2024 has been another adventurous year in dining across Columbus. We’ve lost some very beloved eateries, but we’ve seen a number of new bright spots, from upscale fare to international tastes to down home cooking.
It’s hard to narrow down all the openings, and of course we haven’t made it everywhere yet, but here are 10 of our favorite new restaurants that opened in 2024!
Flour Modern Pasta Bar comes to us from the same folks behind Rooh in the Short North. Just like Rooh, Flour offers creative interpretations of old favorites, all paired with great cocktails. I love that they use a pre-fixe menu of breads, entrees, and desserts. It’s a great deal and a fun way to walk your walk through pasta dishes that call back to everything from butter chicken to elote to French onion soup.
Read more: Flour Modern Pasta Bar Introduces Internationally Inspired Pastas and Cocktails to Polaris
This year Annie Dickson’s beloved farmers market stalls went from pop-ups to its own storefront in Clintonville, taking over the original space for Pattycake Bakery and transforming it into a haven for Annie’s signature goth/rock-and-roll creations. Now a giant skeleton glowers over the front door as you enter to buy her decadent brownies, bagel bombs filled with fun ingredients, cookies, Pub Grub, and the rest of her crave-able lineup.
Read more: Bite This By Annie Brings Bagel Bombs, Brownies, and Pub Grub to Clintonville
One of our first loves in Columbus Indian food was the bygone Taj Mahal on North High Street. Owner Ajay Kumar and his family were always so warm and welcoming to their restaurant, situated in a renovated home in the University District. So this year we were especially excited to see Ajay team up with more folks to bring back a modern version, Taj on Fifth. Taj sits in a new development in Grandview/5xNW, features a full bar, and offers traditional and modern Indian dishes. We’ve loved our meals there, with a special shoutout to the rich and smoky dal makhani.
Read more: Taj on Fifth Brings Indian Fare to Fifth By Northwest
This year the team behind the lovely Coast Wine House in Historic Dublin doubled down by adding a full-service restaurant just a few doors away from the wine shop. Gene’s is equally quiet and cozy, and features a dynamic wine selection, unique cocktails, and a focused food menu with bites like eggplant tonkatsu, chicken-fried wild mushrooms, or halibut on squid ink risotto. It’s an elegant but very casual experience, and ranks high on our recommendations for date nights or quiet drinks with friends.
Read more: Gene’s Serves Cocktails, Wines, & Dinner in a Cozy Historic Dublin Home
This year the folks from Makeready, the hospitality brand behind The Junto Hotel, opened not one but two restaurants at Gay and High streets downtown. One of those two is Chouette, a much-anticipated French bistro on the northeast corner. It features a complete redo of the original Brioso Coffee space (Brioso moved catty corner in 2020), with a handsome bar, intimate mezzanine, and large patio. The eatery, whose name literally means “owl” but colloquially can mean “cool,” manages to pull off classic French cooking that still feels modern and inventive.
Read more: Chouette Brings Delightful French Cuisine to Downtown
Powell’s Nocterra Brewing, which quickly became a beloved community hangout when it opened in 2019, expanded with a full service restaurant and taproom in the perfect location: next to the Scioto Audubon Metro Park. Nocterra styles itself around outdoor adventures, so a new spot next to a park, hiking trails, bike paths, and waterways seems very fitting. To complement their wide range of beers, Nocterra’s chef created a menu that covers brewpub basics like burgers and fried chicken sandwiches while also venturing into seafood, Mediterranean creations like lentil hummus and labneh, asada tacos, and more. Bonus: Nocterra Audubon opens early with a full service coffee bar from Jennings Java!
Read more: Nocterra Brewing Opens New Audubon Restaurant and Taproom
Food halls have been trending in recent years, with Columbus growing to seven total, and one of the most memorable was the Little Grand Market in Grandview. It sits in the middle of the Grandview Crossing development, and features vaulted glass ceilings, a full bar, attached coffee shop, familiar faces like Los Agavez, Lan Viet, and Pablo’s Havana Cafe, plus newcomers or new concepts covering everything from Italian sandwiches to Korean street food, giant cookies to soul food.
Read more: Little Grand Market Brings Local Food, a Full Bar, and Coffee to Grandview
As the city grows, we’ve seen more and more chains make their way into Columbus, from fast food to steakhouses, but just because they’re chains doesn’t mean they’re bad! Case in point: Mecha Noodle Bar in the Short North. The Connecticut-based eatery transformed the former White Castle into a gorgeous, high-ceillinged, wood-accented noodle bar with a dynamic menu covering pho, ramen, dumplings, bao buns, sushi, iced coffee, and a full bar.
Read more: Mecha Noodle Bar Brings Ramen, Pho, and Other Delights to the Short North
Along with Chouette, Makeready also brought an established Charleston brand to downtown Columbus: Hank’s Low Country Seafood & Raw Bar. Hank’s built out the northwest corner of Gay and High into a beautiful lounge with two bars, a raw bar, dining room, and event space. Hank’s features the delights of the sea, from their signature seafood tower to she crab soup, fried calamari to tender scallops, shrimp and grits to all the Southern sides. In addition to being a lovely new spot for lunch, dinner, and drinks downtown, Hank’s is helping transform the district as it’s poised for major changes in coming years.
Read more: Hank’s Low Country Seafood & Raw Bar Arrives in Downtown Columbus
Listen, our favorite new restaurants don’t all have to be fancy, chef-driven eateries; they can be down-home, stick-to-your-ribs dives, too! Owner Jenny Dials drew on her time working at TeeJaye’s and Beechwold Diner to create her own place in Clintonville this year. It was quickly swamped with regulars who loved their friendly service and comfort foods like country fried steak, corned beef hash, buttery pancakes, and even eggs benedicts. In a time when we’re losing a number of long-time restaurants, it makes me very happy to see a new diner joining the community.
Read more: Columbus, Meet Your Newest Diner: Jenny’s Diner in Clintonville
Like any year, 2024 brought us dozens of new restaurants, and you better believe we haven’t come close to trying them all. And while I’m highlighting 10 stand-outs, there are plenty more worth exploring, like these!
Want to keep up with more? Follow me on Instagram at @breakfastwithnick, check out the news archives, read my guide to Columbus, search for travel inspiration, or…
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