Uptown Cafe

We sampled a few dishes and drinks from the Sunday Brunch menu. Each was exceptional. Serving staff were super friendly and went above and beyond to provide service second to none. Could not give a higher recommendation.

Been here a few times now, the latest being for a belated Valentine’s date night. Great atmosphere, stellar service and delicious food and drinks. I got the LA pepper chicken w/ grits (again) along with a negroni sour. Partner got the pan-seared salmon w/ mac and cheese. Both of us loved our choices! Opera cake special for dessert. Always have a wonderful experience here!

Always a favorite! Excellent food & service are standard here! Tonite I had the thai salmon which had a sweet & sour glaze (on the side), perfectly cooked basmati rice, and a house salad with blue cheese as a starter. Met up with some friends (former co workers) & had a dinner full of great conversation & long overdue catching up! We plan to do this more often now & include some others that couldn't make this date. It was a little crowded when we went so we were glad to have reservations ahead of time, forgot about it being an IU basketball game night.

First Time Here in Bloomington, Indiana to visit my cousin! The Food and Customer Service was wonderful! I love the Denver Omelette 🔥🔥

In town for an MBA graduation coming from Florida. Walked to the Uptown Cafe. Food was perfection. Lump crab cake was amazing. (Coming from PA Maryland line reference) Salmon was tender and flavorful. Wonderful match to a fresh greek salad. Medium rare New York Strip was well executed and impeccably balanced. Standard Smoked old fashion was great.
Delicious berry cheesecake. Comfortable classy atmosphere. Most importantly, Deanna was knowledgeable thoughtful insightful and present. She is a master of her craft. I would visit any establishment where she is involved.

Had dinner here with friends during a weekend girls trip and we loved it!! The food was amazing and we had a great interaction with our server Yul! He patiently answered all ours questions, gave GREAT food recommendations, and provided some awesome humor to make our experience very memorable. I would definitely go back and the pot roast is a MUST in addition to the eggplant parmesan and crab cakes (if they are available). Overall great experience and can’t wait to return.

First time I have eaten here. I will say the service was excellent and I got the Long Island strip stake.
Served rare and it was cooked perfectly and well flavored !! the stake here in my opinion is better then Janko's Little Zagreb. The only thing I found lacking was the biscuits and gravy lacked flavor. But all in all it was an excellent exp!! Looking forward to trying dinner and lunch here at some point.

Update: I recently got brunch and the food was AMAZING. I got the steak eggs benedict, coffee, and shared mimosas with my friend who got the grits. Great experience all around. This is the place to go for a classy brunch!

April 2023: I thought I’d try Uptown again after an underwhelming experience last year, but was again very disappointed. I got the etouffeé and it was extremely salty and burnt with almost no original flavor to the shrimp. On top of that, my wine cost $11 for not even half a glass. This meal was not worth $40. The waitress and ambiance were pleasant though.

Great everything! I work in Bloomington once or twice a month and tried Uptown a few times. Love the food, especially breakfast!

Service was always wonderful and the bathroom was clean.

4.5/5 - this place slapped pretty hard and from the 4 meals I tasted they were all very fire. It’s expensive for the area, but the 5 stars is justified for the taste of all the main entrees.

Bread and butter is $3 though, and the service was something to be left desired in my opinion. Drinks are a solid and expensive 4/5, not 5/5. Didn’t do enough to not put this on my favorites list though!

For more than a decade Michaels Uptown Cafe has been my favorite "go-to" for superior dining, excellent cocktails, unparalleled wait staff, and customer service. On a very busy Friday two weeks ago, it was our good fortune, without a reservation, to step into the bar, order a superb martini and within 15 minutes, secure a table for 2, my son and me. Our server, Finn M. was per the standard of Uptown, engaging and well-informed about the specials and the menu. The walleye special and the shrimp red Thai curry were exquisitely prepared, presented, and delicious. No trip through Bloomington is complete without a stop ay Michael's for me. And by the way, their brunch and the coffee is always excellent too.

My family and I love uptown. We always have a wonderful experience we we stop in for breakfast. We have two little ones so my husband and I usually try to come around breakfast time. The Popeyes omelette is wonderful. We usually get cappuccinos too because for some reason they taste much better at Uptown. Our daughter absolutely loves the staff because they always seem to take an extra second to make her feel seen.

We have made for dinner only a few times but there isn’t one thing on the menu that we haven’t enjoyed. Excellent food and service here.

Here’s what you need to know : breakfast review on a summer Thursday morning while school was out. Food was very enjoyable (Hoosier Benedict with biscuits of house made gravy), and arrived quickly. Service was 10 stars by Tiffany. She is OUTSTANDING. Cappuccino was perfect with a double shot (a really good coffee roaster is supplying them). Ambiance was perfect sitting outdoors in the not too harsh sun.

Potatoes (Michael’s home fries) were AMAZING. They are skin on red potato wedges, and just perfectly seasoned and skillet fried (I suspect). Eggs were cooked perfect. Sausage is from a local butcher (Butcher’s Block) and quality really comes through. Gravy was very well seasoned and not too salty. Just right.

Breakfast was $18+tax

Amazing brunch. The Menu itself doesn't read as though it's going to be great, but it turns out that it is. The service was spot on, and they obviously take pride in every aspect of cleanliness. The two underling heros here are the jelly offerings and the paper napkins(it sounds crazy but it's true, best paper napkins ever!).

Always a fabulous meal! Server was excellent and patient with three of our five guests that had not been there before. Safety measures were in place and we definitely felt safe. Love the outdoor tables in the street over the weekend. The food here never disappoints. Menu is full of all our favorites and there's usually a couple new items to tempt us.

Excellent service, great menu, and tasty food. We spent $40 per person, including alcohol. Server was knowledgeable about everything from their wine selection to which vegetarian options were best. The server and kitchen also modified my toddler’s meal perfectly without hesitation. I’ve enjoyed Uptown for 30+ years and it still impressed.

Absolutely delicious food every time. Impeccable service. The place can get a little loud and I highly recommend reservations for dinner and weekend brunch.

My favorite restaurant in Bloomington. A great selection of dishes but their seafood is the best I’ve ever had. Which is quite a shock for southern Indiana. Highly recommend the shrimp or crab cakes.

Nice restaurant and the food was amazing. I had the spaghetti agliato. The espresso is also delicious. I also had brunch here. Avocado toast with eggs.

Cozy atmosphere. Clean. Service was fast and servers were very attentive. Water was always full. 🙂
I frequently get biscuits and gravy while eating out and I was impressed by the ones here. Delicious and high quality breakfast sausage! They even boxed my food at the end.
Worth the price and we will definitely return.