The Panzanella Salad is full of the summer’s bounty featuring fresh red tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, Ohio heirloom tomatoes and local greens with locally-harvested produce from Green Edge Gardens, Cottage Garden Farms, and Yoder’s Family Farms.

Green Edge Gardens produce, as featured in their CSA. 

Our hand-rolled Housemade Gnocchi gets a summery make-over and features fresh Ohio sweet corn and roasted chicken from Covey Rise farms. Similarly, the house Ravioli swaps out lobster for fresh lump Maryland Crab and a fire-roasted tomato sauce for the remainder of the summer. As always, our pasta is rolled, cut, or pulled in-house by Terry. While a pro at producing pillowy gnocchi, Terry is also well-versed in philosophy and poetry and a pasta-making session with him could also result in a deep discussion about the newest Film Noir on Netflix.

Terry hand-rolling gnocchi in our kitchens. (Photo courtesy of Columbus Crave, Fall 2015) 

Blackened Sea Scallops headline as newcomers to the Summer menu. Always a dining room favorite, the fresh scallops are served atop a salad of pea shoots, sunflower sprouts, local radishes topped with shoestring potatoes and tossed in a cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

Finish off the evening with a S’mores Crème Brulee, a fine dining perspective on the popular campfire treat featuring chocolate crème brulee with housemade graham cracker and housemade marshmallow.

Not to worry, your steadfast favorites like the incomparable Beef Worthington and crispy tempura Calamari still remain on the menu, while early summer favorites like the Garden Gazpacho will also still be available. The full menu will be available for viewing on July 19.

The Late Summer Menu premieres next Wednesday, July 19. The kitchens at The Worthington Inn will shut down from 2pm-5pm as the kitchen and staff re-orients themselves with the new Late Summer menu. Call 614.885.2600 or visit OpenTable (link here) to make your reservations!

The Worthington Inn is open 7 days a week for lunch, dinner and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The Worthington Inn has also has five private dining rooms for groups of 10-100 diners for wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, bridal and baby showers, corporate events, memorial gatherings and more. Visit our Wedding and Private Events Page or contact our sales office at 614.885.2600 x 214 for more information about our private dining. 

The post A Sneak Peak at our Late-Summer Menu! appeared first on The Worthington Inn.

New Additions to Try: 

French Onion Soup: MELTED. GRUYERE. CHEESE on a chilly day while you sit next to one of our fireplaces. (Need we go further?)

Seared Ahi Tuna: Quickly seared and thinly sliced, this starter is served on a crispy wonton with Napa cabbage slaw, wasabi, soy-sauce reduction that makes for a decadent taste, but a light enough portion that you’ll still have room for dinner.

Don’t Panic, It’s Still on the Menu:

These menu items have withstood the test of time as favorites of the neighborhood

 Beef Worthington: Twin 4oz. filets with Gruyère potato gratin, sautéed spinach & arugula, Point Reyes blue cheese, wild mushroom demi. We’ll serve it with a steak knife, but its so tender, you probably won’t even need it!

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque: Topped with spiced seeds and creme fraiche, its available by the cup or bowl from the moment we open until we turn the key in the lock after the last diner leaves for the evening.

Chef Mike’s Favorites: 

Although Chef Mike thoughtfully authored each item on the menu, he outlines the new additions that he’s most excited about! 

Oysters Rockefeller: Fresh oysters, creamy spinach, parmesan, breadcrumbs

“It’s a a classic that has withstood the test of time. It feels decadent and sophisticated, yet still like a comfort food. It’s a dish that harkens back to the days of Mad Men and is best enjoyed with a High Street Manhattan.”

Pork Chop: Smoked & brined 12oz chop, roasted poblano polenta, slow-braised greens, applebourbon gastrique

“This dish is hard work. We salt-brine the pork chop in garlic and herbs for eight hours and then smoke the meat in house. The result is a smoky seasoning throughout, topped with a sweet apple-bourbon gastrique. And the all-Ohio Corn poblano polenta from Shagbark Seed and Mill really elevates the dish and makes it exceptional. It’s a long process, but seeing the finished product on the plate is so satisfying.” 

The “Old-Fashioned”– Orange upside down cake, Bulleit bourbon crème Anglaise, macerated bourbon-soaked cherries

“It’s the perfect alternative to an after-dinner drink and gives the old line, ‘I’ll have one more Old-Fashioned’ a whole new experience.” 

The full dinner menus are available here. Looking to join us for dinner? We always recommend a reservation and you can make one easily on OpenTable. 

The Worthington Inn is open 7 days a week for lunch, dinner and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The Worthington Inn has also has five private dining rooms for groups of 10-100 diners for wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, bridal and baby showers, corporate events, memorial gatherings and more. Visit our Wedding and Private Events Page or contact our sales office at 614.885.2600 x 214 for more information about our private dining. 

The post A Study Guide to our Late Winter Menu appeared first on The Worthington Inn.

Who’s invited? 

This event is an excellent, informal way for brides, bridesmaids, and mother-of-the-brides to see the venue without committing to or scheduling a formal tour. The historic Worthington Inn is available to host any wedding event of 10-100 guests and is the perfect setting for weddings, rehearsal dinners, and bridal showers!

Should I make an appointment? 

No! We’d like to make it as simple as possible for you to see all we have to offer. No appointments are needed. Please be aware tours will be given on a first, come-first served basis with the last tour taken at 3:30pm. Depending on the volume of attendees, there may be a slight wait for a tour.

What should I expect? 

The tour of the venue will be a walk-through of our private rooms that are available for receptions, rehearsal dinners and bridal showers. Please note, our building is a historic property with private event spaces on all three floors of our buildings. Guests should expect to climb a flight of stairs to be able to see the different spaces. If you’d like to schedule a more formal, personalized consultation for your event, please click on the following link to schedule a time that would work well for you: calendly.com/worthingtoninntours

**Parking is available behind the building in the New England Avenue Parking lot. Please enter through the main entrance on New England Avenue to sign in.

The post Pop! Bubbles! Brides! appeared first on The Worthington Inn.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE- November 27, 2016 

The annual Holiday Open House hosted by Old Worthington Partnership begins in downtown Old Worthington at noon with the reveal of the Wonderful Window Contest and continues throughout the day, ending with the grand finale of the Tree Illumination at 5:30pm. Stop by the front porch of The Worthington Inn to sit on Santa’s lap and make sure he gets your Christmas list before enjoying other old-fashioned holiday activities like ice skating and a hot cocoa bar.

Weather permitting, Stop the Suffering will on the Worthington Inn’s patio from 12:00pm-3:00pm with some adoptable furry friends. Admire their window display in the restaurant and vote for their organization by putting a dollar (or more!) in their collection box shaped like a Worthington Inn dog house, cleverly named The Woof-ington Inn!

Click here for a full list of Holiday Open House events

IT’S A WONDERFUL WINDOW CONTEST- November 27-December 27

The Worthington Inn is pairing up Stop the Suffering for the second annual It’s a Wonderful Window Contest this December. Stop The Suffering is a non-organization that rescues animals from high-kill shelters and places them with foster homes. Stop the Suffering will be decorating three windows in our dining room, each appropriately themed with their mission statement: Donate, Foster, Adopt.

“Vote” for their window display and organization by donating a dollar in their Woof-ington Inn collection box. $1=1 VOTE. Donations will be accepted through December 27.

This holiday season, help give a homeless animal the gift of a Furr-ever home!

RUDOLPH’S GIFT CARD SPECIAL-November 25-December 24

Santa’s lead reindeer knows what everyone has on their Christmas list-gift cards to The Worthington Inn! We’ll make your crossing off your Christmas list easy this year-November 25-December 24, buy $100 in gift cards, get $30 FREE!

Gift cards can be purchased in person, by phone 614.885.2600 or online at Instagift.com

CHRISTMAS EVE -December 24

Lunch Hours 11:00am-2:00pm

Dinner Hours: 4:00pm-7:00pm*

Due to the different hours, reservations are not available online. Please call the restaurant to make yours at 614.885.2600.

CLOSED DECEMBER 25

Merry Christmas!

NEW YEAR’S EVE-December 31

Now accepting reservations for New Year’s Eve! Ring in 2017 at one of Columbus’s most beloved landmarks! Reservations accepted online and by phone 614.885.2600. Please note that, due to the high volume of reservations, some seatings may not be available online. Please call the restaurant in this circumstance as we will do our best to try and accommodate your reservation.

NEW YEAR’S DAY-January 1

We’ll be sleeping off the champagne and will need some rest after a busy holiday season. We’ll be back open for normal uisness hours on Jnauary 2.

WELCOME 2017! 

The post What’s “Inn” at The Worthington Inn? HOLIDAY EDITION appeared first on The Worthington Inn.

Ohio Animal Companion is a non-profit organization that focuses on the human aspect of pet ownership. The mission of Ohio Animal Companion is to reduce the number of homeless pets in the state of Ohio and foster appreciation for all animals by educating the public on lifelong responsible pet ownership, promoting the efforts of area rescues and shelters, and encouraging humane interaction with wildlife. 

Ohio Animal Companion’s goal is to inform, educate, and entertain pet owners in order to keep pets in their homes for life.

During  its six years in existence, Ohio Animal Companion has provided programming and resources to fulfill its mission, including:

• Tackle Pet Hunger Campaign each fall to benefit area pet food pantries. Every year, animals are reluctantly returned to shelters or given away because their owners are unable to care for them due to a difficult financial situation. Pet food pantries assist pet owners in acquiring pet food when times are tough. Pet Promise, a beneficiary of Tackle Pet Hunger event, also uses the pet food collected for other programming, such as the City Kitty program. This year’s Tackle Pet Hunger campaign will occur October 30-12, 2016 with a goal of collecting 4,000 lbs of cat and dog food. Click here for more information, to get involved, or to find a collection site.
• Behavior/Health and Wellness Workshops for pet owners including Pet First Aid, Pet Nutrition, and Bringing Home Baby (Getting a Pet Ready for a New Baby). The next workshop is Pet First Aid and CPR on September 24-click here to reserve your spot!
• Up-to-date resource listings for pet food assistance programs, low cost spay/neuter services, pet medical assistance programs, pet loss support groups
• Environmental enrichment

• Information on humane wildlife interaction and appreciation

In the next year, Ohio Animal Companion hopes to add webinar workshops and guided nature walks to its resources and programs. Additional funding would allow move the organization to establish more programming well as the long-term goal as expanding its mission beyond central Ohio.

Can’t make it to Dog (and Cat!) Days of Summer, but would still like to donate the cause? Visit their website or make an effort to donate to their upcoming Tackle Pet Hunger Campaign. We look forward to dining with you and Fido next week! “Bone” Appetit!

The post A Paw-Some Event for a Good Cause appeared first on The Worthington Inn.

First Wednesday Wine Dinners

Chef Mike and our neighbor, Donnie Austin from House Wine pair up monthly to present a four-course wine dinner complete with the perfect wine pairings. Each wine dinner is themed with previous wine dinners focused referencing upcoming holidays, food trends and even pop culture- we re-created Julia Child’s famous recipes for the premiere of  the film”Julie and Julia”! Wine dinner themes, menus and wine pairings  for each upcoming month are announced at the current wine dinner.

Our next wine dinner on February 3 features Chef Mike’s reincarnations of Low Country favorites like Fried Green Tomatoes and Frogmore Stew. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Click here for menu. Call 614.885.2600 to make your reservation today!

Tuesday Trivia Returns for the Winter Season

A great success last season and a welcome respite from the grey days, Tuesday Trivia returns to the The Worthington Inn! Hosted by The Worthington Inn’s own Patrick Ennis, Trivia Tuesday brings a more causal feel to the pub at the Inn and emphasize the Inn’s placement in the community as  the neighborhood gathering place.

Players can expect a wagering trivia game that includes a wide selection of random topics from current events to history to pop culture and beyond. Guests will wager points based on how confident they are on their answers. Each round ends with a challenge question where players have the opportunity to increase their score by tenfold with no threat of losing points. Ennis is most excited at the complexity of this season’s questions. “I’ve been spending a lot of my fall researching all different kinds of material to cover all categories. No one can be “bad” at trivia in this game because it covers all topics. They’ll definitely know something!”

Interested in challenging your friends to a game? The Worthington Inn will be offering live trivia in the pub every Tuesday this winter at 6:30pm beginning January 19 through March 22. Reservations for team tables are accepted and encouraged. Please call the restaurant at 614.885.2600 to reserve your team’s table for the week’s trivia game. For more information and upcoming trivia topics, visit Patrick’s Facebook trivia page “Tan Man Trivia.”

Voted Best of theKnot.com 2016

The Worthington Inn was again voted “Best of the Knot 2016” by brides and grooms who have used our services for their big day! The Worthington Inn hosted over 75 weddings during the 2015 season and our Private Events team looks forward to continuing our tradition of hosting events to remember in a setting your guests will never forget!

Are you or someone you know engaged and looking for an unforgettable event? Did you realize that The Worthington Inn can host all kinds of events in addition to weddings? Visit our listing on TheKnot.com or click here to be redirected to last month’s blog post about private events at The Worthington Inn.

Valentine’s Day at The Worthington Inn

Treat your sweetheart to dinner at a Columbus classic! The Worthington Inn will be offering specials throughout the Valentine’s Day weekend. Dinner specials for the weekend will feature Strip Steak, Mushroom Risotto and a Chocolate Platter meant for sharing in addition to other dinner specials and the regular dinner menu. Early risers on Saturday and Sunday can also celebrate with a Sparkling Lover’s Brunch. The weekend’s specials can be found here.  Reservations are highly recommend for the weekend and may not be available on OpenTable.com due to the high volume of requests. Please call the restaurant to make your reservations 614.885.2600

St. Patrick’s Day 

The holiday wouldn’t be complete without traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage washed down by a Guinness! Beginning at 3pm on St. Patrick’s Day, The Inn will be offering $12 Corned Beef and Cabbage plates and Guinness and Jameson Irish Mule specials. The specials will be available only in the pub and will last until we run out!

Easter Sunday Buffet

The Worthington Inn will host its annual traditional Easter Sunday Brunch Buffet on Easter Sunday, March 27 from 10am-3pm. (Remember, the bunny comes early this year!) A full listing of the buffet menu is available here. Reservations for large groups are available. Reservations for the brunch buffet cannot be made online-you must call the restaurant to make a reservation of any size. 614.885.2600

The post WINTER 2016: What’s “Inn” at The Inn? appeared first on The Worthington Inn.

*This blog post originally appeared on the Worthington Wedding District Blog 5.7.14.

The post An event to remember in a setting your guests will never forget… appeared first on The Worthington Inn.

Executive Chef Mike Waters graduated from Columbus State Culinary School in 1992, during which time he apprenticed under well-known Columbus chef, Charles Langstaff. Developing a close relationship with his mentor, Waters served as Executive Chef at Dock Street Food & Drink, Hoster Brewing Company and then The Flat Iron before choosing to take some time away from the kitchen to raise his five children. Chef Waters returned to the culinary world with a brief tenure at the Bexley Monk before moving to The Worthington Inn in 2009 where this rising star was named the Executive Chef in 2015.

Chef Waters describes his culinary style as world cuisine with an emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients. While seemingly contradictory, he enjoys working with various recipes, techniques and ingredients from all over the world and finding a way to incorporate local and seasonal aspects to create a cuisine unique to the Columbus dining scene.

What is your favorite aspect of being Executive Chef at The Worthington Inn?

Chef Mike (CM): As cliché as it sounds, I love working with the local farmers and purveyors. Learning about them and their business inspires me how to best use and showcase the ingredients they provide.

When you aren’t cooking at The Worthington Inn, what are you cooking for your family?

CM: Since I cook mostly fine dining style during the day, I like to stick to comfort foods with my family like chicken, dumplings, and meatloaf. My family’s favorite is my smoked BBQ ribs that I smoke in our own smoker in the backyard.

If you weren’t a chef, what would you be?

CM: I would be an engineer. I started engineering school before deciding to change to culinary school. Cooking is essentially science and I’ve often used my engineering training in the kitchen to understand things like heat flow. Plus, it means I know how to fix the ice cream maker when its broken!

The post Meet Your Chef! appeared first on The Worthington Inn.

Over the past 184 years, The Worthington Inn has seen quite its fair amount of change. The bricks of our beloved home witnessed a civil war, the invention of the automobile, and a man walk on the moon, among many other changes to the infrastructure of American life. As modern home amenities were introduced, our building adapted itself physically. Electric lights were added as well as running water and even central heating and air conditioning-features that Mr. Cowles couldn’t even fathom when he constructed the home in 1831. Our business has also modified itself to accommodate both the needs of our clientele, shifting from a stagecoach stop tavern to a “Harvest Table” buffet to the fine dining experience you receive today. Change is exciting, healthy, and much needed to keep up with the dynamic environment of the food service industry.
Therefore, it is with great excitement that we present to you our newest change to our business. Over the last year, we have worked with RevLocal, a local internet marketing business in Granville, Ohio, to build an online presence that incorporates the ever-changing information technologies while still remaining relevant to our clientele. We wanted to build a social media network that is informational, yet convenient for all patrons. RevLocal and our marketing team worked together to create a new website that is fresh, easily navigable and accessible from computers, tablets, and smartphones. We invite you to join our email campaigns to receive the most up to date information and promotions right to your email inbox. Check out our Facebook page or scroll through our Twitter feed to stay updated on events, daily specials, and creations from our kitchen. Click back to this blog now and again for posts featuring what’s “Inn Season” from our gardens and on our tables. These 21st century adaptions are designed to keep you easily informed and excited about what’s happening at this Columbus landmark establishment.
And yet, even with its most recent technological updates, there are some constant features of The Worthington Inn will never change. We will always continue to support local farms, businesses, and the Columbus community that keeps us thriving. We promise to use only the freshest ingredients in our dishes and welcome you into our restaurant as if you were dining in our own home. Most importantly, we’d like to thank you, our patrons, for continuing to change with The Worthington Inn, support the Worthington Inn, and love The Worthington Inn. If it weren’t for that, The Worthington Inn would not be here!

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