Sidebar Columbus

The food, ambiance, and service continue to be outstanding at Sidebar. Our most recent visit was after a couple of year's gap, but Sidebar delivers as it always did. - The cocktails are fabulous. - The beef meatball tapas is one of the best in the business - I loved the eggplant Parmesan tapas. - The mussels were excellent as well -- very fresh - The calamari was wonderful -- not deep fried and in a delicious sauce. Great service -- very friendly server. Even the owner was super friendly and after the meal introduced herself with us. Looking forward to my next visit.

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

Still one of the best happy hours in the city. It might be under the radar, as it was not as busy as I would have expected on a recent Friday night. Lots of menu items (and drinks) under $10 during HH and there is not a bad dish in the bunch. Have sincerely enjoyed every food item and cocktail I have tried. The standouts are the chicken croquettes and the beef empanadas.

This was our first (and probably last) visit to Sidebar. The decision not to return is solely based on the added convenience fee of 3.5%. This is a BS charge, and if customers give into it, it will only grow (along with the menu prices) and lead to other BS fees. Yes, I know that credit cards cost a vendor, but so do napkins and ketchup and plates. And I do not feel this fee was adequately disclosed on the menu, table or otherwise.The food was very good, and we remarked that we would order all of the selections again if we decided to return.The service was pleasant, and our server made great suggestions. (Thank you, Camily!)The drinks were well-made and generous.These "convenience" fees--much like force-imposed resort fees at hotels--are just another way to fleece customers. Lemme know when you come to your senses and we'll be back.

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!

I hadn't been to sidebar in awhile so we decided to check it out on Friday evening. To start I ordered a wine from the list, and when I drank it it tasted like it was from a bottle that had been opened for awhile. Not a great start. I let the waitress know that I'm pescatarian and gluten intolerant to get her advice on what I could order, there aren't a lot of options for both of those lifestyles combined and I get that it's hard, but she didn't seem to really know how to help me. We ordered the manchengo cheese and olives to start, as well as the spicy potatoes. Those are a much have! We wanted more food but our waitress wasn't coming around much so we had to wait awhile, for tapas style I expected her to come around more. We ordered the scallops, one of my favorite foods, and went they came and we tried them, they were just not good at all. Had a weird taste- something was off. We also ordered a side of veggies which were lovely and bright, but needed seasoning. But again, our waitress wasn't coming around so I couldn't ask for salt and pepper. Overall, it was fine, but definitely not great and I'm not sure I'll bother coming back with so many other great options in town. The inside is looking a bit shabby too and could use a facelift I think.

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

Went for happy hour, sat at the bar and had Ana amazing time!Bartender was amazing and knowledgeable!Had the red sangria and it was amazing. We also enjoyed the beef empanada, spicy potatoes and other happy hour items! Highly recommend for a happy hour or date night!

Yum and more flavor! Love this place so very much! On a work trip, this is highly recommended! Kind people and great service!