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Categories: Bars, Breweries, American (Traditional) [Edit]
Neighborhood: DowntownMon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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We pulled into Columbus and checked into a hotel around 8 o'clock on a Wednesday night, and i guess we picked the wrong neighborhood to stay in, because when we busted out of our hotel after driving all day, we could not find a single bar open in the area. We walked and walked and walked, and about 20 minutes later we found this place.
Maybe I'm biased, because, dude, i really needed a beer. Seriously. But i was very happy with this place. I didn't eat anything, but other peoples' food looked good. I remember in particular having an imperial stout, or something like that, that was fantastic. This was a good find under the circumstances, I'd definitely recommend it.
This was very close to the hotel I was staying at, and with the decent reviews I saw on Yelp, the boss and I decided to give it a try.
I very much needed a drink and after perusing the beer menu, I had no idea what I should order. Our server, a lovely lady, asked me a series of questions to see what I'd like and did a great job in finding a beer I would enjoy. I got the Darkhorse Lager. The funny thing was when my boss said, "I'll have the same thing she's having." My boss doesn't drink, but apparently he wanted to drink with me that night.
We placed our orders and beer bread was brought to our table. I am not a big bread fan unless its really good stuff, and this wasn't bad at all. I loved that it was still warm and the butter melted perfectly into it!
I went with the Thai beef tenderloin salad and enjoyed it. The greens were fresh and crisp, the beef was flavored nicely and of course, tender.
The environment is beautiful and the long bar has a very, very cool feel to it. The stained glass you see everywhere is also pretty.
If in town I would certainly stop again.
The food is good (you must try the almond encrusted chicken salad) and the service is good as well. In addition the atmosphere of the bar is great... I love all the stained glass and the dark wood of the bar.
I prefer to eat in the bar area vs. the back part of the restaurant.
Not sure about all the bad reviews, this place was really good. First, totally disregard anybody that suggests that the decor is lacking. It's got a great deal of style and character. I sat at the bar and was amazed at the intricately detailed carvings in front of me. I learned that the bar was originally built for and displayed at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. There are loads of stained glass windows that also add to the character.
Now the food... I ordered a nut brown ale to start, very nice. I followed with their caesar salad. The bartender asked if I wanted the anchovies (the menu said the were included) and I said yes. Unfortunately, there were only 2 anchovies and the salad had a bit too much parm cheese on top. The salad was the only thing that caused me to rate 4 stars vs. 5. For dinner I ordered the pork chop. First, it can only be described as HUGE. Even with it's size, it was very moist throughout, I have to assume they brine it before grilling. The chop had a very nice maple glaze that was just the right touch. It went very nicely with the spicy chipolte mashed potatoes, a sweet/spicy mix. The asparagus was fresh and not overcooked. Overall, a really good meal in an area that seemed to be loaded with chain restaurants.
I might add that I walked about 5 blocks to the restaurant from the Double Tree Suites at 8pm. I wasn't too worried myself but I wouldn't have wanted my wife to make the walk alone. You might want to take a taxi if you're in the same area.
It is hard to review this place. My first trip to Columbus and we made a stop here on a local brewery search. I did not eat here so I can only rate the decor and the beer. The decor and atmosphere of this place was absolutely terrible. The place is stupid looking. I must say though, the beers we had were great. Started off with the IPA, very nice. The Dopplebock was great as well. I would like to go back another time and try the food however, if you are in town and want a decent local brew pub with good beers, make a stop here.
Wow.
Harsh reviews!
I lived in C-Bus from 1997-2002. LOVED the Elevator then.
Every time I come back for a visit I hit up the Elevator and I'm never disappointed.
Vegetarian options are limited, but I can find something (salads, mainly), and all the omnivores in my party are always happy.
This last time I also enjoyed the hummus appetizer. Delicious! It was the hit of the table.
I love the atmosphere of the Elevator and have enjoyed many, many, many great nights there.
The word on the street is that this was a bordello back in the old days. Great decor including the beautiful Moroccan blue ceiling and art. The food was also excellent and the service attentive. They get an A for ambiance.
Great beer, probably the best micro in Columbus. Agreed? We like the "Dark Horse" best. Also it's surprisingly affordable, $2.50 at happy hour.
Working on my MBA, that's masters of beer appreciation. Get your card punched by drinking each month's special for one year, and get the prize. How much I care about the prize is really disproportionate to how excited I am about finishing the course, but the prize is actually pretty sweet: your own big beer mug with cheap fill-ups. Free to sign up.
I really wanted to like this place. It's been on my Columbus dining list for many years, but we'd always ended up somewhere else for decent dinners out. Finally, a family member picked it for a celebration dinner!
Despite having a reservation and that the place was half dead, it took over 5 minutes to even seat us. Our server was fairly sub par. I asked for a Grey Goose Cosmopolitan, and she looked at my like I had 12 heads. She did know the beer menu well, but I didn't think my request was that strange. That's a pretty standard drink. Plus we were lingering longer than normal because she just didn't seem to have her timing right. I'd make sure that we'd not sit at her table again, if we go back.
Beer was good...my drink was awful! Turns out they don't have Grey Goose (it took 20 minutes from drink order until the time she waltzed back to my table to tell me that), so I took their standard vodka, Three Olives. The bartender had all of the proportions severely off. I pushed it off to the side, not planning on complaining (I always find if they screw up the first drink, they won't get the 2nd one right either), but thinking that she'd at least notice that I hadn't touched it. She didn't. She just asked if I was done and took away the full glass. Stick with the beer.
The food, however, was the biggest disappointment. I ordered the Rock Filet, which comes with a starch & salad. I got the iceberg wedge, which wasn't very fresh at all. My twice baked potato wasn't bad, but you only get a half potato. And my steak was just mediocore. The cut of beef was pretty fatty for filet, and my stone only cooked for 10 minutes (we were told when we ordered that we'd have 20 minutes of cooking time. My husband got their salmon dish with a pomegranate glaze, and he was pretty unimpressed. The only dish that wowed at our table was the crab manicotti. Since everything else was so mediocore, we decided to skip dessert.
It's not the worst dining experience I've ever had, but I hate to say that I've had much better experiences at casual dining places. And the food just wasn't worth the money. It is a beautiful building, and it was a neat place to see, but the tables and chairs are also getting pretty worse for wear (our booth seat was torn up with the stuffing starting to hang out).
It was just eh. I'd probably come back for beer, but that's all.
I've always been curious about this place and I finally had a chance to check it out last night and sadly left a little disappointed after the meal.
When we first walked in there was a noticeable lack of energy in the air. Granted it was a Monday night but something about it was off. It just looked like people were miserable to be there.
We were seated right away and were confused about the decor. The upholstery was outdated, the chairs were cheap and the pictures on the wall didn't really mesh with the restaurant. It just wasn't a very relaxing/comfortabel environment. It has such potential to be a cool brewpub but with the messy lighting and lack of energy it definitely has room to improve.
Now for the food...
We ordered crab cakes and fish and chips. Both eh okay but not great. It seemed like they wanted to mask the flavor of the two by covering it with this spicy remoulade sauce. Ick. I scraped it off and my crab cakes were left swimming in this thick herb butter sauce. I was excited about the risotto on my plate but sadly it lacked flavor. Bummer.
My friend's fish and chips were okay. Not bad fish...aside from the spicy sauce on top. The tartar sauce was good. The fries were kinda soggy.
We didn't order any beer and I am still curious how it is. So if I ended up having to go back here, I think I'll just order a beer and go somewhere else for dinner.
3 stars for the food and service, 4 stars for the decorations and history of this place. There isn't much for the vegetarian to eat here. The beer is OK and the wine is decent. The mixed drink selection is good and the drinks are prepared well.
I don't frequent this place often, but I would like to because of the history. Oh well. It has a lot of potential. Then again, I know some people who really like the place, so don't let my review deter you.
The good stuff first. I asked for a flight of the 3 darkest beers. The nut brown, the porter, and the doppelbock. The nut brown was a little weak, as it always seems to be at microbreweries. The doppelbock was passable. But the porter was amazing. A frothy cup of malty deliciousness. I'll definitely return for the porter if nothing else.
The hummus appetizer was pretty good, but that's as far as I went on the menu. However, there was a guy at the bar eating the The Rock Filet. I have no idea if it's a good deal, or if it even tastes good. But the novelty of the presentation scores points in my book regardless.
The atmosphere. I don't know where to go with this. It's one of those places that stands more as a testament to what it was in the past than what it is now. The interior is amazing. Cathedral ceilings, tiled floors, ornately carved wood. It's lit with subtle blue neon. I EXPECTED a beautiful blonde woman in a bright red dress to come running in asking for help. And I felt completely unprepared, having sat at the bar without a tommy gun, or at least a small revolver in my sock.
I went on a Tuesday night. I'm not sure what the scene is like on a Friday or Saturday. But I imagine it's hard to pack a place like that these days. The location is just out of reach of the Short North, and just out of reach of the core downtown restaurants. Given that, I assume its harder to gather the cash flow to push the food and service to the level that you would expect from a restaurant with that kind of atmosphere. But I'll be back for the porter.
Some GREAT things: martini's, the hot rock, the spicy tuna tartar appetizer, the history of Elevator and the aged yet modern decor.
My martini was prepared just right. It was clear with a light taste of vermouth and the only 'dirt' came from the stuffed olives. The hot rock is they way you can cook, to your own preference, a steak or seafood. I think it's a fun date idea. The spicy tuna tartar, well, it was just plain good.
The history of Elevator is printed on the menu, and I forgot most of the details, but basically it's one of the, or the first restaurant in Columbus. I guess it served during prohibition??? or maybe the interesting point was that it survived prohibition. Today there are stories that it's haunted. Unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure. Perhaps this is a job for the Central Ohio Ghost Squad?
I have been to Elevator several times, but unfortunately none of them have been for food. I've only had their beer, so I will rate them on that.
First I'll start by saying that I love the look of this place. I know that Elevator prides itself on its historical building that's been there since at least the early 1900's. And it looks like it - but not in a bad way. You can tell that the building is old but it's been beautifully refinished and has maintained well. The outside it great, especially at night. It's all lit up like a movie theater or some old jazz club in the 1920's. You'd expect to see old cars lined up in front with men in zoot suits and women in furs lining up at the door with a woman singing onstage with a man playing the piano, while waiters in bowties with slicked-back hair are bringing you a scotch on the rocks. But you don't see any of that. The outside windows are dark but give you a peek at the inside, and the top of the windows are stained glass. You'll also find stained glass windows inside, too. The floors are old and creak a bit, and the tables are antiques. They have a lot of really large tables here for big parties. Most of the inside is wood-paneled and everything has a bluish glow to it from the blue neon lights outside and around the restaurant. There are even some pool tables inside. This place has definitely got character.
It's in the downtown area (after work at the Statehouse a bunch of us would walk here sometimes so there's a pretty good after work crowd) on High St. just south of Spring St. Really, you can't miss it because of the giant beer sign out front and all the lights.
The menu looks good, with some fancy items. I know they are popular for their steaks and burgers, but they also have chicken dishes and salads and sandwiches. Looking at the online menu, I am curious to try their Champagne Brie appetizer. As soon as I do I'll be sure to review it.
But I can talk about their beer. I love to try places that brew their own. They have a pretty decent selection and some unique flavors. Overall, I'm not a huge fan of anything I've tried, but it was all very good and I would try them again. I prefer light beers, so I started with the Heifer-wiezen. It's served with a slice of lemon of the edge of the glass. It had some interesting light traces of clove and banana flavors. Both of those flavors aren't really that good to me, especially clove. But the beer wasn't bad. I was impressed at how well the flavors blended on my tongue. But after I tried that beer I didn't really want another one of those. The flavors were a little much, so I got the Elevator Xtra next. Another light beer, but this time it had a grapefruit flavor to it. Just a touch. I liked this one a lot better. And this is typically what I order when I come to Elevator, which was usually for after-work happy hour functions. One other time I tried the Flying Hydrant Light, which was a little darker, but not too dark for me. I feel like most of Elevator's beers are darker. Anyway, this one tasted a bit like citrus like green apple, and it was alright, but I think I found my niche with the Elevator Xtra.
The prices aren't all that bad, but the reason I've never ordered food here is that it would cost quite a bit to eat here in addition to beers. I've only been here for happy hour and the beers were around $5 a piece. I have no idea what they are usually priced - maybe it's the same, but the prices can only go up from there.
I've always found the service to be very slow. When people in my party do order food they are waiting for a long time and are usually staying longer than those who don't eat because of it. I wouldn't come here if you're wanting a quick meal from what I've seen. It is usually crowded around happy hour, but I've always been able to get a table and our party, which is usually at least 7 people, manage to get a big table so we can all sit together.
I will come back here to give the food a try, but for now, it's just OK. The beer is good but it's not wallet-friendly and it's nothing that I really miss when I'm somewhere else. But the menu looks unique and I really love Elevator's atmosphere, so I am hoping to stop by here again soon.
I give this place three stars only because of the beer. The food was so-so. Very pricey for this type of restaurant and you don't get much for the money. I ordered a vegetarian puff pastry and that was all it came with. For $18. One so-so puff pastry. As far as variety goes, this was the only vegetarian option on the menu aside from salads.
The beer on the other hand was heavenly! The service was excellent and the ambiance was classy. I would probably return for the beer and maybe some appetizers, but not again for a main meal. There are better options for dining in Columbus.
I've been to the Elevator twice. The building is gorgeous as well as the history of it. The first time was pleasant. No real complaints. The food was good, no long waits, etc. It is a little on the high side but not too expensive.
The most recent time was following an art event held near the old Lazarus building and the Elevator was packed. My intention was to eat there while visiting with some friends. It wasn't too busy with the exception of the post art show crowd. Most of the post show crowd were eating in the back (where there was allegedly free food paid for by OSU). We mingled with some friends at the bar and then decided we would get a table. We asked the hostess for a table. She seemed to be occupied with texting at the time and barked "Well, are you going to be eating?" Starving with little other nearby options we said "Yes". She seated us, without a word and turned and angrily muttered to a co-worker about god knows what. Our server on the other hand, was a darling. One entree was going to be delayed so our appetizer was comped. The ribs were good and she even gave me wet wipes in my doggie bag. Total pro when it seemed that it was amateur hour in the front of the restaurant. Try it sometime, just don't bother the employees while they are texting on the job.
I wish Elevator would tighten up their restaurant game, because I love enjoying interesting local beers with dinner. Unfortunately, the food here is really sub-par. If you are going to serve bagged salad, you have to at least pick out those shriveled up pieces from the bottom of the bag. I do that for myself at home, but don't expect to have to at a restaurant! Likewise, our entrees failed to live up to potential. A sandwich came with the chicken breast in breading as thick and heavy as the chicken itself. Curiously, we were restricted to ordering from the lunch menu even though we arrived at 5 p.m.
The only standout was the beer. I tried their signature ale and a barleywine and was happy with both. Decor is interesting and nice enough. Service was passable. But the whole time I was eating, I kept imagining Gordon Ramsay bursting in, revamping the menu, and whipping the kitchen staff into shape. If only!
My future visits to the Elevator will be for beer only.
After the US-Mexico soccer match, we rolled into the Elevator late on a windy night in quiet Columbus. The place was pretty empty, and i dare say it makes a bigger impression that way--a beautiful old building with moody blue lighting and scattered patrons having quiet conversations. The people deep in the back of the place playing pool were probably normal college students, but it felt like they were up to something. The four beers i tried were superb, with the pale ale a real standout. The only real drawback is that they stopped serving food at the stroke of ten, right when we arrived. Also, it was yet another opportunity for someone (hundreds of miles from Boston) to recognize my brother (who's from Nebraska and not a baseball fan) as Kevin Youkilis' doppelganger.
I don't really understand why people haven't rated this place very high but here's my two cents.
We waltzed in without a reservation and were seated at the owner's table (overlooking the dining room) because the party who had it didn't show up.
Two words regarding the food: "the rock". You get a beautiful cut of meat (filet is standard but you can do tuna) served raw and a big flat stone in front of you on the table that's heated to around 450 degrees. You then cut off each bite of the steak (or do it however you please) and cook it on the rock. Holy crap I was going nuts for this meal. I couldn't stop (loudly) praising this dish.
Wedge salad is really delicious.
And of course, the beer here is second-to-none (it's a microbrewery).
Stop in, check out the Rock, then let me know what you think.
Now, as a proud resident/condo-owner in Downtown Columbus I do my best to support anything and everything Downtown, especially dining establishments. But unfortunately, the Elevator does not support ME: a vegetarian non-beer-drinker. So for me, this place is a walk by. But, I have heard from my meat-eating, beer-drinking friends and colleagues that this place is pretty good. The bar and restaurant is visually appealing though, and I have no reason to complain about receiving poor service.
Decent food, better beer! The burger was fresh, the fries hand-cut and the pickle crunchy...but I could have used a more diverse menu (I guess I was in Columbus...at a brew-pub...but still). The Thai beef salad was really good. Weird trashy table behind us were completely gross...loud obnoxious disgusting conversation...but then again...Columbus...
Food wasn't anything special.
Beer was OK.
Atmosphere was pretty cool.
Overall 2 stars.
I had high (ha ha) expectations for this place, and I was disappointed when I left. At least it was a business meal paid for by the company...
Great beer selection, I've found the food to be hit and miss. It's a very old place and has a great ambiance.
12/13/2005 Slow service; difficult billing; okay food. Elevator gets another 1.5 stars because of the fantastic beer, excellent atmosphere and previous good service I've had there. 2.5 stars, 10 people
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