Nada (Facebook / @nadacolumbus / instagram: @nadacolumbus)
200 W. Nationwide Blvd. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 715-8260
Open Mon-Thurs, 11a-10p; Fri, 11a-12a; Sat, 10:30a-12a; Sun, 10:30a-10p
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/N/N
Kid-friendly? Y
Visited: Saturday, January 17, 2015 at 10:30 a.m.
There’s been a lot of excitement about Nada’s opening in the Arena District. The restaurant comes from the Boca family of restaurants in Cincinnati. It joins the growing list of restaurants with Cincy connections, like Bakersfield and Taste of Belgium. (Columbus has sent its share of stores to Cincy, too: Brezel and Homage.)
Two things to share up front: we were invited to brunch at Nada, and we happened to be the first people in the door that morning, so we got a lot of attention from the servers.
Nada is located at the corner of a new build in the Arena District, right across the street from the Arena itself. The space is decked out in bright colors and natural woods. It took us a moment just to take it all in: tiled floor, gold wallpaper, bright red and blue seats.
Apart from the main dining room is a smaller raised room, again with the patterned walls, tiled floors, and big wooden tables.
The wall just behind us, decorated in bright red and natural woods, looked straight into the kitchen. All around, really great branding and design.
The menu is just as colorful. It starts with rounds of brunch drinks and draft cocktails.
Mrs. Bfast w/Nick went with the Bloody Maria diablo-style. As the “Maria” indicates, it’s built on tequila and not vodka. The diablo style uses a chile-infused taquila.
I couldn’t decide between coffee or a brunch drink, until I saw the Drunken Coffee: coffee + tequila + Kahlua. The alcohol is served on the side, so you can enjoy it separately or in the coffee. I dumped it in the java, and found pretty quickly that it’s a generous serving.
Nada focuses on Mexican cuisine, so of course that’s fronted on the brunch menu, with huevos rancheros, tacos, lots of chorizo, etc. There’s a nice little nod to their Cincinnati roots, too, with the Eggs Goettadicto.
We started with the chips and salsa: very good homemade chips and a nice, smokey ancho salsa.
Our boys split the French toast: a large piece of toast with bananas, maple syrup, whipped cream, and candied almonds. A big hit.
Mrs. Bfast w/Nick tried the Bacon and Egg Tacos: two flour tortillas each with a big slice of pork belly and a fried egg, plus salsa, guacamole, and pickled peppers. The pork belly was sliced very thick and laid across the center of taco. The egg was nice and runny.
And then the Eggs Goettadicto. I love eggs benedict, and after a recent trip to Cincinnati, I’m in love with goetta. This benedict was bright and colorful. Great sriracha hollandaise, sprinkled with pico de gallo, rich goetta. For both the tacos and the goettadicto, we expected slightly larger portions for the price, but they did make up for it in flavor.
As a special treat, our server invited our boys into the back to help refill our chips. Such a simple thing, but they loved it.
Overall, there’s much to recommend about Nada’s brunch. The place isn’t crazy busy (though maybe that’ll change), but there’s plenty of space. It’s colorful and fun, and the menu has plenty of dishes and drinks packed with flavor that it makes for a fun and interesting brunch.
Disclaimer: brunch was provided by Nada. Opinions are my own.
