The Guild House | Facebook | IG: @theguildhouse
624 N. High St. (map it!)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 280-9780
Open daily at 6:30 a.m. (breakfast served until 11a, brunch served Sat & Sun, 11a-3p)
Of the various Cameron Mitchell Restaurants concepts, The Guild House has always been one of the most interesting to me. Their name nods to the idea of the guild, or a collective of skilled craftsmen – in this case the culinary guild. This guild creates breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a focus on local and seasonal ingredients.
The Guild House also embodies this funny space, attached as it is to the Le Meridien, The Joseph hotel. It serves, in a sense, as the hotel restaurant and bar (although Le Meridien has its own cocktail bar, Soul at the Joseph), while also existing with a life of its own.
The decor features lots of browns and creams, punctuated by spots of color from flowers, lights, and paintings. Much of the construction incorporates reclaimed barn wood.
The Guild House’s beverage game is on point. They feature fresh squeezed juices and smoothies. Coffee is served in matte ceramic mugs.
They’ve always had fresh OJ and the carrot sunrise (carrot, green apple, grapefruit, and ginger) when I’ve visited; other flavors rotate with the seasons. I’ve been especially partial to the carrot sunrise.
The menu also features a selection of house-made pastries, from fritters to danishes to croissants.
They all pair well with coffee.
The restaurant features a full bar, too, so expect some hearty Bloody Marys or mimosas to go with your brunch. The Guild House even has a specialized gin created by Watershed Distillery, the Guild Series Gin flavored with chamomile.
For a simple start, you can try the nicely presented parfait, made with Greek yogurt, a house-made granola, fresh fruit, and local honey.
The small but rich lobster and eggs mixes butter poached lobster, a poached egg, hollandaise, and caviar together in a jar, with greens and toasted brioche on the side.
The smoked salmon dish lets you build your own breakfast, from a small pile of salmon decorated with onions and capers, plus sliced tomato, cream cheese, arugula, and an everything bagel.
Even simple pancakes and bacon are given a lovely presentation.
The staple eggs benedict layers poached eggs with rosemary ham and hollandaise on toasted brioche bread. A sure-fire win for fans of the dish.
I especially like the rich and aromatic truffled eggs, which places poached eggs, mushrooms, asparagus, bacon, shaved truffles, and a gruyere cream on top of potato pancakes. Between the mushrooms and the truffles, you can smell the dish coming from across the room.
One of the Guild House’s breakfast specialties, which has remained on the menu since they opened in 2015, is the smoked chicken hash.
Served in a bowl, the hash features poached eggs (a lot of those on the breakfast menu here!), sweet potatoes, shredded smoked chicken, bacon, caramelized onions, roasted poblano peppers, a touch of gouda, and a strong salsa verde.
The salsa verde sometimes overwhelms the dish, but overall it successfully combines hearty components like the cheese, bacon, chicken, and sweet potatoes.
Even the kid’s menu is given some thoughtful presentation.
Side note: there’s also a gluten free breakfast menu.
Overall, the setting easily fits the time of day, from a casual breakfast to weekend brunch…
…to a special night out or just drinks at the bar.
It’s worth checking out for any of those, but I think breakfast or brunch warrant a visit for sure. Brunch is served just on weekends, but the full breakfast menu is conveniently available every day of the week.
