Dunaway's

Our memories of Dunaway, from 10-15 years ago, were of a classy, elegant, special restaurant. Our recent experience June 8, 2013, as a party of ten for a 65th birthday celebration, was of an incompetent, less than average, dump on its way out. We were first rather put off by the fact that we seemed to be about the only diners outside of the bar on a Saturday night. Our waiter was the bar tender, apparently filling in for some presumably absent waiter (one waiter?). Service was frankly very poor. We were advised that we didn't need to taste the wine because it was the ""real deal"". The birthday cake ordered with ""Happy Birthday"" written on it was not made. The menu was very limited - some items, the steaks were OK - but fingerling potatoes turned out to be slices of normal sized potatoes. All this at about $100 a head (including the mandatory 20% gratuity) - we surely could have done better in downtown Indy! more

We celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary last night at Dunaway's. My wife had the scallops, which were ok. I ordered the Kansas City Strip steak and it was the worst steak i ever have eaten, it was tough, gristly, and undercooked! $41? For that steak was absurd. (I had ordered medium cooked)\r However, the shrimp cocktail was superb! On signs they say, ""Award Winning Chef, etc."" Don't dine here, a wast of your money. This Chef needs to be more attentive to how you cook steaks and where you purchase your beef!\r Also, the waiter almost completely forgot us till check time. \r Anniversary ruined and $125 gone. :-( more

Back in May 2010 I had made reservations for a group dinner during a conference. I immediately thought of Dunaway's because I had eaten there and had a pleasant experience plus their rooftop dining was perfect for this summer meeting. I talked/e-mailed the owner and had everything confirmed....or so I thought because even though I called the night before to confirm my reservations I had a co-worker go there for lunch the same day of my dinner and despite the fact that she had reservations the place was CLOSED!! For absolutely no reason she was never called or anything. I called several times during the day to make sure they would still be open for my dinner and no one answered the phones despite the fact their voicemail indicated they were open. Cons: Inattentive staff, zero communication, no banquet contracts more

My husband took me to Dunaway's for our first married Valentine's day, and it was a wonderful experience. He made reservations in advance, and when we arrived, we were seated immediately. Pros: best steak i ever had, stellar service Cons: it is pricey, but worth it more

On a Thursday night we ventured to Dunaway's Restaurant for, what we thought, would be a five star meal. Pros: Rooftop View Cons: Everything Else more

Ok, three strikes. I'm done with Dunaway's. I entertained some friends from out of town. They were interested in Dunaway's due to the proximity of Eli Lilly. I had been to the restaurant on two other occasions with similiar poor results. Simply put, the service from the wait staff was slow and seemingly uncaring. I even pulled our waiter aside and asked him to keep a ""close eye on us"" because my guests wanted to have a good time. Maybe I wasn't clear enough in my request. Our drinks were slow in coming. Entrees were somewhat cold. For 6 of us the bill was close to $600. The rooftop view is unique, but please put a tablecloth over the cheesy WalMart plastic table. Mr Dunaway, you can do better! I can do better too. My next dinner with guests will be at some other high end restaurant in downtown Indy. There are others to choose from. One star for the view. (Insert heavy sigh!) Pros: Food was good Cons: Slow, marginal service more

Made reservations for 20 to order off of the menu. No written or verbal contract was requested or made. 17 made it for the birthday party. Bill for 17 people was approx $770.00. We were handed our bill plus a $500.00 ""extra charge"" because our table had not ordered 20 entrees (by the way they were out of the Amish chicken) The owner Jeff Dunaway told that us that he had planned that the table was to have 20 people ordering $60.00 each. Without a contract he had absolutely no right to demand that we pay this charge. Mr. Dunaway then refused to let us leave without paying his fictional charge. The police were called (I am not kidding). They tried to negotiate that we pay half of this charge to diffuse the situation and we refused. Mr. Dunaway told the police that he was taking us to Small Claims Court. I, by the way, had to be taken by ambulance to the emergency room because my heart rate was 150 when the EMT's measured it. By all accounts Mr. Dunaway found it amusing that I was in distress. THIS IS A TRUE STORY. I have been advised by the Restaurant Association that in order for Dunaway to even attempt to tack on this charge it would have to be stated on a contract (there wasn't one) or posted on his menus or walls. And really who would go to a restaurant that stated that the owner can decide on a whim what the bill will be. Cons: owner more

Had supper there last month before an exhibit. Service was FAIR to POOR. However, the food was fresh, hot and very delicous! The deserts were very good and to our liking. Would come back again next year certainly. Pros: loved the sweets at the end! Cons: slow service more

My boyfriend and I went to Dunaways on a Friday evening rather early so we could avoid the usual crowd and take our time. First I was very disgusted with the unclean ladies room. The water did not work on two faucets and there was no soap not to mention paper towels all over the floor. It was also very run down dingy in appearance. Next we ordered Carpaccio DRY - and I specifically said please no sauces of any kind - aioli anything. The waiter assured me they did not serve it that way. My boyfriend ordered a very nice bottle of wine and when he treats me out he spares no expense for me. He has always taken me to very nice expensive places if thats what I want plus he has excellent taste in food and wine. When our carpaccio arrived there was only a very small dish unlike the nice portion u receive at places like Ruths Chris. Hardly enough for one let alone two and the price was overpriced to the portion. Much to my distaste it had a mustard sauce underneath the carpaccio. That taste made my stomach very upset. I could not eat anymore and suggested we cancel and leave. My dinner was ruined there at that point. My boyfriend complained to the manager and the manager did not care and was extremely rude to my boyfriend. We have never ever not even at a small establishement let alone expensive place been treated so rude and unfriendly. We were not even there45 minutes and there wasnt even an apology, an attempt to change the mistake. We did not finish our wine and had to pay for that. I will never return and suggest others think twice before going. Especially since Indy offers so many other fine establishments that offer excellent food and service far above this place. Of all the great places we have eaten - Oceanaire, Ruth Chris, Agios, Izzy & Harrys ect...this was the absolute worst in more than one way. more

A party of four went on New Years Eve with evening reservations. It took over 30 minutes to have our order placed and receive the bottle of wine we ordered!! After one hour had passed we finally got some bread and salads!!! Finally after the two hour mark and expressing our concern to the waiter we got our order; cold!! That?s when they ask if we want some more wine to drink... We did get some free dessert for the road but by that time in the night all the desserts you would want they were out of!!!!!! We and our friends and family will not be back. more

I enjoyed my filet at Dunaways, however, the terrible service my group received will be the reason why I don't plan to go back. Pros: the view, ambiance Cons: serivce! more

I have never been to Indianpolis and was looking for a place to take friends for dinner while we were in town. I found the food at Dunaways to be very good. It was an early dinner on a Friday and the restaurant was surprisingly quiet. Very nice atmosphere. We were seated next to a large window that looks out at the city. The menu was great. Something for everyone. All of the items looked so good it was hard to decide which one to order. The king crab risotto was awesome as were the lobster ravioli. The service was not very good. Very slow and our waiter did not seem very knowledgable about the food. About halfway through our meal we started smelling something like spoiled eggs. We finally asked our server and he explained that there is some type of oil trap down in the kitchen that creates that smell when it is opened. Overall very good food, good atmosphere (as long as they don't open the oil trap), not so good service. Pros: Good food, good menu Cons: Poor service more

I would have to disagree with the last gentlemen. In his years of cooking steaks and eating mash potatoes he must have learned, that you dont throw an undercooked steak out! you simply put it back on the grill until it is cooked properly. It is a bit too much to ask the resturant to burn money away like that. And if i recall sides at the resturant are 5 dollars, not 7.50, and maybe the server thought you, or your wife looked healthy enough to get the extra side. I frequent dunaways quite often, and i found like any place you eat, if you are reasonable they will be reasonable as well. Maybe if a hundred dollar meal to you is such a big spend, try applebee's, they now have a celebrity chef creating dishes for them, it sounds like that is probably more your speed. I have found over the years that resturants, good ones anyway, aren't into compensation. I always have a great time, well knowledgable waitors, generous management, and the best wine selection in town, (when the list is full). thank you Pros: great wine list, good food Cons: elderly hostess more

I ordered and the waitress says, ""Would you like the mashed potatoes with that"". Of course, I said yes, because they come with the meal. She repeated this process with my girlfriend. Well, I get the mashed potatoes that comes with my meal, and A SECOND ORDER! Are you kidding me? That tricky waitress got me into ordering two orders. She never stated ""an extra"" or anything, I thought I was just confirming that the mashed potatoes were fine. The same thing happened to my girlfriend. Needless to say I was upset. You're already spending like $100 at the place, bare minimum. Why they feel the need to talk you into an addition helping, for $7.50 extra is beyond me. This place is nasty the way they treat customers. It is very expensive and well overrated. Dunnaway's is a disgrace to restaurants. Cons: rude, tricky, expensive more

I ordered the bone-in ribeye, medium. It was served rare. I asked for a new steak rather than throwing the undercooked one back on the grill. 10 minutes later, I was presented with yet another RARE steak. Two times in a row, so I again asked for another. 3rd times a charm. It would have been a great steak had I not filled myself on bread and mushrooms while I watched everyone else enjoy their meals. Jeff Dunaway was not in the least bit willing to make it right. He said that he saw the steaks and ""...they looked close..."" to him. I've cooked & served many steaks in my day and these were nowhere near close. I wonder if he would have accepted close to the total bill in payment? I spent over $230, didn't enjoy my $36 steak, he offered me a $5 dessert. Business must be good. Pros: location, ambiance Cons: steaks, owner, service more

2 of my girlfriends and I went to Indy for a minor league baseball game and spent the night. After asking for a nice place to eat, we were referred to Dunaway's. We were able to eat on the roof and had a gorgeus sunset to watch. The meal was exquisite, the service impeccable, the atmosphere stupendous! All 3 of us are in the food service industry and know fine dining. Absolutely one of the best places in Indianapolis! I will take my husband next time to truly enjoy the romance! Pros: Great atmosphere, extensive wine list, wonderful menu more

I just couldn't in good conscience allow the last review to be the first. We were treated great the food was marvelous. You don't go to Dunaways looking for a free meal but you walk away with an experience that makes you feel that it was worth what you spent. I would tend to assume the previous reviewer finds something wrong every time just to try and get a free meal. more

Until a recent trip, Dunaway's had been one of my favored Indianapolis restaurants, due in large part to its ambiance. However, a recent poor experience with two food preparation mistakes (on the same dish) and the manager's offer to provide a only free appetizer -- on our next trip -- to compensate sealed this restaurant's fate for me. One expects more from a $200 birthday meal -- especially when both the waitress & manager are aware that due to the kitchen's multiple errors the entrees were eaten separately. The free appetizer offer only added insult to injury. Don't waste your money. Try St. Elmo's!! Never a bad steak or poor customer service. Pros: Ambiance, Wine List Cons: Overpriced, Poor Customer Service more

THE SERVICE AT THIS PLACE WAS AMAZING, ID ID NOT FEEL LIKE MONEY GOING IN BUT IFELT LIKE IT ON THE WAY OUT. THANKS AND THE BARTENDOR WAS GREAT TOO , THANKS SCOTT Pros: ROOMY, MENU VARIETY, SPECIALS more