.
More: Sausages take center stage at Hungarian Butcher in Linworth
Strawser's Ice Cream, Pop & Candy Shop
Strawser's Ice Cream, Pop & Candy Shop, at 4026 Broadway in downtown Grove City, opened July 1. The shop is by the owners of What The Float food truck and carries 120 flavors of bottled soda, retro and unique candy selections, and Perry's Ice Cream, the same ice cream used in What the Float's sodas.
Parable Coffee
Parable Coffee celebrated the soft opening of its first brick-and-mortar location July 6 and 7 at 149 S. High St. The Black- and queer-owned coffee shop has filter coffee, an espresso bar, teas and tisanes, and a seasonal menu of lattes, espressos and cold brews. The shop is also gratuity free and offers a "pay what you like" program.
Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Clove Indian Bistro
Clove Indian Bistro opened earlier this month at 6642 Sawmill Road, in space formerly occupied by Cake Walk Indian Restaurant & Bakery.
Clove serves up traditional Indian fare combined with Indochinese offerings such as vegetable spring rolls, shrimp with hakka noodles, burnt garlic fried rice with chilis, vegetable Manchurian and chili paneer, with house-made cheese.
Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. The restaurant is closed Tuesdays.
tmoorman@dispatch.com
@TaijuanNichole
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Check out these Columbus-area restaurants that just opened
