Sidebar Columbus

I don't eat here often enough and if you get a chance, I absolutely recommend Sidebar. Really nice for sharing plates with a date, a friend, or going out with a group. The atmosphere and dishes offer an intimate and relaxed environment even with a crowd around. There is just something about it. Service can be kind of slow like this last time but it's still good service.

This visit we enjoyed the:
-Beef Empanadas
-Spicy Potatoes
-Chicken Skewers
-Beef Fillet Skewers

I recommend all these options! For reservations go to sidebarcolumbus.com or directly via TouchBistro at www.tbdine.com/book/restaurant/sidebar-columbus.

Great tapas bar on the south side of downtown Columbus. Could easily be missed if you're just driving through, especially since downtown tends to be quiet.

The hostess, bartenders, and servers were all nice and helpful. We sat at the bar for happy hour and were given menus and explanations of various offerings. I got sangria, which was really good and had very fresh, sweet berries (even in the winter). We also shared a few dishes which were the cilantro hummus, beef empanadas, and ceviche. I love cilantro and thought the hummus was great, very herbal and punchy. The beef empanadas were also tasty and came with a sauce that, personally, could have used more spice. The ceviche wasn't super impressive to me, could have used more salt and maybe more of a vessel to eat with it.

I will say, cost wise, its a bit on the higher end, even for happy hour but food and drink were mostly worth the price. Definitely a tucked away bar worth checking out!

We stopped by for happy hour and I can safely say we will be back on the near future. The bar and immediate dining area are a bit snug, but I believe there is additional seating for more formal dinner around the corner of the bar in the rear of the restaurant. If it's your first time visiting, the entrance is located on the side of the building near the alley. The ambiance is elevated and we felt as though we were no longer in Columbus.

Now, for the food. The beef empanadas were tasty, well-seasoned, and fairly substantial, but the dipping sauce could have had more of a kick. Ask for hot sauce or bring your own, perhaps. The cilantro hummus was refreshing and my personal favorite of the night. You receive a generous helping of pita bread to go along with it. We also had the white fish ceviche (not pictured), which was again very fresh and a bit buttery. All of the above would work great as tapas or appetizers for a small group. The Moscow mule was pretty strong for a happy hour special as well.

Their happy hour menu is included below as of December 2023.

Overall, I had a great experience and will be visiting again soon!

Truly one of Columbus's best restaurants. The happy hour menu is top-notch, and the staff members are very attentive. This is an upscale restaurant but it's also very casual. Service is always quick. The food is delicious and you will want to come back for more. We need more restaurants like this in Columbus!

Visited on a Friday for their happy hour. The restaurant was big, and wasn't packed so it was easy to find a seat. The HH is throughout the place, not just the bar, so that was nice! The tapas were good, but definitely small portions. The prices add up when you need to order 4+ tapas for two people, so it defeated the purpose of saving money on the happy hour. We loved the cilantro hummus! Super refreshing. We asked for a side of cucumbers to finish it off. The place had about 8 mini slices. That was fine - but we were charged $4 for them. So don't ask for cucumbers! The seafood dish with shrimp, mussels, and calamari was phenomenal. The sauce it was in was so rich and creamy. We really loved this one. The tuna tartar was good. Wish we had more crackers/cucumber again. We thought the pork was just okay. It was cooked pretty well done and was dry because of that. All in all, I'm not sure if I would come back to Sidebar. It wasn't very memorable.

We were a party of 8 and decided to have dinner at Sidebar before going to see Frozen at the Ohio Theater. We did have a reservation and as soon as we arrived we were seated right away. Our server was very friendly, took our orders and gave recommendations. For the amount of food that we ordered, the food came our pretty quickly.

We ordered beef empanadas, cheese empanadas, chicken croquettes, plantains, queso and guava, chicken skewers, shrimp with garlic sauce, calamari tapa, coco flan, and Tres leches cake. Everything was excellent. However, the chicken croquettes and the plantains were my favorites. The coco flan was my least favorite, but it was still very good. All the other items we had tasted great, every single one of them. The portions were good size, easily can be shareable

Definitely recommend this place and can't wait to go back again.

This was a great place for family dinner and celebration! They were also very nice and accommodating to fit our 4 month old and stroller at our table. Parking can be tricky as it is downtown but there are lots nearby.

We enjoyed a mezcal cocktail, goat cheese and tomato dip, eggplant parmesan, Caprese salad and guava cheese plantains. All were shareable and delicious. We did order 2 eggplants Parms for 6 of us since the portions are tapas style.

Sidebar was a perfect summer evening spot. Cold sangria and spicy tapas to start the weekend.

They were very gracious about seating us on a busy night without a reservation. So welcoming. Our server was Dennis and he was excellent. He had the best personality and made helpful menu recommendations.

Although they do have entrees, most of the menu is tapas. I love that because you can try so many things. The standouts were the meatball, the spicy potatoes and the chicken croquettes. There was not a bad dish in the bunch. We tried the coconut flan for dessert and enjoyed it, but next time would go with the tres leches cake.

They have Happy Hour from 4-6 pm Monday-Friday.

This is my third time at Sidebar and it is still as lovely as ever! The service is very friendly and the food comes out FAST.

Highlight of the meal was the Lobster Ravioli and the Ceviche. Both delicious, the Ceviche was very fresh. The Mushrooms and Garlic severely needed salt. Meatball was good as well, we needed more bread to get all of that delicious sauce!

We were going to catch a show at the Ohio Theater with a group of 8 people, and after debating on various dining options in the area, we settled on Sidebar. And it was the best decision. The restaurant's reservation system does not allow party size of 8 or more - however, this was easily resolved with a simple text on the reservation site, which Sidebar accommodated immediately. We had a one-hour window before our show, and it was as if the staff at Sidebar is trained to deal with patrons in a hurry.
Upon arrival, our group was quickly seated, and orders taken promptly. Sidebar has a great happy hour menu, and our group ordered several tapas to share. All the dishes (there were 12 separate tapas) arrived hot, fresh, and most importantly - on time. We were impressed at the kitchen and service staff's pace and accuracy. The food was good too! Our table ordered the beef empanadas, the cheese empanadas, the chicken croquettes, the plantains, queso and guava, the chicken skewers, the shrimp with garlic sauce, and the calamari tapas. Everything was excellent; however, the chicken croquettes and the plantains were my favorites. Several people in our group also ordered dessert (the coco flan, and the Tres leches cake) and coffee (espresso and regular black coffee), which everyone enjoyed. The food portions were also just the right size to not make one uncomfortably full before a show.
Overall, I highly recommend Sidebar for how efficiently they serve up a huge variety of tasty dishes. We will definitely be back!