Small Business Spotlight: Elliot's Wood Fired Kitchen And Tap
The atmosphere is warm and welcoming. The food is delicious. The people are eager to please.
What more could you want in a local restaurant?
Well, Justin Dager of Elliot’s Wood Fired Kitchen and Tap says there’s always opportunity to be better. It’s that philosophy that has helped the locally owned restaurant grow from one location in Newark to locations in New Albany, Powell, and Pataskala too.
In Pataskala, Elliot’s has a warm, welcoming vibe where you could just as easily celebrate a special occasion as you could just hang out and enjoy a slice with friends. “Come in a t-shirt or a suit and you’ll fit in. It’s a fun atmosphere with good music and tv’s. This is a place you can bring your kids, have a cocktail and feel like you had a great experience,” Justin said
Elliott’s is known for more than their atmosphere. In fact, their menu of quality, handmade food offers something for everyone. People talk about their homemade meatballs in marinara sauce that are so fresh and delicious you’ll be sure someone’s Italian aunt made them just for you. Tacos with roasted chicken that was marinated overnight and wood fired, fresh salads that Justin calls beautiful, and rheuben Italian subs with meat fresh sliced that day are just a few of the menu highlights. Their bestseller is their pizza and their number two is their chicken wings. Those wings have also been marinated overnight and wood fired. “A lot of places just dunk theirs in a fryer and serve but we put a lot of time into making ours the best around.”
They also offer a good selection of gluten free and vegetarian options.
Justin talks a lot about ingredient quality. For example, the double zero flour they use for pizzas has no preservatives and has such low gluten levels that Justin says it is as close as possible to being gluten free without actually being gluten free. There’s also an emphasis on fresh, healthy produce and on beef from Lanning’s Foods in Mt. Vernon.
“It’s no secret that food prices have spiked over the last five or six years. Restaurants have no choice but to follow inflation but we do have a choice in the quality. How can we improve our quality and our service so that you want to come back? Everyone has a burger on their menu. We want to have the best burger so you leave feeling like coming here was the best choice,” he explained.
By the time Elliott’s opens for lunch every day, their kitchen crew has already put in a full shift slicing, dicing, shredding, rolling, stirring and prepping fresh ingredients, sauces, doughs and other foods. “A lot of time goes into making some of these things but it’s an investment in our customer,” he said.
With a culture built on respect for others, it’s no surprise that they also are always on the lookout for ways to be the best for their customers. “We always want to be right but we’re not perfect so we always strive to be better. If we make a mistake we want to fix it,” Justin said.
It’s that desire to always be better that keeps Elliott’s updating their menu with seasonal dishes and craft cocktails as well as monthly specials that are personalized to the community. Speaking of cocktails, they have some unique drinks on the menu including the Elliott Old Fashioned, a staple among many customers.
“We love what we do and we hope that we will leave you wanting to come back for more,” he said.
The Pataskala location of Elliott’s Wood Fired Kitchen and Tap is located at 724 Corylus Dr. SW, almost next door to our Friendly Bremen Banking Center. Get their menu, hours, other locations and more information at their website.