Nostalgia can’t be slapped on the walls like a coat of not-too-fresh paint and curated tchotchke from somewhere else. There’s a difference between theme-like throwbacks and the real deal.
Central Ohio is full of classic restaurants, bars and bakeries. Columbus is the home of White Castle and Wendy’s. Cities and towns are dotted with pubs and pizza places that have stood the test of time.
These places are the real deal.
At TAT Ristorante di Famiglia on the East Side of Columbus, Corrova family ancestors keep watch from framed portraits in the dining room as tomato sauce simmers away in the kitchen. At Ding Ho, the third generation of the Yee family is in charge of the West Side restaurant that brought Chinese food to Columbus in the 1950s.
The classics endure.
Here are five central Ohio favorites.
Buckeye Donuts
You can get $6 doughnuts in Columbus, and they’re delicious, truly. But Buckeye Donuts, which just broke the $2 price point at one of its locations, remains an old-school favorite. Don’t call them no-frills – they sell cronuts, for heaven’s sake! − but the bakeries specialize in the types of doughnuts you remember from your childhood, no matter when and where that childhood took place.
Details: Buckeye Donuts has three locations: 1363 S. High St. in Merion Village, in North Market Downtown and 1998 N. High St. in the University District. The first two and the third have separate owners, menus and pricing but share a name and logo.
Schmidt’s Restaurant und Sausage Haus
Schmidt’s is a Columbus name going back to 1886, when German immigrant J. Fred Schmidt started his own meatpacking company. When the original business closed in the 1960s, part of the Schmidt’s property in German Village became a butcher shop and lunch counter. Now in the hands of the family’s fifth generation, it’s a tourist attraction for outsiders and a nostalgic draw for Columbus residents.
Details: 240 E. Kossuth St., German Village; 614-444-6808; schmidthaus.com
G&R Tavern
You think a 36-mile drive north from Columbus is too far to go for a fried bologna sandwich? G&R Tavern in the Marion County village of Waldo gets people who drive from surrounding states just for lunch. The restaurant that got its start in 1962 has its bologna custom-made with its own secret spices, fried-up thick slabs on the griddle and serves them on a soft burger bun with Monterrey Jack cheese, sliced onion and sweet pickles.
Details: 103 N. Marion St., Waldo; 740-726-9685; gandrtavern.com.
TAT Ristorante di Famiglia
Sisters Michelle Corrova and Marianne Corrova Kirkbride now run the restaurant that their grandfather founded in 1929 and their dad took over in the 1950s. But they run TAT the way their parents, uncles and grandparents did before them. The first place in town to serve pizza has a wider, classic Italian menu with everything from roasted peppers and wedding soup to cannoli and tiramisu, with plenty of pasta dishes in between.
Details: 1210 S. James Road, East Side; 614-236-1392; tatitalian.net
Ding Ho
When a TikTok video showcasing its Wor Sue Gai went viral in 2024, Ding Ho had such a spike in business that it had to close two hours early for a few days and stop taking online orders. Columbus’ oldest Chinese restaurant has been serving Cantonese food − along with club sandwiches, French fries and spaghetti and meatballs – since 1956.
Details: 120 Phillipi Road, The Hilltop; 614-276-4395; dingho.net
Follow Dispatch dining reporter Bob Vitale on Instagram at @dispatchdining. You can reach him directly at rvitale@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here are 4 classic Columbus restaurants − and 1 worth a road trip
Reporting by Bob Vitale, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
