Pier 48 Fish House and Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Indianapolis

Whatever you do, do NOT dine at Pier 48 in downtown Indianapolis. After going to try out the new establishment last night for my mothers birthday, we received incredibly slow service and even after manager intervention were offered no solution for the trouble of the 1.5 hour wait(with reservations and barely any other tables). During our visit, I also had a hair in my salad, which since we were sitting outside had the potential to be my own, but since I had not touched my hair at all, I didn’t want to take the chance so I told the manager and he took the barely touched salad back. Totally fine, things happen. We didn’t even ask it to be taken off of our bill. However our main concern was that our server never came to check on us or inform us the status of our food, without us intervening to find or request her. Nothing we complained about concerned the price of our meal, as that was not something that we had cared about, we were fully prepared to pay for any caliber of a fine dining experience.

However, after my mother wrote a review, I published it on my yelp page for the owner to message me stating that he had “documentation” that the “young blonde”(me even though I have brown hair) at our table stated that (I) would “take care of it” and PURPOSELY PUT MY OWN HAIR in the salad(which was the LEAST expensive item, mind you). This NEVER happened. And logically speaking, if someone wanted to have a comped item, they’d probably choose one of the more expensive items on their meal ticket...not the least. I asked the owner for documentation which he stated came from security footage that if he actually watched, would prove that I spent almost the entire meal on my phone, and not speaking. I would love to have the chance to sit down and personally view the security footage they claim to have, to show them how it is impossible for any of their accusations to be true. Not to mention that someone who’s guilty probably wouldn’t be asking to see the footage that would prove their guilt.

I am completely insulted by the lack of respect that this restaurant has towards it’s customers, especially during it’s first week of being open. I was going to post the Yelp review for my mother’s peace of mind, and be done with it, but after being baselessly insulted by the OWNER, need to share this publicly with my friends. Do NOT go to this restaurant unless you want to be insulted and falsely accused of outrageous behavior. As someone who grew up in the restaurant business, this behavior by an owner is absolutely unacceptable. We also were the only table at the time who had a family that included people of color and received a response like this...this whole thing is just fishy. Steer clear.

Not to mention, after I published this review, they posted a FAKE review to try to counteract the claims and coverup their mistakes! This restaurant is a fast failure...

I am adding to my review from four years ago. Pier 48 never disappoints!! Here is my new review: I brought my friend to Pier 48, as we needed to have an important conversation, and also have a delicious meal. Everything was fantastic. We were seated in a semi-quiet area, where we were able to have a discussion, but at the same time enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of the restaurant. Kay, our server, was fantastic. He made sure to time the appetizer, then the main courses, perfectly so we weren't overwhelmed with the food coming altogether (or wait forever). He was so friendly and professional. Mike (the co-owner) made me Turkish coffee. Yes, it kept me awake all night haha, but it was worth it!!

I love Pier 48!!

My old Review: I loved the restaurant, absolutely the best seafood I have tried. All the staff were so friendly and it is so obvious how they are trying their best to be as efficient as possible. We had three servers checking on us if we needed anything. Jade was our server, she was the nicest, she was very knowledgeable and gave us really good recommendations. An owner was present during our visit. She made sure we have the best experience. She explained how most of the choices they offer are family recipes. All the food we tried was AMAZING and so fresh, the recipes are unique, different than what you could find somewhere else. They have a lobster tank, IN INDY. Really good size portions with reasonable prices. The clam chowder is THE BEST I've ever had. It is Kosher: no pork products in it!!!! The lobster roll, is to die for!!! The atmosphere is really nice, each booth has a power/USB outlet, I found this so neat.

I travel very frequently for business and family vacations. I tried the best seafood in Malaysia, Philippines, Istanbul, Boston, Norfolk (VA) and New Orleans. The food here really topped them all. I don't usually write reviews but we really enjoyed our visit and are definitely coming back. I can't wait to bring my father (who is VERY PICKY) when he visits from Saudi Arabia next month, because I know he will...

Edit: you can see the owner has responded to other reviews, but not mine. That should tell you something. The food is decent, but the experience leaves much to be desired. We first went there one night for oysters, and had an awful experience. I received a survey by email, and outlined the issues privately. This led to us being invited to a private menu release party, and we had a good enough time there that I later reached out to plan a personal, private, surprise celebration. Getting the details pinned down wasn't as easy as I would have liked it to be, and the day before, I got a text message the evening before stating that "the cake ordered from their vendor is not carrot, but a very beautiful vanilla butter cake" and said that they "hope that will be okay." I was never given a reason, or offered any discounts even thought it was literally 17 hours before the party was scheduled. Since it was so close to the time, and it was a surprise party, I couldn't exactly show up with my own cake, so I just said that's fine - what else could I have done for the dessert option? The event went really well, my family had a great time, and the server who worked the event was amazing. However, the cake was definitely not worth the $55 +tax I was charged. Furthermore, the restaurant's points system feel like a scam. The automatic points did not match based on what I paid the day-of (464 points awarded for a $431 balance), and when I reached out to ask about the additional points for the $200 deposit I put on the party, I was told that I had points (not helpful at all). I clarified that it should be $631 points total, and have been ghosted ever since. I don't doubt that is because if I got the points I am actually owed since it's 1 point per $1, I would be immediately owed a $50 reward. The tl;dr is if you have the money, and want seafood, go to Oceanaire instead. They have never given...