McCarthy’s Wildflower Café & Catering

Bang for your buck: ⁸⁄₁₀
Quality: 8.5÷10
Service: ⁸⁄₁₀
Ambiance/​Location: ⁷⁄₁₀
Overall: 8.5÷10
AMAZING blueberry pancakes and cheese grits. Great service. Usually busy but wait is never too long.

One of my favorite breakfasts in the city and they have a hell of a chicken dinner on Saturday nights. Staff is always super friendly.

Wildflower is a fantastic brunch spot. Everything I have had for breakfast there has been delicious. It is perfect for stumbling over to in the morning after a night out — or in. I love the steak and eggs, the traditional breakfast, the challah French toast. The chicken in the chicken and waffles leaves something to be desired, but it’s not bad for the price. I have grown to really love Wildflower for lazy weekend mornings… or afternoons!!!

We were looking for a breakfast place in town to try and we stumbled upon McCarthy’s. It’s a smaller sized resteraunt but I think they make due with the space. Very busy on a Saturday afternoon as to be expected but we got a table pretty quickly.
I ordered the skillet scrambler and a pancake while my significant other got the Eggs Benedict. The skillet was very good. However, I wouldn’t call it a skillet. It was more like scrambled eggs with minced meats with a side of scalloped potatoes. The potatoes were melt in your mouth good. The eggs were cooked excellently and the toast they brought was just delicious. The pancake was superb. It was the size of the plate. A nice circumference. It was also a thicker pancake which was great. It tasted great.
She said her Eggs Benedict was alright. The eggs were slightly undercooked and the hollandaise was alright. It didn’t have much flavor. She also would have liked the ham more if it was a thicker piece of ham instead of the shaved they use.
Overall, the price was reasonable, the food was good, and the service was nice throughout our visit. I will definitely be going back.

Wildflower is my personal favorite breakfast/​brunch spot in Columbus. It’s casual and kitschy with higher-​quality versions of classic diner food. Service is always attentive and sincere. Food is always fast, hot, and well-​seasoned. Also, booze prices are super reasonable! Most less than $ 6. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but it really is something special. I’ve been when it’s busy and when it’s slow – always consistent.

Service is great! I had the fried chicken and mashed potatoes and it was great. I’m kind of a snob when it comes to cinnamon rolls and this is hands down the best cinnamon roll I’ve every had in Columbus.

We are new customers! Stopped by recently for the first time. Customer service is excellent! The food is fabulous. Neat clean friendly environment

Great place for breakfast and lunch! The food is made in house with lots of great options. Their kids meals are cheap and my kiddos love the food. Fun cocktails and desserts, too. The only problem is that there’s usually a wait!

Came here on Saturday for dinner with my roommate. I ordered the daily special, Southern Fried Chicken with Mashed potatoes and coleslaw and my roommate ordered the Shrimp and Grits. My Fried chicken was good. The skin was extremely crispy and flavorful. The meal came with a large chicken break and a chicken drumstick. The chicken breast was HUGE. The mashed potatoes and coleslaw was also pretty good. The price was around 10.50 for fried chicken but the portion was really big. My roommate liked the Shrimp and Grits as well. Service was good speed given that almost all the tables were full. We had a slice of Mint chocolate chip cheesecake and that was also very delicious!

I’ve lived within striking distance to this place for years, and driven right past it without a passing thought. It could be the storefront itself is a bit drab, misleading. You could be fooled it was a florist… and boy that would be a mistake.
Finally stopped in for brunch on a Sunday a couple days ago. And I instantly regretted not coming sooner.
The space is small and close quartered but that adds to its charm. The service was warm and efficient. The menu has several solid options. The regular sitting in the table next to me steered me towards the French toast– claiming it the best in town. Again, adding to the charm.
Alas I chose the spinach bacon omelette, with a side of fruit. My wife selected the Tex-​mex omelette with corned beef hash.
Our server was pleasant and attentive, and kept a watchful eye on our coffee cups while we waited for our food.
Half a cup of joe later our food arrived. We eat out a lot. I knew within the first bite this food was very high quality. Our omelettes were fluffy, flavorful and to my delight, we’re not over-​sized.
The fruit was very fresh and had a great ratio of blueberries & strawberries to cantaloupe, honeydew & pineapple. The corned beef hash was crispy, salty and maybe the best I’ve had in town.
You just got the feeling that they really care about quality. Somebody in that kitchen has an excellent eye for detail.
I feel foolish for not coming earlier. I am a huge supporter of this restaurant now. Just excellent food and service all the way around. Highly recommend. Don’t make the same mistake I made for years.

Until I found it listed in Unilocal as a café I thought this place was a flower shop. I drove by it for years assuming so. It looks like one being a small building with flowery ornate columns supporting its low overhang, and fiberglas fencing with flower pots. But it is a decent café with alcoholic drinks too just north of N. Broadway on Indianola where the Clintonville charm is suddenly broken by an industrial stretch in front of the tracks.
The inside is casual with a retroish style bar and clean tables in front. I came early Sunday when it wasn’t busy but the place is small and quickly filled before I left. Being early the front end was staffed by one server who did well balancing the bar with the dinning room. She was really hustling and I went want for nothing.
I was surprised to find beer and cocktails being offered. Though not a tavern of any type, they sold bottles of domestic and local, and had Manhattans as drink of the day for $ 5. Though of course I did not try any that morning.
Pancake with blueberries imbeded, sausage links, and coffee are my breakfast guilty pleasure. The meal was above acceptable but not exceptional. I have to pan the pancakes a little bit; they are not the gest in town. I thought they tasted closer to banana bread than buttermilk, and too powdery to be great. The berries were plentiful and sweet. The links were cook correctly and tasty. I applaud the coffee.
They also serve many dinner staples. My rating is just for breakfast.

If you want cafeteria food with alright service come here, or go to a cafeteria. The pork loin was dry, over cooked and the raspberry BBQ was none existent. The vegetables were extremely over cooked and the greens beans tasted like the carrots.

We go here at least once a week. I wish the parking lot was nicer but oh well. The daily specials are best thing on the menu. It’s a bit ridiculous to pay $ 3 extra for fries instead of kettle chips with your entrée.

Wednesday’s special is chicken and noodles. I was so excited, then so sad. The menu says homemade noodles and quality chicken, with carrots and celery, so, I had hope.
I’ll be upfront I am a Southerner but I can make a mean turkey/​chicken and noodles (even the noodles).
The dish itself incredibly bland. It didn’t seem like anything had been salted while it was cooking. Or peppered, or glarlicked, or well, you catch my drift. Salt is an ingredient and not a condiment but, today it was a condiment. Copious salt and pepper did nothing. Well, it did turn my noodles into soup.
The biscuit was pretty solid.
I’d come back, for something else. Chicken and Noodles? I’d go Nancy’s.
P. S. Carrot cake is pretty delicious.

An excellent place for breakfast. Great food, good service and friendly to your wallet.

I think this place is always extremely good! Breakfast is fabulous! It is not cheap but it is very good. The desserts are yummy and the staff Is very friendly!

I have eaten here many times over the years. The food is almost always good. The prices are great for the amount of food provided. I would always recommend Wildflower. I like the recent upgrades to the décor as well. But if you plan on eating here on the weekend come early or later than the normal crowd. It’s always packed and there aren’t many tables.

For my money, best breakfast in Clintonville. Whether I’m interested in comfort breakfast (egg skillet scramble or biscuits and gravy) or more refined (salad with nova lox or the daily quiche), I always find something delicious.
Brunch cocktails are fantastic. The spicy bloody Mary is my favorite, but they have a rotating line of mimosa flavors that have never disappointed me either. Their desserts are killer as well, I can vouch for both the Kaluha cheesecake and the buckeye pie.
If you’re going during Saturday brunch time, be prepared to wait a little while. It’s worth it.

Dude:
Wildflower is it for breakfast food anywhere inside 270. Owners don’t go in for hipstery, «this is my take on the classics» crap. It’s just a menu full of classics, executed with love and skill. They had some staffing bumps over the summer and consistency had some hiccups but they’ve got some serious line dogs on the ones and twos most mornings these days.
Don’t get the hash. That’s my hash and I don’t want then to run out.

First brunch we’ve had since moving to Columbus and it was just what we were looking for! Short wait, friendly waitresses, and a great menu. The Bloody Mary was delicious (we watched her make it at the bar) as were the smoked salmon eggs. A great local place I’d recommend to anyone!

VERY POOR SERVICE ~ WILL NEVER COME BACK!
I have been to Wildflower several times. The food was always great and the service decent. However, a good restaurant is more than just delicious food. Excellent service is very important too!
After the extremely poor service I received on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at around 2 p.m. I will never, ever visit Wild Flower again! I had the worst restaurant experience in my life from one of your waitresses (no name tag I have ever received in my entire life! (69 years so far.)
I placed my order — Corn Beef Hash with poached eggs, rye bread with an extra patty of the hash, with a bowl of fruit, and hot tea.
The waitress, who had no name tag, brought me the tea and left. There were no utensils on the table.
I placed the tea bag in the pot, steeped it and poured a cup.
The waitress passed me and was carrying a spray bottle and a rag. I asked for a spoon so I could stir the sugar in my tea.
She said, «Sure…when I am finished cleaning the tables.»
I was astonished. Cleaning tables took precedent over the needs of a customer?
I waited and watched her as she cleaned a table. I thought for sure I would get a spoon then.
I was wrong. She went and cleaned another table.
I noticed there were some forks on paper napkins on the table next to me so I went and got a fork and stirred the sugar in my cup of tea.
I never received a spoon or any utensils from the waitress at all during my visit.
About three or four minutes later the waitress placed a plate with the corned beef on it and left. I called her over and asked where the rest of the food was. She told me I only asked for the extra corn beef hash.
I told her that was not true and what I wanted was an entire meal as listed on your menu, plus the extra corned beef hash. I also asked where my fruit was.
The waitress asked me how I wanted the eggs cooked. I was not going to tell her I already told her how I wanted my eggs because I could see/​tell she wanted me to get angry. So I told her again.
She brought the fruit a minute or so later.
A few minutes later she brought me the eggs and asked if I wanted toast too.
I was not going to get involved in a war of words. I said nothing.
I ate my lunch and asked for my bill. I paid the bill and left. I will never come back!

I used to love this place. It was a little family run place that was cozy. They have upgraded in the last year or two. Added liquor, spruced up the place. But, I think the general breakfast and lunch menus are rather blah and the worst is the downgrade in service.
No one cares anymore. Instead of one of the kids waiting on you, you get someone who doesn’t care enough to make eye contact. It’s sad to lose that connection. We hardly go anymore and when we do I always say it will be the last time.

Perfect Breakfast spot in Clintonville. We stop in usually once every weekend and have never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table. They do a great job getting people in, served and out.
The service is always great. Everyone that works here is friendly and attentive.
The breakfast menu is simple and the food is consistently good. The skillet scrambler and the corned beef hash are our favorites. Believe it or not, I’ve never had their Bloody Mary. But I’ve heard it’s yummy and that they make their own Bloody Mary mix.
I’m sure once 2015 is over I’ll have at least 20 more check-​ins at the Wildflower Café!

I love when I find places that are off the beaten path. I heard about this place from a friend and decided that it was worth a try. The place is pretty small so I figured there would be a wait. We ended up getting seated right away. This place is too cute. I felt like I was in someone’s home. I had the Eggs Benedict and breakfast potatoes. I am pretty picky when it comes to Eggs Benedict. The portions are very large but I was very hungry so this was a plus. My food was awesome. You could tell the sauce was made from scratch and the eggs were cooked perfectly. My potatoes were great and cut differently than other places. I will be telling all my friends about this place and I will be back very soon.

Firstly, I am SO GLAD they take cards now, we used to go pretty frequently when we lived across the street but I never carry cash, so we always had to use the ATM in the back and that was annoying. Anyway, I plan to go more often now that I know this.
But we really care about the food! Let’s see, recently I had the eggs benedict (weekend only, and way better than I expected – esp considering the last place I had it was The Guild House), the malt belgian waffle, the french toast, and I feel like I also had some eggs and sausage. Everything is good although I didn’t really feel like the belgian waffle was a whole meal. That being said I always struggle with my desire for sweet and savory at breakfast places!
The french toast is great, I love that you can upgrade to real syrup, and the coffee is neither remarkably good or remarkably bad (coughbeechwolddinercough).
I also feel like they have good prices and reliably good service, if not what you would expect from a fine dining establishment.
My one beef is the kids menu – one egg and a piece of toast isn’t a meal, even for a kid. I ended up getting both my kids the blueberry pancakes and the egg and toast and they both ate it all (3 years and 1 ½). The prices reflect that, but I feel like a kids meal should be able to feed an actual kid, let alone a toddler.
We’ll keep going!

I once lived a block away from Wildflower Café, and it was my go-​to for homey comfort food. (Still is.) As the name implies, there is a flower theme, and a country-​kitchen feel that survived a renovation project a couple years ago.
This little café has covered outdoor seating on the «porch;» go in through the double doors to be seated outdoors or in. The staff will direct you to one side of the restaurant or another, or feel free to sit at the counter. Service is casual and friendly, but speedy. Wildflower has a liquor license, and they offer beer and handmade cocktails.
The cuisine here might be best described as «down-​home mid-​Southern cooking.» Several dishes are Cajun-​inspired (a Po’Boy, Cajun chicken pasta, spicy BBQ pork chops and chicken), and there are daily specials like fried chicken, Yankee pot roast, chicken and noodles, and fish and chips. Their Indonesian pasta salad — spring mix, tons of julienned veggies, and noodles served with spicy peanut dressing — is one of my favorite things. You can satisfy your appetite whether you eat meat or not — it can typically be added or taken away from a dish — and there are options for lighter appetites (hummus wraps and salads) or hearty eaters (schnitzel and raspberry BBQ pork chops). Sandwiches come with chips as a side, but can be subbed out for tortellini pasta salad, fries, sweet potato fries, side salad, or garlic redskin smashed potatoes.
Breakfast at Wildflower packs people in Tuesday through Sunday. Brunch cocktails, straightforward breakfast options –served up quick and hot.
And the desserts — how could I forget! Daily offerings of homemade favorites — butterscotch pie, the pie of the day, carrot cake, buttercream-​iced cakes, crème brulee, cupcakes, cookies — seriously. It’s a sad meal when I forget to leave room for Wildflower’s desserts.
Overall, for the price and the choices, Wildflower is a little gem in the heart of Clintonville.

Ah, my brunch adventures continue here in Clintonville. I’ve driven past this place a million times and have never noticed it. It’s off the road a little bit in a very small building. When I got there, it was popping. Lots of people waiting for a table with many more enjoying their meals at all the tables. It probably only sits 50 people, if that.
Since it is s all, it has that casual, homey diner feel. Definitely nothing fancy or trendy here… but I’m a good way. The breakfast menu is extensive with lots of egg dishes and sweet breakfast favorites. I got the Florentine omelette with a side of potatoes. I really liked my omelette, fluffy, cheese and fresh. I wasn’t overwhelmed with the potatoes. They were kind of bland and definitely needed a dose of ketchup and salt.
The waitstaff was very welcoming and polite, apologizing for our wait, helping with refills, getting butter for our toast. I would definitely like to come back and see what they can do for lunch.

Came here for lunch on a Thursday. Service was fine, but not fast. Not a big place, only 15 or so tables about half full. Very casual, but not a dive.
Ordered the southwestern chicken salad. It was a treat. Not overly large, but all fresh leaf lettuce, tomatoes. Black beans, corn and grilled chicken topped with tortilla strips and shredded cheese.
The salad dressing was outstanding. Appeared to be a homemade Chipolte ranch of sorts. Delicious.
My daughter/​college student with me assumes noon is a good time for breakfast. She had the cheese omelette and potatoes. The potatoes were excellent and the omelette good, but could have been cheesier.
As a bonus, they offered her 3 different hot sauces, including Franks, her fav!

My sister and I stopped in for a Sunday morning breakfast. Wildflower is very close to my house, and I was excited at the possibility of finding a new regular spot for breakfast so close to home. Unfortunately, I was very underwhelmed with my experience.
I’ll start with the food. I ordered the bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwich on an onion bagel. My sister ordered the breakfast burrito with avocado. We both got a half order of the challah french toast. I was so disappointed with my sandwich! The presentation was not appealing. Hoping it would taste better than it looked, I took a bite and was not pleased. The cheese wasn’t melted. The bagel was cold and didn’t taste very fresh. The eggs were not seasoned. The bacon was good, but it is hard to screw that up. The challah french toast left my sister and I with the same «meh» feeling. My sister said her breakfast burrito wasn’t awful, but she would not order it again. We both got coffee, and that was pretty good.
While the service wasn’t bad, I didn’t feel like our server really cared much about our experience. We ended up waiting a long time for our bill at the end of our meal. The price point is another thing that I didn’t love. For both of our meals, it was $ 36 after tip. It’s not that $ 36 is unreasonable for two people, but I do not feel like the quality of food matched the price point. I could have easily gone somewhere else and paid less for what we ordered and had a better experience.
I might come back and try lunch at some point, but my experience for breakfast does not make me want to come back anytime soon.

I really like Wildflower. They are consistently friendly, it’s easy to get a table even though they are always busy. The food is good and the cocktails are also. They have my favorite Bloody Mary in Columbus, even though I always ask them to sub Tequila for Vodka.
So it’s a great place for brunch, lunch and breakfast. Their fried chicken special on the weekend is really, really good. I always end up eating a couple of eggs with the sausage gravy and biscuits.
I would say that my only complaint is that the fried eggs are sometimes inconsistent. Egg over easy is a cooked egg white with a completely soft yolk. At wildflower sometimes the whites are a little underdone or more often a little overdone. They will ALWAYS fix it for you quickly and without question, but I want them to come out perfectly.
Don’t let that stop you, this is a great place. My wife loves it, my kids love it, I love it.

Tried the Wildflower Café for lunch. Great find!
We went inside, saw how crowded it was, and decided to sit outside. The patio seating left a little to be desired, but was nice nonetheless.
We ordered waters and our waitress seemed to have forgotten about them. She came back later on and was very apologetic, even offering us a free drink, which was nice.
I ordered the hummus wrap which came with homemade chips and my boyfriend got the angus burger with fries. Both were really good! My hummus wrap definitely satisfied my hummus craving and came on a whole wheat pita with carrots and lettuce, which I appreciate. It’s not often you can find a healthy lunch! My boyfriend’s burger, though, hit it out of the park. It was really good! He added cheese and bacon and it was perfect; juicy, flavorful. I might have to get that next time.
Aside from our service, which was really slow at times (for a place not very far away, I still used all of my hour lunch break), there were also people smoking at the other outside table. Not only did this take away from the experience (I don’t love trying to taste flavors while smelling smoke), but I’m not entirely sure that it’s legal. The waitress didn’t say anything.
So while this experience was just okay, we will be back. This place has the potential to be great and, hopefully, we’ll experience the full greatness next time! We plan on sitting inside.