862 N High St.
Columbus, OH 43215
614.725.5620
website
The Short North has a ton of local watering holes, each with a bit of a local personality. Of the dozens of bars that line North High Street, though, Arch City Tavern might be one of the loudest and proudest with the local love. This neighborhood’s distinctive streetscape is where Columbus got its “Arch City” moniker and there’s a bit of history around here that can be appreciated even amid its current, red-hot vibe. It’s quality pub food you have here, and some creative upgrades to it.
Although the menu is pretty familiar in terms of what’s available, most of the menu items have some creative take or ingredient to them. Some of the things I liked:
- Market Burger: A blend of short rib, sirloin, chuck, and brisket for this delicious, juicy patty. It’s topped with white cheddar, basted egg, peppered bacon, roasted leek, Harissa and truffled watercress. So, there’s a whole lot of flavor coming at you when you bite into this one. It’s well worth it.
- Salmon sandwich: “Ancho spiced” salmon seared and served with sun dried tomato hollandaise. The salmon is soft and fall-apart, this isn’t a plain-jane cutlet of salmon, it’s a thick-packed dense sandwich with a lot of spice. Served with potato chips spiced with a pile of seasonings.
- Sweet Chili Calimari: This dish is awesome, because it’s unexpected. Fried caliamri with peppers and some roasted veggies, topped with a very bright sweet chili sauce. One typically overwhelms the other, but in this case the breading and veggies round the whole thing out.
- Cool Off Cucumber: A light and spry cocktail featuring Absolut Grapefruit, fresh juices and a Cucumber Mint Simple Syrup.
Like many of the bars in the Short North, this one eschews the dank, dank feeling of a downtown bar and instead has something a little more refreshing. The big front window can open up in the middle of the day to add a lot of brightness and in the evening it turns the bar into a whole open-air kind of feel. There’s definitely a high-functioning kind of party bar feel during the weekends – this spot being one especially popular for college kids and twenty-somethings on a day-long bender.
The prices are normal for the typical kind of bar, but the food here is a bit up a notch from your typical pub grub. The splash of creativity is worth an extra bit too. Not bad.
Recommendations
- When the weather is nice, this is a good place to hang out, thanks to a window that opens and makes a giant outdoor bar.
- Not just a place to grab something to eat: there are also some pretty good cocktails too.
- The cocktails are strong!
Another Food Critic 