Best Restaurants in the University District & Old North (2026)

Tavern style pizza is the draw, cut thin and built for a table full of people who showed up without calling ahead. The room seats fast even at busy hours, and the pepperoni and cheese pies stay consistent night to night. Service gets uneven when the floor is short-staffed, but the kitchen's output does not waver. A dependable stop for a casual pizza night near campus.

The Sicilian slice is the one worth ordering first, thick-crusted and holding its own against the thinner hand-tossed New York pies on the same menu. The room near the Ohio State campus is small, so lunch can run slower than the counter-service format suggests. Phone orders for delivery move efficiently. A straightforward New York style option in a neighborhood built on Columbus-style crusts.

The chicken over rice comes in portions large enough to split, and the smash burger has built a following of its own alongside more expected halal standards. The gyro arrives overfilled by design, and bacon cheese fries round out a menu aimed at quick, generous lunches. Service is warm and the counter turns orders fast. A group-friendly stop that overdelivers on quantity without skimping on seasoning.

Shawarma wrapped with two sauces is the house move, messy by design and seasoned with a heavier hand than the counter-service format might suggest. Chicken over rice and lamb kebab round out a short, focused menu built for speed. The owner's presence at the counter gives the room a personal feel that outlasts the plain storefront setting. A reliable halal counter for a weeknight dinner near campus.

Chicken and steak shawarma anchor the menu, wrapped tight and built for a fast counter-service lunch. Corn on the side has its own following, though both it and the steak option can sell out before the day is done. The Mediterranean lane is thin around campus, and this storefront covers it with more consistency than its size would suggest. Quick, savory, and reliably good.

The sub is the thing to order, built for a room that fills up before kickoff and empties out just as fast after. Columbus beer on tap and a location steps from the stadium make this the last stop for a group headed to a game or a concert. Service holds up under pressure even on the busiest event nights. A sports bar that does the pre-game gathering well.

Ramen is the reason regulars keep a standing order here, rich enough to have become a genuine campus staple for cold-weather lunches. Pad thai and spring rolls round out a short, inexpensive menu built for quick turnaround. The counter can go quiet during slow stretches, so online ordering is the more dependable route. A low-cost, high-comfort option for a warm meal near Old North Columbus.