Cadillac Ranch

Reviews 3

ER

Eric Karwisch

This place needs a bar rescue...in a bad way. My wife and I were going to try a new place for dinner and drinks last night. We didnt make plans, just went downtown. I knew the name Cadillac Ranch from a recent vacation. So we thought we would try it. What a mistake. The place "looks" great. The owners put money into the décor and technology, but they must have spared it on training and management. There appeared to be ample staff, but no one was stationed as a host/greeter, so we sat ourselves. We waited 5 minutes or so as several servers walked by, finally we got menus to look at but only after going to the bar and asking. We seemed an imposition, so we decided to eat somewhere else. It was amazing, the place had roughly two dozen customers but the employees couldnt be bothered to wait on us. So we went up Meridian to another place and had dinner. Later in the night we decided to give it another try. I am a beer lover and I wanted to try Cadillac Ranchs microbrew. This time we tried a table right next to the bar, figuring that we might get better service. I was wrong. We waited for 5 minutes, before flagged down a waiter and asked about the beers. He pointed to the table card (that we already had been looking at) and said "thats what we have on tap. Ill give you a few minutes to decide" and left. We couldnt believe it. As we waited, we noticed that the Cadillac Ranch had many televisions, many with sports and some with Country Music videos. We could barely hear the music though. Made us wonder, why you would have a place with this theme, and you wouldnt play the music loud enough for anyone to hear. After a few more minutes, I walked over to the bar and asked about their beers. A bartender didnt offer any information or insight, just pointed to another copy of the table card. I asked for a sample of 2 of the 3 beers, which he gave me. He then asked what I wanted. I said that we were sitting at a table (20 feet away) and he said he would send a waiter to take our order...ok. A few minutes later, the same waiter that initially talked to us came over (didnt acknowledge our wait) and I ordered a beer. I asked if they had different sized pours, he said they just had pints. When my "pint" was delivered it came in a plastic cup. The waiter placed it on our table and kept moving. I couldnt believe it. The place had 30 maybe 40 patrons, plenty of staff (many were standing around talking to each other) and it took almost 20 minutes to get a drink in a plastic cup. I decided to ask for a glass...which I had to go to the bar to do...and the male bartender responded that all beer is served in plastic after 10PM and gave me a pint glass. As I poured my beer from the plastic cup into the glass, three things occurred to me 1. Why wasnt my beer in a glass if they had them clean and available, 2. it was 9:30PM, and 3. the plastic cup was only 12 oz. and not a pint. The beer wasnt bad at all, pretty good...but we werent going to try and order anything else. Empty glasses, I tried to hail the waiter to settle up...with no luck, so I went to the bar. While paying, I asked the bartenders (two ladies) if we had somehow upset someone. That we had a bad experience. I told them that I was also surprised that they would serve their own product in a plastic cup. They told me what I owed. We tried to give this place a chance, and a second, and a third...we wanted to enjoy ourselves, but unfortunately no one at the Cadillac Ranch wanted us to. This place will be closed inside of a year.

A

A Private User

This place is awesome and unlike any other Bartinis in the country. Located on South Meridian, in the old Union Station buildling, this club is located underneath the overpass of the train station: where trains still run overhead. If you are looking for a night club with plenty of choices and options, this is it. From plush VIP or at the bar with standing room only, to people watching with a wide variety of party goers, lots of dancing and more there is something for everyone here. This place is literally all ages from 21-67, all of which seem to be having a good time. There is typically a $5-$10 cover at this establishment (except during events, it tends to be higher). Secuirty and door staff are extremely professional. Be prepared to show two forms of identification and meet dress code standards (no hats, chains, baggy pants, jerseys, etc...). Once inside you will have access to Bartinis as well as the connecting club, Cadillac Ranch. When you enter Bartinis, there are 3 large bars fully equipped with staff to meet the needs of a high volume club. The dance floor takes up the the largest portion of the club, centrally located in front of the DJ booth and in between all three bars. There is also a plush VIP area comprised of white leather booths, lifted above the dance floor behind the DJ booth, offering a private atmosphere within the club setting. If you can stand the loud music, there is no reason that you shouldnt be letting loose and having a blast. The DJ on Thursdays and Saturdays tends to play a similar set each night, but if you are here from time to time, the music is great.The Firday night DJ plays a live radio set for what they call "Friday Night Vibe." The music is always good for dancing. Indoors is a smoke free environment (love this!), but for smokers, there is a smoking patio with a fire pit in the winter, and "hang out" patio seating in the summer; the patio seems to be quite a popular spot in the summer and youll find plenty of people huddled around the fire the during the cold months. Drinks start at $4 if there is nothing on special (like Saturday nights) but for downtown that is still decent pricing. The only times I have ever seen or heard people have a bad experience with staff is when the patron is drunk and disorderly or down right disrespectful and pompus. Noone likes to be treated with disrepect and an air of entitlement. Follow the basic bar rules when enetering any bar environment, especially one that is dealing with such high volumes (Have order and money ready, say please and thank you, and of course tip as the staff only makes money off tips), and you should have a wonderful experience. With such a large capacity and the alcohol flowing, it is expected that some people will get out of control - this must be why they have so many security on hand, to make sure EVERYBODY in the crowd is able to have a good time, not hindered by one or two idiots. This place gives you the best bang for your buck downtown. Offering two clubs for the price of one with two DJs, two dance floors, and a great atmosphere, you cant beat it.

A

A Private User

This is most certainly one of the best bars in Downtown Indianapolis. As far as dance clubs, this one blows away the competition. As a user said below, only the folks that do not understand how to act in a bar seem to be the only one to have issues. Anytime I go there I have a great time. Polite staff all around (bartenders, security staff, and management). Drinks are reasonably priced, in basic competition with other bars. As far as capacity of the club, its a little much. Fitting that many people inside makes for a great time if youre the type of person that enjoys being in the middle of a thick crowd of dancing people. The VIP areas are unique and private. Security watches over them which is a plus with how large the crowd is. Ive been to every bar downtown and I cant say Ive had more fun at any of them than I have at Bartinis. I will be a returning customer.