Columbus’ Flour Modern Pasta Bar Puts a Global Twist on Italian Cuisine

Yash Kishinchand adeptly showcases flavors from other parts of the world at his restaurants. He owns the Indian restaurant Rooh in Columbus’ Short North Arts District, as well as the award-winning Swadesi Cafe in Chicago, which features chai, breakfast items and baked goods inspired by Indian and French flavors. 

In late 2024, he turned his attention to Columbus’ north side to open Flour Modern Pasta Bar, a restaurant connected to Polaris Fashion Place that merges Italian classics with global flavors. In a part of town dominated by mostly chain restaurants, Kishinchand has created something new. 

“We wanted to do something different,” he says. “We wanted it to feel like a breath of fresh of air in the space, something unexpected.”

The walls at Flour are decorated with different wallpaper patterns, with deep pinks and oranges providing pops of color. One wall features a collection of bundt pans and rolling pins, while framed images of fried eggs, whisks and other kitchen items hang on another. As the name implies, pastas are the focus at Flour. 

“Pasta is my favorite food,” says Kishinchand, who makes his pastas in-house daily. “It’s such a blank canvas and you can do so much with it. Every culture has a version of a noodle.”

Kishinchand credits his background as a pastry chef for leading him to pasta. 

“I was the one making pasta at the restaurants because the chefs were scared of it,” he jokes.

Pastas range from Spicy Kimchi Carbonara to Black Truffle Mac N Cheese to the Butter Chicken Alla Vodka that combines tandoori chicken with a red pepper and cashew makhani sauce. While dinner can be ordered a la carte, Kishinchand suggests the Tasting Menu. It features an amuse bouche to start the meal, a bread and salad course, a choice of pasta and a choice of dessert. 

The food is complemented by an inventive bar program, fronted by a colorful lineup of cocktails that rotate seasonally. One of the mainstays is the Cafe Tiramisu Martini, a rich concoction of cold brew, Watershed Distillery vodka and dark chocolate liqueur topped with a mascarpone cold foam. It can be paired with a just-as-decadent slice of Tres Leches Tiramisu Cake, a dessert that draws on both Latin and Italian favorites with coffee-soaked cake, vanilla mascarpone and a dusting of cocoa. It’s a fitting finale to a fun, globally inspired menu.

1540 Polaris Pkwy., Columbus 43240, 614/396-9100, flouramodernpastabar.com

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