UPDATE: this location of The Half Pint has closed.
The Half Pint | Facebook | T: @halfpintcbus | IG: @thehalfpintcolumbus
415 N. Front St. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 745-1165
Open Mon, 11a-9; Tues-Thurs, 11a-11p; Fri & Sat, 11a-12a; Sun, 10a-9p (brunch served Sundays 10a-2p)
Visited: Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 1 p.m.
The Half Pint arrived in the Arena District a few weeks ago from Marysville, transforming what was once a storage space at the intersection of Vine and Front Streets, catty-corner to the North Market, into a nice little hangout with lots of beer and a big patio.
This location joins another Half Pint out of Marysville and The Pint Room up in Dublin. The menu focuses around the three Bs – burgers, bar snacks, and beers, although on Sundays they add fourth B to the list: brunch.
The folks from The Half Pint kindly invited us in for Sunday brunch, and we were happy to check it out. The Sunday brunch menu (which you can see here) is focused around about eight dishes, a collection of sides, and a roster of eight brunch cocktails. The whole lunch menu – not to mention the 60 beers on tap – is also at your disposal.
We started out sampling a couple cocktails. Beth ordered the Mocha, a concoction of coffee, chocolate, Creme de Cocoa, and Kahlua. It arrived in a coffee mug and tasted like strong, spiked coffee.
I’m a fan of white Russians (“Obviously, you’re not a golfer”), and their brunch version modified the drink with muddled strawberries. Not my usual choice of drink, but it still proved to be strong, sweet, and enjoyable.
At your table you’ll also find a paper menu listing their 60 drafts. It’s a really solid collection, and you’ll find plenty of Columbus and Ohio beers. They even do little head-to-head competitions that pair Columbus breweries’ version of different beers. On our visit they had Seventh Son and Wolf’s Ridge squaring off over their pale ales and IPAs. The “winner” of these pairings gets money donated to a charity of their choice.
I played my part in the competition by ordering Wolf’s Ridge Brewing‘s Snow Cone pale ale.
And then breakfast dishes started arriving! First up is the classic breakfast: eggs, your choice of meat, hash browns, and toast. It’s all well done. Simple sausage patties, creamy scrambled eggs, and I always prefer hash browns over home fries.
I ordered the corned beef hash with a side of rye toast. It arrives on a small nest of hash browns, which were crispy around the edges but a tad greasy in the center. Still, I like that texture. The corned beef is tucked in with peppers and onions beneath two sunny side up eggs. The dish is potato-heavy but still a good version of hash.
Likewise, the simple French toast is easy to love: nice, custardy slices made from cinnamon-laced sourdough, plus real maple syrup, crispy bacon, and a side of fruit.
Good execution on the crabcake benedict, too. The crabcakes feature a lot of jumbo lump crab, plus crispy Canadian bacon (for a good salty touch), properly poached eggs, and a nicely done hollandaise. Bonus for the grilled asparagus – I like how asparagus tastes with a good hollandaise.
There’s a good amount of space around The Half Pint, from bar seats, high-tops, longer group tables, and little two-person booths.
There’s a good collection of TVs for anyone that wants to catch the latest games.
You can also snag any of their 60 beers to go in growlers (64 oz), howlers (32 oz), or crowlers (32 oz cans).
And in warmer weather they’ve got plenty of patio space. Great for a warm-weather brunch, or for hanging out before or after events at Nationwide Arena.
Disclaimer: this review was sponsored by The Half Pint. Photos and opinions are our own.
