The Guild House — Restaurant in Columbus

Summary: Sat at the bar for dinner with my spouse and would not go back. One does not expect to get food poisoning from a restaurant where you spend $200 for food and drinks.... if you can't eat there safely, you get 1 star even if the rest is awesome. Disappointed in the food and beverages as I've been uniformly pleased with other Cameron Mitchell establishments across their range of offerings.

Cocktails: We had 2 cocktails each over the course of our meal. They were good but not amazing at $15-16 each. The martini l ordered was better than their featured drinks.

Food: Something was wrong with 3/4 dishes. Our food included a starter, which was oysters. The sauce was flavorless and not at all vinaigrous...if it has no vinegar, it's not a mignonette. Appetizer was lamb chops, which we split. The flavors were great but the lamb chops were terribly overcooked (well done, no pink at all) and quite dry due to overcooking and minimal sauce accompanying the dish. My spouse had scallops for his main and was thrilled. I did not try them, but the plating was beautiful. I had the duck cavatelli as my main. The duck and sauce were great but the pasta was undercooked. I like my pasta al dente, but really it was several minutes from done. I got food poisoning and was quite ill about 2 hours later.

Staff: The hostess who seated us was lovely and happy to accommodate our seating requests even during the busy dinner service. It was challenging to get our bartender's attention as she chatted with the other staff.

Atmosphere: Gorgeous lighting and very festive for the holidays. Music was pleasant and not...

The food this place serves are always great either in terms of look or tastes. But for drinks, the quality varies a lot, even for the same drink could come out with totally different things... you gotta be very specific when telling your waiter what kind of drink you’d like. I had brandy Alexander at this place at least three times. There was one time it was really great, served properly in coupe glass and garnished with grated nutmeg. There was another time it was served with ice cream. But this time, I specifically told my waiter I’d like it with cream base. And he gave me this thing👇(the second picture) I’ve never seen Brandy Alexander served on the rocks, I excuse my ignorance if this drink is a thing, but at least inform me first considering that popularity. Not to mention the price doubled as the waiter explained it was due to being served on the rocks and considered to be poured drink. I mean cognac used for this drink used Henessey VS as it usually does, I didn’t get the point honestly, but well... The taste was HORRIBLE due to diluted cognac aroma. It was served with three Luxardo cherries, I do like cherries but this combo was just weird. I reckon that my waiter took what I said “Brandy Alexander with cream base” as “Brandy Alexander with cranberries”, and bartender substituted cranberries with cherries I guess... Weird drink. Definitely won’t...

Ambience: art deco from a bygone era meets floral jungle bungalow, moody lighting but bright enough to see, hip mellow indie/psychedelic music in the background

Drinks: cocktail for two was an impressive, seasonal concoction with notes of lavender— my friend and I enjoyed splitting this and I appreciate that they change things up per season. The wine list looked enticing and the cocktails also sounded delicious and with a little something for every flavor/spirit palate.

Food: favorite items tried were the avocado bruschetta, Brussels sprouts and the sea bass (which was a special when I went). It reminded me a lot of the Optimist in Nashville with it being difficult to choose from the seafood options because all of them sounded scrumptious and none of them were shirked by waitstaff to avoid. IMO it’s always a good sign when waitstaff can tell you the flavor profile and hit the notes of what you’re in the mood for for any given dish. The dessert was also fantastic (flourless chocolate torte).

service: pleasant and knowledgeable; struck the balance of being courteous and expansive with also allowing guests to enjoy their meals with their chosen company.

Overall high quality restaurant tucked in the bustling short north arts district in Columbus. A little something for any flavor palate (meat to vegetarian to seafood). Eclectic takes and unique but...