One of the new places we ate with John and Jackie while we were in Columbus was the Beer Barrel Pizza and Grill in Dublin.  We met them there for lunch on a Saturday and the place was packed, with the Ohio State Football game playing on all the screens.

Beer Barrel Pizza and Grill started as a pizza joint in Lima, Ohio in 1965.  In 2004, Beer Barrel was bought by Good Food Restaurants, a company out of Lima.  They started expanding locations, including into Columbus.  This is a little different direction, because lots of restaurants start in Columbus and spread out, but not a lot start in Lima!  There are currently seven Beer Barrel Pizza and Grill restaurants.  They are located in Lima, Findlay, Maumee, St. Marys, Easton, Hilliard, and Dublin.

The restaurant in Dublin is very large with tons of seating.  Even though the parking lot was packed, we didn’t have any trouble getting a booth.  The menu has lots of choices, but Tom and I decided to share a pizza, since that is their specialty.  Jackie got a meatball salad and chicken noodle soup.  John got the big wings with the hottest sauce they had.  He also had some of our pizza.

We enjoyed the food very much.  The pizza was excellent with a fresh crust and super fresh ingredients.  Jackie’s soup also looked very good.  John said the wings were good, but the sauce didn’t even make his eyes water.  The restaurant was noisy, which I don’t like, but it wasn’t the noisiest place we have ever been.  Not a good place to take someone who is hearing impaired, but fine for young folks with good hearing.

If we do go back to Beer Barrel, I will suggest getting our food to go.  Although the food is excellent, the noise inside interfered with my enjoyment of the meal.  Of course, if you don’t want to talk to your dining partner, then Beer Barrel Pizza and Grill is a fine place to eat.