Off Alley
Restaurant · Columbia City ·
Seasonal French-inflected small plates & natural wine
Seasonal French-inflected small plates & natural wine
"This tiny 12-seat restaurant is like sitting through your aspiring actor friend’s improv show, except enjoyable, with an exciting menu that literally changes by the day, by the hour, and by whatever the chef grabs from the nearby farmers market. While half the fun of a meal here is not knowing what to expect, you can always count on some kind of offal. Like blood sausage with vinegary marinated asparagus that cuts through the richness, or sweetbreads placed atop grilled baby lettuce that make you reconsider just how versatile different animal parts can be." - aimee rizzo, kayla sager riley
"Partnering with another local restaurant for the same French-style pop-ups, the collaboration was announced via Instagram and will include a May 4 dinner (reservations $180 on Tock) and a May 19 dinner at the collaborator's venue. The restaurant said on Instagram that it would be featuring more guest chefs this year to mark its fifth year in business." - Harry Cheadle
"A 14-seat restaurant in a renovated brick alleyway in Columbia City offering hyper-seasonal, French-inflected small plates, excellent natural wines, and a punk-rock soundtrack in an intimate setting." - Eater Staff
"Price: $$$$ No single restaurant can please everyone; at Off Alley, a 14-seat brick-walled restaurant in Columbia City, chef Evan Leichtling and partner Meghna Prakash embrace that truth. You don’t always find a meticulously seasonal chef’s-choice cooking style and a hand-written list of cool natural wines paired with punk music and attitude, but that approach is working here. The menu changes daily, so check the website to see what you might encounter, from juicy smoked mussels with celery on sourdough and whole quail with nettles in a cream sauce to salt cod with squid ink rice and a burning-hot Scotch bonnet ice cream. Know before you go: Reservations are offered for the tasting menu only; you can walk in if you want to eat the a la carte bar menu, but be advised this is a small restaurant that fills up quickly. You can get a spot at the “standing rail” and get a 10 percent discount on your meal." - Harry Cheadle
"At an event hosted by a local hospitality-restaurant collective, owner Evan Leichtling served brioches filled with warm blood sausage and glazed with duck fat ("I think"). The result was described as a warming, rich, umami bomb—especially welcome on a rainy day—with the writer noting that blood sausage is rare in the U.S.: "this is stupid. The end." - Harry Cheadle