Rick's Café Boatyard — Restaurant in Indianapolis

I'm not even sure where to start with this amazing restaurant. The view? The service? The food? I can go on.

So I'll start with this

When you first walk in, it is busy. It is a bustling environment with all the hard workers running around to make sure each customer has everything they need and more to ensure their time spent is well worth it. There's usually a little bit of a wait, however, the view of the lake makes the wait well worth it. You are also able to sit at the bar and enjoy a drink or two during your wait and enjoy the company of whoever is with you.

The next thing I'll touch on is the service. When you're seated, it may take a minute for someone to get to you. As soon as they do, you are their focus. You are who they are wanting to make happy and it shows. If you ask for suggestions, in my personal opinion, they know how to tell you what would fit your taste.

Following up on that, I usually try to get seated to one of Steve's tables. This gentleman is hands down the best server I've ever had anywhere. He'll laugh with you, conversate with you, and it's always such a pleasure to be around. He'll get down on one knee and make sure you know you are the focus of his attention 100 percent. If you need anything, he's always quick to take care of you. If you go, I highly recommend asking for Steve. You won't regret a single second.

The atmosphere is incredible! The outdoor seating has an incredible view on the lake and just makes the whole experience that much better. I always try to get seated outside. When it's a little chilly out, they have heaters they have set out to keep your area warm. As I've said, it's bustling and busy. Yet you are still amazed at the experience you have with everything you do experience.

Now on to the food. The reason you're there.

Every single time I've ordered anything, it has always come out with perfection. The crab cakes are incredible. I try to order something different every time I go because I want to experience everything they have to offer. Their grilled chicken is amazing. Their steak is cooked perfectly. Any pasta dish you order comes out incredible. I still have yet to be disappointed with the food I order.

If you've made it this far, I'm impressed.

I'll say this. My wife and I go here about every other weekend for date nights. We always have an incredible time. We have the best experience and it's always worth it. Especially with Steve as our server. I added a photo of him on here to not only show who he is, but also to capture how fun he can be with his customers. We always with full stomachs and smiles on our faces as well as something to talk about on the way home.

If you go, I promise you won't regret it. You'll enjoy your time from the time you sit down to the time you walk...

Terrible experience. The food itself was actually pretty good. However, the rest of the problems throughout the meal made it a different situation altogether.

Firstly, a friend ordered a drink, but was told that specific drink wasn't possible (out of an ingredient, but had to wait for the server to return 5-10 minutes later) No problem, ordered something else. Was brought to the table, and happily enjoyed. Second, placed an appetizer order, and the runner brings the two appetizers to the table. One of them is incorrect. No big deal. Waited politely another 10 minutes or so for the correct one. Third, our meal order has been placed by this time, and a friend had asked the soup of the day. Chicken and sausage gumbo, we're told. He ordered some with his meal, when the meal order was taken. When the food arrives, it is chili, not gumbo. The server asked if he still wanted it, because "sorry, they just changed it(soup of the day) on me." My friend says "No, thank you." It is returned to the kitchen, with no further issue. We return to our meal. Fourth, I ordered a crab cake sandwich, which was supposed to come with "Joe's Mustard." I did not receive any. I did not see the server again until the end of the meal, and could not even ask for some. At this point I am becoming irritated. Fifth, when the bill was finally brought to our table, it was very incorrect. It had the things we had ordered, but also included the incorrect appetizer, and the chili that my friend did not want. When it was pointed out, the server made a joke about "you'd think I'm an amateur." Ok, I don't find it funny anymore. I am willing to overlook some things, but at this point I'm not interested in bantering with the server. I would also like to clarify, that it was 3 people eating, and we did everything on one check, and never requested to split it or complicate it. Sixth, on going to the bathroom while the bill was being fixed, I discovered that the bathroom counter was unfinished. When I went to wash my hands, I cut myself on the clearly dangerous and unfinished countertop. At this point, I know it isn't a serious cut, so I settled the bill, made it clear I was very unhappy, and left. TLDR; the food is pretty good, but expensive. However, don't expect to have good service or a usable sink in the men's bathroom. I have never seen the like, except in a dive bar or on a "Renovation-Nightmare"...

I went here for a nice dinner about a month ago, something different, something that would hopefully become a new favorite place to go. Well, it did leave an impression for a couple of different reasons.

When we first arrived, we weren't sure where we needed to go and asked valet. They said nothing and just pointed to the door.

We walked inside, checked in, waited for our table, got seated, and everything seemed to be ok until our server came. He didn't introduce himself at all. He pointed to me and said, "What do you want to drink?" I told him, he pointed to my friend this time, not even asking.

We got our drinks and then ordered. Our server was so disengaged with us that I told my friend I felt like we were bothering him. Keep in mind, we aren't difficult people. We ordered our drinks and our food with no special requests at all. We smiled at him, said please and thank you, but to no avail, still felt like we were an inconvenience.

My friend and I decided we wanted to order dessert and take it home. When we mentioned it to our server, he rolled his eyes and said, "orange." We had no clue what he was talking about. We asked the server what he meant, and he again said, "orange." I finally said I didn't know what the meant, and he said, "Everything is orange." My friend and I looked at each other, and he very rudely stated, "orange. Everything today is orange. Our flavor of the day for everything is orange."

Well, clarification on what he was talking about would have been great! Having a server that wanted to speak more than a couple of words with every interaction would have been great!

We just asked for the check and left with no dessert. The food was really good, but if it's met with unpleasant wait staff, then the quality of food really isn't going to matter much if you don't feel like you're...