UPDATE July 2020: this location of Bareburger has CLOSED.
Disclaimer: this post is sponsored by Bareburger. Photos and opinions are my own.
Bareburger | Facebook | T: @bareburgercbus | IG: @bareburger_columbus
4560 N. High St. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43214
(614) 826-4198
Open Mon-Thurs, 11:30a-9p; Fri & Sat, 9a-10:30p; Sun, 9a-9p
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/Y/Y
Kid-friendly? Y
Visited: Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 10 a.m.
Queens-based Bareburger has made its presence known in Columbus, first across from the Convention Center downtown, and second with a bright and shiny new spot in Clintonville. The restaurant is known, as you’d expect, for their burgers, but also for their focus on sustainable sourcing, organic ingredients, and adaptability to different dietary needs.
And to top that all off, they’ve added breakfast! The Clintonville location started serving weekend breakfast recently, and downtown will soon follow suit. They were kind enough to invite us in one March Saturday to try things out.
Even though we live close to the location, this was my first time into Bareburger, although Beth and the boys have been. The aesthetic mixes lots of rough, natural woods with sturdy industrial accents.
It’s worth looking up while you’re there.
Before you even order your breakfast, the server whisks a complimentary bowl of house-made donuts to your table. The tiny (and a little tough) fried doughballs are dusted with powdered sugar. It most certainly caught the attention of our kids.
The kids get their own menu with selections of pancakes, waffles, and scrambled eggs.
For the adults, there’s a selection of boozy drinks like the Bloody Mary, a bellini, rossini, and a mimosa.
They also have a healthy beer menu, almost entirely focused on Ohio brews.
The restaurant itself is long and spacious, good for a bigger group.
We ordered a collection of dishes for the whole table and then shared everything.
The Tottie Too Hottie is a bowl of tater tots topped with Black Forest bacon, guacamole, queso fundido (their house queso), pico de gallo, and an over easy egg.
It was a rich and filling concoction. I appreciated the tater tots especially – nice and crispy on the outside.
The Ranchero Fundido is their version of huevos rancheros, deconstructed. The various elements – chips with queso, avocado slices, over easy eggs (which they call “sunny poached” on the menu), two patties of a vegan chorizo, and little nests of pickled onions filled with a black bean and corn salsa. The thing I love about huevos rancheros is the mix of flavors and textures, so you’re doing a little bit of the work here to blend it all together.
Shout-out to the home fries, too. Our server recommended trying a bowl of them. Salty, crispy exteriors, soft interiors.
More and more places are offering pancake flights. I’m a big fan. Also of note is that Bareburger’s pancakes and waffles are gluten free.
Bareburger’s three offerings include the Flapstax with butter and maple syrup; You’re My Boy Blue with blueberries, whipped cream, and a blueberry syrup; and the Coco Loco with toasted coconut, blueberries, lemon curd, and that blueberry syrup again. All nicely done, and flavorful without being overly sweet.
One of my favorites was the chicken and waffles. It’s more like mini waffles and wings. We ordered the buffalo and bleu cheese dressing, and it proved to be a great combination of the vinegary punch of the buffalo sauce with tender chicken, crispy waffles, and a sweet touch of syrup.
Another winner was the Breakfast T.A.B.L.E. sandwich, layering over easy eggs with brisket, greens, tomatoes, avocado, and a habanero mayo on toasted eight-grain bread. Bareburger does all their eggs properly, with runny yolks, so the sandwich is a complete mess to eat, but well worth it.
The restaurant space features plenty of natural light, with seats at the bar and a patio that will come in very handy once spring finally arrives.
There’s even more we didn’t try: more sandwiches, salads, tacos. Oddly enough, there are only two burgers on their breakfast menu, and they’re both offerings from the regular menu. Our server waved us off the burgers and encouraged us to focus on their other features.
No matter to me: we were plenty pleased by the breakfast features, and I’d most certainly welcome the chance to go back.
