The Granville Inn Unveils Renovations and New Menus in Time for its 100th Anniversary

This year the Granville Inn, that handsome local institution on Broadway in Granville, turns 100 years old. In conjunction with its centennial, the restaurant just completed significant renovations to its Tavern and Oak Room dining rooms and released a new spring menu. They were kind enough to invite us out to try dinner and drinks!

The inn was built in 1924 by coal and railroad magnate John Sutphin Jones, who later went on to build Bryn Du Mansion next door. The Inn has been through a few ownership changes over its 100 years, most recently being purchased in 2013 by Denison University and renovated in 2015.

The latest renovations have separated out the more casual Tavern side…

…from the Oak Room dining area.

The Tavern and Oak Room menus differ from each other, in that the Tavern is a little more burger-and-sandwich leaning while the Oak Room features larger entrees.

But both menus are pretty focused, offering a nice variety without sprawling over too many dishes.

The drink menus in both sections are pretty much the same, including a small wine list and cocktails (with a couple non-alcoholic offerings). This is the smoked Old Fashioned made with Middle West Spirits’ Dark Pumpernickel Rye Whiskey.

The Oak Room Paper Plane marries Del Maguey Vida mezcal with Amaro Nanino, Aperol, and lemon.

We began with a pair of appetizers suggested by our server.

The Brussels sprouts are nicely roasted so they’re crispy and covered with lavender honey, crumbles of applewood bacon, and pickled onions.

One of my favorite dishes of the night was the fried buttermilk calamari. They’re wonderfully tender, and flavored with a sweet Thai chili sauce, toasted cashews, mint (I’ll allow it), on a bed of greens.

The entrees cover chicken, steak, pasta, a Moroccan chickpea stew. The Korean marinated salmon really stood out. It’s a sesame-crusted Faroe Island salmon served with a delightful kimchi fried rice, baby bok choy, charred scallion, and an gochujang glaze.

The braised lamb shank was beautifully plated. It was just a tad tough for my taste, but the flavors were spot-on, especially paired with farro, marinated tomatoes, and wild mushrooms with a lamb demi-glace.

We were enticed to try a pair of desserts as well, like this beautiful lemon blueberry basil tart.

And these zeppole, Italian donuts flavored with a little powdered sugar and a side of mixed berry compote.

The dining areas have been very nicely restored, to preserve the historic character of the building while offering some modern dining amenities. And I didn’t even touch on the patio space out front!