Dragonfly Neo-V Cuisine is a hidden little gem of a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. It’s not located on a major road, it has a niche concept to it, yet it stands out for having delicious vegan cuisine.

The ‘V’ in Neo-V was originally meant to stand for vegetarian, according to the chef-owner. As it stands, the menu is vegan and the vast majority of the ingredients used in the cooking come straight out of the garden located in the back of the restaurant. This obviously encourages eating only the flavors of the season and forces Dragonfly Neo-V cuisine to change it’s menu frequently-which it does.

The interior is unpretentious but classy at the same time. It has a simple flow and feel, forcing you to focus on the complexity of the menu. Other restaurants in Columbus, Ohio should take note–this is not a 24/7 high-end kind of town with everyone attending the same actors studio troupe. Re-inventing the wheel doesn’t work very well here.

I can’t think of a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio outside of Dragonfly Neo-V cuisine that caters to the vegetarian/vegan crowd so this makes it slightly easier to corner some pockets of that market without competition. The chef makes it a point to let the flavors of the seasonal ingredients do the talking and the food is delicious.

Our service was great–I know they are not perfect, and I go to restaurants to enjoy the food first and foremost. I have been to plenty of restaurants in Columbus, Ohio where the service was suspect at best but the food came out and was amazing. That makes up for lots of things in my humble opinion. Get the food right; we will worry about the rest later.

The pistachio crusted tofu was great. I skipped dessert but they had a plentiful selection. They even have a light lunch concept right next door to their restaurant space, called On The Fly. I was given many samples of the garden offerings as I awaited my meal. This is a nice touch. No expectations, just a try-it-and-you-might-buy-it kind of operation.

Vegan restaurants are few and far between in this beer and pizza kind of town so to have a place like Dragonfly Neo-V Cuisine right in the heart of this city is a nice touch. The meals are hearty, I wasn’t hungry after an hour, and I felt great about supporting the local community. I’ll be back for the vegan fare for sure.