The Vanguard
6319 Guilford Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
About the The Vanguard
The Vanguard is a top-rated food institution located at 6319 Guilford Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana. This restaurant also serves as a private event space, perfect for intimate gatherings or working dinners for up to 12 guests. With ample parking nearby, guests can enjoy the excellent food and service provided by Josh and his staff. Customers have raved about their experience at The Vanguard, giving it a strong 5-star rating. The venue offers a great location, top-notch staff, and incredible food, making it the perfect place for any event. Josh and Lanie, the event planners, go above and beyond to exceed expectations and ensure a flawless experience for all guests.
Reviews of The Vanguard
"I was so excited to try this place out, and my husband and I decided Valentine’s Day was the time to do it. What a disappointment! We spent a little over $300 (the fixed priced Valentine’s menu was $100/person, so that plus wine, tip, etc. added up). Not only did the level of food and service not match that price, it’s actively insulting that they charged us so much for what we got. When we first arrived, no one was at the host stand, which is totally fine because hosts have other duties. However, the two bartenders were talking behind the bar. They turned and saw us, then immediately turned back to talking without any acknowledgement. They weren’t even making drinks at the time. They just didn’t want to deal with us. Our server was very nice but really didn’t understand the menu or some basics about food service. He asked if I wanted pepper on my salad. I said no. He went ahead to pepper it. We had a couple questions about the menu. He didn’t know the answers (not everyone knows everything, but he was consistent in lacking familiarity with the menu/bar). He brought our courses out at the wrong time. Both he and a person I assume were the house manager were very sweaty. Sweat happens, we’re human, but in the food service industry, it feels like it might be prudent not to show up dripping to a table. Not only that, but the house manager was running around the room like crazy. It’s a little tricky to kick back to a romantic meal with a damp stranger dashing around your table. Now, I get it: the restaurant industry is intense! There’s something to be said, though, for still cultivating an air of calm even while keeping everything running. Now, most important part of a restaurant: the food. Right? I could forgive a lot if they knocked the food out of the park. Alas! Their crab cakes were weirdly mayonnaise-d. I suspect their oven roasted beets came from a can. My husband and I both ordered the sea bass. Mine was dry and overdone. His was cooked right, but still not as good as it could have been, so the food wasn’t even consistent. I wouldn’t mind so much if the price hadn’t been so high, but as much as they were charging, I expected a lot more. I also might understand more of this if the restaurant had been crazy-busy, but it wasn’t. In fact, my husband and I were both surprised at how quiet it was on Valentine’s Day. Maybe that should have been our clue. I think the real nail in the coffin is that I tried to privately reach out to the restaurant about this. I emailed their info address and was given an email to reach out to for customer concerns. I messaged there with my concerns and didn’t hear back. A week later, I tried again. I never got an answer. A couple days ago, I tried the info email to see if there was someone else I could talk to. They haven’t replied either. Evidently The Vanguard cares so little for their customers’ experience, they will actively ignore you if you try to tell them. So: poor service, mediocre food, exorbitant prices, poor management. I wanted to like this place, especially for a romantic dinner splurge, but all across the board, you could do a lot better at a lot more places around town."
"The food was AMAZING. We went because Google recommended it to my friend and it was absolutely on point. Food came fast, selection was good. They have a shot and drink for $9 special going on, which I think we can all appreciate and get on board with. The staff was super nice and checked in on is to make sure we enjoyed ourselves. We'd go back."
"Maybe because we went here on a Devour weekend (which we weren't aware of), they were struggling more than usual. We had an 8pm reservation. When we arrived we were told the kitchen was backed up and they couldn't seat us. There were plenty of tables available, so we asked if we could just sit at our table and order drinks. The hostess told us she wasn't allowed to even seat people. With that, after standing a while, we were able to get seats at the bar. We noticed that the entire place was very smoky, as if there had been a fire in the kitchen. It was like this the entire time we ate, which made it kind of hard to breathe. On top of the burning smell, it was also really hot. Anyhow, as expected, service was pretty slow, but the two bartenders were doing the best they could. Overall our food was pretty good, but there were some issues. The cocktail menu was hand written (tacky). The shrimp and grits app came out cold. The salads seemed to have been sprinkled with a bunch of salt, and the noodles in my pasta weren't quite done. The place has real potential but has a lot of kinks to work out."
"The food here was so phenomenal. And the drinks were amazing. The ‘Sometimes it Snows in April’ drink comes with its own smoke. And the staff is very personable."
"We finally made it to Vanguard, and we were not disappointed. In fact I think my boyfriend said "this was even better than I expected" at least half a dozen times. The craft cocktails, food, and service were on point. We shared the smoky wings, greens salad, braised short rib, and bread pudding, and we enjoyed everything. We'll definitely be back!"
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