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    Lala's Cafe

    4.5 (17 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

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    Cafe a la olla
    Katherine C.

    This hole-in-the-wall spot is one of my favorite finds so far in 2021! Complimentary chips and salsa are the first items to come out- a spicy fresh tomato salsa, a smoky spicier pureed red salsa, and a mild avocado salsa. We ordered the following: Taco with chicharron en salsa verde - this was my favorite item, so full of flavor and textures. The chicharron is definitely not crunchy anymore (more like crunchy gone soggy, so not for everyone) but it has soaked up so much delicious flavorful salsa verde it made a great taco filling Empanadas de chicken tinga - the empanadas are made of (I suspect) the same corn mixture as the tortillas/huarache, but thicker and then fried. Definitely the most filling of the bunch. The chicken tinga was so moist even though it was white meat. Huarache with chorizo - This is like a thick corn tortilla with refried beans, meat, and cheese. I preferred the tacos to this- a little too much carbs for me. The cafe a la olla was the only thing I didn't like- it's coffee with a strong cinnamon flavor and VERY sweet. I hope more folks try this spot out!

    Menu
    Lilia Z.

    Don't judge by it's cover! Chilaquiles were excellent. Ordered to-go so food looks a little wonky but still 10/10. Went for breakfast but was still able to order anything on the menu. Recommended.

    Menu
    Sigrid W.

    Perfect little family run hole in the wall. It doesn't have the currently trendy decor, but the building has been spruced up with some fresh paint and some personal touches. They do a lot of carry-out business and have a counter where you can order. However, they do also provide table service. The menu is extensive and my little group tried just about everything on there. Even so we were there during breakfast hours, we were encouraged to go ahead and order anything on the menu. I started my day with Cafe de leche, which comes in a giant cup (no free refills though) and it was delicious. Some of my guests had the 'regular' coffee, which comes black and sweetened. Deemed very good by all. For under $2 a bargain either way. We were served chips with fresh salsa, both salsas packed a punch, but the hot was a bit too much for me and should be great for those of you that like it hot. I just had to try the crepes, which you can personalize in a variety of ways. I had mine filled with fresh strawberries and drizzled with chocolate syrup, yumm. Since I also wanted something savory, I ordered the chicken empanadas. They came 3 to an order and were topped with crema and lettuce. Nice taste, a little to mild for me, but tasty. And the dough was so nice and crispy. The Alambre was deemed delicious and a pretty big portion of meat with peppers and onions. A few folks had the Chilaquiles, some with red sauce, some with green. Some with chicken, some with chorizo... all agreed it was very tasty and a nice big portion. The dish though was dessert, fried plantains with sweetened condensed milk... who knew this was to die for? The plantains were done perfectly, a little fried on the outside, smooth and creamy on the inside and that milk was the perfect dip for it. In short, very friendly accommodating service, very reasonable prices and large amounts of quality food. What more could you want?

    Front counter
    Bubs J.

    So my buddy Darron(chef Squid) decided he wanted to try a new spot for his YouTube channel food reviews. I wasn't doing anything, so decided to tag along. I pushed for Asian, but he wanted Mexican. Do walking in, it is definitely a hole in the wall. I would guess family owned. Menu wasn't that large. Most of the menu items were a la carte. He ordered a burrito, which you can see in my photo. I ordered the asada plate. Wasn't bad, but far from great. I'm from Texas, so... Pretty picky when it comes to my Mexican food. My buddy seems to think it's really good. Except he ordered a sangria soda, and they putt chili salt around the rim. He struggled with that a bit, before giving up. Not down with that spice life I guess. It wasn't bad. That's it.

    Carne Asada Fries and Chicken Burrito
    Krystal A.

    The food was amazing and priced for value! We split the carne asada fries and chicken chipotle burrito ($5.99 for the burrito) I wish the table would have been cleaner when we sat down and labels on their sauce bottles might be a nice touch since the staff is not fluent in English. They did not hear us order the other burrito, but we had plenty of food and it was delicious so we plan to be back regardless. If they can manage the front of the house a little better (give me a call for help Lala, I'm willing!) this place could go big time. Next time maybe we will get breakfast? I appreciated the spacing and no wait, so definitely a good find! They have a food truck as well. Ignore the area...

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    11 months ago

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Amazing authentic food, the chilaquiles verde are delicious! So is the cafe de olla. Loved it all.

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    4 years ago

    I got the steak, & eggs with chilaquiles. And it was delicious! I will be back, for sure! :)

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    8 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Definitely one of my favorite hole in the wall type places, authentic and amazing flavors!

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    7 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    Milktooth

    Milktooth

    4.1
    (1.7k reviews)
    2.9 mi
    $$

    I don't mind leaving a 20% gratuity--in fact, I often choose to leave more when I receive excellent…read moreservice. However, I was disappointed that a portion of the automatically added 20% gratuity will be going to Jess W. I expected better service, especially with gratuity already included. When I asked if I could purchase a side of hash browns, I was willing to pay the additional charge. Instead, I was told there "was only enough for the hash browns on the burgers." The response felt dismissive, and there was no effort to see if another option was available or to provide a more customer-focused explanation. I understand that menu items may have limitations, but good service is about how those situations are handled. Unfortunately, the level of service I received today did not meet my expectations. I hope this feedback is shared so future guests have a better experience. Food was excellent, but go someplace else if you are looking for better service.

    One of my longtime go-to brunch spots in Indy has been Milktooth, and I'm happy to report the…read morerecent transition to "Arleen's" hasn't changed the things I've always loved about the place. Same great staff, same cool space, same open kitchen where a party of one like me can grab a counter seat and watch the chefs do their thing. I've honestly always enjoyed that part of the experience. Today I had the avocado toast with feta and an egg on top, and it totally hit the spot. Earlier this week I tried one of the newer menu items -- fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, plus a sample of jalapeño cornbread and Asian slaw. Incredible comfort food. And as someone who normally isn't much of a slaw person, I was surprised by how much I loved it. They also tried to tempt me with the roast beef special, which honestly looked great, but at 10:30 in the morning I just couldn't fully commit to roast beef yet. Maybe next time. The new name is a nice tribute to the owner's mother, Arleen, but thankfully it still feels like the Milktooth so many of us have come to enjoy over the years. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't been in awhile.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Raclette grilled cheese
    Raclette grilled cheese
    Outside seating

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    Outside seating
    Taxman CityWay

    Taxman CityWay

    3.9
    (346 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    $$

    We came during happy hour on Sunday and we had a great time. This place has plenty of seating…read moreindoors and outdoors. The servers are also friendly and attentive. The apps were reasonable prices and filled us up. We enjoyed the drink specials as well. Not pictured are the chicken bites with curry ketchup. While the chicken itself wasn't super seasoned, it was crispy and the curry ketchup was delicious. After we ate our table played a board game and the server continued to check in on us. Overall a great experience!

    The beer is good. I really enjoyed the Deduction Belgian-style dubbel - a Gold Medal winning beer…read more I am very sad about the food and service, though. I will cut some slack on the service, however - I arrives after what seems to have been a very atypical rush of Journey fans who inundated the place before heading to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The staff seemed a bit rundown and slap happy - not really attentive to the bar where I sat. I waited a bit long before I was greeted with a menu, waited awhile with an empty glass, waited with my food pushed away before it was cleared. No one asked if everything was okay even though most of my food was untouched. The food... my salad (house greens) was a great little salad! I say this despite finding a hair on the plate when I was about 2/3 through. My mussels and fries were not great. The fries were mid - they tasted kind of overdone or as if the oil were old. The mussels were actively bad. The portion (an app) was pretty small. There was hardly any broth/wine and they weren't piping hot. Also, they were actually not tasty and the texture was rubbery. They remained in front of me, uncleared, even after I closed my tab. They did not smell good. I don't anticipate being sick but I do anticipate being hungry.

    Photos
    Taxman CityWay
    Taxman CityWay
    Beer flight

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    Beer flight
    Cafe Patachou

    Cafe Patachou

    4.3
    (1.5k reviews)
    2.0 mi
    $$

    first time having a croissant french toast and it was delicious but pretty sweet. crunchy on the…read moreoutside w/ pecans and soft on the inside. not sure if it's a seasonal thing but it made me really happy that the side of fruits did not have any melons!! for being the same cost as most of their omelettes, i wish it came w/ one more side or be priced at $1-2 less. cute spot in indy close the convention center and great service. would come back again next time i'm in town!

    I wanted to like this place more- the food was good, but everything else made it feel not worth it…read more Went to brunch with some friends on Saturday morning and although the crowd suggested a long wait, they said it would only be 15 minutes. Great! And they stuck to that- we were seated on time, but then the issues started. We were sat at the same time as another table of 4 next to us. We got our menus and put our drinks in... and then waited, and waited... I got a hot chocolate that wasn't even hot when I sipped it, and tasted pretty bland. My friends got coffees that they liked, but our waitress seemed so annoyed to be working there! She was very curt and I understand if you're busy, but maybe try for some customer service... We ordered our food (as did the table next to us) and waited soooo long, like 30+ minutes, and we were considering flagging down the wait staff to ask about it, but our waitress never seemed to even be around to ask questions... anyway, we finally got the food, and it was tasty, but I just don't think I would bother with this place again.

    Photos
    Seating area
    Seating area
    Avocado Toast (GF) Minus: picked red onions, and shaved carrots  Add: salmon, and over-medium eggs
    Avocado Toast (GF) Minus: picked red onions, and shaved carrots Add: salmon, and over-medium eggs
    Entrance

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    Entrance
    Easy Rider Diner

    Easy Rider Diner

    4.4
    (252 reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $$

    I enjoyed this event at Easy Rider Diner. I had been wanting to try as I am a fan of diners, dives…read moreand drive-ins lol. I was not a fan of the drinks. I first tried Christopher oaxanao... can't really spell it but was told it sounded like walken? Anyway it was very bitter, took one sip and asked for a different drink, which they agreed to with no issue. The second drink was called no aloha. It was much better but tini wini! Lol I came home and fixed a good old glass of wine! Now to the food. I had honey hot chicken and sweet potatoes (fries) The flavors were perfect. I can't have dairy so I got honey hot dipping sauce . Perfect amount of spices and heat. I would like to come back and try the vegan nachos. The restaurant is designed like a diner. Nice atmosphere. Throwback music. It's right next to a concert venue.we got tickets to several concerts. Don't know if every customer gets that or it was only for the yelp event. event. I am interested in having brunch next time. Overall pretty good and fun night out. Don't think it would make Guy's pick list tho :)

    We went to Easy Rider Dinet for dinner and it was just as good as brunch! Customer service 10 out…read moreof 10. Food 10 out of 10 ambience 10 out of 10. Easy Rider Diner is easily in my top 20 restaurants. The food is always amazing. If you think you have had steak fries before you really need to try theirs because they are out of this world. So many flavors going on, all complementing each other. The jalapeño cornbread was really good as well. It's a huge portion!

    Photos
    Mac & Queso topped with pork belly.
    Mac & Queso topped with pork belly.
    Chef Ricky Martinez
    Chef Ricky Martinez
    Baked Eggs - A Mexican take on Eggs in Purgatory with chorizo and pico de gallo

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    Baked Eggs - A Mexican take on Eggs in Purgatory with chorizo and pico de gallo
    Yolk - City Way

    Yolk - City Way

    4.1
    (901 reviews)
    2.5 mi
    $$
    Gluten-free friendly
    Vegan friendly

    We were looking for a good place near the convention center and stumbled here. It's a regional…read more'chain' in 4 cities in the U.S. The inside (especially the line of small tables for two) reminded me of an egg carton. The lighting over the tables are oval shaped as an egg and the inner parts of the light resemble an egg yolk. Cute play on the theme. Our server was very friendly so that was a good start. I had the southwestern salad with buffalo chicken. It had corn and tortilla strips (which I left off), black beans, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and bleu cheese dressing. It was super fresh and very flavorful. The chicken actually had a good buffalo flavor which many claim to have but don't. We also tried the Nutella crepes with bananas, strawberries, whipped cream and Nutella. In addition to being very large, it had a great taste and was very fresh. Another hit for sure. The avocado toast with salmon was really good. The flavors were spot on and as with the other food, very fresh and well prepared. The brisket burger patty melt was also done perfectly. The brisket patty was a perfect medium and the onions were grilled just right. We opted for mayonnaise instead of the Thousand Island dressing it comes with. The other dressing may have been good but the mayo really paired well. Finally, the club sandwich was again prepared perfectly. Fresh meat, perfectly toasted bread (some places under toast and many over toast) - it was quite tasty. The French fries were fried so that they were crispy (but not overdone) on the outside but soft inside. We were very pleased with The Yolk and would definitely return if we come back to town in the future!

    I was a disappointed by this restaurant…read more For context, I got an egg white breakfast sandwich and they cooked the avocado into the egg and it was really disgusting. I also got a side of egg whites, but they were cooked in that butter spray and didn't taste fresh. The cheesy grits were OK but not very flavorful. I also got a Matcha, but it was pretty watery about a two out of five stars. I will note that the service was good and the staff was friendly.

    Photos
    Yolk - City Way
    Yolk - City Way
    Yolk - City Way

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    Bluebeard

    Bluebeard

    4.4
    (1.4k reviews)
    2.9 mi
    $$$

    FLAVORFUL RESTAURANT IN A HIP PART OF INDY…read more======================================== My daughter-in-law recommended Bluebeard for dinner on Monday, June 22, 2026. I would have to say this restaurant is my favorite in Indy right now after one meal. Most of the things we shared were amazing and for a complete description please refer to my photo of the menu. We ordered the following: Burrata with Amelia's bread as an appetizer which was delicious. Gem Salad - This was amazing and I could eat it every day of the week. Stacci house made pasta - This was a big hit and I would order this every time. Hanger Steak - My husband, aka the picky eater, loved it. I didn't try it, but everyone seemed to like it. Chicken with a few dumplings - We all loved this. Three desserts to share: a cheesecake with fruit on top, one a bread pudding and a chocolate crisp. I ordered a delicious Monsoon Season cocktail with song cai vietnamese gin, cocchi americano, st. george thai basil eau de vie, elderflower, lemon and basil oil. My son and I also ordered glasses of Port after dinner. The service was great and I loved that they were playing really good rock music like Soundgarden and others. There are lots of antique typewriters above the bar and a cool print of Kurt Vonnegut by the bathrooms. I am looking forward to going again the next time my husband and I are in Indy visiting my son and daughter-in-law unless they move out of state.

    I got caught in the 3 pm lunch cut off again. Got some charcuterie and it 2 good cheese prosciutto…read moreand that kinda gross upscale baloney I forget the Italian name. Not a fan. The bartender also was really acting pained to do anything and even looked mad when I closed out my $40 tab. Indiana is missing the Midwest friendly thing with service almost everywhere

    Photos
    Draft Taps
    Draft Taps
    Brussels SproutsBrussels
    Brussels SproutsBrussels
    Hangar Steak

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    Hangar Steak
    Love Handle

    Love Handle

    4.2
    (414 reviews)
    3.2 mi
    $$

    Met up with two friends for brunch at Love Handle and it absolutely delivered. Great location at…read morethe end of Mass Ave near Bottleworks--and pro tip: parking directly in front on the same side of the street is free. The space is big and fun, with a large dining room, an old-school video arcade game, interesting art, and a big screen playing movies, which adds to the laid-back, quirky vibe. It's counter service with clear menu boards on the wall, making ordering easy. I had the cheesy jalapeño grits with bacon and an egg and... my goodness. So incredibly delicious. One friend ordered the same grits but swapped in fried catfish instead of bacon--also a fantastic choice. Our third went with a classic plate with eggs and bacon, and let me tell you, the bacon is thick and plentiful. We ordered a side of fries for the table and there were more than enough to share. Self-serve coffee with all the fixings is a nice touch, and the service was friendly and welcoming. Fun atmosphere, great food, solid portions--definitely will be back.

    Love Handle is in the best neighborhood right on Mass Ave! It's super close to amazing shopping,…read moreand the vibe inside is vintage diner with an artsy twist. The food just needed a little fine-tuning to really shine. The catfish seemed to have a beer-battered coating that felt a little soft and held onto some extra moisture instead of having that classic light crunch. I would love a bit more flavor baked right into the waffle and biscuit dough--though the gravy flavor was definitely a win! Also, the grits lean heavy into jalapeno notes rather than a creamy, cheesy base. It's such a cute venue with great energy, and a few little kitchen adjustments could make it amazing!

    Photos
    Coffee Station
    Coffee Station
    Waffle and Pork Belly
    Waffle and Pork Belly
    Love Handle

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    Lala's Cafe - mexican - Updated August 2026

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