Parlor Public House — Restaurant in Indianapolis

I hate to do this but after my most recent experience, and giving them the benefit of the doubt (after reading and hearing about the bad service, going on for YEARS), I can’t keep this to myself. I know the service industry can be tough and people are more likely to take time to complain publicly than to praise, which is not my credo.

I’m new in town and love to explore new places and show love to small businesses! I came across parlor and loved the interior design (on pictures) so I went to check it out.

1st time during the day and a lady stopped me right by the entrance telling me they were closed because someone kicked in the door the night before. So I left, wondering what must have caused such an incident in a nice neighbourhood like that.

2nd time I was invited by a group of friends and we had a great night with live music (a bit too loud for deeper conversations, but it was a great vibe). The service was slow, but friendly and the drinks were good! So I thought, I would come back any time..

3rd time was last Friday for the performance of Bashiri Asad, whom I’ve enjoyed listening to previously at the Cabaret. We were asked to find a seat and the servers will find us. Well.. after 35min a server did find us and we placed our orders. I ordered an espresso martini, my favourite drink, but it did not taste good at all. I asked my friends to try and they weren’t fans either and encourage me to exchange it for another drink. Which I did. Our server was weird about it and passive aggressively asked all of us if no one else wants this drink and then left to get the new drink. When we checked out she tried to charge us for that first drink and when we told her we exchanged it, she ignored it. So I turned to her and told her “I’m not willing to pay for a drink I returned. She left upset and came back with the right check. We paid and left. Shortly after, I realised I forgot my Prada Sunglasses and returned to pick them up: The server was very rude and told me she hadn’t seen them and the couple who sat on the couch at the opposite of us might have taken them. I was flabbergasted that she accused other guest of stealing and didn’t make the effort to even go look for the sunglasses or ask her colleagues at the bar if someone handed them in. Our table looked untouched (our empty drinks still on there etc.) so I went and checked the space for my sun glasses myself. Couldn’t find them. When I returned to the bar the same server was super rude and told me to just have a good night!? Basically kicking me out. What ever tip she received that night, she didn’t deserve it! I reached out to the owners via email asking them to check the security cameras. Resulting in receiving a message back 5 days later stating that my sunglasses were found the same night, but have been sat on, got broken and kept at the lost & found for me to pick up. No apology, no redress, .. but certainly asking me to come back as their guest. I leave this pics here for your own interpretation of what might have happened…

I wish they had chosen a different way to resolve things on a professional level, as I’ve reached out privately instead of ranting about the issue online, but here we are…

Jason’s responses to most reviews on here show that he truly cares, which makes me feel sorry for...

I have not wanted to write this review because I really love supporting small businesses and honestly was really hopeful that they would work out the “kinks”. This place is adorable. Great vibes day or night. And solid drinks. But bad service will really outweigh all of the positives in my opinion. I came here on their opening day at about 3 pm. They weren’t busy yet, but we still were completely ignored while the two people behind the counter chatted. Okay, the place is cute, the matcha was solid, maybe they just needed to work out the kinks. Came back with my husband a couple weeks later for cocktails and had a better experience. (We also knew the bartender so maybe that helped with the attentiveness). Came back again a few weeks later, sat at a table and had iffy service again. Barely saw our server and it took a very long time to get cocktails. They are craft cocktails so I don’t mind waiting but this was way longer than it should have taken and they weren’t slammed by any means. Here’s where we really went wrong… A couple weekends ago we had a large group of friends in town visiting and we brought them here because we really do love the vibes and cocktails here. I’m not joking when I tell you 10 of us were sitting at the bar and the woman behind the bar never said one word to us for 25 minutes. Not a hello, not an “I’ll be with you in just a second”, nothing. When we finally decided to go somewhere else and were standing up putting our coats on to leave she told us with a very unpleasant attitude “if you want to order something you can come over here and order” (to the front counter facing the entrance where you would order coffee during the day). I’ve been there enough to know you don’t order your cocktails there, because there is a server and bartenders at night. And also, even if that’s what was required, why didn’t you say that when we sat down, not after we sat there for nearly a half hour without service. But regardless it was the worst customer service experience and I absolutely regret bringing our guests there. Giving three stars because I think this place has all the potential and honestly I really hope this review reminds them that you can have the cutest place in town but people will stop going if you provide bad/rude service. I will gladly update this review when/if the service...

I am a young music artist staking out the place for my first time. I get there at about an hour before closing (12am) Friday night July 22. I explained to one bartender that I was only there to stop by briefly, and see if itd be a good environment for me to study/hang in the future. It’s difficult finding places to take to study late throughout the week. With that said, two of the three waiting staff turned me away. Quite literally. I was told it was last call, numerous times even after I reassured them that I would not need to order food or drink. I asked the young lady if I had permission to sit down for just a few minutes. (That night I was to meet a business partner downtown, and I wanted to tell her that they would be closing early for the night). I told my business partner that I did not feel welcome there. The young lady on staff then offered to sell me a drink because she said “there was no reason to stay, unless I’ve purchased something”. I told her that I had no problem purchasing something to stay, but I wanted to clarify that is “how they do things”. My goal was not to make them stay open any longer. I had not intention on staying. With that said, this really confused me to be offered a drink after last call. I tried to clarify with her thejrpolicy, and she began to walk away with no other explanation. There were about 4 other people at the bar when I began to explain my confusion to the two bartenders behind the bar. The young lady then interrupts us by saying that she “was not trying to put me out”. I asked her to please not interrupt me. The man who greeted me then proceeds to tell me to “leave because none cares what I have to say. Get out.” When I tell you I have never been treated this way …I was humiliated. I walked past the other people still chilling at the bar, and left with no dignity in tack. How can people treat someone like this? I tried to relay my concern to a manager of some kind, and they refused me that right as well. Needless to say I’ve been crying and depressed from that experience. You never know what people are already going through. That made me feel very small. I will...