*drool*

Best little lunch spot in town! Creation Cafe is expanding their hours and will be open late all summer. It is locally owed by 3 female entrepreneurs, who are just amazing people. They have really turned the place around.

Recently, I enjoyed a great little evening drink, out on the patio, overlooking the canal. I can not wait to enjoy the view after dark.

Great potential. Chef Brad Gates, formally of Gramercy Tavern, designed the menu. Check out some of the names of their dishes!

There is also a coffee shop inside...

Horrible Food, Service to Match

My husband and I had been in Buggs Temple over the weekend and grabbed a menu for Creation Cafe. When we had the opportunity to have lunch today, we thought we'd give it a try. We ordered The Oinker, which is a pulled pork BBQ sandwich with a tomato based sauce, and a Pizza Margherita, which is a thin-crust pizza with marinara sauce, sliced mozzarella, sliced tomato and fresh basil. We intended to split both.

The Oinker was good. The sauce was on the sweet side, but I liked it. We had picked the fries as a side. They were very good, crispy, hot and nicely seasoned.

The pizza was a total disaster. The thin-crust was hard and flavorless. It could not be saved by the bland sauce, the anemic tomatoes and the minor amount of basil. Our server, Bennie, asked us if we were enjoying our food, and we told him we did not like the pizza at all. His response was, "Ok, I'll let 'them' know." That was it. We got our bill, which was $17.99 after tax for both - we had water to drink. We asked to see the manager, Amy, who offered to make something else for us, but since I had to get back to work, we declined. She did not offer to grat the pizza at that point, even after my husband demonstrated its inferior quality.

After we grudgingly paid the whole bill, Amy offered us a gift card in the amount of the pizza. Too little, too late. I might go back there and use it for gelato sometime for my kids when we are at the canal, but overall the experience was unpleasant. One hour later, the pizza has finally stopped sitting like a lead balloon in my stomach. The decor was lovely, and I'm glad to finally have a restroom available at the north end of the canal should I need one, but the Creation Cafe was a total disappointment.

Awesome New Restaurant

I have read the previous 2 posts about this restaurant and have to side with the more positive post. I am a Clarian employee whom has been frequenting Buggs Temple for lunch for several months. I must say the 3 women mentioned above have created a 180 degree difference with respect to the new restaurant concept they have developed. Prior to the Creation Cafe concept being started, it was called "The Grille". The atmosphere felt like a slight step up from the cafeteria at the hospital. I have tried several different items from the menu at Creation Cafe and have been very pleased with each new experience. Many colleagues whom I have chatted with about the cafe have raved about their experiences as well. I guess in the restaurant business some diners will choose to be upset and just refuse to be accomodated for a bad service or food experience. Oh well, rock on Creation Cafe, the place is just what the canal needed!

Needs some help

I really want Buggs to be successful, I really do but they need lot's of help. Creation Cafe could possibly have one of the best outdoor patios in the city but they need lots of improvement if they are going to make it.

As a downtown resident I believe in supporting our local independents. I've tried Creation Cafe 10 times since they've opened for both lunch and dinner and my expereince has been pretty consistent - poor.

I'll give Creation Cafe credit for the menu, they have a good selection and the food is very good. The outdoor patio is great but it still does not make up for the following:

1) Consistently bad service (unattentive wait staff)

• On several occassions I had to ask for refills on soda
• I had to ask for silverware
• I had to get sugar for tea from another table
• Coffee to go with my gelato was not delivered until after I finished my gelato and paid for my check.

2) Once a coworker and I had to get our lunch in a takeout container because the service was so slow and we had to get back to the office. It took 15 minutes for a server to take our order and 30 minutes for our food to arrive and all we had was cold sandwiches and soup of the day.

3) Weird hours: You're not really sure when they are open or when they are closed. The Cafe is closed Sunday so forget about a nice weekend lunch or dinner after walking the canal

4) Parking: If you are not a Clarian employee good luck trying to find a parking place. If you do find parking bring plenty of change for the meters. Twice I just gave up.

5) If you're having drinks, you have to pay seperatley for your drink order; what a pain.

6) Not sure if they really want you there. The entrance to the restaurant is really confusing. There are 2 staircases to the patio off of the canal, both have ropes on them but they don't tell you where to go to get in the resturant. I've seen many people think they were closed and keep on walking on the canal.

Tasty Nachos!!!

I am biased, my girlfriend has worked at this place since it opened and was under the original management. So I've got a strange perspective on the place.

They have their liquor license now, so any of the alcohol related concerns are taken care of, beer and wine for everyone. The Cabernet for $6 a glass is pretty darn good.

My recommendations:

The Fiendish Fish Sandwich - It's big, they bread it themselves and cook it. It's good. It's 10x better than anything you could get at a chain sea food restaurant.

The Nachos!!!!! - Get them with barbecue pork instead of the plain, just tell your server. They are wonderful, seriously they are.

The Steak Sandwich - You can't believe how much this thing costs once you're eating it. It's that good. (as in you can't believe it's that cheap)

I am not a fan of the pizza, it just isn't my style. I know several people who love the cheese one with it's strong smokey flavor and white sauce, but I pass. Their servers are sooo much better these days and their current staff has always treated me very well.

Finally a reason to return to the canal...that doesn't involve exercise.

Terrace Views

The gorgeously laid-out terrace was almost reason alone to adore this place. Perfect for drinks and snacks in the late evening hours. Can't wait to return here - planning a lunch trip soon!

1st review - just wine

went a few weeks ago on a perfet night of warm, light winds and a well lit downtown within reach. seated on the terrace facing our fair city, i and a co-worker split a bottle of pillar box red wine. it was a great wine at a good price. the conversation was easy and enlightening without the feeling that we were interupting anyone around us. the same could be said about our surrounding guests, none of whom got in our grill. the food i saw but didnt eat looked pretty awesome and the menue had enough combinations of tastes that i could go a few times.

parking IS an issue but really, in what city is it not an problem to park and eat at someone near a city attraction (the cannal)?

housed in a very beautiful building, im sure i will return soonish with family or friends to try more of what they have to offer.

Great Location

Living on the canal, we were excited about the opening of this restaurant. We love sitting outside, looking at the canal and the downtown skyline. The homemade potato chips are really good, as are the french fries. Some of the entrees have been disappointing though - the pizza was bland and too cheesy and the "oinker" (BBQ) is definitely not the best in town. The wait staff has always been friendly and attentive. This is a place that we will go for convenience and the view, if not the food.

Creative Cafe Falls Short

Who wouldn't want Creation Cafe to succeed? The Canal has long awaited a place to enjoy good food while gazing at the Indy skyline & canal. My husband and I gave the Cafe a try this evening and ultimately left wishing we had stayed home and cooked for ourselves.

The service: okay. Our waiter was kind and fairly attentive, although he couldn't remember what we ordered and it didn't help that he wasn't writing it down. Our mixed green salads w/ Maple & Ginger dressing were good, but we barely managed to eat two bites before our entrees were brought out.

My entree was incorrect, so I waited another 15 mins. for the correct order. My husband ate his dinner before it chilled as I eagerly awaited a Salmon dish with a vegetable medley. No worries, so I thought.

One would think this would be a light, healthy meal. Well, not at Creation Cafe. Would you like some salmon and vegetables with your butter sauce? My plate was literally a soup bowl of butter sauce! It took two napkins to soak the butter off of the salmon. The spinach and vegetables were ruined, so I just ate the salmon.

After spending $60 for two entrees and two glasses of wine for a 'casual' dining experience, I doubt I will spend more on their version of 'fine' dining when they take over the previous Buggs Temple restaurant. I will just stick with Elements, thank you.