Park Creek Kitchen

So before I start, I want to say that I was filled with so much excitement for trying Park Creek out. I saw the menu and it jumped at me like an angry flying squirrel backed into a corner. Sadly, the squirrel ended up dying… much like my hopes and dreams for this experience.
To begin, we were seated promptly at 6:55pm for our 7pm reservation**. Once seated we waited 45 minutes for our first course appetizers. Our beverages were not offered to be refilled once during this time. Typically, I am a very patient man. HOWEVER, all patience went out the door when we realized that the table that had been sat 10 – 15 minutes after us had already been served their appetizer AND entrée before us.
(The service of the restaurant seemed to be more focused on the wine bar next door which also featured the menu. I think this was a poor use of resources. Why funnel restaurant energy to a place that’s…not the restaurant?)
Anywho…
The appetizers were pretty much a let down. The pork belly goat cheese croquette left a ton to be desired. If they planned on serving fried mashed potato balls they should have let me know. The goat cheese mustve been chameleon cheese because it was CAMOUFLAGED aka where was it? My dining companion got the shrimp cornbread chowder. I think it was more of a gazpacho because it was COLD.
Another 15 minutes goes by and our entrees arrive. I send mine right back because the macaroni and cheese was ice cold. Typically I never send anything back, but after waiting this long the very least they could do was serve my meal hot. I will say that the chicken, which is the dish they are known for was very very good. It was the smallest portion of chicken I’ve ever received in a restaurant, but it was good.
The desserts arrived. I ordered the Pecan Pie, which isn’t made in-​house. Its a delivery from the der dutchman. The pie had a nice taste. Taste as in that’s all I received. I measured my slice of pie and it was literally in inch wide. Maybe they cut the pie into 23rds. Whatever. It surely wasnt a full serving… but it was good.
Overall this was a bad dining experience. I hope those who come after us have a more enjoyable experience and actually get their money’s worth.
**After a round of quizzing to verify that I was indeed the person who made reservations.

Ventured to Park Creek excited to check out a new restaurant during restaurant week in Columbus last night. Park Creek was interesting to say the least. Our waitress, Stephanie, was great and had a positive attitude throughout the experience. It seemed as though she and the bartender were the only staff to be found. The restaurant was eclectic but also very small and the doors opening and closing made it cold and did not allow for anyone to be comfortable when eating.
We had placed reservations and walked in as they were telling others they were booked from reservations, so we were excited. After being seated, we did not see a course of our meal until almost an hour later. Meanwhile, everyone who came in at the same time and after us were already on their second courses. I get that there were four of us but man, that’s no way to keep a customer.
The food is honestly what saved the trip out.
First Course: Sugar Cane Chicken Wings
Chicken wings were pretty average, but the mustard blue cheese definitely added some great flavor.
Second Course: Buttermilk Fried Chicken
This was delicious… the second time around. When we first received our plates, the mac and cheese was ice cold. Stephanie gladly took it back and brought us new dishes. However, the portion size was about half the mac and cheese as it was the first time. The chicken was great and the honey drizzle added exactly what the dish needed.
Third Course: Bourbon Bread Pudding
Delicious. That is all.
All and all, I thought I would make a trip back to Park Creek eventually, but after seeing the normal menu prices I don’t think it will be a restaurant I seek out.

Came here for restaurant week. It was two of us. We got the curried shrimp chowder, and chicken wings for appetizers. The chowder was bland to me. Chicken wings OK nothing special. For the 2^nd course we got fried chicken with Mac and cheese and the short rib. They Mac and cheese also was bland to me chick en was nice and crispy, no real flavor. Then pecan pie for dessert. It looked as if they cut a normal slice into 2. Needless to say I will not be back.

You can’t leave without trying this fried chicken! The honey drizzle knocks it out of the park. The waitress, Stephanie, was awesome and friendly.

On Saturday Oct 3, we visited this restaurant — our second time visiting it. I regret to say that it was not a positive experience from my perspective. When walking in, the restaurant had the ambiance of an old run down bar with lip-​stick to try to bring it some appeal. The place was dead, it was a Saturday evening at appx 7:30pm and there were only 4 tables occupied. We were hoping that the food would be better than the atmosphere but it wasn’t. I had the bacon-​wrapped shrimp and the bacon had a distinct char taste to it. We close our experience of this restaurant with a negative interaction with the management representative. Overall, it was a poor experience and a place that we will not return to.

We went to Park Creek Kitchen for Restaurant Week last January and this is an account of that trip.
I had never heard of Park Creek Kitchen before, but I read that it is a farm to table in the middle of a residential area in Upper Arlington. It got some conflicting reviews on Unilocal,but I liked their menu choices and my husband liked that they were serving bread pudding. So it became our first choice. We went in the middle of the week when it was blisteringly cold. The restaurant was dark inside and there were not many diners inside – only two tables full. My first impression was that they were trying to be a «fancy» restaurant, but were still very rough around the edges. The waitress was very friendly.
I ordered the mushroom bisque, the market fish with pureed potatoes and roasted vegetables, and roasted peanut butter pie. He got the salad, fried chicken with macaroni cheese, and bread pudding (as expected). I always try to choose places where we can get different things for dessert and share them. All of the food tasted really good. The mushroom soup was very mushroomy and warmed me up after walking in from the parking area. It was weird that it was garnished with popcorn – I even found an unpopped kernel in the soup. The fish was seasoned nicely and I liked the «pureed» potatoes underneath (these were really mashed potatoes, but I guess they were a little creamier than most?). My husband enjoyed all of his selections. I liked that his salad had goat cheese and I thought the chicken was very moist. Dessert was fine, but nothing to brag about.

The fried chicken is out of this world!!! Best fried chicken I have ever had. My husband ordered a steak burger and it was perfectly cooked and delicious. We were licking our plates! Service was great and very friendly. Only recommendation I have for the owner is that the restaurant itself could use a little polishing and ambiance. But overall, a great little gem!

This is our go to place for going out to dinner in Upper Arlington. Food is always outstanding, great wine and beer selection, and the staff always greets us warmly and takes good care of us. We live in UA, and always take our friends from other parts of town here and they’ve never been disappointed. Very glad to have this in our neighborhood!

How is this place still in business. The meanest, rudest staff ever. Wish this place was nicer because I live close and would love to frequent it but they are just too rude. So I say yuck to this place. Don’t go. Hate mean people.

Park Creek… The food is fantastic and the people are great. Service is very good. Great selection of apps and your primary entrée is cooked to order and amazing. I had the pub steak, cooked perfectly. Burger was also excellent. Please come visit this hidden gem in UA. Great food without the pretentious atmosphere. Great for foodies and just anyone who wants a great meal, fresh products and great service. My hats off to the chef! Will be back for the seafood for sure, sea bass please. Can’t wait to try the fried chicken. Thanks again great experience and will be back!

We’ve driven by this place 1,000 times and finally decided to meet some friends for dinner and wine.
The inside is very quaint, dimly lit and romantic. Our waitress was very inviting and helpful and enjoyed her energy.
I opted for the soup of the day– a warm Portuguese mushroom/​sausage collaboration. Good but not worth $ 9.
For the main course I had the Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($ 18) with Mac n Cheese and Green Beans drizzled lightly with honey. You get two pieces of perfectly cooked fried chicken with a light and crisp batter. The honey adds a delicious sweet richness to the chicken and the Mac and cheese. Highly recommend this dish.
The rest of the table had burgers which they were all happy with and plates were clean.
About $ 90/​couple was a little steep but the bottle of wine was $ 32 (cab).
Will be back.

My sister and I went to Park Creek tonight for Restaurant Week. We started out with the pimento cheese stuffed bacon wrapped jalapenos and they were pretty good, but the filling did not taste much like pimento cheese. Next, we both had the mushroom bisque which was comforting but oddly served in a huge bowl that was only filled about a quarter of the way which made it kind of awkward to eat out of. For our entrees, I had the fried chicken with mac and cheese and braised green beans. The fried chicken was really juicy inside and super crispy on the outside. The braised green beans and mac and cheese were very good. My sister got the market fish (which was Cod tonight) with smoked potato purée and vegetables. The dish claimed to have a ginger jalapeño sauce but neither of us could taste the ginger or jalapeño in it. The smoked potato purée was delicious… I could have had just a bowl of that and been happy! We finished up with each getting the bourbon bread pudding which was okay. The description said it had a chocolate cream but all I could find were a few chocolate chips thrown on top of the bread pudding hiding under the vanilla ice cream. Park Creek charged $ 30 for their prix fixe menu, which was not worth it. The American Mule is definitely worth a try though!

Great friendly spot and the tremendous smoked chicken sandwich is back along with the revised menu!
Service is good and a nice microbrew selection.

Well, we tried to order a cocktail. The bartender/​server said they don’t really do cocktails. (First we asked for something fruity, then something with vodka).
The hamburger I ordered well-​done was medium well at best. It was so incredibly salty that I didn’t want to finish it. The «root vegetable fries» were average.
We were the only table when we arrived for dinner, with one guy that worked there sitting at the bar. The ambiance was definitely not one for «going out».
Overall, it was just average. A better $ 8 than McDonald’s, but wouldn’t drive back there to go again.

An eclectic, high quality restaurant in a former bank building in a strip of shops (probably thought of as «shoppes») along Arlington Ave. in Upper Arlington? Yes!
I have only been on week nights, but the food and service were outstanding. The menu, by necessity for such a small and specialized place, has a few nightly specials and a few staples. Check out their menus online and decide which night suits you best for your first visit. We picked burger night on Monday and were not disappointed. (The fries are root vegetables, not just potatoes, and even though I am a kids’ menu eater at heart, they were great and went with the super fresh burgers.)
Smallish bar area with a selection of craft brews, cocktails, and mainstream drinks for the less adventurous.
Well worth a trip to the suburbs, Park Creek is truly one of those hidden gem restaurants that may work its was onto your favorites list.
Do I miss the Whit’s Yogurt place that used to be here? Of course, but it’s still available on High Street in the Short North. Do I miss the bank that used to be here? Yes, because I am one of those people who misses a bank. But Park Creek takes the sting out of Old Arlington changing because it’s such a solid addition to the city’s culinary index.

Park Creek Kitchen is an odd congregation of contradictions. There’s definitely a neighborhood feel to the restaurant. Several people were greeted as regulars while we were dining. I could totally see a South of Lane UA dad putting on his hawaiian shirt, khakis and Keen Sandles (I swear I see variations of this outfit every time I’m out to dinner in Upper Arlington) and walking over for dinner with his family. It’s in an interesting space, too – formerly a bank building.
High concept entrees mix with classic sandwiches and burgers with varying outcomes. My étouffée was pretty good, my wife’s crab cake was a bit bland but we both agreed the mac and cheese was outstanding.
Smart décor (If you get seated towards the back of the front room you’ll see the old bank vault – very cool) mixes with paper napkins and those nasty old chairs you see in fast food joints.
And fantastic bartending mixes with some off the mark cocktails – my Woodford Reserve Manhattan was spot on (and strong – holy moly), but my wife’s Lemon Drop was a big miss.
Mainly, we were a little surprised by the price of our dinner – two drinks, one appetizer, two entrees and a side ended up being over $ 100 with tip. For that price, there are better options for a night out.

I really loved the food. We had bruschetta, burgers, salad, mac & cheese and bread pudding.
One of the better burgers I’ve had and the bruschetta was really great. The pricing was pretty high though.
The waiter was really nice, not all together but nice.

Very low traffic on a weekday night. Burger was pretty good. Bruschetta appetizer was excellent. The bread pudding we got for dessert was pretty good.
However, quite pricey!

Just discovered Park Creek Kitchen this winter… and today was my fifth visit.
So, clearly, I like the place.
My first visit was on a pretty snowy day and the restaurant was very empty. I went with a girlfriend and we were almost the only people in the place. I had called ahead to make sure I could order food that was gluten-​free and told the server again when we arrived. Just making sure.
Not only could they accommodate me, the server informed me that if I wanted the meatloaf, the chef could do it without gluten. He made sure I understood that they may not always be able to do that particular dish gluten-​free, but that evening they could. Well, how nice is that? I’ll tell you. Very nice.
There wasn’t a crumb left on my plate. Or my friend’s. We also had Kentucky Longshots as our beverages. Really yummy.
Since that first visit, I’ve tried the burgers, a pork dish (the special) and a fish dish. I’ve had the stuffed jalapenos, the root vegetable fries, and a salad.
I’ve dined with people who have had the fried chicken, the short ribs, and the Roman pressed chicken.
Not one dish to complain about on five visits. All was good, filling, and my special dietary needs were accommodated.
Tonight, my husband and I had another terrific meal. Our server was Stephanie. She was terrific. Jeff (owner and chef) came out to talk a bit. We enjoyed hearing about how the restaurant has been doing, his philosophy about food, and how they prepare and plan their menus. Plus, he was just super nice.
Yum. Thanks, Park Creek Kitchen. See you soon!

there a such thing as «Soul food» fusion?
After great debate for a couples’ dinner, we decided on Park Creek Kitchen (well more like a few suggestions thrown out there). I was intrigued by the menu: seeing fried chicken and shrimp & grits entrees immediately makes me think soul food. The place is cute and unassuming. We sat outside since it was so nice. The service was kind of slow, but since we were among friends it was not a big issue. tried the fried green tomatoes for an appetizer; by themselves the tomatoes are lacking flavor and were not as firm as I’d like. With the pickled onions though it works. Just have to get it all on each bite.
For entrée I had the shrimp & grits. Lots of different flavors, when put all together a dynamite bite (a piece of the shrimp, cole slaw, and grits all together). My wife had the pork chop that supposedly had apple au jus. Either someone forgot the apple or it is misrepresented because there was no apple flavor at all. Her pork chop had char on the side so it really needed something sweet to counterbalance all that salty.
Even with the pork chop failure, the place brings some serious flavor to the table.