Cafe Django

Café Django had the best vegan breakfast, sadly it is no more
I remember going for breakfast and ordering the single vegan option (tofu scramble) and expecting it to be mediocre. I ended up having more food than anyone else I was with! The dumplings were so good with it!
I’ll miss you, café django

I’m of the opinion that service can make or break a restaurant experience, and Café Django firmly cements my belief. The restaurant was virtually empty when my group of 6 visited, yet our food took a looooong time and our waitress was either rude or just extremely inexperienced. To be frank, she should pick a new job.
The food was actually quite good once we finally got it. I had the lamb burger, which was flavorful and rich and included a delicious spicy chutney. The fries were crisp.
It’s located in a little house near downtown Bloomington, which could be charming, but there’s clutter all over the place so it ends up being dumpy rather than charming. We went on the only night of the week when jazz is not performed (our mistake) and there was a Pandora station playing for half of our visit (including ads!), after which it stopped and left an awkward silence in the deserted restaurant.
For the price, I expected a lot more.
P. S. 20% minimum gratuity for groups — not deserved!!!

I came here for brunch with a few friends. I’m ambivalent about the service, only because the server was really nice and friendly but didn’t keep things in order and didn’t go out of her way for a slow morning. The food, however, was pretty good. Not outstanding, but pretty good for Bloomington standards. I loved the atmosphere and enjoyed the live music.

Meh! The place was empty and we did not have to wait for getting a seat. That’s probably the best I can say about the place. Food was bland.

Updated 1÷25÷14: Café Django was just bought out by Big Woods Brewery! So excited to see what they do with the place!
It was really difficult for me to decide between one or two stars, since the atmosphere here is great and has a lot of potential, but the service is extremely hit or miss. I recommend just going for drinks and the live music. I’ve heard the breakfast/​brunch is good, but I’ve only had lunch and dinner here. I’ve tried almost everything on the menu since I often go for the music and unfortunately I have yet to find something I truly enjoy.

I will be going back. I was blown away by the menu. I had the Aji de Gallina, which is delicious. Atmosphere was very nice. We were there during a busy time and I’m not sure if they weren’t staffed, but we had a quite a time getting the waitress. Good food. Good vibe.
Do try!

If I could give it 3.5 stars, I would, because I had such a friendly server and the place (an old house) is pretty cool.
I first tried to order the Peruvian chicken, but I was informed that it is no longer being prepared (still on menu).
I followed the reviewers’ suggestion and got the Nutty Noodles instead. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t really like it. I tasted very heavy or something.
I did very much like the lentil soup and the fruity tea I ordered, so maybe I need to check the menu more carefully next time.

Went for dinner on a week night. We were told we would be charged a cover for a band starting in over an hour despite the fact we were there for food only and had no intention of waiting an hour for the music. The host was not apologetic and we decided to go elsewhere.
In a separate experience a friend of mind ordered the fresh kobe beef burger that was obviously a frozen burger of low quality and I ordered the avocado salad. The salad was good, but too highly priced for what is delivered. I personally will not eat here again.

If pad thai, peanut butter, and chow mein ever had a threesome the resulting love child would be the Nutty Noodle. I got it cause of recommendations from other Unilocalers. Culinary geniuses, all of them! Let me join them by telling you that YOU MUST GET THE NUTTY NOODLES!
The café itself is small and unassuming. The jazz music that plays on weekends fills the room. If you’re not into dining with loud live music in the background, then come early before the music starts at around 9pm. The owners can’t seem to make up there mind about a culinary theme. There are Mediterranean, Thai, Indian, Korean, and Mexican food items on the menu. It’s good if you like variety, but bad if you’re looking for authenticity and focus on flavors.
Overall loved the ambience and the attentive service (even though I only noticed two servers for the entire dining room). THE NOODLES!

I have had good experiences here and bad ones. Oddly enough, I had my 21^st birthday meal here which looking back feels like an odd choice but I remember the experience fondly. More recently than that though it seems this place has gone down hill. I always did like the mutton curry though.
I know the lady who used to own it was totally crazy but I think it’s under new ownership now so hopefully that helped. I did notice that they painted the building a terrible mauve color that doesn’t do it any justice. I liked the purple.

My new favorite CAFE. My friend and I came across this place by accident. just looking for a place to enjoy some coffee. The breakfast menu is yummy! We both loved their coffee, service and food! I brought my mom here when she came in town, but missed the breakfast hour, so we tried their lunch menu. We loved it as well! Brought my husband here since I was craving their coffee for dinner one cold snowy night… He too fell in love with it and their menu! Going to bring my daughter here next! Truly a unique menu for all 3 meals and I just love that about this place. Yes, every time I came it wasn’t too busy… but that’s what I enjoyed about it! Quiet with light music. Truly a CAFE environment, not an Applebees or O’Charley’s… No loud conversations. a place to sip my coffee, enjoy a great meal without feeling I’m in a hurry.

I don’t know why this place isn’t hyped more!
Service was prompt. Menu was reasonably priced (portions were large enough to take half of it home!). Great atmosphere with indoor and outdoor options. Many vegan options! The food was great. We got the butternut squash soup, spicy Himalyian potatoes, and the Nutty noodles with tofu. All of it was delicious! The spicy-​levels were way less spicy than I expected. So if you like spicy, get the spiciest and some.

Service was slow and almost what I would call timid. We (four diners) ordered several dishes and the only good ones were the Nutty Noodles and the lettuce wraps. The music and interior were nice, except that a door was open to a small messy office in the back — it looked like someone was living in there with dirty clothes strewn about.
The reason for two stars is the rest of our dishes. Over-​cooked mushy edamame, Mediterranean Salad with the smallest bits of feta and olives (served on spinach?!) And the most offensive dish — the falafel. Almost unrecognizable — undercooked flat patties of mush. Served with (deep?)-fried pita triangles, flavorless couscous, and green sour cream (the waiter said that was the only sauce they had — no yogurt/​tahini sauce). Bleh.

There was a change of ownership, so don’t worry about the ‘quirky’ owner mentioned in some reviews. I have liked Django’s for years, specifically I enjoy the House Curry and the smoothies. The nutty noodles are also quite tasty. In the summer, it’s nice to sit at the tables outside and watch people walking up and down Grant Street.
The Achilles’ Heel here is the service. Sometimes it’s good, but I’ve had more than one service trainwreck here, including being embarrassed to have brought friends there on one occasion. I love the food, but you gotta have good service, too.

This review is marginally useful. I just had a drink at Django, but it was on their lovely deck OFF the main Kirkwood drag, and the service was exceptionally pleasant.

Such a strange place. The menu is good, and the food is good, and the waiters and waitresses are the middle ground between a battle between you and the kitchen. Read through for an update.
The food is unusual, a mix of Middle Eastern, Thai, Mediterranean, and more traditional cuisines. Eclectic. Execution isn’t the problem, rather, coordinating everything; it’s almost like a tapas restaurant where things arrive when they arrive. Drink the wine and just enjoy them when they arrive as there’s very rarely anything but really good food coming from the kitchen. However, sometimes things get screwed up. Your mango passion fruit ice tea might have been served as regular tea, because someone put it into the wrong serving pot. On busy nights, random food might show up. I don’t think it’s their software, it’s just that you’re in a reality distortion field, and it’ll work out fine.
The food is a bit expensive, but portion sizes are good. When there’s musical entertainment, try to sit on the patio, as it’s a small place and live musicians will drown your conversation out. Breakfast and luncheon are better this way. I’ve never had anything but excellent entertainment when there, however– when I went to listen. Otherwise, go outside.
For those wondering, you can’t smoke in a restaurant in Monroe County/​Bloomington. Please, if you must, smoke away from doorways as you’ll find there’s a high bias against second hand smoke in Bloomington. Try this place; it’s an experience, and eventually, this place will mature and continue to blossom.
On Feb 16^th, 2013, we went back. The menu has expanded, and there is emphasis on Peruvian, and Thai favorites, but there are many new choices, including strange things… like falafel that was really different and pleasing. It was crowded. A Middle Eastern band was doing a good job, but needed practice and a leader. People dance. It’s still strange here, and still fun. Expect to pay about $ 15 – 25 per person including a drink.
Update July 27, 2013: We went again, a party of 12 with reservations. Once again, we slipped into another dimension. It was explained that there were but a handful of servers (perhaps three). Everything had been quiet until a few minutes ago, then they were slammed. It showed. Things came unglued. It took an hour just to find that our appetizer was depleted and unavailable. By the second hour, food arrived in fits and spurts. The server was certainly harrowed. The food, as always, was good. The server fought their computer. I expected blows or perhaps a crash to the floor. I spied him trying to make it work. Perhaps this is the key to their madness: software. Did we have fun? Yes. Food items were missing, and management needs to pay attention: they looked the fool. Fortunately, they always (eventually) serve good food. The hole to the other dimension closed. We left.

I love the ambiance at Café Django and the food is excellent, especially the nutty noodles! We also enjoy the live jazz on weekends. Love the cozy fireplace on cold rainy days.

I adore Café Django. It’s such a cute restaurant with a nice ambiance. The menu has a wide selection of food, and I think the prices are very reasonable. I almost always get the lentil curry because I love mixing in some Hungarian mushroom soup from the nearby Laughing Planet! Omg, it’s delicious! My boyfriend loves the tropical rice dish.
I’ve been to Café Django several times. Usually, it’s pretty empty, which can be nice or weird, depending on how you look at it. But I’ve also gone on a Saturday night when live jazz was playing. Since the restaurant is so small, the music was too loud to hold a conversation, which was a bit annoying (not that anything could help that).
Overall, Café Django is a really solid restaurant, and a great date place.

This review update is literally just for their Mango Smoothie, my fav drink in this joint. After 4.5 years, it’s still tasted the same and don’t interrupt the owner while she’s making you one, she easily get confused and angry, didn’t have a chance to try their current entrees but looking from the décor, everything still looked the same as I was in college and same owner, again awesome Mango smoothie!!! *slurpp*
Ouh, and this time I found out there’s parking specially for this store in the back, so that’s good, cause downtown B-​town is usually sucks with street parking.

Prices are high, food is greasy, place is often dead. Service is either slow, nonexistent or just plain bizarre. If the woman who owns the place is serving you, be prepared to be perplexed by how someone so nutty can run a business. One of the last times I was there, while eating the barely lukewarm oiliest chicken satay I’ve ever had, I overheard her complaining every time someone would come in inquiring about the «Help Wanted» sign on the door. They’d come in and ask about the job, she’d tell them to come back in a week, and when they’d leave she’d exclaim something like, «I don’t even need a server but I like to leave the sign up in case someone good comes in! Oh, these young girls are so stupid!» Yes. It’s the young girls responding to the «Help Wanted» sign who are stupid, not the owner who puts up a «Help Wanted» sign when there are no open positions! So weird.