Spagio – 30 Years and Counting in Grandview Heights, Columbus

The Eclectic Atrium Dining Area and Bar

Original Artwork in the Main Dining Room

      Neil and I wanted to take his sister, Martha, out for her birthday to brunch.  Neil suggested Spagio, which opened in the Grandview area of Columbus in 1981.  The dinner menu is eclectic, though it leans towards Italian and Mediterranean cuisines.  The Weekend Brunch menu consists of many new takes on old favorites.  This reflects the look of the restaurant.  You can tell from the artwork that
it was cutting edge in the early ‘80s and has mellowed to a classic status.  The accessories (screens, lighting fixtures, and the granite topped bar area) are very current and the various dining areas would make Emily Henderson’s (HGTV’s Secrets from a Stylist) heart race with pleasure.

Stuffed Butter Croissant French Toast

      The food is excellent and the portions are large.  This is a place where foodies, families, and regular diners feel both comfortable and stylish.  Martha chose the Stuffed Butter Croissant French Toast, which was filled with cream cheese and blueberries and was accompanied by a fruit salad and lemon curd.  Actually, the lemon curd was more akin to a lemon pudding since it was both smooth and creamy.  

The New Yorker

I had The New Yorker, which updated bagels and lox by serving a generous portion of smoked salmon on a pan- fried potato cake (it’s like a hash brown nest) with almost silky soft scrambled eggs and a marinated cucumber salad in julienne strips accompanied by a dill sour cream.  Yeah, it’s a lot of food and all of it was good.  

Brunch Calzone

Neil ordered the Brunch Calzone and this was really pretty amazing.  You can order a calzone in any pizzeria or family restaurant right now.  This was different both because of its size and the filling combination of ham, gruyère cheese, tomatoes, lightly scrambled eggs and bacon. It was also a light, but pliable, dough that glistened like copper.

The Garden Parking Lot

      The servers were gregarious, smooth, and worked without notes.  Well, our server was a bit of a square peg since he was very quiet, but he was extremely competent and was very good about refilling coffee cups throughout the meal.  I cannot believe I’ve never gone to this restaurant before since I’ve been around Columbus since it opened, but we’re definitely going back soon. 

http://www.spagio.com/spagio/index.html

I hope Martha had a Happy Birthday. I wish she would come to visit me more!