The Pearl Restaurant, Tavern & Oyster Room

If you love oysters and clams like I do this is the place for you my friend. We will be back!

Great restaurant! We went for brunch and loved everything! The atmosphere was on point, the drinks were great, and the food was all delicious! Good service too. Must-​haves include the Bloody Mary, with included «beer back», and definitely the cinnamon roll to start – which rivaled my grandmother’s recipe! Loved their version of eggs Benedict, the tavern Benny, and my husbands bananas foster French toast! Yum! The little touches in the bathrooms were cute too, like hairspray and mouthwash. Would definitely recommend!

The Pearl never disappoints, unless they’re too busy and you have to settle for somewhere else! It just dawned on me that I am yet to leave a review. We stopped in last night near close just for a drink. A waiter assured us that despite the hour we had time for a drink (this is not typical for any restaurant on a Monday night near closing, especially after a long holiday weekend). The bartender also didn’t mind, in fact he recommended a drink that took mixing and shaking, not just a simple pour. This stood out to me, I know making complicated drinks can be time consuming and resource intensive, especially if you’re trying to prep for the next day, but he made a recommendation and described it so well I couldn’t say no. The drink itself was great (bourbon flip?!) Something with apricots. I’d recommend any drink here, even if its not your standard, they have such a neat array of garnishes and ingredients. Anyways, we appreciated the service and expertise of the bar tender. The Pearl never disappoints!

As with most Cameron Mitchell restaurants the atmosphere/​theme is executed to perfection. the tavern/​oyster bar feel is balanced in a very chic way.
The cocktails are always good and the service is always superb. Every waiter we’ve had has always been incredible knowledgeable of the menu and has been an excellent help in deciding what to order.
The Chicken Confit Wings are crisp and tasty. The Spinach Salad is delicious and is great paired with some of the richer menu items. The grilled cheese is heavenly and flavorful. The short ribs are tender and absolutely delicious, that meal I was a little distracted as Cameron and his family were sitting at the table next to ours so as any foodie fangirl would do I gawked at him most of the time waiting for another genius restaurant idea to come to life as if he just thinks of them constantly. I digress. Per usual food, service, and atmosphere are all top notch which I’ve come to expect from any CM restaurant.

I’ve always been a fan of C.M. restaurants, but The Pearl may be biting off a little more than they can chew. About 2 months ago I made reservations for 7:15 on NYE here, that’s 2 months advance notice. A week before NYE The Pearl called to confirm that I would be there at 7:15, and I was, with the 3 other people who I was having dinner with. We stood in a packed, uncomfortable foyer and waited to be sat for 45 minutes. When we finally got a seat at 8, it was in the bar area in which we kept getting ran into by patrons standing at the bar. With that said, it leaves me to wonder if they would have sat me had I gotten there 45 minutes past reservation time, let’s be honest, probably not, but on NYE, they know that we were left with little choice but to wait out our turn because any restaurant worth anything was going to be full on NYE.
Let’s move on. The fried chicken, amazing, Devils on horseback, love them, Moscow mule, the best in town. Problem here, we only got one drink each because our server never really came back to see if we needed another.
Hopefully next year, The Pearl can accommodate all of the guests that they «think» they can.

It was fine. Yup that’s all I got. I’ve never been a huge fan of any of the Mitchell’s restaurants. They aren’t bad. But they just don’t stand out as anything special. There’s no soul in the food. It could be made by anyone and it needs heart.
If one more person says Cap City is their favorite diner I will freak the f*** out.

Devils on Horseback are phenomenal. Chicken Wing starters with hot sauce are also not greasy and delicious. Jalapeño corn spoon bread melts in your mouth. Entrée was the grilled cheese. An explosion of delicious cheese and pear jam takes the cake. Also tried the Ricotta Dumplings and the Pub Burger. Absolutely amazing flavors. The oysters are also shucked to perfection! You can’t go wrong with anything on this menu.
Bet the Snickers pie is just as good. You’re gonna have to wheel me out of here.

Excellent! We loved every bit of this restaurant. We didn’t try to oysters this time but can vouch for the grilled cheese, meatballs and their signature dessert. Will definitely be back.
Pass on the fish and chips.

I came here the morning before my wedding for a pre-​marriage lunch with my Groomsmen and had an awesome experience! The best advice I can give is if you’re coming for brunch on the weekend is to ensure that you call ahead — this place gets PACKED. Which would me my one negative — even though we had a reservation, we still waited about 15minutes, but oh well, no biggie.
The joint has a very unique and urban décor which sets up for a great atmosphere if you’re here celebrating as I was. Each of the staff was also very friendly, nice, and helpful — even guiding me to the bathroom! haha. We each got mimosas, appropriately, which were fantastic and a little strong — just how I like it.
And, oh man, was the food delish! We each got different brunch plates and everyone was raving. My favorite had to be my brother’s breakfast poutine because, well, poutine for breakfast! Always a good decision. I had the pancakes and bacon which I also loved. I would highly recommend this plate as the pancakes had a hint of lemon, which really added a unique and different flavor to the pancakes, elevating them above the normal.
Overall, we had an awesome experience that really set such a fun mood before my wedding — The Pear is a fantastic spot to hit and celebrate any wonderful occasion with good friends and good food.
Also, Gordon Ramsay just posted a photo of the burgers here at the Pearl on his Facebook and raved about it — just sayin’!

Wow, guess I don’t have the taste for expensive food? Or maybe people just think it taste better if it cost more and it is served in a fancy atmosphere?
My wife had the $ 90.00 oyster tower on a half shell which she liked, but not worth the money.
I had the Cuban sandwich that came with a side of chili, both were awful! I would have rather had White Castle sliders!
The service was great, hostess was very nice!
All jokes aside, worst Cuban sandwich I have ever had! Thin cheap meat, a few nasty pieces of pulled pork, gooey pickles, yuk! (See picture)

Made reservations and included a note that I was taking my boyfriend out for a special birthday dinner. We arrived very early for our reservation (an hour early), and they said they should be able to get us a table earlier. After waiting 45 minutes, they took us to the worst table in the house, practically in the lobby, surrounded by crowds of people. See the photo. Does this look like a place for a special dinner? Wish we’d gone elsewhere.
Update after our meal:
I took my boyfriend to The Pearl to celebrate his birthday. It was our first time there, and I made reservations noting that we would be celebrating his birthday. We arrived an hour early for our reservation, figuring we would have a drink at the bar. No such luck, as the bar was packed and people were crammed into the lobby like cattle. The hostess said she would be able to get us in earlier than our reservation. We waited 45 minutes before she took us to the worst table in the house. People were standing elbow to elbow all around the table that was honestly located in the lobby. Does a lobby sound like a good place to have a special dinner? I told the hostess that this was a special birthday dinner and we would rather wait for a better table. We waited until our reservation time and she took us to the 2^nd worst table in the house. There was barely enough room to squeeze between tables and our neighbors were 6−8″ away. One of our neighbors had piled their coats taking up half of my seat on the booth side, making it very uncomfortable. The booth also had a seam at my seat, so I sat crooked the whole meal. Because of the «crammed in like sardines» table arrangement, the server on our neighbor’s table actually placed her butt on my boyfriend’s arm several times during the meal. We were utterly disgusted. How can you enjoy a meal with a stranger sitting on you?! She didn’t even mention it or apologize, which tells me either she’s aloof or it happens all the time. Most disappointing: nobody, from the server to the hostess, even wished my boyfriend a happy birthday. I wasn’t expecting cheesy singing or anything, but writing Happy Birthday on the dessert we ordered and paid for, or even just wishing him a happy birthday is the least they could have done. Next time, I will save the $ 76 I spent on dinner, and instead buy a nice bottle of wine and cook at home or go elsewhere. So utterly disappointed in The Pearl.

Don’t come here if you are vegetarian, pretty much everything is meat, with maybe a few fish options. There is one vegetarian option, the grilled cheese, but you better like Brie, Pear Jam, Roasted Squash, and Arugula Pesto if you’re going to order that.
I got the Arctic Char, basically because I didn’t know what else to order (Fish and Chips are typically really greasy), which was good, but I wish they had had more menu options that were meatless (and not super greasy).

I came here last Sunday after the Columbus marathon with my VP, her husband and her family a total of 8 of us. I arrived early and got seated at our table and ordered a spicy bloody mary which the server stated was voted the best bloody in Columbus. It was served with a little bottle of Miller like a lot of restaurants serve it in Madison, WI. It was a good bloody.
The table ordered the charcuterie board to split and someone ordered the chowder as well. The winner of the board was the chicken liver pâté, it was silky and best served on the grilled bread with some house made pickles.
I ordered the poutine and while it was good with some good flavor although it needed some salt and pepper as the fries did not have any salt on them. Shredded shortribs were good, two over easy eggs good, I should have asked for them poached that really would have been great. The short rib sauce was a bit runny and lacked depth of flavor.
The table then ordered a slice of each pie, the slices were keylime, dutch apple, billionaire brownie and the brown sugar pie aka David Chang’s Crack Pie.
My favorite out of the selections was the key lime as it was tart, and the grahm cracker crust was buttery and delicous, however it had a lot of whipped cream as a garnish.
Price for me was $ 31 before tip.

Really nice place in the heart of the Short North with a lot of menu items that you wouldn’t see just anywhere. I got to try my first oysters this weekend when my girlfriend and I went for a late dinner with some friends.
We started out with jalapeño corn bread, which was SO good! There was just the right amount of jalapeño kick without it being overpowering, and the presentation on the wood plank was cool too. My only complaint here was that the honey was inside of the dollop of butter on the wood plank, with no cup around it, so when I took some of the butter to put on my bread, the honey ran out and over the plank (whatever, not a big deal).
A few people in our group had the Moscow Mule; very flavorful and in a nice copper cup. $ 10 each if I remember correctly, a little pricey to me, but it was a special occasion so no big deal.
My girlfriend had the ricotta dumplings and I had the hanger steak (medium rare). The steak comes out plated very beautifully, and was very flavorful. You can tell when a steak is cooked perfectly when you don’t feel the need for any extra sauces. There was some added flavor from the kimchee, but that steak would have been delicious even without.
Our server was extremely attentive and took outstanding care of us all night long. As a table, we ordered a slice of each of the four types of pies that they have at The Pearl (key lime, apple, a house special, and a chocolate). We split these all up, and every one of them was great. I definitely recommend The Pearl if you’re looking for a nice evening out.

Our first visit to this restaurant. Went on a Thu evening and the place was hopping. Good thing we made reservations and were taken to our table immediately. The server was extremely polite and professional. The ambience is modern and nice. It was loud but not enough to impair a conversation. Their wine selection is quite good. My wife ordered a merlot and I got their house Cabernet, both were pretty decent.
For appetizers we had a half dozen oysters, most of them were very good (not top restaurant east coast good, but good nonetheless). The clam chowder was surprisingly delicious, and this is from someone who recently came returned from a trip to Boston. The spinach salad was only so so. I’d recommend against ordering it. Their market special of the day was a fresh walleye, which was prepared very well. The one omission was that they did not include bread with the meal. We were told that the restaurant does not offer complimentary bread so we ordered a baguette, which was okay.
All in all a nice evening. I’d probably come back to try their other offerings.

Run, don’t walk, to the best Happy Hour in Columbus. 4−6p, M-​F, half off all snacks, appetizers, and drinks. The Moscow Mule, which I get every time, is boss. I also swear by the cornbread with a warm honeyed-​whipped butter, grilled cheese with pear preserves, and the charcuterie. The Pearl has successfully elevated your traditional deviled eggs, and, to state the obvious, offers a generous selection of oysters. I definitely ask the waiter, every time, to steer me in the right direction when ordering the oysters. Do you think I know the difference between east and west coast oysters? Pfft: I don’t.
The waitstaff at CM restaurants are one of the reasons I love them. The wait staff will bend over backwards for you, and strikes the right balance between being nice and professional.

After my first visit to The Pearl, all I could think of was how GOOD everything was. I started with a Moscow Mule that was served in a proper mule mug with amazing crushed ice. So refreshing, make is a second please.
The décor is cool, we were trying to decide where its inspiration came from. We settled on a sort of old western speakeasy fusion which doesn’t make much sense now that I type it out.
Food. Devils on Horseback. Yum. I still can’t remember exactly what these are, but they were delicious. The pot of pickles is literally just what it says, a bowl full of tasty pickles, and exactly what I was looking for. Shrimp & Grits, also yum. These were unlike any shrimp and grits I have ever had; it was more like a stew than anything. Still, wow, with the kick of the peppers and the unique addition of short ribs, everything came together to form a fantastic dish.
Service: good and friendly. A little slow. I think this was on purpose. The Pearl seems like a place where no one is in a hurry and you are encouraged to relax. The check came out in a unique manner (won’t ruin it for you) and we had fun counting the number of lewd drawings on said medium.

Two words: Cinnamon bun!
The greatest cinnamon bun I’ve ever had in my life! Maybe one of the best taste sensations I’ve had. Period. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, I don’t know, but it was pretty damn good.
Anyway, I always wanted to check out The Pearl, but it was impossible to get in when it first opened, so I just forgot about. The girlfriend and I didn’t have any plans on a Sunday night, so we thought we’d check it out. The restaurant appears big, but the kitchen takes up most of the left half, and most of the dining area is in the back. Our server was really friendly and helpful and really funny. I could have him review each dish for me all day.
We started with lamb meatballs and the smoked salmon. The lamb meatballs were amazing, definitely my favorite of the two. I’m not usually a smoked salmon person, but I had no problem eating most of this dish. However, the lamb meatballs were the bigger win for me.
For the main course, I went with the fried chicken, which of course came with the best thing ever, the cinnamon bun! I don’t even know if they paired well together, because the thing was so good. Put it with spaghetti for all I care. All right, so the fried chicken was fantastic as well. There’s so much good fried chicken in this city already, no wonder we’re overweight. Oh well, it was super crunchy with tasty seasoning and the chicken was moist and delicious. It also came with some braised greens, but those were pretty forgettable. By the time I was done with this dish, you could wheel me out.
Unfortunately, me feeling like shit isn’t when I stop eating, especially when I haven’t been to a restaurant before, and all of their desserts are pies and sound amazing. No idea what a brown sugar pie was, but we got it, and it was wonderful. Basically they just take a bunch of brown sugar and pack it together in I’m guessing a bunch of other unhealthy oils and butter then shoot homemade whip cream all over it. Fantastic. My new favorite dessert!
If you haven’t been to The Pearl, I would highly recommend checking it out. It’s a little less pricey than other Cameron Mitchell restaurants, but it’s serving the same high quality food. They have a brunch that’s supposed to be wonderful as well, and you can get the cinnamon rolls on the side. I’ll be the one ordering 15 to go.

I’ve been waiting to try The Pearl for a while now. We went here on a Sunday night pretty early, around 6 or 6:30. I wasn’t sure how busy this place was on Sundays but can tell you from walking around the Short North — it’s PACKED on Friday and Saturday. Ends up we definitely did not need a reservation, traffic picked up a little but not really until we were finished eating.
Our server was perfect! Very friendly but not overbearing. He helped me pick out a nice Pino Noir based off of what I usually like. It was absolutely delicious.
We decided to try the small plate of Lamb Meat Balls. The lamb was great and the marinara was very fresh. There was a cream sauce too, not sure what it was, but it was zesty and I couldn’t get enough! We also decided to get the Smoked Salmon app. This came with a couple pieces of toast, (didn’t do much for me) and a devil-​ish-​ly good egg. I thought the salmon was very good and the nice smokey flavor that wasn’t over powered by the tarter sauce that was on top.
Once our server rattled off the special I decided immediately that’s what I would get. The special was an Amberjack filet with a side of tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash and an olive tapenade. The flavors were really good and clean. This was a very light dish — thank god! The only thing I question is the Amberjack. I haven’t had this type of fish before so maybe this is normal? Most of the filet was very light and fell right apart but there were a few bites that were tough and fatty. I’ll have do some research on this, but I can say I didn’t enjoy those (very few) bites.
For desert you have one choice… pies! Looking at the choices I decided the Brown Sugar pie sounded the most interesting. This is now my official new favorite desert. This pie was sooo freaking good!!! It’s not too sweet and had amazing flavor and texture. I’m sure the rest of the pies are just as good but if you want something different you cannot go wrong with this!
I will definitely be back and can’t wait to try some of the other dishes on the menu!

I would consider this place cozier than classy, which for me is winning. It’s good food without the stuffiness and very personable servers (shout out to Eric).
I think I had the best seat in the house. facing the window for the best people watching ever! But aside for that, let’s talk about FOOD.
I had the following:
Tuna Crudo — This was delightful. I’d ask for NO SALT as it made this way to salty. It’s nice thin cuts of tuna and every other bite a piece of rock salt. too much, but it didn’t stop me from eating it. I just moved the salt around.
House Pickles — These were nice starters. Nice variety and nice flavors.
«Special» Roasted Chicken — I had them replace the quinoa salad (which I hear is mahvelous with charred broccoli and root vegetables. This was good, flavorful, and moist!
Of everything I have a new love for charred veggies. I think this might have been my favorite. Sounds good, but it was so delicious followed by the Tuna and the chicken.
One thing to note is that food is not a factory here, so don’t be in a super hurry. From sit down to check for 1 person, it took about an hour and they didn’t seem that busy.