26 cheap eats places in Indianapolis, editor-picked. The best low-budget spots in Indianapolis: the places editors actually return to. All Indianapolis food.
26 places
Order A pour-over off the daily single-origin and a bag to take home.
Tinker Coffee Roastery Cafe on West 16th Street in the Riverside neighborhood, Indianapolis. The specialty pour-over cafe of the city's leading roaster.
Order A dozen hot glazed donuts straight from the fryer.
Long's Bakery in Haughville, Indianapolis is the West Side donut counter since 1955. Hot glazed yeast donuts are the breakfast locals queue early to claim.
Order A slice of Earl's Sugar Cookie Cake and a glass of Champagne.
The Cake Bake Shop on Carrollton in Broad Ripple is Gwendolyn Rogers's storybook pastry room, known for layer cakes, sit-down high tea and a full bar.
Order A sugar cream pie. Their version is canonical Hoosier.
Taylor's Bakery on Allisonville Road in Indianapolis since 1913. The sugar cream pie counter where Indianapolis families pick up their Thanksgiving dessert.
Order A country loaf to take home and an almond croissant for now.
Amelia's is the in-house bakery at Bluebeard on Virginia Avenue. The sourdough that supplies half Indianapolis's kitchens opens to the public at the counter.
Order The cinnamon toast and a farm-egg omelet.
Cafe Patachou at 49th and Penn in Meridian Kessler, Indianapolis is Martha Hoover's flagship since 1989. A trusted stop in the city. An Indianapolis favorite.
Try Reuben
Shapiro's Delicatessen on South Meridian, Indianapolis runs the Reuben for 14 dollars. Cafeteria-style ordering since 1905; cash and card both fine.
Order The smash double cheeseburger with mustard, onion and pickle.
Workingman's Friend in Haughville, Indianapolis is a 1918 lunch counter. The thin-patty smash double cheeseburger is the West Side standard.
Order An almond croissant, a baguette, a quiche slice.
Rene's Bakery in Broad Ripple, Indianapolis runs a French-leaning bakery and deli since 2004. Croissants, country loaves, sandwich lunch counter.
Order A latte and a slice of the day's cake.
Calvin Fletcher's on Virginia Avenue in Fountain Square, Indianapolis is a charitable-foundation cafe where all profits fund local nonprofits.
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Try Multi-vendor food hall
The Garage at Bottleworks in Indianapolis is the city's largest food hall. Two dozen counters cover pizza, ramen, tortas, ice cream and many more options.
Order A butter croissant and a kouign-amann.
Circle City Sweets at 16 Tech in Indianapolis runs scratch French-style pastries, laminated croissants, kouign-amann, macarons and artisan breads.
Order A pecan cinnamon roll and a coffee for the road.
Good Morning Mama's on 54th Street in Indianapolis is a breakfast pastry shop. Cinnamon rolls bigger than a fist, scratch quick breads, day-of-pickup only.
Order A chocolate chip cookie warm and a cortado.
Please & Thank You on Mass Ave in Indianapolis bakes the city's reference chocolate-chip cookie and pours espresso under a vinyl-wall counter.
Order A loaf of pumpernickel, a slice of Black Forest cake and a coffee.
Heidelberg Haus on Pendleton Pike in Indianapolis runs a German cafe, bakery and grocery for over 55 years. The rye for Indianapolis's German tables.
Order A box of six: salted caramel, pistachio, raspberry, lemon, coffee, chocolate.
Macaron Bar on Mass Ave in Indianapolis runs scratch French macarons in 20-plus flavors. A downtown branch of the Cincinnati pastry shop, fresh daily.
Order A single-origin tasting flight and a bag of dark sea salt almonds.
Endangered Species Chocolate factory store in Indianapolis runs a bean-to-bar program with 10 percent of profits funding wildlife conservation.
Order A filter coffee off the daily single-origin.
Hubbard & Cravens at 49th and Penn in Meridian Kessler, Indianapolis is a cafe and bean shop from a 1991 local roaster. A pour-over standard in the city.
Try Chicago-style hot dogs and the Garcia Ruben dog
Garcia's Hot Dogs is a food truck at 16th and Emerson serving steamed Chicago-style dogs, run by Abacuc Garcia, who sold hot dogs from a cart for decades.
Order The chili cheese etouffee with crawfish, the drunken chicken, the cornbread.
Yats Broad Ripple in Indianapolis runs Cajun-Creole on North College for over two decades. Bowls of jambalaya, etouffee and drunken chicken over rice.
Order A Death by Chocolate and a Hoosier Mama.
The Flying Cupcake's Mass Ave shop in Indianapolis bakes scratch cupcakes from local single-origin chocolate. Daily flavors plus seasonal rotations.
Order A stuffed chocolate chip and a milk for dunking.
Cookie Plug on Mass Ave in Indianapolis serves oversized stuffed cookies that are part cake, part brownie, part cookie. Late hours, hip-hop themed shop.
Order A pour-over of the rotating local roaster.
Bovaconti Coffee in Fountain Square, Indianapolis runs an espresso program featuring local Indiana roasters. The Virginia Avenue room is the anchor cafe.
Try Multi-vendor food hall in shipping containers
The AMP at 16 Tech is a food hall in a former water company service bay, with 20-plus vendors selling cheesesteaks, tacos, wings, BBQ, pastries and coffee.
Order A coconut cake donut and a regular coffee.
Jack's Donuts on West Market in downtown Indianapolis is the Central Indiana donut institution since 1961. Cake donuts and coffee, no frills.
Order A flat white off the rotating espresso plus a single-origin Africa pour-over coffee.
Quills Coffee on North Meridian in Indianapolis. A Louisville-rooted specialty cafe with origin-named bean menus and a strong espresso program.
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