India Oak Grill — Restaurant in Columbus

The Clintonville I remember from over a half-century ago seems to have congregated in this wonderful little dive bar that is on Oakland Park Avenue about a half-block east of Indianola (hence the name). I don't drink but I had heard about the subs so I went to check the place out. I was a stranger for about five seconds on my first visit there this afternoon, somewhat obviously an outsider but certainly not treated like one. Walk in and you can politely squeeze your way through the crowd to get a stool if one is available at the bar. There are also tables and a few booths next to the bar as well as some tables in the rear. It's dim and a little noisy but not obnoxiously so. The wait staff is terrific. The guy who took care of us at the table was also tending bar and was a great, great guy, very efficient and friendly. I got the oakburger, a great hamburger with a fried egg on it. The food is not pretentious, just really good. The burgers are sloppy, like they should be. They don't bring knives and forks and while you could probably get them there are plenty of napkins so you can and should just dig in and enjoy it as nature intended.

This has suddenly become one of my favorite places in town. It's your classic dive bar, the real thing, not like those places on campus that pretend to be. Instead it's more like what you would find as you stumbled down the street in the Uptown section of New Orleans. I can't give a higher or better...

We embarked on a Tuesday adventure because I prefer to avoid crowded places because I am immunodeficient. I had known about India Oak for a long time, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to explore more neighborhood spots. I love dive and neighborhood eateries, and this one was just right.

We enjoyed a fantastic Italian sub sandwich and a meatball sub with just the right amount of tomato sauce. One of the highlights was the freshly baked Italian bread they take pride in using. The in-house-made chili was also excellent, served in a savory, meaty tomato sauce rich with just the right amount of large red kidney beans. You can also add onion and cheese on top if you like.

The kitchen at India Oak is small, accommodating only one or two people at a time. However, this limitation doesn't stop them from serving fresh, made-to-order dishes such as burgers, grilled cheese, and soups. Since there is no deep fryer, nothing on the menu is fried, and no French fries...

Great hole in the wall place. Food is great and awesome beer selection. Only complaint is there's a woman who served me my food both times was just very rude. She came over with the subs we ordered and said "Two subs?" We said yes and she proceeded to get upset that we didn't know which was which like who ordered which ones. Which wasn't at all fair cause they look exactly the same from the outside. Then she set them down and stormed off saying "Come on guys!" Very angrily. Honestly ruined my first visit. Decided to give it another try really was having a good time then something similar happened with the food being delivered. Not sure why this woman acts the way she does but it's really unnecessary and impolite. I will keep coming back because I love the bartenders, beer selection, and ambiance just wish this lady who serves the food would adjust her attitude especially since she works in...