Bloomington Indiana Restaurants
updated June 14, 2008
everything should be current

Bloomington has the best restaurants in the state of Indiana.

I keep finding restaurant sites for Bloomington Indiana but NONE OF THEM ARE ANYWHERE NEAR COMPLETE. And ever notice how they might be fun to read but never tell you anything "real"? Sigh. "Reid Duffy's Guide to Indiana's Favorite Restaurants" may be the most worthless book on the planet.

The best restaurant in Bloomington is The Farm. On Kirkwood next to the old Indiana Theater. GO THERE. Chef and owner is Daniel Orr. Check out the web site: http://www.farm-bloomington.com/

GOTO	GOTO
Aver's Pizza	Carryout only, So it's not really a restaurant. Bloomington famous, good deals. 1837 North Kinser Pike North side Marsh Shopping Center. http://www.averspizza.com/
Basil Leaf Bistro	404 E 4th St. Open evenings at 5pm.
Bear's Place	I'm pretty neutral on this place. 3rd and Jordan (1316 East 3rd Street). Great events: music and movies. Don't go for the food.
Bloomingfoods Market & Deli	Just eat at the one on the near west side downtown. 316 West 6th St. 333-7312. http://www.bloomingfoods.coop/
Bloomington Bagel Company	Two Locations: 1) Dunn, between Kirkwood and 6th. 2) 238 North Morton.
Cafe Django	Eclectic. Grant, between Kirkwood and 6th (116 North Grant). Can get expensive. Great atmosphere. One of my favorite restaurants.
Cafe et Crepe	French and Algerian. Coffeehouse type place. 316 E 4th St. 812-333-2033. Open 9am till 10:30pm except Sunday till 10pm.
Casablanca	Mediterranean and Moroccan. Corner of 4th and Grant (402 East 4th Street). Expensive and good. Service is good.
Chili's Grill & Bar	Above average national chain. 3rd and Pete Ellis (2811 East 3rd Street).
Chocolate Moose	Not the best ice cream but GO THERE. But it's not worth it if the line's long.
Cresent Donut Shop	24 hours. When Square Donuts is closed. A real tradition in Bloomington. Yes, they spelled the name wrong.
Dagwood's Deli-Sub Shop	Friendly staff. 116 1/2 South Indiana Ave. (812) 333-3000. Also on East 10th Street I hear (this location delivers?).
Dragon Express	Inexpensive-good. You get what you pay for. 3rd & Jordan. No credit cards. Busy. Lots of students go there. Parking is next to impossible at times. 1400 E 3rd St. 812-331-7030.
Gratzi!	Starting to go downhill but go anyway. 6th, between College and Walnut. http://www.gratzi.com/ There are no good Italian restaurants in Bloomington.
Great Wall Buffet	North Walnut, just north of Motel 6. You need to be really hungry.
Greek's Pizzeria	I've eaten at V&T's in New York and Uno and Due in Chicago. This place has really great pizza. Fresh.
Irish Lion	Kirkwood, between College and Morton (212 West Kirkwood). One of the best. http://www.irishlion.com/ (Warning: Irish Music)
Jiffy Treat	Several locations. Kirkwood location is closed (torn down). Indoor seating makes it better than Chocolate Moose or Dairy Queen.
Jimmy John's	Kirkwood & Dunn, East 10th, on campus. http://www.jimmyjohns.com/ Pretty good but Dagwood's is much better.
La Charreada	A little warm in the Summer ... best Mexican. 1720 North Walnut Street (North of 17th).
Laughing Planet Cafe	You have to be in the mood or seriously vegetarian or vegan. Kirkwood Manor, Kirkwood and Grant and Portland Oregon: 3320 S.E. Belmont St.
Macri's Deli	Closed.
Michael's Uptown Cafe	But desserts suck usually. Can be very expensive. Kirkwood and Walnut (102 East Kirkwood). Yuppie city. Do not get the meatloaf despite what the menu claims. Service is A+. Food goes from 0 to 10. You're on your own. The Farm is just east and is much better.
Mother Bear's Pizza	Once a legend, now I'm just neutral on this place ... not the best pizza in town. 3rd and Jordan. Something obviously went wrong at some point.
Nick's English Hut	Pizza. MY OTHER FAVORITE PLACE. Best bar in Bloomington. GO THERE. Food is really, really good. Kirkwood, between Grant and Dunn (423 East Kirkwood). http://www.nicksenglishhut.com/ God I love this place. They need to bring back the table jukeboxes.
Noodles & Company	Where the old Von Lee theatre was. At the east end of Kirkwood on the north side. Chain with locations in Carmel and Broad Ripple. Open late. 517 E Kirkwood Ave. 812-323-1400. Online menu http://www.noodles.com/MO window menu 0506.pdf This place barely makes the GOTO list.
Opie Taylors	Chili. MY FAVORITE PLACE. Walnut and Kirkwood, next to Malibu Grill. Best comfort food in Bloomington. Get the chili for sure. If it's someone's birthday you'll hear the world's best singing waiter. Very comfortable and friendly. 110 N Walnut St. 812-333-7287.
Ragazzi Arte Cafe	Bad service, overpriced, but ... you'll notice this is also in the DONT GOTO. Across from Tutto Bene. http://www.ragazziartecafe.com/ 212 S Rogers St. 812-323-9005. Tables are too close together. Owner / chef is pretentious.
Roots	Expensive but worth it. On the square, NE corner.
Samira	6th and Walnut. "One of Best Kept Secrets."
Soma	Coffeehouse, best there is. Basement of the Kirkwood Manor Kirkwood & Grant. Favorite "hangout". Smoothies - try the PBJ.
Soup's On	108 S Rogers St.
Square Donuts	Finally in Bloomington. And open on Sunday. Just go with the plain square donut.  531 North Walnut. 812-337-0100. 6am to 2pm except closed Monday. Terre Haute famous. Nationally famous.
Steak 'n Shake	Open 24 hours. I hate the one near College Mall for some unknown reason. http://www.steaknshake.com/
Subway	Jordan and Atwater--the store where Jared ate twice a day during his weight loss campaign. I like the one on the square. http://www.subway.com/
Trojan Horse	Potato pancakes! Best french fries. Stay away from the bar. Service can be strange. Try to get the waitress with the knee high socks. Just don't go here too often. Kirkwood and Walnut, SE corner.
Upland Brewing Company	Service is slow (it's a Bloomington tradition). http://www.uplandbeer.com/  Black bean burger is my favorite. Uncomfortable seating. Noisy. BUT GO THERE. This place is a BIG supporter of the Exotic Feline Rescue Center.
White Castle	Only one location left, on the west side. http://www.whitecastle.com/
DONT GOTO	DONT GO TO
Applebee's	If you like this you need to get out more.
Bloomingfoods Market & Deli	Yes, you can eat at Bloomingfoods on the east side but DON'T. 1) Downtown in an alley near Nick's 2) East side, 3rd Street, K-Mart Shopping Center. The third, newest location is a GOTO for eating.
Bucceto's	UNDERCOOKED PASTA, overpriced. I tried several times and gave up on this place.
Cafe D'lish	620 W Kirkwood Ave. 812-334-CAFE. Breakfast and lunch. Closed Sunday. Food like grandma made after she turned 90.
DeAngelos's	Without a doubt ONE OF THE WORST RESTAURANTS IN BLOOMINGTON. Pasta undercooked, sauce boring, meat balls no crust and too large. Garlic bread no garlic. Waiter insulting. 2620 E 3rd St. 812-961-0008.
Encore Cafe	Thank goodness it closed. Now Bloomingfoods's market and deli.
Fazoli's	Worst fast food on the planet ... no, make that the visible universe. 3rd and College Mall Road.
Grisanti's	Sucks. 850 East Auto Mall Road.
Hinkle's Hamburgers	What a joke. Everyone should go at least once. 206 South Adams Street. Random hours and I do mean random.
Kilroy's	Stupid "Greek" place. SE corner, Kirkwood and Dunn (502 East Kirkwood). http://www.kilroys-bloomington.com/
La Petit Cafe	Expensive. Old restaurant in an old garage run by old people. The food is excellent. But don't go there. Trust me.
Lennie's	Crossroads Shopping Center on 10th Street. I hate this place. Not sure why. http://bbc.bloomington.com
Little Zagreb	Expensive dead animals. 6th and Morton, one block west of the square. Supposed to be good.
Malibu Grill	Ridiculous overpriced crap. Service sucks. Just north of Kirkwood and Walnut.
Mark Pi's China Gate	Pretentious beyond belief. Sunday buffet is awful. 3020 East Third Street near College Mall.
Panera Bakery	Forgettable. 322 South College Mall Road Eastland Plaza, near Borders. http://www.panera.com/
Peterson's	1811 East 10th Street. Bunch of idiots. This place may be closed by now.
Puccini's La Dolce Vita	Most overpriced restaurant in town, you're paying for the trained waiters. 4th Street, Between Grant and Dunn (420 East 4th Street). People rave about the place and I have no idea why. No longer open for lunch. No one could afford it. Lists itself as a five star restaurant. THEY MUST BE JOKING! Pure garbage.
Ragazzi Arte Cafe	Bad service, overpriced, but ... give it a chance.
Runcible Spoon	Maybe I should give this place another try ... 6th Street, between Grant and Dunn. ONE OF THE WORST RESTAURANTS IN BLOOMINGTON. 6th Street, between Grant and Dunn. http://www.runciblespoonrestaurant.com/  412 E 6th St. 812-334-3997.
Scholar's Inn Bakehouse	Don't ask - yuppie city. Expensive. But the food is great I hear. Bread is A+.
Snow Lion	Tasteless. Once is enough.
Tina's Carry Out Cuisine	Overpriced. Very overpriced. Third, between Lincoln and Grant, North Side. You don't get what you pay for. Not really a restaurant. Name is now something else. Maybe I should check it out again.
Tutto Bene	ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... this is a joke isn't it?
Village Deli	Really busy on Sunday ... service can be strange ... Worst breakfast anywhere. Kirkwood, between Grant and Dunn. Stay away from plain bread sandwiches. If they give you cold bread SEND IT BACK. Worst restaurant in Bloomington. Most popular items are the giant pancakes. Don't get carried away.
Wee Willie's	DO NOT GO THERE, DO NOT GO THERE. West of Bloomington on 46.