Chef Oya's The TRAP — Restaurant in Indianapolis

I wanted to love this place on the East side of Indy. I love supporting a good black owned spot and I’ve read about Chet Oya and her collaborations so I made this stop intentionally. Outside of the postings about opening by and closing, no one said anything negative about the food. After my experience, I see the mission (statement) but I missed the vision. $50 spent for a shrimp platter, side of broccoli and chowder. The only edible item honestly was the chowder. It was good. I didn’t want to get a 16 ounce cup but this turned out to be one of the best add-ons which sufficed as my lunch so I’m grateful I did. All the reviews were correct about this item. However, as it relates to this buttah - everything else was a fail. The shrimp platter of five different flavors was bland at best. And, to be perfectly honest sitting in a mound of…butter. Not even the a medium grade of butter at that. The only one that stood out was the Thai chili because it had some taste but I couldn’t get over the amount of butter. I honestly ate 10 of the 25 shrimp because the butter was unbareable and you couldn’t even wipe it off - it coats the shrimp in the worst way. I can imagine it coating my arteries. I’m just being honest and this is one opinion - my opinion. I’m not a Indy resident and this may be how individuals enjoy their food but this isn’t tasty, or healthy. Sorry - wait, no, I’m not sorry. I would strongly suggest that Chef Oya consider the health of her community/patrons by introducing them to vegan butter and/or incorporate more fresh herbs and spices for a more healthier and potentially tastier option. I make an amazing garlic butter for my sautéed vegan veggies that would rival this…buttah. My family doesn’t even know it’s vegan - they love it. I wanted to support and I did. I won’t be back. I can’t give this more than a 2 star - and that’s off the chowder. Had I only gotten the chowder, the rating would be a 3 star. The staff weren’t super helpful to me as a first time visitor, they did recommend the chowder and they were also efficient and pleasant. The cashier also provided no receipt so I’m really guesstimating on what I paid. Not a good look. I hope you find this review helpful. If so, please give me...

Was really excited to try this place as it had been featured on several shows and had great reviews online. I was severely disappointed. First we waited in line for approximately 25 minutes to place an order while the young man at the window sat on his phone. There were only 3 people in front of us and they too were waiting to place an order. After 25 minutes the young man announced they were out of potatoes and broccoli and he resumed taking orders. When asked if the price would be adjusted for the items they were out of he said no. Would extra items be given to replace the items? Again, no. We placed and order for 2 plates of crab shrimp and lobster tail loaded and 1 plate of shrimp and legs loaded ($144.00). No explanation of why the price charged didn’t match the price listed. No receipt given even when requested. Now the food.The crab legs were water logged and tasteless. Some of the shrimp wasn’t fully cooked and the lobster tails were tiny and stuck in the shells. They forgot the eggs so basically we paid for loaded plates and each got 1 piece of corn. Loaded per their menu comes with potatoes, broccoli, corn and egg. 2 of us got severely ill that afternoon about an hour after eating the food. Gong to the bathroom and throwing up. I’m not sure what the hype is about but as someone who consumes seafood daily this place was less than acceptable both in taste and...

My husband and I were really excited about this place after seeing the pictures and reviews. But if I'm being completely honest, it looks beautiful but it was missing flavor. We are used to places like the Juicy Crab in Greenwood and the new Juicy Seafood. I know the preparation is different. They use bags and the Seafood is submerged in a sauce and this is more flavors sprinkled on the outside after it's already been cooked. That may be part of the reason why there was a lack of flavor. Also our corn and broccoli were completely or very close to raw. Very undercooked. The crab legs themselves did not taste fresh. They may have been cooked the day before. To be fair, every restaurant has a bad day. I truly believe that we may have visited this place on a day where the food quality was inconsistent with how it is on a regular basis. We also did go very early. As soon as she opened. So that could have played a part as well. In an effort to serve us quickly and that early, we may have gotten whatever was left over from the day before. I'm not sure but, my sister said we need to give it...