Even before we stepped through the doors of Mercury Diner, we were saying aloud that we haven’t visited this cosmic-themed breakfast spot often enough. And within a couple minutes of being seated and looking over the menu, we realized we were absolutely right. We hadn’t landed at the diner since it first opened in late 2022, and clearly we’ve been missing out on its fun and generously portioned breakfasts.
For those who don’t know it, the Mercury Diner sits on Parsons Avenue just down the street from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Its space was originally The Crest Parsons, which closed up and became the diner about three years ago.
The long space features a giant, rectangular bar; high top tables; and plush red booths.
They feature a full bar with cocktails, plus coffee, pop, iced tea, and non-alcoholic drinks. We started with an iced tea and a nitro cold brew.
Plus a good old fashioned cup of coffee.
They feature a range of colorful NA options, too, like a Cherry Lime Ricky, Ginger Pear Spritz, or the Galaxy Lemonade pictured above.
One of their signature dishes are the giant pancakes, so we ordered a couple for the table. And let me tell you: one would have been more than enough. These huge golden discs easily weigh a couple pounds each; they have buttery, crispy edges and are served with a tiny pitcher of syrup embedded in them.
The Classic Breakfast is equally filling, with two eggs cooked to order, sausage, bacon, excellent home fries, and your choice of toast.
Our teen also add a small side pancake with chocolate chips – it was another butter-topped golden beauty stuffed with chips and served with syrup.
The Big Bang is an all-inclusive meal with two eggs cooked to order (we got some perfect over easy eggs), potatoes, your choice of meat, plus two biscuits with your choice of gravy and cheese.
Two things worth noting:
- Mercury Diner features a lot of plant-based options like a vegan gravy or plant-based bacon
- These are the type of home fries I love (when I can’t get hash browns): wonderfully roasted, cut into chunks, and browned on the flat top
The Egg N’ Cheese Sandwich seems to be a popular choice. They use a house-made English muffin and stuff it with fold eggs, havarti, and Mercury sauce. You can add meat to it as well, so I naturally chose bacon.
The breakfast menu is rounded out with a burrito, hash, omelets, an English muffin loaded with lox, steak and eggs, and chicken and a pancake.
Lunch is served all day as well, and one of our boys couldn’t resist the garlic bread grilled cheese, made with havarti and cheddar, dowsed with garlic butter, and served with a cup of tomato basil soup.
Mercury Diner is open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., but be on the lookout for their Diner After Dark events, where they open late for specialized dinners featuring local chefs.
Mercury Diner
621 Parsons Ave.
Columbus, OH 43206
Web: themercurydiner.com
FB: The Mercury Diner
IG: @themercurydiner_
