Columbus Monthly has named its Best Restaurants in the city for 2025
It’s the first time in three years the magazine has published the list of fine-dining destinations. While three of the top restaurants are well-known and decades old, three others have been in business for two years or less, showing just how quickly Columbus’ dining landscape is evolving.
As part of the feature in its August 2025 issue, the magazine rounded out the fine-dining list with 91 more restaurants, cafes and bakeries it deems the Top 100 restaurants in Columbus. The cuisine of five continents is represented on that list.
The top nine, in alphabetical order because the magazine chose not to rank them, are:
Agni: Chef Avishar Barua’s Brewery District restaurant was named by USA TODAY as one its Restaurants of the Year for 2025. Barua’s tasting menu of a dozen or more courses takes diners on a flavor tour that spans the globe.
Basi Italia: A veteran of past Columbus Monthly best-restaurant lists, Basi Italia offers Italian bistro fare, a super-comfortable dining room and one of the best patios in town from its home in Victorian Village.
Comune: The plant-based restaurant on the South Side takes vegan cuisine to a new level. Columbus Monthly calls Comune chef-driven, high-concept and totally approachable.
Gene’s: Dustin and Molly Snow, owners of Dublin’s Coast Wine House, opened this restaurant nearby in 2024. Gene’s features a relatively small menu of seasonal, fresh dishes.
HARU Omakase: This Japanese restaurant, which opened in October 2024 on Polaris Parkway, was too new to make Columbus Monthly’s Best New Restaurants list earlier in 2025. Its multicourse sushi tasting menu features creative flourishes on the freshest fish and seafood.
Lindey’s: Another Columbus classic, the 44-year-old German Village restaurant boasts a menu of steaks and chops, seafood and pasta in a comfortable, elegant environment.
The Refectory: A fine-dining destination for decades on the Northwest Side, The Refectory changes its appetizer, soup, salad, meat and seafood and dessert courses nightly.
Rooh: The Short North restaurant puts an elevated, unique twist on familiar Indian flavors. It carries those influences through its cocktail list as well.
Veritas: Chef Josh Dalton’s ever-evolving Downtown restaurant changes its tasting menus regularly. Its new Mexican supper club is a preview of Dalton’s upcoming Rosalita’s, which is planned nearby.
The full list of Columbus’ top 100 restaurants is available in the August 2025 issue of Columbus Monthly.
Dining reporter Bob Vitale can be reached at rvitale@dispatch.com or at @dispatchdining on the Instagram social platform.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What are the best restaurants in Columbus? Here are Columbus Monthly’s choices for 2025
Reporting by Bob Vitale, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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