Harvest Pizzeria

Nestled in the heart of downtown Historic Dublin is one of our favorite spots, Harvest Pizzeria. My husband and I have yet to find another local pizza restaurant that can rival the fluffy, airy, crispy crust that Harvest produces. We’ve even tried to re-create their Roasted Garlic pizza (our fav) at home but always come up short.

So when I decided to finally launch my blog this fall, I thought it would be very appropriate to kick everything off at this brick oven pizza joint that prides itself on using locally sourced ingredients.

We’ve been here sans-kids so we knew the food was good. We were more interested in the options offered for kiddos and whether we felt comfortable sitting through a meal with them there. (Are people glaring at us? Does our server seem visibly annoyed? All the normal red flags that us parents are looking for whenever we enter a public establishment.)

We went on a weeknight around 5:30 p.m. The restaurant is surprisingly big — with the kitchen and pizza oven in between two large dining rooms (one that includes a really fun looking bar that we would love to check out someday when we have a babysitter scheduled). We were seated immediately (win!) and were quickly greeted by a very friendly server who didn’t seem bothered at all that her four-top included two little people.

We had our order ready to go within three minutes. We’ve mastered the art of making split dinner decisions as we are often running on borrowed time. One minute could be the difference between eating happily at the restaurant or begging the server to quickly box up our food while we shotgun our drinks.

We loved the options for kids at Harvest. Not only can they get their own personal pan pizza (mini-version), but they also have some other ‘typical kid-menu’ alternatives. We went with the mac and cheese as is it always a safe choice for my two — and this version did not disappoint. Delicious and creamy yet still simple enough for those picky young eaters (mine included).

The main menu at Harvest also gives you quite a few other options if you don’t necessarily want to go the pizza route. They feature an extensive appetizer list in addition to salads, burgers and a few entrees.

The brussels sprouts are a common go-to for us. And these are not just your typical sauteed brussels sprouts – they’re served in a taleggio cream sauce, topped with breadcrumbs and spiced honey – I mean, need I say more?

Another favorite of ours — the kale caesar salad. Kale is not everyone’s thing – I get that – but seriously, try this. It might be the toasted hazelnuts or the house-made caesar dressing, but it’s seriously amazing.

And when it comes to the main course, I’ve already said enough about the pizza, but you should also consider trying the burger. YUM. My husband is a burger kind-of-guy — and I won’t turn down an offer to split a pizza and burger so we get the best of both worlds. (Our orders never tend to be light!) I’d highly recommend The Harvest Burger – an all-beef burger topped with gruyere, balsamic aioli, cabernet tomato jam, buttermilk-fried onion and arugula. So. Good.

So overall, we had a great experience. We’d go back (yes, with the littles) and we also noticed that many families had the same idea that evening so we weren’t alone in our decision to venture out with them.

With six locations, one even located in Cincinnati, you can likely find a location that doesn’t cause you to travel far.