While Tom and I were in Ohio we managed to squeeze in supper with John and Jackie.  They suggested meeting at the Worthington Tavern in Historic Worthington.  At first, Tom and I thought we were meeting at Whitney House, the subject of a previous blog post.  But we soon realized that Worthington Tavern was a different place, across the street.  That is good, because we really didn’t want to eat at Whitney House again.

Worthington Tavern is a relatively new restaurant in Historic Worthington.  It opened in 2022.  The Tavern is operated by Brian Swanson, who also owns Bodega in Short North and Bristol Republic in Dublin.  Worthington Tavern offers a creative and slightly upscale take on tavern fare.

John and Jackie were already seated when we arrived, so I didn’t take time to wander around.  In fact, I was so eager to see them that I forgot to take interior or exterior pictures.  The restaurant was full on a Thursday evening but I didn’t see anyone waiting.  There were tables outside on a back patio and it was a beautiful evening.  We sat at a booth inside.

The menu for the cocktails and drinks was more extensive than the food menu.  The food menu had a good variety but didn’t try to overdo.  It seems like the food is generally better when a restaurant doesn’t try to do too much.  I asked the waitress what she recommended and she said the pizzas were really good.  I had pizza the day before, so I didn’t want pizza again.  Too much sodium!

I ordered a meatball from the appetizer menu and a side salad.  Tom got the honey mustard chicken sandwich with fries.  Jackie ordered the Piccante Pasta with chicken.  John got the Bang Bang Salmon.  Between the four of us we sampled a variety of things on the menu except the pizza.

The food came in a timely manner and was hot and fresh.  Everything was seasoned very well.  My meatball was very good with just a hint of pepper.  The salad was crispy and cold.  Everyone else enjoyed their entrees as well.  The restaurant had some noise but not enough to interfere with talking to each other.

I had ordered just the meatball and salad because I looked at the dessert menu before ordering.  I knew I wanted to get dessert.  No one else at the table wanted to order dessert, but we all agreed to share the Charred Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake.  The waitress brought four spoons for us to share.  The cheesecake was super yummy.  It wasn’t a baked cheesecake and it tasted just like a creamy cinnamon roll.  All of us enjoyed it and felt like we had enough when it was gone.

There was plenty of parking behind the restaurant.  After supper we all enjoyed strolling back to our cars through one of the colorful alleys next to the restaurant.

Worthington Tavern was a good place to eat.  They have a brunch on Saturday and Sundays, so we might have to try that.  We enjoyed it much more than Whitney House and would be glad to meet John and Jackie there again.  Of course, food always tastes better when we eat it with people we love.