English Ivy's — Restaurant in Indianapolis

My party decided to go to English Ivy's during Dining Out for Life (supporting Damien Center). We had never been before, and didn't realize how busy they would be on this specific day. When we arrived, we saw a sign that they could only take reserved tables from 5-8pm, due to the immense influx of guests who had thought ahead, unlike myself.

However, when we arrived, we were kindly asked if we would mind sitting outside on the patio. It was a beautiful day, and we were able to join a guest who was already seated at a table.

Despite the extremely busy situation, our server was VERY gracious, checking in on us regularly, explaining the menu, and keeping us apprised on the status of our food. His night was just starting, and I know he was swamped, but I couldn't have asked for better service.

As for the food, we ordered a few appetizers (French onion soup, nachos, and wings), followed by a club sandwich, the Alabama Cuban sandwich, and the tenderloin/scallop special.

The French onion soup was superb. The broth was beefy with sweetness from the caramelized onions. It was so good that my daughter stole my cup of soup, and then ordered another at the end of the meal. The nachos were good, and I would say they would be a highlight in the pub fare for most bars, but was overshadowed by the wings and French onion soup that excelled here.

Everyone in my party thoroughly enjoyed their main entrees. The club sandwich was executed well, with crispy toasted bread and fillings that were fresh. The Alabama Cuban looked phenomenal and my sister, freshly home from living abroad, said she missed a good Cuban. I imagine it was a win in her opinion. My tenderloin/scallop special was nothing short of spectacular. It was served with mashed potatoes. The meat was topped with a chimichurri sauce that highlighted the scallops and beef equally well. It is rare to find a single sauce that will work well with both beef and shellfish, but this did the job nicely.

English Ivy's might have the best pub food I have tried in town. The service was impeccable (despite very trying circumstances with how busy the establishment was). The food pricing was remarkably low. I get that the drinks may be the primary source of revenue for this place, but I still would have expected the food to cost more than it did. For the price, I would have expected typical bar fare. Instead, what we got was top shelf food and service at...

Have heard wonderful things about ivys! Been looking forward to going for the very first time last night! I’ve always heard the customer service was fantastic which why I was a bit taken aback by the experience last night. To be fair it was a busy night the stonewall celebration party was packed and we had a big group. I also want to preface that I work at one of the other 3 gay bars downtown for over 3 years and was a lead bartender at the Irish pub for over 3 years, so I do understand being overwhelmed and busy. We sat down at our table and our server approached obviously very flustered and stressed they were very short with us from the get go. Working in the community both the lgbt and bar industry I recognized our server from coming into my work and gave them a smile and a wave when they walked up as we have spoken before multiple times and been pleasant they immediately snapped at me and said “dont wave at me I’ll get to me when I get to you” and it very much shocked the whole table. When they got to me even apologized I said “I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to wave you down I was just saying hi to you” they didn’t look at me they just shook their head and said “what do you want to drink” very coldly. Honestly it was hurtful and rude, I understand stress and being slammed on the floor and behind the bar, but I could never imagine being rude to a customer like that especially one you know is on the service industry as well. Our table tried our best to be organized for them as well had our drinks ready to order when they arrived and only ordered food when we all knew exactly what we wanted and they were short and snapped at about 3 different people in our group, we weren’t provided menus (luckily all of us besides me had been there and knew what they wanted) and one of our group had to go and get napkins and silverware for the whole table himself. I wish no ill will, but on a night especially like that where you are making a lot of money please just be kind. I still tipped $25 on a $40 bill but I was very taken aback by the service of a place I’ve heard nothing but good things about. I’ll still be back to support our local lgbt establishments as there are so few of us, the food was delicious I will say but it definitely was not the first impression I...

Why is English Ivy's a world class gay bar and restaurant? This old guy who was in the business in San Francisco 40 years ago can tell you why, and I'll keep it simple with power points.

The food is very good and it is reasonably priced. The fries are excellent. So is the booze.

The place is very attractive and the bathrooms are clean.

The 5 TV's in the bar are each set to different interesting channels.

The crowd is very diverse.

One of the owners, Jeff, continually works the crowd from behind and in front of the bar, but he is always aware of the room and keeps the music at a very tolerable level. The music is also good. You can dance and eat to it.

There are lots of windows in the bar and dining room. Lots of free parking.

There are virtually no knats and no ugly bottle cappers to prevent them that look like rubbers, which you certainly don't need in a gay bar.

The staff are professional and you also see lots of kids here which is great.

My only problem is with the wine which should honor the good food. It doesn't. It is one of Gallo's off brands. Gallo, which is the worlds largest winery by volume, and has 99 labels under its wing, sells 35 billion bottles a year. The Gallo family itself is worth $12.4 Billion. They are very proud of their name and their reputation. The one thing they will not do is jeopardize that name. Regardless of the price, you will never see Gallo on a bottle of wine that is not very drinkable. So all they need do at Ivy's is to buy the least expensive wine with Gallo's name on it and it will do the job of honoring the very good food at the restaurant. I know they'll...