Indianapolis, IN 46240
It was a Sunday morning and I decided to go with WJB and RFS to brunch before I had to run errands. For any of you who chose Sprint as your mobile carrier, if you have crappy service in your house, you can call and complain and Sprint will send you an Airave (mini cell phone tower) for free. I learned this in running my errands. I decided to provide you something with something nice, before I rip into this restaurant.
When did I piss off the great service gods? Jeeze. Two days in a row I received terrible service. First of all I had already eaten breakfast, so I just wanted lunch. Too freaking bad! They didn't have anything that resembled lunch there. I can only blame Le Peep for being too crowded and for us choosing a place called the Sunrise Cafe. I guess I could be more angry if I went to a place called the High Noon Cafe and they only served breakfast. You live and you learn. Anyways, I chose to order the quiche and hash browns. As you can see by the picture, you would have have thought I ordered an extra crispy potato pancake and an overcooked egg, cheese, and bacon pie. The texture of the quiche was kind of rubbery. It wasn't fluffy and the top was more done than I preferred. Google pictures of a quiche: golden brown is fine, but the Sunrise Cafe took the brown part a little too literally. I don't even know where to start with my hash browns. Apologies for using the same joke twice, but they took the hash brown part a little too literally. They were the crispiest, driest hash browns I have ever eaten. No amount of ketchup could mask how terrible it was. Should I have sent it back? Yes, but I always have a fear of the chef staff doing something gross to my food. Ever see Waiting? I prefer cheddar cheese as opposed to Fromunda cheese.Back to the service...hell. Can I get a drink order? Can you take my food order? Can I get a refill? Can I just get someone over here to help us? It was crowded, but there were so many workers there, the busyness shouldn't have mattered. They seemed overstaffed. Also the place just seemed dirty. It was really dark and not inviting. Twice I sat there for over 5 minutes with an empty drink. This is the first time in a LONG time I actually tipped based on the service I received. I can give people the benefit of the doubt if they were short staffed and they told me they were extra busy. But it seemed like our waitress frankly didn't give a hoot about us.
NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN! **Note. This restaurant has different ownership than the one in Carmel at 116th and Meridian. That place is delicious. And they serve lunch!
EAt this (Sunrise Cafe 116th and Meridian), not that (Sunrise Cafe at Keystone the Crossing).
After reading this review, I thought that someone needed to clarify a few things and put some of the statements into context. Not to take away from EA's opinion, but I was somewhat taken back by the harsh criticism Sunrise received. Since this has been the only restaurant review I have been a part of, I decided I should share my experience and add some thoughts that may help depict Sunrise in a little brighter light than what you were left with. Also, if you have accompanied EA at a reviewed restaurant, I urge you to comment on some of his points and share some of your own thoughts to help reiterate points, or to give a different perspective. My experience was much different than EA's, described in a few points below.
ReplyDelete1) As EA clearly makes his opinion known, I agree that the service was not good. Refills were few and very far between, and there was a delay to place an order. I will say that it wasn't as bad as EA makes it out to be, though. None of the waitresses seemed to have attitudes, they just seemed tired, going through the motions without having much interest in us. In their defense, we did sit down around noonish, shortly after breakfast rush was over, so I can understand a lack of energy and lack of customer attention. Again, it was not the best service... but I've had much, much worse. Comparing the service to hell, though, is an exaggeration.
2)RFS and myself were ready to eat breakfast food before choosing Sunrise. EA wanted lunch. We went, unknowingly, to a breakfast-only cafe. I believe his desire to eat lunch influenced his menu choice, which really doesn't reflect the actual kind of food most people commonly order at a breakfast joint. I ordered bacon, eggs over-easy, and biscuits and gravy, and found them to be most pleasing...especially the bacon (which was very thick, hearty, and flavorful). While their quiche and hash browns were too brown and not quite up to the standards of EA, their normal breakfast food is comparable to many other breakfast restaurants.
3) The Sunrise cafe seemed to thrive off of the older folks who have made eating at their place a part of the Sunday morning tradition. The place was dark and dimly lit with old fashioned artifacts and pictures on the wall. By no means was this place modern, but I don't think its supposed to be. I think that it does a good job representing itself well... which is a low-key, low-profile breakfast spot, only open during specific hours.
Overall, my taste buds and wallet were satisfied, but the experience could have been better. I urge you to make your own decision.