The Pearl
641 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43215
T: 614-227-0151
Hours:
Open daily at 4:00 p.m.
Brunch on Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
Cost: $25-$45 per person
http://www.thepearlcolumbus.com
Reservations: Encouraged
I saw The Pearl being built a few months back and was instantly excited about another Cameron Mitchell restaurant here in Columbus. Driving by and seeing it open, packed inside, and people waiting outside- I felt as though it seemed promising.
So I had to try it.
Coined an “Oyster Room”, The Pearl specializes in clams and oysters and what almost seems to be a Cajun/Southern infusion in the dishes. I must say, we had a reservation and still had to wait about 15 minutes for a table to be cleared. Which was no problem with a glass of wine in hand and taking in the atmosphere.
For our appetizer, we tried the ultra popular Jalapeno Corn Spoon Bread. I will admit this was extremely savory with a rich butter taste and hints of jalapeno. Topped with a creamy butter and a local honey, it seemed like a promising preview to the rest of the dishes.
Seeing as how The Pearl is an Oyster Room, my next dish was the Parmesan Baked Clams. The clams are baked with Parmesan, bacon, and garlic (although the garlic was almost too subtle to notice). I’ve grown up with a father who eats clams and oysters, so I maybe was expecting some flavor explosion in my mouth, but honestly, was not “wowed” by these clams like I thought I would be.
The entrees I sampled were the Arctic Char, The Southern Fried Chicken, and the catch of the day, Ahi Tuna.
The Dishes:
Arctic Char: Salmon on top of a cauliflower puree, with roasted cauliflower florets and onions, and a splash of aged balsamic vinegar
The Arctic Char was savory and tender. The Salmon was perfectly seared and the cauliflower puree added such an interesting twist to the dish. It was nicely complimented by the roasted onions and cauliflower florets, but at times the cauliflower puree and florets were overpowering to the actual Salmon.
The Southern Fried Chicken was nothing spectacular aside from being fried chicken. Although it was an excellent breading, there’s not too many ways you can really improve fried chicken, and The Pearl definitely did not.
The catch of the day was an Ahi Tuna.
Honestly, the presentation was spot on. It looked succulent and fresh. However, aside from presentation, nothing taste-wise stood out to me on the dish. It was just Ahi Tuna. Nothing spectacular.
Overall:
Overall, I get that the Pearl is a new restaurant and the hype of a new restaurant in the Short North is always going to get people excited. However, for this being a Cameron Mitchell restaurant, I expected so much more. My favorite think all night was the Jalepeno Corn Spoon Bread, but even that isn’t really worth the hassle of a reservation, waiting, and the prices.
To me, the Pearl did not exceed my expectations, in fact, I was more disappointed than anything with the dishes.
Will I ever return? Probably not. I believe there are many more restaurants with spectacular, savory dishes, for the same price if not less in the area.
The Pearl gets
3/5 spoons
tastecolumbusohio 