Columbus Monthly’s Best New Restaurants: Preston’s: A Burger Joint/Honey’s Fried Chicken & Biscuits
A longtime pop-up delivers craveable comfort food first permanent location.
Preston’s isn’t new to the Columbus dining scene, but its first permanent location inside the North Market, a prime incubator space for new food businesses, feels like an important arrival. Existing as a series of pop-up kitchens and a food truck since early 2018, the burger joint scaled back its presence during the pandemic but seems to have found solid footing with a market stall, and hopefully is here for the long haul.
Named for chef and co-owner Matthew Heaggans’ grandfather, Preston’s has already earned accolades as a citywide favorite. After exhaustive research, Columbus Monthly even named Preston’s the Best Burger in the city in 2019. But in a city rich with burgers, Preston’s stands out for its simplicity and careful attention to detail. Its signature offering is a study in burger construction: a beef patty (made from Ohio beef via The Butcher & Grocer) smashed onto the grill until it forms a pleasing crust, then layered with shaved onion, American cheese, iceberg lettuce, pickles and a special sauce on a potato bun. It’s all you want in a burger, an ideal blend of textures and flavors.
What Preston’s does so well is create comfort foods that are the very definition of craveable, starting with its smashburgers, its french fries perfect for dipping in house-made green goddess dressing, and incredible crispy fried dumplings bursting with gooey pimento cheese.
Preston’s arrival in North Market comes with a bonus: sister concept Honey’s Fried Chicken & Biscuits. The new venture continues Preston’s streak of artfully done eats that consistently leave guests craving more, from the staple chicken sandwich enhanced by lemon-thyme mayo, to a crispy lion’s mane mushroom sandwich, to expertly seasoned fried chicken bites drizzled with honey.
With its new presence in what is arguably the city’s culinary hub, here’s hoping that Preston’s—and now Honey’s—continues to establish itself as a Columbus institution.
Preston’s: A Burger Joint / Honey’s Fried Chicken & Biscuits, 59 Spruce St., Short North, 614-400-1675, prestonsburgers.com