The Warren Performing Arts Center – Foodie Guide

Hungry visitors to The Warren Performing Arts Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, are in luck, as the city is quickly becoming a foodie hotspot. Food & Wine called Indianapolis a “rising star of the Midwest,” Zagat ranked it as one of the hottest food cities two years in a row, and Condé Nast Traveler referred to it as “America’s Most Underrated Food City.”

With all these amazing accolades, it’s clear that visitors to The Warren Performing Arts Center have an incredible amount of delicious dining choices. Dozens of new restaurants open in Indy each year, further expanding what the city’s thriving food scene has to offer. Below are just a few culinary destinations in Indianapolis.

Tinker Street

Tinker Street, just 15 minutes from The Warren Performing Arts Center, is a restaurant known for their bold flavors and seasonal dishes. Their menu regularly changes to ensure they’re showcasing the freshest ingredients possible. Tinker Street offers plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, so guests with dietary restrictions can also enjoy the experience.

Foodies will love Tinker Street’s imaginative dishes made with locally-sourced ingredients. For example, Korean chicken and waffles, and tater tots with caviar are two of these unique creations. In addition to your meal, peruse Tinker Street’s extensive wine list to find the perfect pairing.

The restaurant serves their creative meals in a minimalist dining area with a clear view of the open kitchen. Tinker Street is the perfect restaurant for dedicated foodies to visit before a performance at The Warren Performing Arts Center.

Cafe Patachou

No foodie-friendly city is complete without a fantastic farm-to-table restaurant, and Cafe Patachou definitely checks that box. At first, Cafe Patachou looks like any other unassuming breakfast eatery. But once customers dive into their delectable food, they’ll understand why the restaurant is well-known throughout the area.

At Cafe Patachou, foodies can enjoy an outstanding brunch with ingredients from local, sustainable farms. Specialties include the gluten-free, vegan Cuban Breakfast and skillet-toasted pumpkin bread. Wash it all down with a breakfast cocktail, such as their Lavender Prosecco with cherry-lavender bitters.

You can easily stop by Cafe Patachou for breakfast or lunch, as the restaurant is less than 20 minutes from The Warren Performing Arts Center.

Bluebeard

Bluebeard is an award-winning gastropub located in Indiannapolis’s Italian neighborhood, 16 minutes from The Warren Performing Arts Center. This James Beard semifinalist does its locale justice by serving up contemporary Italian cuisine in a spacious, refurbished warehouse with a beautiful patio.

Bluebeard’s menu changes daily depending on what produce is fresh and in-season. To start, diners can enjoy a beet salad with shaved fennel, basil, apple, shallots, mixed greens, feta, and truffle vinaigrette. Foodies may also want to dive into some ceviche made with salmon, corn, cucumber, salsa rajas, avocado mousse, fried corn tortillas, cilantro, and jalapeno.

Milktooth

15 minutes from The Warren Performing Arts Center is what was called “one of the best restaurants in the world” by Condé Nast Traveler. Milktooth is a breakfast spot born in Indianapolis, founded in 2014 by a husband and wife team.

Milktooth’s ever-changing menu brings unique creations to life using seasonal ingredients. Breakfast options include a sourdough pearl sugar waffle with salted honey pistachio butter and magnolia maple syrup. Meanwhile, cheese lovers will adore Milktooth’s Gouda and raclette grilled cheese with black truffle honey, cranberries, and walnuts. As you can tell, these inventive dishes are like nothing you can find anywhere else.

Mesh on Mass

Mesh on Mass is an upscale dining experience that has received multiple awards over the years from OpenTable, TripAdvisor, and TrekBible. Like any top-notch restaurant, Mesh uses ingredients from nearby farms, and sources its produce from their restaurant group’s own greenhouse.

Mesh’s diverse menu is known for its large, shareable plates. For instance, is the Kung Pao Calamari with chili-garlic sauce, ginger-soy slaw, and sesame seeds is among the most popular. For brunch, Mesh offers dishes like BLT Deviled Eggs and shrimp and grits, which can be paired with a signature Mesh bellini.

Their atmosphere is warm and welcoming with burnt orange and cream-colored walls, red chairs, and large windows that let in lots of natural light. Just 10 minutes away from The Warren Performing Arts Center, Mesh is the perfect place to enjoy an amazing meal.

St. Elmo Steak House

One of the most famous restaurants in Indiana is St. Elmo Steak House. This old-fashioned eatery has been a local staple since 1902. St. Elmo offers superior service and superb steak, making it a quintessential American steakhouse.

St. Elmo has satisfied customers for more than a century, including politicians, business people, and other influential citizens. The decor in their large dining room transports you back to the early 20th century with dark, wood-paneled walls and red Tiffany lamps. This upscale dining experience paired with excellent food makes the price tag worth it. You’re experiencing one of the best steakhouses in the country, after all.

Order St. Elmo’s shrimp cocktail to start. This appetizer is among their most popular dishes, and Travel Channel once named it the “World’s Spiciest Food.” After clearing your sinuses with the shrimp cocktail, it’s time for the main course: an amazing steak.

The steaks are cooked to absolute perfection, which is what maintains St. Elmo’s stellar reputation. It’s this legendary status that makes St. Elmo a must-visit for foodies in Indianapolis. Luckily, it’s less than 20 minutes from The Warren Performing Arts Center.

This list only scratches the surface of restaurants that foodies will adore. You can feel good about what you eat, since so many of these amazing restaurants serve locally-sourced, sustainable food. The emerging Indianapolis food scene is only getting bigger, and there are eateries to satisfy anyone. For this reason, foodies should definitely add Indianapolis to their list of must-visit cities.