I ate a very pleasant early-afternoon luncheon meal yesterday [9-14-2022] with five or six of my friends on the patio of a recently-opened [1-21-2022] restaurant, Understory, that is located inside of -- and outside of -- a historic building at 2571 Neil Ave. in the "Old North Columbus" neighborhood of Columbus.

The building at 2571 Neil Ave. had been built in 1927 to house the Open Air School for students at risk of catching tuberculosis. Later [1956-1971], the building had housed the former Neil Avenue Elementary School; even later, the building had housed Columbus City Schools administrative offices and then had sat vacant for many years. In 2019, the building was renovated and then re-opened for its current use.

I have passed that building many times while traveling on Neil Ave. near Hudson St. but I had never known any of that history until doing some research while preparing to write this review.

My friends and I sat at an outdoor table only a few feet from a tall cliff; at the bottom of which is the north end of Tuttle Park. It is possible to walk from Understory to the west end of W. Hudson St. [about a block to the south] and then to walk down a tall flight of concrete steps to reach Tuttle Park and then to walk around Tuttle Park if one so wishes.

My food choice for yesterday's luncheon meal with my friends at Understory had been Grilled Cheese [cave-aged cheddar cheese on brioche bread; served with a cup of tomato bisque soup]. My soup and sandwich had been delicious; one of my friends later decided to order the same food item.

My one surprise while eating at Understory is that the "fill-your-own-water-glass" spout had sprayed so intensely -- as soon as I had pressed my water glass against the control mechanism -- that it had sprayed water all over the nearby area while I had been filling my water glass.

I want to mention here that opening the front door of Understory requires rotating an oval-shaped brass door knob that may not immediately be visible to all users. If one merely pushes in on the front door, the door will not open which will cause some people to assume that Understory is closed or that they need to be using a different door to enter.

An Understory staff member, in response to my comment about the brass doorknob, told me that, because the building is historic, that doorknob cannot be replaced.

If you are looking for some delicious food served in an extremely pleasant "outdoor" environment, I strongly recommend Understory.