620 N High St.
Columbus, OH 43215
614.227.0100
website
The Joseph is a unique high-end hotel becoming yet more popular in the Short North of Columbus. While its ground floor is attached to the very popular Guild House built by Cameron Mitchell, it’s also got a little bar of its own and a menu of breakfast and lunch items and some good cocktails. And it’ll be a good place to get a quick bite, though it sits in the middle of a lot of more well-known places for dinner. In fact, it’s pretty likely you might try the food here via a networking event or a meeting.
The bar menu is pretty simple, mostly finger foods. The menu for events is a little more complicated. Some of the things that I have tried here:
- Prime Rib: Gristly, wonderful, served with lots of au jus to keep it moist. This steak is soft and luxurious, it melts in your mouth and it’s totally unforgettable. For all of these wonderful plusses, it’s served atop mashed potatoes for that traditional hearty feast.
- Cod: Breaded and fried in a crispy bread crumb batter, so the fish is soft and fall-apart on the inside, and yet crispy and fresh on the outside. A simple pleasure.
- Mushroom Flatbread: These are some of the finger foods available on the happy hour bar menu, topped with mushroom, gruyere, truffle and some potato.
- Desserts: A medley of wonderful little chocolate tarts, cheesecakes, cakes and other wonderful surprises. Set up as a finger food buffet, and let you sample a lot of different things or if you want, to only keep your sweets binge in moderation.
- London Calling: A cocktail featuring Bombay Sapphire Gin, balsamic, St-Germain and some strawberries to even it out. It’s got a light, spirited and slightly fruity flavor.
- Sky cycle: OYO Michelone Reserve Bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Aperol and Citric-Malic Acid Blend give it something like an old fashioned.
During happy hours, this spot tends to be much more packed and especially on the weeknights. During weekends, the other bars in the area tend to be more full. There’s a definite competition for this one around here – the Cap to the south has more fine dining experiences, while Short North on the other side definitely favors more rambunctious bars. So this one is a little more quiet of a middle ground. And in fact, it’s not just hotel guests that hang out here, there are locals that like it too.
The bar is set on the ground floor of a hotel and on a block that is densely packed with other bars. But where it most definitely shines is that place where it keeps away from the pricey and the divey and creates something a little more straight laced.
Recommendations
- The happy hour bar menu has a lot of bites that are convenient.
- To be clear, there is fine dining and dive bar competition aplenty in the Short North. So this one is amid a bevy of competition. But because of that, it’s a quieter place and a lower-key one as Short North goes.
- The cocktails are pretty good.
Another Food Critic 