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    The Black Sparrow

    3.8 (236 reviews)
    ModerateBars, Pizza, Sandwiches
    Open 11:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)

    The Black Sparrow Photos

    Business Info

    THE BLACK SPARROW ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Hipster
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - The Black Sparrow

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    House Cocktails 12.31.25
    M. Spencer H.

    This is such a fun place to come. They have a food menu they keep refreshed, and always have fun drinks going. Really a fun spot to come to ring in the new year. They had a band and a dance floor going. Service was really friendly. The Personal Jesus was an interesting beverage, I love seeing pear liqueurs on the menu anywhere so it's definitely worth a try.

    Aaron B.

    Tasty fish and chips and a good pepperoni pizza with really large pepperoni. Service was friendly and fast. And the interior had a nice lived in vibe. Good place for someone who wanted good beer and to be able to have a conversation (rather than well drinks and pounding subwoofers).

    Banana Foster Pancakes
    Stephanie C.

    I went to The Black Sparrow for the first time for their monthly brunch. The food was amazing and exceeded my expectations. It was very busy but we were sat quickly and the servers were very nice.

    Black Sparrow's Oyster Special is amazing!!  Plus the staff is always great up at the bar. Come check it out.

    Black Sparrow's oyster special was amazing! Check it out. Plus the service at the bar is always great.

    Gyro
    Jason N.

    Meh, food was just ok. The service sucked. In fact one person in our group left because the server was just so unfriendly and rude. I had the gyro. I didn't care for the meat they used. The fries were not bad but I must have got the last scoop of the bin because they were all very small. Some of the other items ordered looked really good. My buddy enjoyed his burger. If I lived in the area I would give them another chance.

    Chinmay White ("tripel")
    Bill M.

    We had an extra special surprise with today's menu: Two of our favorite soups. Split Pea w/Bacon and Potato with Sausage. We ordered both and shared. They were awesome! I always enjoy the Chinmay Ales here this time I ordered the white ("tripel"). John had the pork tenderloin sandwich and I indulged in the Lamb and Couscous special. Black Sparrow always has intriguing specials and their beer selection is top notch!

    Store front
    Jay J.

    The Black Sparrow is a good bar and restaurant in downtown Lafayette IN. We ate there for lunch. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, and the service was good and attentive. They have two sections for indoor seating (at and around a large bar at the entry and several tables in the second room) and outdoor seating in front of the restaurant. I had the pork tenderloin sandwich (good - 7/10) and the chorizo potato soup (excellent with some good spice - 10/10). I recommend The Black Sparrow if you are looking for a good meal in a relaxed and casual atmosphere.

    2023 version of El Diablo pizza. Good ingredients, good flavor, but the toppings slid off the crust.
    Andy R.

    Revisiting the sparrow after a long absence. Still quirky and goth-like in a good way. Overall 3.5 stars. This visit had a helpful server who was pleasant and knowledgeable about the menu. The pizza quality is still good but a fraction less than I remember. BS isn't on my regular rotation anymore but it remains a Lafayette staple. They still have good beer selection, interesting cocktails (e.g. the Corpse Reviver), and many other unique menu items.

    Cuban was epic
    Lauren R.

    Wow! What a great lunch. Cuban was so on point and delicious. My friend enjoyed her gyro too. Fries were worth it and I'm not a big fry person. Seating could be more comfortable, but the food was so good. Can't wait to try more! Also, this is a bar with rock vibes. Makes it even better.

    Chicken sandwich and fries
    Daniel G.

    Had another great meal at the Black Sparrow. This has become a Lafayette favorite of mine. Great chicken sandwich, very crispy fries, and great service with local, friendly touch.

    Rose

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    1 month ago

    We love the Sparrow and are here at least once a week. Great food and service always!

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    9 months ago

    Excellent place super nice staff very personable! Katie doesn't support the troop (inside joke)

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    3 years ago

    Lots of good bar food options here but the beverages offered here are great--tons of variety.

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    1 year ago

    Bacon wrapped El Diablo pizza are amazing!!! Super cool environment to hang out in would recommend it to all my friends.

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    3 years ago

    Delicious food and pleasant dining experiance. Try the El Diablo pizza, highly recommended.

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    3 years ago

    One of the best restaurant in the Greater Lafayette area!! I'd drive six hours for the goat cheese (oh wait, I do! ;)).

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    Boiler Up Bar

    Boiler Up Bar

    4.0
    (22 reviews)
    0.9 mi

    Prices are hoping visitors and Purdue tourists cannot go more than a mile from campus. Sadly the…read moremenu has wildly bloated numbers double what many similar restaurants offer, Town and Gown, Bistro 501, RedSeven deliver and reach above expectations unlike the dull expensive dry roast recently eaten this past week. I cannot comprehend this place, after four visits with friends, unable to recommend any dish or drink as a standout win up against the cost. Let me nail down each dish we had this past Wednesday, the grilled bacon was entirely fine, quite tough but nice fatty flavors, I like Teay's River candied bacon app better. Oyster was good, east coast briny does me right. Our Old Fashioneds were insanely expensive without offering any memorable flavors, balance seemed restrained neither giving a forward bite or a smooth sweetness. Strawberry Lemon sprits was similar, an overpriced kid's slushy. Asparagus was fine. Potato sides surprisingly flavorless, we all couldn't believe how dull the potatoes were. My sister's salmon looked half the size of Town and Gown's while costing fifty percent more and offering half the food. She did finish the ocean protein but left most of the rice. Thankfully the desserts were better, bread pudding somewhat dry and needing a sparkle of that smooth actual pudding but the winner was definitely the key lime. Rich and dense, dreamy and tangy, I got happy! Sure the atmosphere and staff is enjoyable, providing some fresh city vibes compared to the homely and old school Mountain Jacks. However Jacks and Mcgraws Steakhouse both do far better as culinary is concerned. Would be exciting to see this place fix up their inconsistency, out of touch pricing, or they'll be the next to go the way of Bowen Bistro during the next economic crash.

    Lovely, classy bar on Purdue's campus! The drinks and mocktails here are fabulous. They also offer…read moresmall bites here. Such a great place to meet up with people or to hang out solo. Highly recommended!

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    Boiler Up Bar
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    Boilerhouse Prime

    Boilerhouse Prime

    4.3
    (39 reviews)
    2.1 mi

    We went on New Years. Clearly they were slammed and had key employees not show up according to the…read moremanager who apologized profusely. We will give it another shot because of that. We were celebrating our anniversary so it was a special night for us. Our waitress was super but stretched thin so she wasn't as attentive as she probably was on another night. This is a very upscale place. Decor and service reflect that. Good old fashioned steakhouse vibe. Oysters Rockafeller were perfect. Bread was fresh and absolutely delicious. He had American Wagyu Ribeye. I had Steak Oscar. Both were cooked appropriately. Maybe slightly under seasoned as we both added salt which is not typical for us. The Old Fashioned was really good and they had a wide selection of wine/beer and a handful of specialty cocktails. Our 2nd round of drinks was comped due to slow service at the bar and dessert was on the house for our anniversary which we really appreciated. We will definitely go back and try other things on the menu. Our steaks were good but I wouldn't say they were worth the price. $110 for his and $80ish for my Oscar. It was a filet with truffled hollandaise sauce and a scant amount of King Crab. They no longer serve King Crab due to the cost. Strange. If we would pay $110 for a steak why wouldn't we pay for King Crab due but that was a minor detail. I wouldn't say have preferred more crab...give me snow crab. The dessert was delightful. Baked Alaska served table side with plenty of rum. Thank you for making us feel valued and special!

    If you judge your dining experience based on how much you spend, you're gonna love this place…read more However if you base it on the food quality given the price point, you will not be as enamored with it. Last time I got the lobster bisque and it may have been the best I've ever had. I ordered it again and it was terrible. Just terrible. Tasted kind of bitter and was much too dark for a lobster bisque. The side dishes are enormous and they were all ok. The charred broccoli is an entire stalk thrown on a grill. Char on outside, raw on inside. Lovely. My American Wagyu bone-in strip was good, though it tasted no different than prime meat and did cost $95. I would have hoped for better than just 'good'. Family enjoyed most items. I sampled the wedge and really liked that. Probably best part of the meal. Oysters were excellent. Drinks are always good here. They have upgraded their rum list and have some high quality ones now. That's great! Service is always top notch. I will definitely be back for happy hours. The food at this restaurant is good. But when 2 adults and 3 kids drop $800 on a meal, it really ought to be fantastic, not just good.

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    Boilerhouse Prime
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    Spot Tavern

    Spot Tavern

    4.1
    (31 reviews)
    0.4 mi
    $$

    This controversial mural is the work of The Droops, an Indianapolis-based artist collective who…read morewere commissioned by The Spot to do the piece in 2015. It located on the side of the Spot and overlooks their parking lot. It takes up 2 sections of the bar's side wall. The mural is in great shape but as you can see in the photos, its lower park is obstructed by parked vehicles. It is a collogue of random images that include a guillotine, a beer on a folding chair, a tombstone, a skull, a in a bikini with four eyes holding a beer up, a knife, a clown, a bomb, a trumpet, a cigarette butt, a foot, a face being punched by a fist, a hand holding a knife, and an odd character holding a beer while playing a piano. The mural also depicts a naked woman tied to a tree and male genitalia in between a hotdog bun, which caused quite a site as you can imagine. There were calls by the community to have the offensive piece removed, covered up or fenced off. The change.org petition ended with 20 supporters. At one point the Lafayette police issued a warning that artwork was violation of the city's graffiti ordinance. There was a point during all of this that they used a Mike Pence head (who was governor at the time) to cover the male genitalia. Ultimately, the Spot won and the city decided that the mural was not graffiti and did not meet the criteria for a citation. The mural is standing today. Even though there are a lot of images to digest. The artwork is very nice. This is a provocative piece that definitely generates conversation. You can deiced for yourself what your thoughts on the piece are. Parking to get a closer look at the mural is easy, even though it overlooks a parking lot, the lot is kind of tight. There is however, some free parking pretty close to the mural too. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. There of tons of murals to check out in the immediate area.

    Good bar with friendly staff. On weeknights it's a chill place that makes good drinks at a decent…read moreprice. They have a turntable and offer to play records if you bring them in. On weekends it can get packed and they open up the dance area with loud music. The vibe is still good, just a lot more going on. The outdoor area is a great place to hang out for a more chill experience on these nights.

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    Spot tavern lafayette indiana
    Spot tavern lafayette indiana
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    The Black Sparrow - bars - Updated July 2026

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