We have been watching Blind Owl Brewery come together over
the last few months and have been excited. It looked like a family-friendly
place and it is not a chain, and it is close to our house. We are itching to
have a good locally owned family-type place near us. I can’t say we have found
any that we all agree on so far.
Blind Owl is a pretty big place—the décor is minimal—a kind
of industrial feel-- much like most brewery places these days I think. The main
features are the tanks they are brewing beer in. Apparently they have a great
big outdoor area with bocce and cornhole and such, but we couldn’t get out
there the night we went, so we ate inside. The server was nice enough, but
service was pretty spotty overall—and when I went to the bathroom, most of them
were standing around chatting near the kitchen so I’m not overly surprised.
The menu is pretty basic. Nothing particularly unique or
adventurous. That doesn’t bother me as long as it’s good, but I think you need
to do something to make the food stand out a bit. My kids wanted to order the
homemade pretzels ($7.99) from the appetizer menu, but they were already out of
them for the night (it was around 6:00). We were kind of in a rush, so we just
skipped an appetizer and went on to entrees. I had the patty melt ($9.99), which
was supposed to have caramelized onions, cheddar and Swiss, and Thousand Island
dressing all on marble rye. I don’t know—this just didn’t really do it for me.
When I think of patty melts, I think of a slightly thinner type of burger. This
was a huge patty that was cooked more than I asked, and was very light on the
toppings. Or maybe the patty was just so big, they got lost in there. The fries
are pretty tasty though.
Hubby went with one of their “signature” dishes—the pork
tenderloin sandwich ($9.99). This was a pretty thin one, and was pretty dry.
Honestly, it was almost like a premade fritter. I am surprised it was on the
“signature” area. He had the usual toppings—mayo, lettuce and onions. It was
just an ok fried tenderloin sandwich. Below average, even. He ordered the house
made potato chips with his. They were on the whole good, except when you got
one that was not fully cooked and soggy. Yuck.
My daughter had “The Coop” ($9.99), and I can’t really get
excited about anything about it either. It was one of those big chunks of
chicken breast that get tough and are hard to bite into. And actually, the
smoked gouda and apple slices on top weren’t doing it for me either. I am not a
huge fan of really smoky flavored cheese, so I wasn’t a really big fan of this
sandwich. And the apple slices didn’t help matters.
Overall, sadly, everyone in the family thought this place
was pretty average. And I would say that’s being generous. There was nothing
that made anything shine here. I’m a little surprised that it’s not better to
be honest. They are owned by Lux group, which owns several local places—one is
Meridian. They make a mean burger. The one here was very sad in comparison. Maybe
those pretzels are really good, but we didn’t get to find out. Has anyone else
had them?
Blind Owl Brewery
5014 E 62nd Street
Indy 46220
317/924-1000
I went two weeks ago with a friend. We tried to get the pretzels, too, but they were out of them then, as well. We got the onion rings, which were soggy and lukewarm and bland. The beer was nothing short of very mediocre, too. The outdoor area does look cool, but so does my backyard and I can eat and drink for free there. The only place in that plaza I'll be going back to is Just Judy's (every single Saturday for breakfast, forever and ever, Amen.) :)
ReplyDeletesounds like a similar experience to ours. Too bad, I really wanted to like this place.
DeleteYour review summed up my 3 experiences here. Kitchen out of items (including pretzels each time) and the service was lacking, at best. Girls at hostess stand were helpful, as I had to ask them for refills, etc. I want to like this place but doubt I'll be back for anything other than a guest beer.
ReplyDeletenot sure why they have something on their menu that they clearly cannot keep up with.
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DeleteI've been twice, both times it wasn't very good. For that matter, other than Meridian, none of the Lux restaurants are very good, imo.
ReplyDeleteDon't be sad they were out of pretzels - you saved yourselves $8. We ordered them this past Thursday. They were dry sticks and the cheese sauce that came with it was very runny. You didn't miss anything. Sadly, this review and the three comments are right in line with what we experienced.
ReplyDeleteyuck. Well I guess that's the bright side.
DeleteI've heard nothing but horrible things about the service from my beer geek friends. Two of which said they sat at the bar and the bartender essentially ignored them for huge chunks of time, despite empty glasses. One of my friends even said the manager came over and said "sorry for the slow service, you should expect that for the first 6 months or so while we figure things out". I can somewhat understand if they are too busy and are trying to figure out the appropriate amount of staff, but servers standing around a table and chatting just doesn't cut it.
ReplyDeleteregretably, even Meridian is going down the tubes....I used to eat there quite a bit...but now they rarely offer any "off menu" specials....at least when I go there...if Binkleys is included in this group....they have really declined with the exception of their beer offerings. I offer my observations to the staff....who agree...shake their heads...and offer the usual "what can I do...management doesn't listen to us...it is all about cutting back on expenses". Service is still good at the bar at Binkleys, and everywhere at Meridian....but the indifference of the staff....and very nearly anger and disgust....as they commiserate among themselves...and then whine about how not receiving tips is grating at best. You can literally sit at many of these establishments (not limited to Lux) and watch servers completely ignore their customers, but pay plenty of attention to their phones and fellow workmates....and again...bitch about their tips ???
ReplyDeleteWe went there 2 weeks ago with some of our friends. I think we had a much better experience than some of you here. Our service wasn't the most prompt, but I wouldn't call it terribly below average either. For being open about a month at the time we went I thought it was ok. I had the patty melt just like Erin, and mine was actually cooked nicely with it being quite pink on the inside. My patty melt didn't have grilled onions which I thought was odd since that's usually par for the course with a patty melt. My wife had the same chicken sandwich described in the review above, and felt similarly about it. She ate half, and took the rest home but never finished it. They were also out of the pretzels on the night we went. Seems like that happens with a lot of people. How odd. Next time I want a soft pretzel app I'll go to CR Hero's and know I'll get good ones. We actually got the onion rings instead, and in spite of what others have said here ours were very good. Crisp and fresh and not too big. The breading stayed on nicely too. I also liked the 2 beers I had. I'd probably go back and try it again in a few months, but it wouldn't be a regular haunt.
ReplyDeleteAnyone see this review: http://www.ibj.com/articles/54938-dining-new-binford-blvd-brewery-doesnt-turn-blind-eye-to-food?utm_source=eight-at-8&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2015-09-21
ReplyDeleteNot sure where he was, but it doesn't appear to be the same Blind Owl as everyone else.