Uptown Cafe — Restaurant in Bloomington

Really disappointed in our first experience at Uptown. I had heard so many great things about this restaurant and have wanted to go for the year and a half we have lived here. We decided to go this morning for brunch to celebrate a new year and my husband’s second semester in his master’s program.

When I asked for recommendations from our waitress, she seemed put off and was unable to tell me items that she personally liked. For drink recommendations she said, “Yeah, we have lattes and regular coffee is okay too.” She then told us what items on the menu were popular. I went with the Eggs Maryland and my husband ordered the Huevos Rancheros.

The coffee was less than average. My Eggs Maryland was served with cold potatoes and was $20 for a crab cake with an egg on top. Considering I was just on the west coast for the holidays and got two crab cakes of equal or better quality for $12, this feels terribly inflated for food that wasn’t what I will remember as “a good meal.” I didn’t taste my husband’s dish, but he said it was one of the worst dining experiences he has had in Bloomington.

On top of the disappointing food, our server seemed to feel we were interrupting her day— put off when we said it was our first time at the restaurant and asked for recommendations (something I do for every restaurant I visit), hastily dumped coffee on our table while refilling our mugs, and when we asked for ketchup for my toddler son, she seemed irritated and dropped it on our table without saying a word. I have ten years of working in food service ranging from a pop up tent at rodeos to serving at one of the best steak houses in the state. Busy or not, that kind of attitude and behavior in a server is unwarranted.

All this to say, we won’t be returning.

If you’re looking for brunch in Bloomington, I would go to Inkwell on the square, Farm Bloomington, or Feast (I haven’t had good luck with the service lately but the food has always been...

What to say.... The very best meal I've had since Covid began. As a Snowbird who drives back and forth between LA & Toronto each year, usually trying different routes to see the country and explore the USA, have to say staying overnight in Bloomington ended up being a highlight on the journey back to Canada this year. The Uptown Cafe was suggested as a great place to eat (without getting too dressed up). Sure there was a wait, since no reservation was made but it was less than half an hour. From the start the Hostess was excellent, on top of everything, accurate in estimation of wait time, asked all the right questions, all while being professional and very pleasant. Once seated the atmosphere was lively yet not too loud. Our assigned waitress, top notch. Perfect combination of speed, friendliness, accuracy and honest when asking questions. Like many, find it irritating when one asks a server a question and there is no input or "sitting on the fence" response. Our waitress gave a recommendation that was Amazing!! The special of the day appetizer Lump Crab Cake, was as it should be, huge lump crab pieces, little binding it all together and lightly seasoned as to highlight the crab, house made dipping sauces completely different than each other, a perfect accompaniment. The Creole Shrimp!!! Outstanding, 10 very large perfectly grilled shrimp in a creamy, creole sauce that wasn't heavy, overpowering at all, rather light, zesty, bright, perfect. Was so good, would make anybody's taste buds happy, put a big ole smile on my face. Everything from service, presentation, drinks and food was Fab!!

The Chocolate cake.... nope, not going to write a word, if I do, a half hour from now would be in the car heading back to...

I have heard this is a Bloomington staple and now I know why! Service is great here and we had a wonderful experience. As someone who is dairy-free, I do appreciate that they can make those accommodations and our waitress kindly checked on dishes to make sure I can have them. Additionally, it’s a rather busy restaurant so I highly recommend reservations, especially on Friday evenings. If you’re looking for a good bottle of Pinot Noir to try, I suggest Foris. It was picked by my father-in-law and it’s a smooth, more of dry than sweet wine. Overall, a must-try if you’re on the lookout for a bottle of wine to drink. For appetizers, we ordered a pumpkin winter salad and the goat cheese bruschetta with andouille and caramelized onion. As for our main dishes, we got the skuna bay salmon, uptown jumbo lump crab cake, and the seafood gumbo. All of it was delicious and flavored well! I’ve never had gumbo before and thought this one tasted amazing that I often think of it. It was seasoned well and had a nice proportion of rice to soup so it was hearty but not heavy. It also had shrimp, mussels, crawfish, and scallops in it. As for desserts, my husband and in-laws got the persimmon pudding and I got the raspberry sorbet. I will say the sorbet tasted like it was homemade and it had just the right amount of sweetness and tart to it. I thought the powdered sugar and mint on the dessert was also a nice touch. Ultimately, if you’re looking for cajun/creole here in Bloomington, this is the place to go! Plus the espresso here...