Fawn C.
Yelp
Moran's Bar and Grille is a new addition to the Arena District. Their location near Nationwide Arena makes it an easy stop off before or after Columbus Blue Jackets games, and that is how I stumbled in one night last week. Full disclosure, I did have a couple of beverages at the game before heading into Moran's for the first time. Take that as you will.
We were looking for a place that was still serving food. All the employees were welcoming and completely accommodating from beginning to end. We were able to place drink and appetizer orders quite quickly. Due to our earlier night festivities we were all starving. The server quickly delivered two sides of fries just to get us started along with our drink round. She could not have been happier or friendlier. She dealt with our boisterous stories and laughs, she was patient when we were indecisive about what additional food we were ordering for the table. She checked back often. And here is the real kicker, she never rushed us out. I'll revisit this in a moment.
We ended up ordering just a bunch of additional appetizers to share as our actual dinner. We went with chicken tender basket, mozzarella sticks, and jalapeño cheddar hushpuppies. This food also seemed to arrive to our table promptly, and that is saying something after a couple of drinks, a CBJ game, and being starving. So their kitchen is on point! Everything was good. I truly believe that is steps above The Half Pint that previously was in this same location. I would call it upscale bar food at its best. The mozzarella sticks and the jalapeño hushpuppies were phenomenal! Remember earlier when I was raving about the service and saying that they never rushed us. Well, we must have ended up staying for a while and we were having such a great time laughing and catching up we didn't realize we were the very last group in the entire restaurant. They never made us feel like we needed to hurry or get out. They were nothing but kind, gracious, accommodating, and efficient. I can not rave enough about our unplanned first visit to Moran's last week after the Jackets game. It was a top notch experience.
If you happen to be in the Arena District and you are having a hard time deciding where to stop for a beverage or some above average bar food, try Moran's. I truly believe you will be pleasantly impressed.