After gaining internet fame as actor Will Poulter's favorite Columbus restaurant, Hoyo's Kitchen inside the North Market is continuing to engage with new customers and serve up dishes with warm flavors, inviting colors and healthy helpings.
One recent day at the restaurant's Downtown location, 59 Spruce St., co-owner Anod Hassan greeted customers, many of whom were on their lunch break. As she predicted, by 11:45 almost on the dot a line had formed in front of the Somalian restaurant, featuring a mix of regular customers and newcomers.
Hoyo's Kitchen translates to Mom's Kitchen, said Mohamud Hassan, Anod Hassan's brother and the restaurant's co-owner. He said their goal is to make their food feel welcoming, and the spices are a combination of
flavors diners might recognize from Indian, Persian and Ethiopian dishes due to Somalia's location in eastern Africa.
Katheryne Camelin is a regular who first tried Hoyo's Kitchen about a year ago. She said she likes the spice variety and the traditional Somalian rice they offer.
"If you like spicy, if you don't like spicy, it's got something for everyone to try honestly," Camelin said.
Mohamud Hassan said since Poulter began talking about the restaurant online while promoting his new film, "Union County," they've seen an increase in customers, and many people who talk about Poulter as they approach the register at both the North Market location and the other Hoyo's location in Dublin, 6750 Longshore St.
When the cast and crew had their final day of filming, Poulter asked Hoyo's Kitchen to cater it, and even visited the restaurant multiple days in a row while he was in the area, Mohamud Hassan said. In a recent video with social media platform Mythical Kitchen, Poulter described the flavors of Hoyo's Kitchen as unlike anything he'd eaten before.
"When we last came to Ohio with the movie, we didn't actually check into our hotel when we landed in Columbus, we actually went straight to Hoyo's as a first stop and we just kept our suitcases in the car," Poulter said in the Mythical Kitchen video. "We absolutely love that place."
Holly Coats is a lawyer who works Downtown and frequently goes to the North Market for lunch when she is looking for something new to try. She said she loved Poulter's performance in "The Bear" and had heard about his Ohio film, so was excited to learn that he enjoyed Hoyo's Kitchen so much.
She'd had Hoyo's Kitchen before, but not for a while. She said the flavors there are "bright," and there are lots of options for vegetables which she appreciates. Because of the size of the bowls, Coats said she usually spreads it out over multiple meals, making it a better deal financially.
"I've been coming here off and on for two years and it's consistently been delicious," Coats said.
Dispatch reporter Lilli Malone can be reached at lmalone@dispatch.com or on Instagram at @lillimwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus restaurant's popularity grows thanks to plugs from actor Will Poulter
