Dynamic food and service at newcomer Bar Cicchetti exceeds expectations
How is Thanksgiving shaping up?
Our annual celebration of overeating can be a glorious occasion. Yet the holiday is also notorious for posing myriad logistical challenges, like daunting cooking projects and food-related messes, that can result in, or exacerbate, family dramas.
Well, it's not too late to cut bait and let professionals do everything. Enter an impressive new Italian restaurant open on Thanksgiving and located in a Downtown landmark: Bar Cicchetti, operating inside the beautiful and historic Westin Great Southern Columbus hotel. The high-achieving eatery has a high-profile owner — serial restaurateur Fabio Viviani, a celebrity chef and beloved “Top Chef” alumnus.
Although Bar Cicchetti enjoys a grand old architectural setting, its dining room is a casual, modern space that’s nearly bright as a cafe, largely outfitted in shades of brown and beige and whose primary distinguishing features are windows offering cinematic cityscape vistas. A darker attached little bar is cozier and quieter; both rooms have provided excellent service.
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Traditional cicchetti (chee-KET-ee) — Venetian dialect for inexpensive, tapas-style snacks — aren’t actually featured at Bar Cichetti. In fact, most dishes are pricey and rather substantial. How much does that matter, though, when the fare is generally bold, skillfully prepared and delicious?
That includes the $16 cocktails I tried, which are better values than Bar Cicchetti’s $15 glasses of Banfi Chianti Classico and its $9 Peroni Italian beers. The cucumber-scented Pepino (“pepino” is “cucumber” in Italian) was an appealingly tart, ginger-and-lime-kissed refresher with a smoky finish courtesy of scotch and mezcal. For something creamier and sweeter — but not sweet — pick the Pistachio Smash, a refined spin on a tiki drink with a nutty finish.
Then dig into one of the best dishes I’ve had recently, Bar Cicchetti’s dynamic grilled octopus ($25). Deftly balancing contrasting elements, it was two sizable, super-tender, sweet tentacles playing off fantastically crunchy roasted potatoes in an intense, chile-oil-like sauce energized by vinegar, 'nduja (spicy sausage) plus sweet and tart onions. A petite celery salad supplied offsetting freshness.
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Polpetti di Fabio ($18) justifiably sounds more interesting than “meatballs in tomato sauce.” And Fabio Viviani touts these ground-beef-based orbs for good reasons. They’re hefty but tenderized with ricotta cheese and highlighted by a rich yet bright, onion-fortified red sauce. Shaved garlic, basil, parsley and cracked black pepper, plus audibly crunchy, sopping-up grilled bread heavily enriched with olive oil brought plenty to the party.
Another potentially routine item — pizza — similarly surpassed expectations. Credit a thick, air-pocketed, puffy yet crackly-edged crust that evoked the rectangular, focaccia-like “al taglio” slices sold grab-and-go-style throughout Rome.
While the mozzarella wasn't smoky on my five-slice, smoked mozzarella and pesto pizza ($17), the abundant cheese was high-quality stuff. Add melted leeks, shallots and a bright, lightly applied pesto, and you have a rich yet tangy delight.
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Pastas are house-made and they skirt cliches, too. Value alert: Lunchtime diners in this open-all-day hotel restaurant will pay about $10 less per pasta than dinner guests.
That made the strozzapreti verde — basil-green, thick but supple, cavatelli-like noodles atop a lively broth with crumbled sausage, smoky blistered tomatoes, fennel and egg — a midday deal for $16. The tomato broth-based shrimp lumache was another delicious afternoon bargain ($17): firm-yet-tender pasta shells blackened with squid ink accompanied by good shrimp, chile and blistered tomatoes.
Either pasta could be lunch for two by likewise sharing a big side of terrific Parmesan-crusted broccolini enhanced with garlic and chile ($10), or a Cicchetti Cobb salad ($16) that conjured a fancified wedge salad with a lovely, soft-boiled egg containing a molten yolk.
Via telephone, Bar Cicchetti confirmed that a “traditional Thanksgiving feature” will also be available on Nov. 24. Whenever you visit, a must-order regular-menu dessert can make every day seem like a holiday: house-made tiramisu ($12), which characteristically delivers traditional flavors but in the non-cliche, reimagined form of a streusel-topped milk custard.
Bar Cicchetti
Where: 310 S. High St., Downtown
Contact: 614-228-5300; barcicchetticolumbus.com
Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.
Price range: $14 to $36
Ambience: casual but upscale and modern — and sometimes bustling and loud — new restaurant with conscientious, professional service, located in a grand and historic hotel
Children's menu: no
Reservations: yes
Accessible: yes
Liquor license: full bar
Quick click: Generally bold and delicious, Northern Italian-leaning fare is served at this strong-performing Downtown newcomer owned by celebrity chef Fabio Viviani.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bar Cicchetti in Downtown Columbus offers outstanding food and service
