Hal & Al’s

I this place. It was one of the places I would dream about the food when I was in Hawaii. The French fries are the best I’ve ever had. I think it’s because the dryers have never had anything but vegan stuff fries in it or something. Im also a huuuuggee fan of the Luna burger on a Brezel bun. It is AMAZE!!! I can’t believe this place all started with a little food cart called Rad Dog
Sadly though we were informed that after tommorrow the all vegan menu will be switching to a more conventional menu offerings (with vegan options) I’m not sure how I will like the new food (vegan or otherwise)
I’m really really my friend joe and I stopped in today. I would’ve been forever disappointed if I hadn’t had the Luna Burger and fries just one more time

Second time there and I enjoyed it even more than the first visit. As my one stop shop for all unhealthy vegan foods, I was elated to see that the fried mushrooms, fried avocado and fried zucchinis were nicely battered and weren’t dripping with oil when it reached in front of me… That’s all I can ask for. Carry on Hal & Al’s… I will be back

Great spot! I recently had dinner with a friend and we were both happily impressed with this spot. Fab beer selection and a very impressive and all-​vegan menu! The taco salad was amazing!

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first read about Hal & Al’s. As a vegan beer lover, it seems like it was created just for me.
The inside is divey, but not dirty. A good ol’ chalkboard beer menu that features some of their rotating taps and the bartenders are typically handy to recommend something you will like. There has been a great beer selection each time I have visited.
You order food and drinks at the bar and then the food is brought to your table. We have the bratwurst more than once – the sauerkraut is awesome and the brat is great even though I am not usually into faux meats. Their quesadilla was also really good, even though I am not into faux cheese. (See a pattern here?) Their pretzel bun is a lot of fun – I have been dying to have one as I have watched my carnivore friends have them at other restaurants.
There are so many other things I want to try (everything’s vegan!), so we’ll have plenty of excuses. The Sunday brunch selection looks awesome – just haven’t made it there early enough. There is a good happy hour and various theme nights too.
Hal and Al’s – go for the beer, stay for the fun vegan nibbles!

Hal and Al’s is quickly becoming a Columbus staple. Fantastic food — all Vegan, but phenomenal for any carnivore doubters. Karaōke on Saturdays is the best in the city.

Cool hipster bar with really great happy hour specials. Half off drafts 4 – 8 weekdsays so you really can’t beat that!
My family and I went there for dinner. The 8-​layer nachos were amazing; my brother basically licked the basket clean. We all got luna burger sandwiches or luna burrito for our meals. I thought that the burrito was pretty good. It would have been improved with some added vegetables (which are free add-​ons and I just didn’t think to add). The burgers were served on a pretzel bun, which everyone loved. And the fries are amazing. Both the regular and sweet potato fries were willing-​to-​elbow-​someone-​in-​the-​face-​to-​steal-​some-​of-​these delicious. I’m a vegan and loved all the food, but even my meat-​eating family really enjoyed their meals. If you are vegetarian or vegan, bring your friends here and they will be happy.
The atmosphere is something you have to be ready for, though. This place is a bar first and restaurant second. We went there specifically for dinner and were a little surprised that we wouldn’t have a waiter and instead had to go up to the bar to order. It wasn’t a big deal, but something to be aware of.
The biggest improvement they could make would be to open up a parking lot. Street parking was a little hard to find. And it’s in a not-​so-​great part of town, so a parking lot would be ideal.

Great vegan sushi, one time they tempura sweet potato and used that as sushi filling and it was so good! I couldn’t stop eating it.
Also, really good sweet potato fries!!!
Beside the fact this place doesn’t have a single window, it’s a fun place to host a party, get together, whatever!

As one of the few bars I consider to be in my «neighborhood,» Hal & Al’s is always a great bet for a spot to come hang and toss a few back.
They have, hands down, the BEST beer list in town of any establishment I’ve been to. Their drafts are on a constant rotation, and the list of bottles and cans is amazingly overwhelming (in a good way).
The bartenders are patient, attentive, and so friendly. It’s seriously just not your average bar. It is a gathering place where everyone can feel welcome.
While I’m not huge on their food, many of my friends love it. I’m always there for the food truck hops though. You betcha. And I can totally get down on their fried platter. But who doesn’t love a good plate of friend food, huh?
Plain and simple, Hal & Al’s is a staple to the south end of town.

Luna burger was awesome, fries were even more awesome. Atmosphere is cozy and laid-​back. Music rocks. Service was quick and perfect.
Lots of beers to try, had the southern tier pumpkin on tap.
Next time I’ll take a seat on that huge comfy-​looking couch. I’ll be back for sure.

A group of 6 of us were looking for somewhere to grab a drink and a bite after a funeral. None of us are from Columbus and were heading back to Dayton & Cincinnati. One person in the group is vegetarian and is typically relegated to mac & cheese at most places.
I looked for «bar» on Unilocal on my phone and Hal & Al’s came up. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but is very warm and cute on the inside. It as a little dark inside for us for it being 4pm, but that didn’t really hurt the experience.
The tall tables were great for a group our size. When we arrived, it was pretty empty, but by the time we left (around 6p), there were quite a few people. There was also a stage, so I’m guessing it might get even busier on weekends.
My SIL (the vegetarian) was so excited about it being a vegan place that we tried lots of things and lots of beers. The draft beer selection is great.
–Sauerkraut Balls: So good (if you like sauerkraut). They almost look like hush puppies.
–Nachos: My MIL’s boyfriend was not happy about the vegan experience and she got him to each some nacho’s because there as nothing «vegan» on them. Just vegetables and cheese. I cracked up inside knowing that it wasn’t dairy cheese and it was delicious.
–Sampler: Fried pickles, fried avocado, fried mushrooms. Whatever batter they use is great. I usually HATE mushrooms, but these fried mushrooms were my favorite thing I tried. Fried avocado was also pretty cool.
–Bratwurst: My SIL ate this and no one else got to try it. I’m guessing that means it was very good.
I would recommend this place even for the non-​adventurous eater. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you’ll be in heaven.
OH! And when our bill came, it was happy hour with ½ price beers!

Well… I had never heard of this place and I’ll be honest, we only went because the kitchen was open until midnight. That’s the first plus.
We roll in and yes the kitchen was open, but to my dismay, I’m told everything on the menu was vegan. Being a ferocious carnivore, you can imagine my thoughts. I sucked it up and between myself and a couple buddies, ordered the nachos and the sampler platter. I must say… for the first time in my life… that was some DAMN GOOD VEGAN FOOD! Seriously, I never thought I would utter those words, but I stand corrected and thoroughly impressed. Maybe it was the alchohol. (Of which they had an excellent selection, albeit a little pricey for a joint in that area, but I guess that comes with the vegan territory.) Or maybe it was the fact I hadn’t eaten in 15 hours. Either way, I ate to my hearts content, and wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Hip hip hurr-​SOY!

Best vegatarian/​vegan place I’ve ever been to. I’m making a transition away from red meats, and eventually away from meat entirely, and with Hal and Al’s being a 3 minute walk from my house, I feel like I’m going to be coming here often. But that’s not even considering the food. Let’s take a moment of silence, for the food here is killer…
…
.
Okay, enough silence, now I’m craving it again. I’ve had the Spinach Artichoke Pizza — awesome. The Luna Burger with Sweet Potato Fries — best veggie burger I’ve ever tasted, and the sweet potato fries couldn’t have been prepared better. Fried Avocados, wow, great! To top it all off, there’s karaōke, pinball, a bar, and a nice beer selection.
It’s official, me and this restaurant will have good times together.

I’ve been to Hal and Al’s about a dozen times since they have opened, I want to love it but a few things are stopping me. It’s an OK bar, glad to have it in the area.
The good:
The beer selection is great, love it, great job with this.
The food is good, and I love meat too. Nice job.
They host some food cart events, thanks!
The bad:
Some of the staff is really bad. We showed up on a Thursday and stood at the bar for over 15 minutes while what looked like the bar manager just chatting it up with one guy, ignoring the 10 to 15 people wanting to buy drinks. The other girl was trying her best to keep up, she looked stressed, but we ended up leaving and going to another place, it will be hard for me to go back, the one thing that stops me from going to a bar is when I can’t get a drink. Even worse when a worker behind the bar ignores the crowd so he can chit chat and give free samples to one person. They lost out on a 100 dollar tab so he could give samples.
The OK:
The get busy these days, but they waste so much potential table space with an empty stage and floor area. I mean I don’t make money off this place, but you’d think the owner would want to be able to seat people who want to sit and buy food. Instead you often just stand awkwardly around the place and wait for a table, then because there is no host or server controlling tables you just kinda take the first table you can get, often blocking out a group who may have been waiting longer then you.

I’ve got no problems with Hal & Al’s,
The Luna burger is good if you are looking for a no meat dish, on a pretzel bun. the sour kraut balls are baller as well.
You walk in and its like a little bar type feeling, and the amount of drinks they have on tap as well in their cooler is massive. I was totally blindsided with how many drinks they have.
the only setbacks I have with the place is that there is limited places to sit, and even more limited places to park.
Staff is friendly, its just a fun place to kick it.
They have some kind of beers around the world challenge that I’ve always been interested in, but have never tried.
worth a good check out.

So I had been here a few times in the past but had not had the opportunity to try the food. After going and giving it a try though I’m quite disappointed in myself for not giving it a go earlier. Their vegan menu is both unique and has a number of items that sound rather delicious. At the end of my decision making process I decided to go for the chili mac as suggested by some friends. It would seem like making a vegan chili mac would be quite difficult considering that lengths one would have to go to substitute the offending ingredients and still capture the comfort food deliciousness that is intended. Difficulty aside Hal and Al’s chili mac is amazing, it has the right texture and leaves you feeling both full and content. The spice level is great and the flavor robust.
Their beer selection is also rather decent. I spent the night going back and forth between a couple of Porter’s and Stouts and was very pleased. The bar staff is attentive and able to pour properly.

FINALLY, I tried the food at Hal and Al’s. I have been missing out! I would venture to say anyone who has not tried any of Hal and Al’s incredible vegan dishes is missing out.
I initiated my dining experience with their signature sauerkraut balls and dipped it in semi-​sweet mustard. All diners across the land have raved about these perfectly golden-​fried balls of goodness, and now I, too, shall chime along with them. 6 sauerkraut balls are easily enough for two people, and as my wise mother says, «Sharing is caring.» Share dem ballz.
I also ordered the tacos with vegan sausage and loved how the flavor and healthiness complimented each other. Oil did not dribble out of the taco shell, and the sausage boasted effusively of flavor, sans the fatty content of your mainstream taco meat. You will definitely not go home hungry.
My friend also ordered the raspberry saki bombs for a post-​meal drink. I highly suggest this small, cute shot to cleanse your pallet with some zing.
Although I was too hungover to even skim the beer menu, Hal and Als has an impressive beer menu to please the snobbiest of the beer snobs. Check it out!
Also, don’t be deterred by Hal and Al’s location. Yeah, Parsons can be a wee bit scary at times, but the staff and clientele of Hal and Al’s will warm your hearts and calm your nerves in no time.

Uh… how have I never reviewed Hal and Al’s before? Beats me… I’ve been going here on and off for years so clearly I’ve been snoozing on this one. I’ve also never reviewed a Jeni’s Ice Cream (or if I have, it was the Nashville one, ha).
Anyway, Hal and Al’s has a terrific assortment of draft and bottled imports and microbrews. They also have a nifty «around the world» club. This is why it is a decent bar.
They also have an entirely vegan restaurant thing going on. Most of this food is pretty darn good. The fried pickles and luna burgers are particularly nice standouts. This is why it is a decent restaurant.
They have okay specials sometimes too. Discounted vegan corndogs on Mondays, dollar TVP tacos on Wed after 8. Vegan Sushi on Thursdays (not cheap).
But here’s why this is still a three star review (which is NOT bad, mind you, just okay):
— The service is often mediocre. It takes a good while to get your drink order in, whether they’re busy or not… at least in my experience. I should point out I’m specifically referring to the bar here. My food always comes out fast.
— The music is usually bad, on nights when they actually have any, which isn’t super often.
— Those TVP tacos are pretty shitty, and they rationalize this as okay because they are only a dollar (I’ve been told as much). Well, I got news for you. I can go to two other bars in town and get dollar tacos that are awesome. So maybe a little more than a sprinkle of TVP in a shell wouldn’t hurt.
— They hired Rad Dog’s owner and a host of other Cbus SINners to develop that vegan menu, then fired everyone once they had everything down pat. This was an especially crappy thing to do to the Rad Dog dude, whose baby it was.
So the long and short of it is that it’s definitely a decent place with a cool crowd and good drink options, plus great vegan food. But the thing is, to be so far out of the way and have those few downsides, it’s not somewhere I would go more than once every couple of months.

I was so excited to go here, but seeing it is veggie only I knew it would be awhile till I get my meatloving men to go with me.
Finally, due to the food truck festival outside it was my chance whohoo!
Walking in I had expected it to be a bit (ok, ALOT) different.
It was dingy, dark and not welcoming at all.
Knowing that their happy hour special was their «famous» fried for $ 1 I thought I would at least get those, but after seeing how pale, plain and greasy, not to mention a tiny portion they were I decided against them.
I wanted a veggie burger, but again seeing they use Luna Burgers which I eat at home, there was no need to pay $ 8 for one.
I read through the rest of the menu and decided its not worth trying.

I’ve had mixed experiences here.
This last time, I fell madly in love with my vegetarian corndog brat. The fries were absolutely swimming in grease (I mean pooling in the bottom of the basket, yet still cold)…after they were completely forgotten from my order. On my previous visit, the fries were great but the luna burger lacking.
*Of note: my carnivorous +1 actually enjoyed the luna burger– he said he wouldn’t do it for life but that he actually liked it. That’s sayin’ a lot, folks.
The beer selections were great!
I love that the business is willing to partner with local non-​profits. That’s what keeps me coming back. So far, I’ve been here for Friends of the Shelter (dogs/​cats) and Columbus Gives Back/​MidOhio Foodbank.
Park on Parsons close the the pub and preferably under a light.

Yum!