Top rated gourmet restaurants in Columbus
Fine dining in the United States isn’t what it used to be. Many customers are no longer interested in classic white tablecloths and 16-ounce New York Strips; instead, they’re looking for cutting-edge dining experiences.
Although steakhouses had dominated fine dining in America since the 19th century, that began to change in the mid-1990s. Elite chefs like Thomas Keller at the French Laundry brought a very different kind of dining experience (with 40 courses) and a new era of fine dining was born. Soon, prix fixe meals—a French way of serving a set menu—became the norm for fine dining in the United States.
With the increasing popularity of chef-led tasting menus and consumers’ continued desire for diverse dining experiences, the restaurants that grace the pages of high-profile restaurant critics like Zagat or the Michelin Guide look very different today than they did 30 years ago. Restaurant goers aren’t just looking for quality food. They want a menu that tells a story. They want creative ingredients they’ve never tried before. They want to be transported to a whole new world.
With so many innovative menus and dining experiences popping up all over America, it can be difficult to decide on a restaurant for a special night. Stacker compiled a list of the top-rated fine dining restaurants in Columbus using data from Yelp. The businesses were selected using Yelp’s rating system, which calculates an adjusted rating score that takes into account both the number of reviews and the review score itself.
Only businesses with at least five reviews and Tier 2 prices (i.e. $$ to $$$$) were included. To highlight independent businesses and local chains, businesses with five or more locations nationwide (based on Yelp data) were excluded. Restaurants in certain lower-cost categories (such as “diners,” “buffets,” and “food trucks”) were excluded. Data as of August 19, 2024.
Read on to find a possible restaurant for your next special dinner!
