Best Casual Restaurants in Short North - Arena District

Service wasn’t great. Seemed like a good place to watch multiple games.

We had great service, staff was friendly, food and drinks delish! Recommend vegetable sushi roll and pear maple amaretto sour. It is a loud and lively atmosphere which didn’t bother us, but maybe not for everyone. Pricey, but that’s expected.

Had dinner at SoCal recently and really enjoyed it. The sushi was fresh, the burger was juicy and flavorful, and the steak was cooked just right. Everything we ordered was solid. The atmosphere leans toward a younger crowd, but it wasn’t too busy during our reservation, which made for a relaxed and enjoyable experience. Service was friendly and efficient, with no long waits. Overall, SoCal is a great spot for a casual night out with good food. Would definitely come back!

If you’re gluten free - this is a great restaurant to visit!! Basically everything on the menu (with some exceptions) could be made gluten free, and they even offered a GF bread which was delicious. And the nice part about this also was the fact that they didn’t up charge for GF options like many other places I’ve gone to do!! It’s the little things that make the experience so much better.

Our waitress was amazing! She was very attentive, made great suggestions, & went above & beyond for our birthday celebration. We recommend the eggplant parmesan, margherita pizza, arancini, and the Berry Blast cocktail. The birthday girl got a free dessert & a spiked strawberry with a huge “sparkler” lit up to commemorate the evening. This was our first time here & we will be back!