Drunk Brunch: Cap City Diner

In my weekly perusing of Yelp, Google and other sites attempting to find the next drunk brunch spot, Cap City Diner, part of the Cameron Mitchell restaurant group, had come up several times before I actually worked it into the rotation. It just didn’t excite me. But last weekend when I pulled up their seasonal cocktail menu, I was compelled to throw on some clothes and rush my husband into the car so we could squeeze a quick drunk brunch in before the Ohio State/Michigan game kickoff.

We went to the Grandview location, though the menus between that and the Gahanna location are about the same. Given the diner decor, the atmosphere is much more laid back than some of the other restaurants around town that offer brunch (when did bacon and day-drinking become so classy?) and the “fancy brunch hoodie” I mentioned before felt right at home as we laxed into a comfy booth.

Our server brought us a basket of complimentary cinnamon rolls to start, which were hot out of the oven and drizzled with sweet icing. It’s pretty common to get a bread basket with dinner, but it’s highly unusual – though welcomed – to get one with breakfast.

I’m kind of obsessed Watershed’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Gin, so when I saw the Ginger Gin cocktail contained it there was really no uncertainty about what I was going to order. The cocktail mixes the gin with Domaine de Canton (a ginger liqueur), fresh ginger and lime, plum bitters and ginger beer. I enjoyed it so much that I went to the store immediately after we left to drop almost $100 on all the ingredients to try to recreate it at home.

My husband ordered the Winter Whiskey, with OYO Whiskey, Pama, fresh cinnamon and muddled ginger with a cinnamon-sugar rim. The fruitiness of the pomegranate liqueur was nicely balanced with the sweet heat of the whiskey. The Rye Cider, Cap City’s third seasonal featured cocktails made with Bulleit Rye Whiskey, fresh apple cider, peach puree and soda, also sounds like a perfect brunch beverage, though I didn’t get to try it. I have no idea how much longer these three drinks will be featured, so I recommend you try them soon.

I had the omelette of the day with ham, tomato and cheddar and served with red poatato home fries, toast and a couple of strawberries. My husband had the breakfast burrito stuffed with scrambled eggs, chorizo, poblano peppers and cheddar cheese topped with ranchero sauce and cilantro. The portions were HUGE (I only ate half off my omelette) and both dishes were pretty good, but in a city with so many amazing brunch dishes (I’m looking at you, chicken-and-waffle-from-Sage), I wouldn’t highly recommend either.

However, the drinks score top marks, and I’ll be continuing to attempt to recreate the Ginger Gin at home.

Brunch at Cap City Diner is served Saturdays and Sundays starting at 11am. Cap City is located at 1299 Olentangy River Road in Grandview and 1301 StoneRidge Drive in Gahanna.

Read about other drunk brunch spots in Columbus.