Matthew G.
Yelp
I have been going here since it opened. I used to go to a coffee shop with patio across the street at the outlet of Pearl alley onto Gay Street (where the J. Gumbo's is) and wondered why on earth they would open sooo close to another cafe. I gave it a shot and liked it but it remained a good mix for a while. Eventually the other place whose name I no longer recall went out of business and Brioso became my main source of caffeine-addled nerves.
The easy distinction that owner Jeff Davis nailed was the quality of the coffee. But not only that, it was in his own skills roasting and in hiring great staff. Having on-site roasted coffee is definitely a distinction I had not previously considered before, in spite of a few years roasting Sweet Marias from a popcorn popper. Further, were there not that delicious coffee-roasting smoke billowing out every so many hours, or the courteous , helpful, pleasant, knowledgeable, and interesting staff, I don't know if it could quite possibly have grown up to have the kind of reach it has (i.e. walk in to Tip Top or Dirty Frank's, you're drinking Brioso coffee).
That said, while Bob's bar may bill itself as the Cultural Hub of the Midwest, I think Jeff and his staff have had an amazing connection to not just downtown Columbus but the whole local community. I'm not talking hanging local artists' work (which they do), but I'm talking about every single bike event, barista/roaster events, letting me publicize some events I was doing, supported me in two cooking competitions, Mayor events, on top with pour-over coffee, if you want good coffee you got to Brioso so if you want to impress a client... local agriculture, local agribusiness (composting, vermiculture)... seriously the list goes on and on.
FOOD, DRINK; I've already mentioned that the coffee is good. That is to say, I've spent the better part of six years on most business days getting off the COTA and drinking Brioso coffee. For a year after a divorce and settling in at work and a newly re-scoped life I sat at that bar and had a Cubano and treated myself to an hour of enjoying my coffee. Then I went vegan and they happily accomodated me with a Soybano, which is the Cubano with soy milk and is just as good and in spite of the difficulty doing foam art with soy they nailed it on most attempts.
In terms of a professional shop, every roast is a gem, the staff knows what they're talking about AND they're not only moderately pleasant but happy and enjoyable.
The curry chicken salad is great and has been on the menu since open I think. I desperately miss the tomato-basil soup (has cream). I normally kick it with the potato kale soup (which would be a bit better if they pureed half of the potatoes, or a can of butter beans and included it; as is it's not bad just comes off watery), a big bowl of fruit salad, or any of the vegan options.
I recall they had a liquor license for a summer back in 2008 or so. Even then, Jeff's good taste meant they stocked Unibroue mostly; unfortunately the beer is gone but no big loss.
