Odds are, any new addition to the dining scene in central Ohio is going to be interesting.
But, though their menus could not be more different, some of the most appealing restaurants to debut in the last year have shared a common naming convention.
These culinary standouts are some of the best new arrivals of the last 12 months.
The Guild House
The latest addition to the Cameron Mitchell Restaurants line-up opened its doors in January at new Short North hotel Le Méridien Columbus, the Joseph.
The food and drink are driven by the creativity of the restaurant’s team of chefs. The name plays off this concept; the word “guild” usually refers to a group of skilled tradesmen who have organized to maintain standards, and at the Guild House, that’s the chefs.
Variety is the name of the game on the menu, with items coming from the chefs’ various inspirations across their careers and emphasizing culinary technique.
“Rather than focusing on (for example) Italian food or something like that, it’s a lot of beautiful cooking techniques – a lot of work put into the food,” says General Manager Amberlyn Heiney.
Thus far, says Executive Chef John Paul Iacobucci, the most popular dish on the menu has been the chicken roulade, rolled chicken with celery root purée, wild mushrooms, sliced truffles, Romanesco broccoli and a Madeira wine reduction.
“So much technique and love goes into that dish,” Iacobucci says.
Almost as popular, somewhat surprisingly, is the Brussels sprouts appetizer, made with caramelized onions, pecans, white cheddar and sweet mustard dressing.
“Every table has an order of Brussels sprouts at the table,” says Heiney.
Like a lot of other restaurants, the Guild House offers brunch as a treat on weekends, but less commonly, it also serves breakfast seven days a week. The smoked chicken hash – with two poached eggs, sweet potatoes, bacon, roasted poblano peppers, caramelized onions, gouda and green salsa verde – has been a big highlight there, as have the fresh-squeezed orange and carrot juices.
The breakfast and dessert menus share another hugely popular item: house-made doughnuts, with three varieties available at all times. They’re very light, Iacobucci says, with just the right amount of glaze.
The drink menu offers house cocktails for a variety of base liquors, from gin and rum to bourbon and mezcal, but the most attention-grabbing item is the cocktail for two, served in a glass porthole and infused so it continues to develop at the table. It’s made with rum, simple syrup, oranges and cloves.
Given its connection to the hotel, the restaurant is designed to impress without going over the top, Heiney says.
“There’s a very simple elegance to the restaurant,” she says. “There’s beautiful exposed wood, there’s high ceilings, there’s candles.”
The Whitney House
Ian Brown just wanted a nice neighborhood restaurant he could go to for meals that would remind him of Sunday dinners with his family.
So when a downtown location opened up in his hometown of Worthington, the Bravo Brio Restaurant Group veteran took matters into his own hands. That’s how, in December, the Whitney House came to be.
“We created this restaurant for us, for our family and for our community,” Brown says.
American comfort food with an emphasis on fresh and Ohio-made ingredients is the Whitney House’s bread and butter. The menu is filled with items Brown and his friends and family like to eat, that get them excited about going out to dine – but that have some sort of unique twist.
The chicken pot pie is a good example. The Whitney House’s version sets itself apart with roasted pulled chicken, winter vegetables, house-made crust and velouté for the base, and a side of broccolini.
“We wanted to make sure it’s the best and most innovative pot pie out there right now,” Brown says.
The glazed salmon salad with pomegranate, baby kale, bleu cheese and apple cider vinaigrette; and the thin-pounded, panko-breaded, bone-in pork chop with shaved Brussels sprouts, roasted winter vegetables and apple-cranberry chutney are among the other dishes that have impressed diners, Brown says.
One place where the Whitney House’s culinary inspiration really shines is the dessert menu. The bread pudding – on Ohio challah bread with roasted apples, spiked cranberries and cinnamon anglaise – alludes to Brown’s wife, Emilie’s, abiding love of bread pudding; the bruléed banana split with shaved chocolate incorporates grilled pineapple, a favorite of Brown’s son; and the idea for the s’mores parfait – with graham cracker streusel, chocolate pudding and flamed marshmallows – came from the popularity of s’mores around the Brown house.
“We wanted to be able to capture that profile because that’s something that brings out the kid in everybody,” Brown says.
Many of the cocktails on the drink menu were inspired by the preferences of the Browns’ mothers and mothers-in-law. Six of the eight beer taps are reserved for Ohio breweries.
The restaurant is named for the Whitney Avenue house in which Emilie grew up, which was a favorite spot for Sunday and holiday gathering. The interior is designed simply to look like home, Brown says.
Hofbräuhaus
Because of the enormous popularity of its Pittsburgh and Newport locations, Hofbräuhaus’s reputation preceded it into central Ohio, and anticipation was high heading into the local branch’s October opening.
Modeled after the original Hofbräuhaus in Germany – the 400-year-old Munich staple from which future President Kennedy is said to have been caught trying to smuggle out a clay mug – the Grandview Heights location is the company’s fifth. It’s owned by the same group that owns the Pittsburgh and Newport restaurants.
“They saw a huge demand and a giant following for the German culture up here,” says Hofbräuhaus Marketing Director Matt Plapp.
The massive structure in Grandview Yard includes the main hall with long tables for seating and daily live music, a smaller dining room for a more conventional dining experience, a private dining room and an outdoor beer garden that opens in April. The decorations throughout – all 250 or so of them – were purchased in Germany, from paintings to chandeliers.
Just as renowned as Hofbräuhaus’s atmosphere is its beer, made under the strict Bavarian Purity Law. There are four standard beers – premium lager, light lager, dunkel and hefeweizen – and a rotating line-up of monthly beers, such as a Schwarzbier for April and a Festbier for October.
“People who know beer appreciate it, but people who don’t are shocked,” Plapp says. “They can’t go back to anything else.”
Brewmaster Robert Makein is always working on new offerings, which must be submitted to Hofbräuhaus Munich for approval.
The food menu combines typical American pub fare with more traditional German cuisine, with the latter also needing to pass muster with Hofbräuhaus Munich before it can be offered. Popular German offerings include Oktoberfest Schweinaxe, roasted pork shank with crackling, sauerkraut and potato dumpling; and ofenfrischer Leberkäse, sausage loaf topped with a sunny-side-up egg and served with cold Bavarian potato salad. But the most popular thing on the menu is the pretzels-and-bier-cheese appetizer.
“Our bier cheese is made with our own in-house beer; it’s made from scratch from a secret recipe,” Plapp says. “We actually use a keg a week on our bier cheese. That’s how much bier cheese we go through.”
A series of Brewmaster Dinners, pairing food with a variety of Hofbräuhaus seasonal beers, is expected to launch in summer or fall.
So What Else Is New?
-Skyward Grille, Upper Arlington; opened April
-Oliver’s, downtown Columbus; opened June
-Kraft House No. 5, Powell; opened June
-Shade on Muirfield, Dublin; opened July
-The Market Italian Village, Italian Village; opened July
-Black Point Seafood, Short North; opened October
-The Chintz Room, downtown Columbus; opened November
-Forno Kitchen + Bar, Short North; opened January
-Uptown Deli and Brew, Westerville; opened January
-Zen Noodle at Hollywood Casino, west Columbus; opened February
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
