We love finding small restaurants favored by locals and visitors when we venture out for a day or weekend trip. After years in the Columbus, Ohio, area, we have had a few chances to seek out food on the Ohio State Campus. Adriatico's on campus is one of our daughter's favorite lunch spots and we had the opportunity to fit in a visit over Labor Day weekend! What did we think of Adriatico's in Columbus, Ohio?

Adriatico's Fits Well into its College Campus Space

Adriatico's is a small spot on a busy campus street. Parking is a little hard to come by unless you venture into one of the nearby parking garages. It is a quick walk from the nearby garages and straightforward to find from GPS by the address.  

We were hitting the restaurant around 2 in the afternoon on a weekday, so we were pretty late for lunch and still early for dinner. There were a handful of diners--many likely parents visiting students since it was a holiday Monday. The servers were pretty laid-back. We had to ask for water refills a couple of times--but service was friendly and generally helpful as we pondered the menu. 

Drinks & Appetizers

Adriatico's has 18 beers on tap and various red and white wine options. We skipped the alcohol and opted for water at this visit--but, the option is there and most tables around us had a few tall beers with their meals.

Knowing that the pizza takes a while to prepare, we ordered the Fried Pickles. Next time we  need to try the Buckeye Bites. They are little Buckeye shaped pretzel bites that looked pretty tasty as they passed our table for others. The Fried Pickles held us over nicely until the pizza arrived!  

The Pizza

We opted for the Inflation Fighter pizza with thick crust. I am generally not a fan of crust, so thick crust is generally not my choice at most places. I gave a groan when my daughter chose the thickest crust on the menu--but, quickly found myself devouring every bit of the crust without hesitation. The pizzas take a bit to prepare. Each pizza is made upon order and and takes 25 to 30 minutes or so. The vegetables were very fresh--and the cheese was perfect. These were some seriously loaded slices, so we had a to-go box with half a pizza and no room for dessert! 

If you Visit Adriatico's OSU