These 13 restaurants are some of the best places to eat in Columbus, Georgia. These places include where the locals eat.
When we travel, we always look for locally owned restaurants. Of course, we all have our favorite chain restaurants, too. If you can find where the locals eat, you will have found a great place to have breakfast or dinner.
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My list of the best places to eat in Columbus, Georgia, is going to include not only the type of food but also the locations. If this is your first time visiting Columbus, you may be pleasantly surprised to find such a vast array of restaurants to choose from.
Types of restaurants in this list include: Barbeque, Burgers and Hot Dogs, Fine Dining, Italian, Southern Cooking, and Steakhouses.
Table of Contents
- BBQ Places
- Burger and Hot Dog Places
- Fine Dining
- Italian restaurants
- Southern Cooking Restaurants
- Steakhouses
- Seafood Places
- Unique place to eat
- Should you make a special trip to Columbus just to eat?
- More Places To Visit in Georgia
BBQ Places
BBQ joints, as we southerners like to call them, tend to have great longevity and very loyal customers when locally owned. For that reason, you will find the locations often are off the beaten path, and the buildings to be quite vintage. Don’t let that deter you, these restaurants are a great place to experience authentic Southern barbeque.
1. Smokey Pig Barbeque 1617 11th Ave, Columbus, GA 31901
Family-owned and operated since 1953. These folks know how important good food and good customer service are. There is no website and no active Facebook page at this time.
Reviews are a solid 4.5 on all sites. That usually means it’s really a 5, but some folks were probably in a bad mood the day they wrote the review.
The menu includes all the favorites such as ribs, BBQ, chicken, BBQ nachos, and Brunswick stew. Try the BBQ baked potato for a real treat. Sides include: baked beans and potato salad.
2. Macon Road BBQ 2703 Avalon Rd. Columbus, Ga. 31907
This is one of those spots where the locals eat. It’s been around a long time. Don’t expect fancy, but trust you will get genuinely good BBQ. They are also a great place to get a good hot dog. They get rave reviews for their fresh-cut fries, too.
Do not ask why it is called Macon Road BBQ, but it is located on Avalon Road. I’m guessing that road used to be named Macon Rd, or it is the way to go if you are traveling to Macon, which is only about 2 hours away.
Burger and Hot Dog Places
3. The Black Cow 115 12th St Suite A, Columbus, GA 31901
A nice laid-back rustic southern charm dining experience that is located in Uptown Columbus, within walking distance from the Whitewater Rapids.
Named by a Garden and Gun readers’ survey as ‘Best burgers in the south’. Their Pimento Cheeseburger gets rave reviews. Also popular on their varied menu are the Lobster Tots, Fried Green Tomatoes and goat cheese tower, and the Meatloaf and the Meatloaf sliders too.
4. Jordan’s Girls Gourmet Dawgs 803 Veterans Pkwy, Columbus, GA 31901
These folks know how to not only make a good hot dog but also how to provide great customer service in the process. Their reviews are simply fabulous. They have an Airborne Dawg and a Ranger Dawg, plus SEC football team Dawgs too. It’s just a fun menu to order from. They even have veggie dawg and vegan choices.
Get your food to go or dine in. Food is cooked to order. Hours are for a lunch-only restaurant so not your dinner place, but definitely a good lunch.
Fine Dining
Fine dining restaurants offer an upscale ambiance that gives us a good reason to get all gussied up to go out. A unique and exciting menu with multiple courses and smaller portion sizes often features exotic meat choices. Your food will be prepared by an experienced chef. The service will be excellent, and the price tag will be over the top. It’s an experience. Reservations are required.
5. Epic 1201 Front Ave Ste E, Columbus, GA 31901
Epic Cuisine has been serving the Columbus area since 2012. Their reviews are excellent and plentiful, with phrases such as “Beyond all expectations.”
They are recipients of the AAA Four Diamond Award 2021 and the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.
Celebrate a special occasion by reserving the Chef’s Table at Epic. Catering and take-out are also available, but please gift yourself the experience of dining in.
Make your reservations and plan to experience excellent service, great food, and a wonderful evening with someone special.
Also, see the Fine dining restaurants: Mabella Italian Steakhouse, and Buckhead Steak and Wine listed under Steakhouses below.
Italian restaurants
6. Trevioli At The Rapids 1329 Front Ave. Columbus, GA 31901
Started in 2013 by two locals, there are two locations. Visit the downtown one at The Rapids for the downtown Columbus experience.
While Trevioli is an Italian restaurant, reviews suggest you can enjoy a good steak here as well. Reservations are accepted. Fine dining with a much-loved ambiance. Gluten-free and vegetarian options are available on their menu.
7. Cerrone’s Brick Oven Pizzaria 7830 Veterans Pkwy. Columbus, GA 31909
Cerrone’s Brick Oven Pizzeria is locally owned and operated. Awarded 3rd best in the southeast, in the largest pizza competition in the United States. Serving the only true to region, authentic New York brick oven pizza. The reviews are great for Cerrone’s and the owner responds which means the customer is important to him.
Reviews are a testament that while the pizza is delicious, the meatballs are too. Their homemade pizza crust and garlic knots also get rave reviews.
Southern Cooking Restaurants
8. 11th and Bay Southern Table 1050 Bay Ave, Corner of 11th Street and Bay Ave, Columbus, GA 31901
The ambiance is laid back but refined. Once an old cotton warehouse, enjoy your meal with a view of the sunset over the Chattahoochee while dining al fresco on the patio or around the fire pit. You may also enjoy dinner inside in the expansive open dining room with heart pine floors and beams, warm brick walls, and vintage Edison lighting.
Locally sourced food as much as possible, the menu is seasonally driven. Expect to see southern favorites like Shrimp and Grits and one of their signature dishes, Braised Pork Belly. Reservations are recommended.
9. Minnie’s Uptown 104 8th St, Columbus, GA 31901
Minnie’s is what we call a “meat and two” or a ‘meat and three’ restaurant. That means you get your choice of the meat offerings that day, along with two or three vegetables of your choice. Cornbread or rolls are usually included.
Delicious, authentic southern cuisine, made from scratch, from the hoecakes to the sweet tea. “It’s like eating at Grandma’s house”, many reviews say. Minnie’s has been a Columbus treasure since 1986.
Minnie’s features some differences in their menu each day, with certain popular foods always offered. The prices are reasonable compared to today’s standards, and the portions are plentiful.
You have a choice of Meat and one, Meat and two, or Meat and three. You can just eat veggies if you wish. No matter how you like the meal, be sure to treat yourself to dessert. Leave room for dessert because their cakes are amazing!
10. Plucked Up Chicken and Biscuits 1208 1st Ave, Columbus, GA 31901
Down-home cooking like you used to get at Grandma’s house. A favorite restaurant with the locals. Folks know this is a good place to get a delicious breakfast.
If you are a fan of food smothered with homemade gravy, stop here. Your taste buds are in for a treat.
The dining room is fun with eclectic decor. Reviews speak for themselves, and they are great. Chicken and Biscuits, along with a few other southern delights, like country-fried pork steak, are on the menu.
Steakhouses
My goal is to provide you with local restaurants, which is why I am not listing any of the chain steakhouses here. However, there are a few in Columbus, but I do recommend you check their online ratings before going. Locally owned restaurants usually go the extra mile with service and food.
11. Mabella Italian Steakhouse 14 W 11th St, Columbus, GA 31901
The best thing you can do is to make reservations. Locals love the food, service, and atmosphere and the secret is out, so make those reservations.
Located in the uptown area in a beautifully remodeled late 1800s building. The storied building once housed a telephone operator business. If walls could talk!
Seafood Places
12. Ezell’s Catfish 4001 Warm Springs Rd. Columbus
Ezell’s is a local favorite. It isn’t fancy dining, but the food is good. Ezell’s is famous for their hushpuppies. I could make a meal of the hushpuppies. This is a good place for fish-on-the-bone and also a good bowl of cheese grits with your fish.
Their menu includes a little something for everyone. Try the fried pickles!
Unique place to eat
What is unique about another restaurant, you ask? This one serves locally sourced food. I love that!
13. The Animal Farm 105 12th Street Columbus
The Animal Farm is located in the heart of downtown Columbus. Treat yourself to an evening meal here. You will not regret it. If you are going to the Springer Opera House to see a play, make it a full evening by eating at The Animal Farm first. Make reservations just to be safe. You won’t regret it.
Should you make a special trip to Columbus just to eat?
Heck yes! Barbeque, Burgers, Hot Dogs, Italian food, down-home Southern cooking and fancied up Southern food, and let’s not forget a good steakhouse. You will find a good scrambled dog, some of the best Bar-B-Q the south has to offer, New York style brick oven pizza, and even scrumptious Biscuit Beignets among these top-rated restaurants in Columbus, Ga.
This list could go on and on. There are many, many good restaurants in Columbus.
If you are visiting Fort Benning or live within a day trip distance to Columbus, scroll through my list of places to eat in Columbus, Georgia, and start making plans. It will be tough to narrow them down, but it will depend on what you have a hankering for.
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