Always a delight! The Elm is your place if you are looking…read morefor something delightfully unexpected in Bloomington. Seasonal menus, beautiful plates, and an amazing bar (and coffee bar). We have been coming for years and just tried brunch today and it was 10/10! Spring menu highlight: the cabbage is phenomenal! We ordered for the table to share as a last minute decision and it was the star of the show Brunch: Latke was so yummy and the sauce was horseradish cream goodness Chilaquiles and smash burger both got an A+ Staff is always on point.

'Welcome to Bloomington's fine dining restaurant,' said our young college age server. The interior…read moreis clean, modern & spacious. Tables are well spaced for private conversations. The noise level was low and the lighting was neither bright nor dark. The atmosphere is cold & pretentious. From the limited menu, I ordered spaghetti with mussels, salmon with summer squash and flatiron steak & frites. Why the server had to educate me the meaning of frites, I'm not sure, because I simply asked if the entrees came with any extra sides. The mussels that accompanied the spaghetti were not fully cooked. Mussels should be fully cooked. The salmon was overcooked, which made it dry & chewy. The steak was medium as requested but the meat quality was subpar. Flatiron cut is supposed to be very tender & flavorful, but either the meat was old or prepared by inexperienced hands. Neighborhood street parking is free. For me fine dining is reserved for special occasions. I randomly found The Elm because it was open until 10pm for a late supper due to a late arrival. The food preparation was amateur and the experience was poor due to our server who went out of her way educate me, assumed I didn't know any French terms, and tried too hard to earn her tip. Speak gracefully & succinctly with a courteous tone. Any hint of pretention can insult the customer & spoil the appetite. The only thing 'fine dining' about the meal was the bill. I've had much better quality steak & seafood at famous chop houses in large cities for the same price. I do not recommend The Elm.

Malibu Grill is one of those places that feels stitched into the identity of Bloomington. It's not…read morejust a restaurant, it's a downtown staple with a lively, slightly upscale energy that works just as well for date nights as it does for celebrations. The food never misses. The ahi tuna is absolutely fantastic--fresh, flavorful, and beautifully done every time. And the filet sliders are a must: tender, rich, and perfectly indulgent. What really sets Malibu apart, though, is the people. Owner JB (John Bailey) has created something special here, and it shows in every detail. The staff is consistently excellent, and Tyler at the bar is one of our favorites--always welcoming and on point. Great food, great atmosphere, and genuinely great people. This is one of those iconic Bloomington spots that keeps you coming back.

Disappointing! We had a reservation for Valentine's Day. We showed up on time, checked in, and were…read moretold it would be "just a few minutes." Turns out "a few minutes" meant an hour. Other guests were frustrated with the poor planning and left, but we stuck it out because the weather was bad and, well, we figured a reservation should actually mean something. Then came the food wait. We ordered quickly and still waited another hour and a half. The cherry on top was that the takeout containers wouldn't even close properly. The food was okay. Dry. I would rather go somewhere else. We won't be back.

Took a quick detour off 69 while heading south and found Uptown Cafe in Bloomington, IN. What a…read moreGREAT find!! Hands down the best Caesar salad I've ever had (complete with anchovies which are optional). Too many good looking choices on the menu and settled for a Cajun pasta special that was more than I could eat. Sat at the bar and service was excellent. Prices are reasonable and the place had an upbeat vibe for being a random Tuesday during July when most IU students are home for the summer. Overall - Fabulous dining experience !!

Two words: burnt roux…read more I had at least somewhat high expectations seeing as Uptown is a regular destination for folks on IU expense accounts. Going on a Tuesday provided the opportunity to order a weekly special of crawfish etouffee. To their credit, the crawfish themselves were cooked perfectly and flavorful. However, the first red flag was that it was far too dark (with a gumbo-like color, rather than the blond-brown of a proper etouffee), and when I tasted it, I was shocked that it simply tasted burnt. That they'd overdo a roux like this and then serve it (especially on a special that they could've just taken off the menu) is genuinely shocking.

I was really looking forward to trying Taqueria Acapulco after reading so many great reviews, but…read moreunfortunately, our experience didn't live up to the hype. Our server seemed a bit unfriendly, and the restaurant itself felt unclean, which was disappointing. The food tasted like it had been sitting for a while--everything just had that "stewed too long" flavor. We enjoyed the Al pastor with pineapple tacos the most but the others including the chicharron and asada we didn't even eat. It's possible we didn't order the right things, but overall it just didn't hit the mark for us. Maybe we caught them on an off day, but I'm not sure we'd give it another try. If we did, we wouldn't order tacos.

I have a hard time finding good tacos and carnitas since moving to Indiana from Arizona and the…read morecarnitas taco was excellent! We ordered 3 tacos (carnitas, asada, & pollo) and 1 tinga quesadilla. All of the food was delicious and large portions, my order was ready quickly. Staff was nice and restaurant was very clean for a college town. Would definitely eat here on my next visit to Bloomington!

This is a solid choice when having a quiet lunch with a work colleague. Ample seating for private…read moreconversations, and attentive, knowledgeable service. The cheeseburger with everything was excellent, and I'm looking forward to returning for a steak dinner!

Had a party of 2 and we both ordered the 9oz Flo's filet. I ordered med rare and she ordered medium…read more( I know but after this experience she says she's going med rare in the future) Anyway, mine came out perfect! Hers however came out very flat and did not resemble a filet in the least bit. Even our waitress was confused so SHE went and got the manager. The manager advised the cook had "pressed" hers so it came out that way because it makes the steaks come out at the same time. The manager said "next time order it non-pressed". Her steak was awful and completely dried out. I'm no cook but I would think you should never "press" a Filet. I have since researched and that is in fact correct. A Filet should never be pressed. It appears the cook was cutting some corners. It should also be noted that we were in the restaurant at around 2:30 and were not busy at all.

Farm Bloomington is one of my favorite brunch spots in Bloomington. The staff and waitresses are…read morealways friendly, attentive, and on top of everything, and the food is consistently excellent and comes out quickly. I especially love the strawberry salad, avocado toast, and their teas. Everything is always fresh, well prepared, and delicious. Such a reliable spot with a great atmosphere, highly recommend!

$60-70 Let me tell you what I experienced on 2/13/26…read more We had an OpenTable reservation, and our group traveled to Bloomington (from Carmel) for a play. We tried calling several times throughout the day to notify FARM that we needed to change the reservation because two of our guests were ill and would not be able to join. The restaurant's phone just kept forwarding to voicemail. We arrived at our reservation time and were told that we would be charged via OpenTable for the guests who did not join. When I mentioned the phone issue, the hostess said that it did not matter if we had called today, because the cancellation policy is 24 hours in advance. I did not know they would be ill 24 hours prior to the reservation - but whatever. I was not happy, but did not argue the issue. We were seated, only to find that there was a prefix "Valentine's Day Menu". We thought that was interesting because we had researched the website & menu before the evening, and there was no mention of this menu being the only option for Friday (2/13) night. Even the menu PDF says "Valentine's Day" - there were signs throughout the restaurant noting "Valentine's Day Menu". The server also mentioned that many other patrons were upset. The items on the menu were also priced far higher than the regular menu. So, we were excited to try FARM, arrived to a very sassy attitude (from the host) about the party size, noting that I was going to be charged. Getting to the table to see a modified menu, whose prices were jacked up. The (very sweet) server validated our feelings and confirmed that other patrons were upset, too. We finally just decided to leave. On the way out, the "sassy" host was snarky and mentioned that we would likely be charged again for the remaining guests leaving and not eating. I have pictures of the signs, and screenshots of the website - and I dare FARM to charge me for their false advertising. At least note the website, signage, and OpenTable if you are following modified menus or processes, and train your team better!! We were thrilled to try FARM, and left saying that we would NEVER go back. So disappointed :(

We have enjoyed time at Cardinal Spirits twice recently. The first visit was fantastic (and…read moreprompted us to make reservations for Mother's Day for the second visit). The second visit was okay. First, the best parts: the cocktails were delicious and I loved trying a few of the different spirits when our server brought us samples to try. Also, the patio atmosphere was lovely as the weather was perfect for both visits. The bingo was also a lot of fun! Overall, the food was good, but on our second visit the service was incredibly slow. Our server told us that the kitchen was running behind, but our friends were at the table next to us (with a different server) and they ordered when we did and had finished eating before our food even arrived - and I had to go find someone to inquire about it as our server never returned after dropping off drinks. She did apologize and take an item off the bill and hand us a few drink coupons which was appreciated, but the experience had put a damper on our enthusiasm (especially after we told the rest of our party how awesome the place was). Will I go back? Yes, but maybe with tempered expectations.

Pretty impressed! Decided to come here for Saturday lunch with my family and made a reservation…read moreonline at the last minute, but we would have been able to get in without. Without the patio open though, I can see it filling up easily. The atmosphere is fun (board games!) and bright but somewhat industrial with the distillery next door. The staff was friendly and very enthusiastic but just a little overbearing for me. The samples they brought around of two of their spirits (a gin and amaro) were very good and much appreciated. As appealing as the cocktails sounded, I didn't feel like drinking, so I got the Last Call mocktail. I couldn't pick up much 5 spice, but it was still a pleasant and refreshing light drink. I had a sip of my parents' old fashioned and Smokin' in the Girls' Room, and those were both really good - I was really into the lapsang souchong tea-infused rum in the Smokin' in the Girls' Room and would've ordered it for myself if I'd been drinking. To eat, I had a mushroom melt (the veganized version with vegan cheese) with the OMG fries. I really liked the sandwich; I loved the giardiniera and the jus, and you usually can't get that sort of thing in a vegetarian or vegan sandwich, so I was really happy to have it here and thought it was done well. The OMG fries were also really good. I don't like fries if they're plain, but these were heavily seasoned with a delicious spice blend. The vegan version of the fries omits the truffle aioli that they normally come with, but they were plenty flavorful with just ketchup. We shared a Thai tea creme brulee for dessert. I am crazy about Thai tea so I expected to like this, and it was everything I hoped for. The tea flavour was nice and strong, and the tapioca pearls were a nice little enhancement. They do an auto-gratuity of 20% no matter the party size, which I'm not completely opposed to, but I think if you're doing that you at least need to have a note on the menu rather than have the waiter tell you as they're giving you the bill, or better (in my opinion) to just raise the prices by 20% and sell yourself as a no-tipping restaurant. But it wasn't a huge deal in this situation; our waitress was good and we would've left a good tip anyway.

Great food, ambience and beer. Stopped when for the school orientation. Everything was great…read more Service was quick, polite. Certainly recommend.

How the hell do you mess up a blueberry balsamic salad? Zero taste, field greens marginal. Second…read moreentree, cheeseburger, to be cooked to medium that was actually cooked to charcoal and beyond WELL! Asked for some ketchup they never arrived and just a terrible meal across the board and service by a young guy who disappeared! No refill on drinks and it seemed other tables around us were not getting their right orders. Will Scratch this one off the places for Lunch this summer...