Hoyo's Kitchen - Columbus

Columbus has a sizable Somali population, and all too often it flies under the radar for being so insular. People, business and yes, restaurants, are clustered in a few neighborhoods leaving the wider city unaware of the great things in its midst. Hoyo’s Kitchen is a really great chance to break out of that.

I can’t quite describe everything we had. The platters were full of saffron rice, a couple different types of diced chicken (one curried), chicken drumsticks, lamb shanks, and pieces of goat (for which they are known). There were sides of salad and cups of chickpeas and lentils. All of it was beautifully seasoned and tender. “Hoyo” is the Somali word for “mother,” and that idea rang true for our visit. It was like discovering a new type of home cooking. Given the warm welcome and the rich variety of food, we’re already planning return visits.

This place was amazing! The owner actually sat down with us, and helped us pick our lunches. He even explained what Somali cooking was. I had a terrible experience with goat at another resturant( not related and I was hesitant to order it again. He asked me to have faith in him and he assured me his goat will be better. AND IT WAS! Tender, juicey, tasted almost like roast beef. I give this place a million like, and recommend it to anyone. It was that good.

When we first arrived at the restaurant around 7 o'clock on a Friday evening we were the only ones there. The waitress was super slow getting to us and spoke very limited English. They were out of ingredients for two of the things we tried to order. It then took forever for food to arrive and we were hardly waited on when the food did come. The good news is the food was excellent. They gave us a complimentary lentil soup which was great and we ordered three different meals that we shared between four of us which was plenty. we had a goat a chicken and beef dish with rice and all were superb. We had to ask for our check and it took several minutes for the person to ring it up because she did not seem to understand the cash register either. All in all the food was wonderful but behind the scenes they need to work on customer service

Absolutely Delicious!. This place is a true hidden gem, don't let the strip mall location deceive you. Upon entering, we were greeted graciously, and any questions we had about the menu were carefully answered by our very kind hostess (I believe she is the owner). The food was so delicious! Our table ordered a platter, which included two types of meat dishes, and four types of vegetable dishes. The injeera was the perfect spongy texture to complement our entree. Each of the different dishes brought their own unique flavors, and everything seemed to be prepared perfectly not too spicy or oily, and very fresh. I definitely hope to become a regular here!