Bento House

My daughter and I had a Friday night to ourselves while the boys went to an Indians game and we decided to try something new. Bento House opened in the old Boogie Burger space and from what I understand is owned by the people who also own Watami---the all you can eat sushi placed a couple doors down.

It was pretty dead in there when we got there—only one other table. People did come in and out for carry out orders, but it was quiet. A few other tables came in as we were leaving, but still on the slow side. The service was pretty speedy though even though I think there was just one server waiting on all the tables. She was very nice.

Ok, so the most positive thing I can say about this place is that they give you a lot of food for the money. We each ordered a Bento Box with various things in them and they were around $12-14 each. I started with the hot and sour soup and she got miso (soup comes with the bento box). The hot and sour soup was pretty good—it had a nice amount of heat actually, which sometimes can be lacking. I love a lot of tofu in my soup, and there wasn’t a lot, but that’s probably just random. My daughter enjoyed her miso.

In my bento box ($12.95), I had the hibachi chicken (you get a choice of a meat entrée), the crab Rangoon (you can get this or spring rolls, which she got), gyoza, chicken skewers (they come in all of the boxes) and white rice. My daughter had sweet and sour chicken, spring rolls, shrimp tempura, the chicken skewers and fried rice (which is an upcharge) ($14.95).

What can I say except the food was all just kind of ok. It wasn’t bad per se, but there was nothing that I really liked. My daughter enjoyed her orange/passion fruit boba smoothie ($4.50), but other than that, she felt about the same as I did. The chicken on my plate was pretty dry, especially the skewers. The hibachi chicken was really pretty bland. The fried things were probably the best—I liked the shrimp tempura just fine, although it wasn’t the best I have had for sure. The dumplings were pretty good too. The weird thing is, they put the appropriate sauce in the little compartment with the items they go with. I think I would prefer them on the side, as I sometimes like to use just basic soy with some things. My daughter’s sweet and sour chicken was not tossed with the sauce—it  was just on the side, which was also a little strange I thought. Good for takeout maybe to keep it crispy, but in the restaurant, sort of came across like battered chicken nuggets.

Anyhow, glad to see a new place go in there, and that it is independent, but I can’t say I will be rushing back. Has anyone else been?

Bento House

1904 Broad Ripple Ave

Indianapolis, IN 46220

317/280-7770

www.bentohouseindy.com 

Noise rating: 0 bells (out of five) (with the exception of the alarm bell that went off every time someone entered the restaurant.