Sunrise Café - Revisit and New Location

On those occasions when hubby and I wake up after a long night and really want a good greasy breakfast, we often debate where to go—it’s frustrating in this town because often, on the weekends, breakfast places tend to be so dang busy.

For years, my extended family routinely went to Sunrise Café over by the Fashion Mall. A couple of years ago, the space was taken over by First Watch. After a few months of being displaced (although they have other locations around town), Sunrise re-opened at 71^st and Shadeland. My parents now frequent the new location regularly, but for some reason, hubby and I have only been a few times, and I have to say, the last time was just ok. The food is very much the same as the original location, I’d say. The interior suffers a bit compared to the all-wood sports theme of the last locale, now being a large space with fewer tables, and sparse décor. And the few wood-based sports items they brought from the old locale, just look strange now on the stark walls (and are generally pretty well worn). The service is still friendly and fast, and there’s never been a wait at the new location. So, we appreciate that we can pretty much always go get that kind of breakfast whenever we want.

On this past visit, hubby and I both had the basic breakfast—two eggs (we both like them over easy), bacon (ok, or sausage, but I always get bacon), hash browns, and your choice of homemade toast ($8.99).  This place has cooked a few eggs in their day, and cooked our eggs just right—nice and runny. I’ve had some ups and downs with the bacon here, but this bacon was really tasty. Crisp enough and more importantly, had that salty bacony flavor. There is nothing worse to me than tasteless bacon. And you see it a touch too much. The hash browns are well, hash browns. They're my favorite breakfast potatoes and not many people do them around town. They were crispy and I was happy. I like their toast as well—I go for the sourdough. They pre-butter too, although I question how much “butter” in actually in there.  Like I said, this place qualifies as a greasy spoon type breakfast, but I like it.

If you’re looking for a straightforward breakfast without a wait, this is a good place to keep in mind. It’s not going to blow your mind, and it isn’t trendy, but it’s solid.

Sunrise Café

7387 North Shadeland Ave

Indianapolis, IN 46150

317/288-5303