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    Restaurant Review: Frezno Bar & Grill

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    The thing that’s immediately likable about Frezno Bar & Grill, is the soundtrack chugging away in the background. Blues music is what greets guests when they enter the restaurant, and the blues keep chugging along all through the eating experience. The music makes you feel cool in a way that trendy forties torch songs or New Age rhythms just can’t.

    Of course, the soundtrack isn’t the only likable thing about Frezno, it just happens to be the first thing you notice.

    Although its street address is on Front Street the restaurant itself is found on a stretch of sidewalk that connects Front and High Streets in the Brewery District.

    Frezno is new to the area. Sort of. It’s owned by the same team who have operated a host of popular restaurants in Columbus, including one called Frezno Eclectic Cuisine, a former staple in the Short North.

    And if the original Frezno was “eclectic”, certainly this new incarnation achieves on the same eclectic standard: from the menu, you can order edibles ranging from pizza to tacos to Thai-influenced items. That’s eclectic.

    The aforementioned Short Rib Tacos ($11) are a good choice, with flour shells hugged up around soft, stewy short rib meat and a julienned collection of veggies (including poblano and jicama). It’s crunchy and soft and flavorful in every fabulous mouthful.

    Veering away from the tacos – but sticking to the finger-food arena — there are a couple of fried numbers that also perform well.

    Consider Sweet Potato Fries ($6). An order yields thin strands of dark orange tuber with bits of peel attached. There’s a rich mayo spiked with chipotle for dipping and achieving wretched excess.

    While House Made Chips ($6) might be commonplace in Columbus, it’s not exactly easy to find them done well. People will eat anything with salt and grease. That said, the chips at Frezno are shockingly good: a little toasty, perfectly crisp and served with a melty bleu cheese dip.

    For more substantial eating, there are several pasta dishes on the menu. The Chicken Mushroom & Asparagus ($9) option was packed with a generous supply of those requisite elements and some feta to boot.

    At lunch, you can score some sandwiches too. Frezno’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich ($6.50) is especially good and an especially good deal. For the bargain price, you get a sandwich made on wide-pan bread (so it’s like two sandwiches, when it’s presented). Between the bread is an oozing mountain of mozzarella, provolone and white cheddar AND bacon and tomato. Something about bacon, tomato and melted cheese tastes like summer.

    There’s even a Charbroiled Burger ($10), a nice salute to the owners’ Burgers Dogs & Fries concept that once occupied the center of downtown Columbus. The burger itself is round and plump and teamed with crunchy bacon and cheddar. A good, classic go-to.

    In the pizza department, the big round pies are built on a poofy crust and lavishly topped. At least, that was the case for the Classic Margherita, bedecked with lots of cheese and basil.

    You can find Frezno at 460 S. Front Street in the Brewery District. More information can be found online at www.facebook.com/Frezno-Bar-and-Grill/.

    Photos by Walker Evans.

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    Miriam Bowers Abbott
    Miriam Bowers Abbotthttps://columbusunderground.com
    Miriam Bowers Abbott is a freelancer contributor to Columbus Underground who reviews restaurants, writes food-centric featurettes and occasionally pens other community journalism pieces.
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