We visited R Bistro in Indianapolis for my birthday. It’s a chef owned, kitchen driven restaurant specializing in fresh locally produced food. Sort of like Chez Panisse in the heartland (only not quite so goofy).
The food was everything you’d expect from this sort of place. It’s not a prix-fixe menu, but they change the menu each week, and there are 5 appetizers, 5 main courses, and 5 desserts.
Our meals were splendid. I started with a watermelon and prosciutto appetizer. Different from the usual combination of melon and prosciutto, the sweet crunchy watermelon was a nice contrast to the buttery smooth rich prosciutto. It was though a little watery as you might expect.
My main course was lamb chops which were cooked as perfectly as anything I’ve ever eaten.
Dessert was a berry shortcake, quite nice.
The wine list was small and reasonably priced. We had a Ridge 3 Valleys (I’ve been reading Hugh Johnson’s, A Life Uncorked and he’s a big Ridge fan) that was very tasty and not expensive.
My only complaint was the service. There were long gaps between being seated and ordering. Our server disappeared for long stretches and wasn’t attentive. At the end of dessert she just plopped the bill on the table and took off. We were hoping to cap the meal with a glass of port or coffee, but we weren’t feeling too welcome at that point, so we took our leave.
I’d definitely recommend R Bistro. From watching the other tables service, I think our server was just having a bad night or something.
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