The Pour House At Machinery Hall

Reviews

• Brian B.

  star star star star star 28 July 2026

  Pretty much my idea of perfect.
  
  I had a late lunch here on a Saturday afternoon. Traveling southeast from Columbus, by the time you reach Chillicothe (which homes this incredible restaurant), you have officially entered Appalachia. I'm Appalachian and very proud of my culture and the area where I grew up (much further southeast). But the simple reality is that Appalachia is where modern, quality life luxuries utterly disappear - as in, they simply don't exist at all.
  
  So I said all of that to illustrate just what an anomaly The Pour House is. It could hold its own, and even outdo, many celebrated restaurants in any major city, such as Philadelphia or Boston, where I lived for a combined fifteen years, and where I also learned to appreciate some of the finer things in life.
  
  The building, the ambiance, the service, all top notch. The food, unbelievably good. I'll be coming back, for a certainty. I used Yelp to find The Pour House, which I sort of picked randomly. I feel like I won the lottery.
  
  I would have loved to lounge in a Starbucks afterwards, but remember, this is Appalachia, the black hole of things of refined quality. So, the choice was a Starbucks within a grocery store. Uh, no thanks.
  
  For the closest real Starbucks, you're looking at either a 30-minute drive north to Circleville, OH, or about a three hour drive south to Huntington, WV.

• L.K. B.

  star star star star_border star_border 26 July 2026

  I have always been intrigued by Chillicothe ever since I saw the film, The Harvey Girls when I was a kid. Judy Garland was on a train out west and was offered a "famous Chillicothe sandwich" for lunch. If you haven't seen this gem of a movie with Angela Lansbury, do it. It's amazing. But I digress. When our vacation brought us through the charming town of Chillicothe, Ohio, I knew we had to stop for lunch. Guys this place has it all: exposed brick, salvaged wood, a large bar and unique lighting. The building is steeped in history and is honestly beautiful. But let's get to why we're really here, peeps.
  
  Food:
  We all opted for lighter things for lunch since we have to sit in the car all day. Between the six of us, we had 2 salads, 2 soups, and 2 kids meals. I wanted to pick a place to please everyone in the family since we all have different dietary restrictions. Pa got the grilled cheese and tomato soup and it was heavenly. I tried to get a picture of the cheese stretching as he pulled the sandwich apart. It was glorious. He let me try the tomato bisque and it was creamy and delicious. I honestly wish I got his meal instead of my own. Nana settled on the house salad and added chicken. She was kind of disappointed with it because it was supposed to come with more toppings but she only got mixed greens, a long slice of cucumber, and dressing. The produce was ridiculously fresh and it was appreciated, but the dish was certainly lackluster. G got the kid's steak with fries and she liked the flavor, but felt they were both over cooked. E got grilled cheese and fruit and it was basically a school lunch. It even came on a lunch tray (which I thought was cute, but it just made it clear that the kids' meals were an after thought). C had the beer cheese soup and he raved about it. I thought for a "bowl" it was on the smaller side, but it was plenty rich. It was cheesy, salty, and delicious. I honestly wish I got his meal instead of my own. Mine was underwhelming. I got the Moroccan carrot salad and I really wanted to like it. I really did. It had chickpeas. It had dates. It had carrots and turmeric and and orange vinaigrette. But seriously, this could have been so much better. The salad mix was untouched. I feel like the dressing should have been tossed with the lettuce instead of just drizzled on top. The whole thing felt very disconnected. I was expecting so much more. Hopefully, we'll find ourselves back here again to try something else because this place seems like it can do so much better. If the soups were any indication, I'm sure we wouldn't be disappointed a second time.
  
  TL;DR:
  The building is great and I feel like if we got other food, we would have really enjoyed it. They have several vegetarian meals and some can be modified to be vegan, but if you go like we did, save the headache and get the soup.

• Lucas P.

  star star star star star 22 July 2026

  Where do I even start? My favorite restaurant in Chillicothe. Amazing brunch and great service. Their food is to die for. Really friendly staff and never disappointing food.
  
  5/5 stars

• Mike T.

  star star star star star 18 July 2026

  An update: The beer selection is still top notch and the menu has changed. My favorites are the brisket tacos, the wings (BBQ is delicious), and Totchos (nachos made with tater tots instead of chips. Brunch is a nice treat too. Brunchy Tacos!!

• Steve A.

  star star star star star 1 July 2026

  The Pour House might be the best restaurant in Chillicothe. It doesn't have much competition. Other than fast food places. It has lots of beer of course. The food is also good and there are healthy options.
  
  I had the Sixth Sense beer. It's about $6 for a pint. This is a local beer from Jackson. It also has many national brands. There's some crap like Bud Light, but why? It has about 30 beers on tap, so you can find something better. The food menu has improved. It has some healthy choices. There's a few items for vegetarians. I had the Impossible Burger. It's $13 which is a lot but this is very good. This looks like the real thing. It tastes just as good. This is a healthy alternative to barbecue and wings.
  
  It seems okay for lunch. Service at dinner can be slow. This place is much better than most around there.