The Block Bistro and Grill — Restaurant in Indianapolis

NO....just NO. First, it does no good to make a reservation as we still had to wait and then was provided a terrible seat next to the bar. Who wants to have dinner next to (and I mean seats almost touching) the bar patrons? Who by the way were loud and carrying on like they were in a tavern. Next the menu describes the food in a wonderful and inviting way. When ordered the plating is blah, the food was not flavorful and disappointing. The service was terrible and whoever was in the kitchen yelling and being unprofessional really should just go home. NO ONE wants to hear that during a nice night out. SMH, I have come to expect a certain type of service and quality in the downtown area. This place should consider moving to 38th & Keystone where the expectations and quality are more in line with what they provide. Let another restaurant have this quality location. As I read the reviews I am most certainly sure any "good" review is by a friend or family member.

UPDATE Response to Owner Response: I agree that diversity is much needed in the downtown area and I am an avid supporter of all such locations which is why your restaurant was chosen to visit to provide such patronage and support. Your menu options are Very Much in line with my preferred food taste and interest. To say that it isn't for everyone I find a sort of dismissive blow off. Everyone wants good service, hot well cooked food and an enjoyable table that they don't have to listen to yelling and loud offensive conversations. But, as a business you can take constructive reviews as you please. I am only responding as I do not nor will never treat ANY restaurant differently based on the diversity of the ownership. Any review or opinion I express is based entirely on my experience and investment for the quality (or lack of). I wish you luck and encouragement on moving and growing...

Made reservations for Valentines Day after reading the reviews and looking through the pictures online. When we arrived we were sat at a small table in the bar area. The bar top was packed with loud drinking people that were obviously the owners friends as they were familiar with his name. We ordered the salmon, which came with rice and asparagus. I don't know how they accomplished making every single thing on the plate bland and tasteless. I requested salt & pepper which barely made it edible. Additional half of my salmon was not fully cooked. While we waited we placed a drink order from a VERY limited selection, during this long waiting period someone was yelling in the kitchen. (loud enough that we could make out the entire convo) Smoke filled the entire front area, and smelled of burning food.

When we asked about the pics online, we were told that was the dinning area for reservations. We pointed out we had a reservation but was told that it was filled but we could look in there if we wanted. The server was very kind and apologized stating that they had only been opened a week. Apparently the 5 star reviews posted were from friends or just completely false reviews.

Will not be returning, was bad food, bad experience. Very disappointing. Not work the cost of parking...

We ended up here because the Thai place next door, which was our destination, had a sign on the door that the dining room was closing at 8:20, and it was 8:05. The best thing I can say about The Block is that it was open. The server was also pleasant and working very hard, as they are obviously short staffed. We might have had a better experience had we sat inside. The music on the patio was pretty loud, and when the ads came on, combined with the loud motorcycles rumbling by frequently on the street, it was not enjoyable. Even indoor seating wouldn't have helped the food, however, which was more cafeteria quality than bistro. The tomatoes on the flatbread were cold. The entree salad was a very basic iceberg lettuce salad with overly hard boiled eggs and the optional shrimp with the salad were cornmeal coated and fried, which was bizarre. The roasted potatoes were the most successful part of the meal, and they were too salty. On the other hand, it was inexpensive. I would have been happy to pay more for a spring greens or spinach salad. * edited to add photo of salad - I see now it was romaine...