Cowell & Hubbard is a very nice restaurant right in the heart of Playhouse Square.... The ambiance is upscale.
I made a reservation for a Friday night at 7:30, and it was pretty empty.
The menu has a variety of seafood and chicken dishes as well as pastas and vegan meals.
I started with a bowl of the cream of wild mushroom soup. It was dotted with olive oil. While it wasn't the best cream of wild mushroom soup I've had (that title goes to ZIngerman's Road House in Ann Arbor), it was good, warm, filling and hit the spot on a cold, rainy night. In addition, they brought out complimentary bread with olive oil and had little bowls of Himalayan sea salt to put in the oil It was delicious!
For my entree, I ended up getting the chicken thighs. Like others have mentioned, they are kind of an upscale take on fried chicken. While the taste was very good, I found them difficult to eat. They were served on a bed of celery root puree. It was kind of like chicken on top of a rich soup. I thought it would have been more decorative than an actual bowl of liquid.
It wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't care for the taste of the puree. It was very sweet. Kind of tasted like apple cider.... I could only eat half as I was still full from the wild mushroom soup.
Prices were a little on the high side, but the amount of food you received for the money is adequate.
Service was fantastic.
They had a full bar and a very nice dessert option that looked delightful.
It's worth a stop if you are in the Playhouse Square area.