ADVERTISEMENT

    Restaurant Review: Andes Bar & Grill Downtown

    Andes Bar & Grill thoroughly owns its new space Downtown on Fourth Street. The colorful decor, in warm golds and reds, features sharp-edged mirrors cut at angles that suggest the jagged peaks of the South American Andes themselves.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Despite ample natural lighting and the vibrant color scheme, the place strikes more of a cozy tone with a bar that runs along the back wall and dining tables up front. The plastic coated dining menu is large, and maybe a little confusing with the pages in an unconventional order. Flipping through it all, there’s much to take in.

    Appetizers offer an opportunity to try out Colombian Empanadas ($6). Generously sized, the empanadas have a familiar crescent shape, but the shell in itself is distinct from other versions. It’s crunchy on the surface, but it has the puffiness of a cornmeal-based corndog shell. Inside, the empanada is a homogenous mixture of beef and potato. The combo makes a starchy, albeit pleasant beginning to the meal.

    Alternately, there’s also the option of scoring Chorizo Con Papas ($6) as a starter. While the menu describes it as sausage mixed with potatoes, you are going to be the mixing agent. A plump sausage link is served with a couple of red-skin potatoes that sport a dusting of salt. The suggested protocol for eating is to team up a bite of potato, a bit of sausage and some pico de gallo in one mouthful. The sausage is not particularly spicy or flavorful, so the combination generates a familiar, homespun flavor. The appetizers are a solid indicator of the road ahead at Andes.

    Flipping on through the pages of the menu, you’ll find more edibles that include sandwiches, burgers, and entree offerings.

    Silpancho ($16) teams a thin slab of breaded steak with a fried egg and both rice and fries. The term “breaded” can have many different meanings. Typical expectations might be for something on the lines of a chicken-fried steak with a thick, craggy coating of crunchies. At Andes, it’s more of dusting finish to the slender slab of meat. Even with pico de gallo, it’s sturdy, comfort cooking.

    An order of Chorrillana ($14) offers up smaller strips of steak with sautéed onions and peppers with a fried egg. The meaty mixture is served with a mountain of fries, and the combo offers more flavor than the aforementioned Silpancho while still holding down the fort on comfort with that steady fried egg in the mix.

    Those whose tastes run toward lighter fare will probably do best with something on the lines of the House Salad ($6), a traditional mixture of greens, tomato, onions and cucumber.

    In addition to the bar at the back, there’s also a cooler at Andes that stocks a funky assortment of soft drinks in cans and bottles. Andes’ hospitality all around is friendly and warm. The restaurant was about half full during the visit. Curiously, all the guests were men, so perhaps there’s something to those meat-and-potatoes archetypes. Andes Bar and Grill is open daily from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. According to its social media, it’s begun featuring South American brunch specials on weekends. You can find it at 79 S. Fourth Street.

    For more information, visit their Facebook page.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    11th Annual Urban Living Tour Returns on Sunday, May 5th

    Looking for a new place to live? Want to see what living in the city could be like? The Urban Living Tour is a self-guided open house of apartments, condos, and homes in the Columbus area. You'll see an assortment of new builds, remodels, apartment communities, parks, and all the amenities that go with city living!

    Unusual Eats: Korean Ice Cups Arrive in Columbus

    Through an international lens, there are a lot of...

    French Bistro Slated for Prominent Downtown Corner

    Another new restaurant is coming to the corner of...

    Cheap Eats: 6 Breakfasts on a Budget

    What’s the old saying? Breakfast is the most important...
    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.
    ADVERTISEMENT