High Bank Distillery debuts its third restaurant on Tuesday, August 20! The latest outpost of the award-winning distillery makes its home in Uptown Westerville, in the former post office building on South State Street.
The space has been given a modern makeover that reflects High Bank’s two other locations – Grandview and Gahanna.
The largely open area features tall windows and a skylight.
And on the south-facing wall is a long bar decorated with white subway tile.
High Bank serves lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, with a full bar selection that spans Ohio beers, wines, mocktails, and – as expected – a size-able cocktail menu that highlights their whiskeys, vodkas, and gins.
Here’s the smoked old fashioned made with their Whiskey War.
And here’s the Blood Orange G&T made with their Statehouse Gin and a house-made tonic.
We tasted a collection of appetizers, starting with the deviled eggs flavored with a touch of white BBQ sauce, spicy crunch, arbol chili dust, and a side of dill pickles.
The crispy Brussels where a big hit: they’re given a sweet chili glaze and tossed with cilantro and sweet potato shoestrings.
You can’t argue with the plate of nachos either: house-made tortilla chips piled with pico de gallo, queso, feta, sour cream, and avocado. You can also add chicken tinga, chorizo, or barbacoa.
We made a quick stop for a second round, like the End of Anxiety with Whiskey War, Buffalo Trace, Aperol, Averna, demerara, and citrus.
You can also sample the spirits! I ordered a neat pour of the Whiskey War Double Oaked.
And then it was on to dinner! The Korean Philly is packed with shaved ribeye, pickled onions and peppers, provolone, and a gochujang aioli. All the sandwiches come with fries and an excellent house-made aioli.
The High Bank Deluxe is an easy-to-love classic cheeseburger: a pair of Ohio beef patties on a brioche roll with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and a house “secret sauce.”
The spicy dipped chicken sandwich is very rich. It takes a big piece of buttermilk-brined fried chicken, thoroughly coats it in a spicy sauce, and serves it with pickles and Duke’s mayonnaise on a brioche roll. The sauce had hints of a Korean gochujang mixed with Nashville hot chicken seasoning. We ended up re-ordering it with the sauce on the side, as it registered as too salty for our tastes.
The lunch/dinner menu also includes salads, a couple pizzas, and a quartet of signature dishes like peppadew pasta, steak, a chicken schwarma bowl, and fish and chips. Overall, the fish and chips was nicely composed: crispy breading, tender fish, well-seasoned chips, and a lovely house tartar sauce.
High Bank falls within Westerville’s DORA boundaries, and they have patio along the side with a small “Dora Bar” sign. So I’m soon enough they’ll be serving drinks to-go from there!
High Bank Distillery Westerville is open:
- Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Friday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. And they have a kid’s menu!
High Bank Distillery
28 S. State St.
Westerville, OH 43081
(614) 380-3130
Web: highbankco.com/westerville
FB: High Bank Distillery
IG: @highbankco_
