Miguel’s Southern Kitchen

Amazing food! The jambalaya and cornbread were so freaking good! Reasonable prices too. I’ll definitely be back.

Food was flavorful, tasty, fresh. Miguel was friendly and helpful with the menu and descriptions. The hours are none the less terrible, its really hard to catch this place open. I don’t understand how a business only operates for 3 hours a day? The décor is nice and classy, well lit, nice floors. all in all a nice joint with crummy hours.

Great cranberry, walnut salad. So good that I ate there for lunch two days in a row. Love the quiet interior. If you are lunching alone it feels very comfortable. After reading the review from the guy from the South, I will need to work my way through the menu but for not I’m trying to stick to salads.

Went to Miguel’s as a result of buying a Groupon several weeks ago. Good place for this kind of promotion, by the way. Walking in we entered a spacious room with high-​ceilings, sparcely spaced dining tables and a colorful mosaic tile pattern on the floor.
The menu is relatively short, but adequately broad for basic fare. They have some «combo» type meals on one side, which come with two sides, then some entrees on the other side with come a la carte. Not sure why on this, because with our group, we had two «combos» and one entrée, and there was a hugely disproportionate amount of food, opposite of the price balance.
We shared some of the meal around to get the flavor of more than just one meal. With the pork hash «combo» I got mashed sweet potatoes and beans. All three were delicious, probably because of the pork fat and butter, but I was satisfied with all. The oven-​roasted chicken my co-​worker got was plentiful, but dry and low on overall flavor. The Jambalaya, which was mixed with rice and no sides (the «entrée»), was flavorful but not spicy enough without adding a good bit of Tabasco.
All in all, the place is decent, clean and provides for some tasty, unique flavors in a world of typical food. But some work could be done to improve the overall experience of Miguel’s Southern Kitchen.

I was not impressed with Miguel’s…I’m sorry. After all the stellar reviews on Unilocal,I was really disappointed. Outside of the restaurant it looks like an upscale restaurant. However, upon entering you walk into a casual seat yourself arrangement where you order at the counter and the staff bring the food out to you on paper plates and in paper bowls. I ordered the roasted chicken which comes with 2 sides. I ordered the blue cornmeal cornbread as one side and the mashed potatoes as the other. When I requested the roasted chicken the owner, I’m assuming Miguel, informed me that the chicken would be a little pink, but not to worry as he ate it yesterday and was still alive. I wanted to change my order after that sales tactic. When it arrived it was a slight pink tint and I was too put off after the warning that I couldn’t get myself to eat more than a couple of bites. My friend got the mac and cheese and the jambalaya. He said the jambalaya was good, but the mac and cheese was not good. It tasted like boiled elbow macaroni with a little cheddar cheese sprinkled on top. Very bland. The blue cornmeal cornbread had a distinct peppery taste, which was not mentioned on the description. It was tolerable, but nothing to write home about. Needless to say, I didn’t come close to finishing my meal here. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.

I tried this place with a classmate because a Groupon and we both left completely satisfied. The menu is on the small side, but still has enough variety that everyone ought to find something that sounds good. The hours were a bit odd, too (weekday lunch and midweek dinner; no weekends). The prices were fair for downtown lunch and the portions were about average. The service was quick, as we were the first group in for lunch. Miguel was very friendly and welcoming, and happily explained the menu to us.
I went with the oven-​roasted chicken breast (no fried chicken here = no temptation haha) with corn bread and collard greens. The chicken was succulent, moist, and perfectly seasoned. Collard greens were nice and collard greeny (for lack of a better term), and the cornbread was more savory than sweet, which was a nice change up from what I’m used to for corn bread. This meal was a great value at $ 7.
My classmate had the red beans and rice and also enjoyed it. Can’t really speak for her beyond that.
We shared a slice of pecan pie that was ooey gooey in all the right ways. I like a little more crust than goo, personally, but it was definitely good
An all-​in-​all good experience. Definitely different than Yats, Papa Roux, Maxine’s, etc., all of which I like. Perhaps I’m easily pleased by southern comfort food? Regardless, I’d happily stop by Miguel’s again for lunch in the future.

I might have to bump this up to a tentative 3 since the owner is at least taking some time to consider the Unilocal feedback.
So Facebook shows their hours as:
Mon — Tue: 11:00 am — 2:00 pm
Wed — Fri: 11:00 am — 2:00 pm
5:00 pm — 8:00 pm
8:00 closing three days a week and no Saturday hours?
Not even until 9 or 10 on Friday? This isn’t 1992;
people actually live and eat downtown. Even if the
food at Yat’s and Papa Roux isn’t quite as good;
they at least seem to adapt to what their customers
want. Hopefully I’ll make it back again before the ship
finally goes under. Best of luck.

I want to love this place, I really do. The food tastes great, best collard greens I’ve ever had. But there is more to a restaurant than just flavor…
The service was very slow. I’ve been here twice for lunch, both times took well over 30 minutes to receive the food… and both times I was one of maybe 3 people in the place. On my second visit, I ordered the mac n cheese and Miguel said «It might take awhile, that’s the only thing that I make to order.» Really? So everything else is pre-​made and it still takes 30 minutes? Must be a slow microwave.
I’m all about southern sides, especially the ones that Miguel makes. But unless you’re getting the hash, meatloaf, or chicken, each side is $ 5! Decent portions, but it didn’t feel right paying $ 15 for a meal in styrofoam containers and served with a plastic fork. Even with a groupon, it’s still overpriced.
I’m rooting for this place because the food is fantastic. But without hiring more staff, reducing prices, or offering lunch deals, I don’t see it sticking around.

Just moved here from the south and I can tell you this is legit southern cooking. Yats schyatchs; this is great food and all the comfort of home. Corn bread is out of control, spicy collard greens are awesome, and a pecan pie that makes you wanna slap yo momma. Migues is a great guy and takes great pride in the food, you can tell. Try it and love it.
Just one suggestion, non-​plastic forks and knives please.

I visited Miguel’s with a few people from my lab, and we were all quite pleased with the taste and quality of the food. At first I was taken aback at the prices, as the menu appears to be all a la carte. However, once I got close enough to the counter, I noticed that all of the entrees on the left include two sides (otherwise the sides are ~$ 5 each!) We each ordered a different main and various sides, including pork hash, roast chicken, and southern meatloaf. I had the roast chicken with collard greens and cornbread. The chicken was flavorful (a full breast with skin on) and quite good, but the sides blew me away. I love greens of all kinds, but had never had collard greens with so much flavor and texture. Miguel’s greens were actually identifiable as greens, well-​seasoned (perhaps a tad bit salty, but they are greens) and had a fantastic texture (no mushy greens here). The cornbread could easily double as dessert, and was a large, incredibly moist triangle full of actual corn. I’ve never had any cornbread like it, and I will definitely be trying to replicate it in my own kitchen.
Service is simple – just order at the counter, get your drink, find a table, and wait a few minutes for your plate to be served up. This place is definitely worth going to, and I can foresee it becoming a workday favorite.

great food! i lived in new orleans for 5 years, and really enjoyed my crawfish étouffée and cornbread was AMAZING.
a little high priced. i know how much it costs to make red beans & rice and the like, and if he wants to get more people in the door he really needs to lower the cost just a little. i paid $ 15 for my etouffe and cornbread (he should kick in a deal that if you purchase cornbread with an entrée it’s only $ 2 instead of the $ 5 he is currently charging) and i’d love to see him stay in business so just trying to give constructive criticism.
seriously though, with the lack of small-​business restaurants and local food, love that it’s an added option for lunch food in the over-​saturated chain-​restaurant downtown area.
good southern food, give it a shot!

Having grown up in the South, I’ve eaten my fair share of real Southern cookin’. As my friend & I headed downtown so I could treat her to her belated birthday lunch, uncertain what we were in the mood for, Miguel’s caught our eye. One could easily mistake the awning with fancy font for an upscale restaurant, but we continued across the street and made our way in. Was I ever glad!
The menu consists of traditional cajun/​homestyle items such as Jambalaya, Red Beans & Rice, Meatloaf, Chicken or Crawfish Étouffée with sides of beans, collard greens, sweet potatoes, and blue corn bread.
I opted for the chicken with collard greens & sweet potatoes. My friend tried the meatloaf, greens & beans. We added cornbread, tea & she took pecan pie to go.
We were both amazed at the buttery, yet firm collard greens — both jumping to agree how good they were. My chicken was juicy and flavorful. Her meatloaf was smaller than I expected, but we had plenty on our plates to fill us up, and she certainly didn’t leave any of it on her plate.
Miguel himself came over to ask how everything was and made a point to tell us his secret to the greens — which, by the way, I would be keeping locked in a vault myself! All was wonderful, and left us both with smiles on our face for finding the location out of the blue. She even got an order of Red Beans & Rice ‘to go’ for her mom to enjoy.
Despite the fact that there are at least three other ‘cajun’ locations in town, but this isn’t really the same or offering similar menu items, so I personally welcome this little gem to Indianapolis and to Miguel — nothing but the best to keep the love alive!
It’s true, the key to a ‘person’s’ heart is through their stomach, and I think I love Miguel’s Southern Kitchen!

Pleased to find an open metered spot on a rainy day right near City Market, I ventured into Miguel’s Southern Kitchen to have lunch before a meeting. This place wasn’t what I expected. It was even better! It is very welcoming and the atmosphere has an easiness that I wasn’t expecting. I felt really comfortable settling into a bowl of Crawfish Étouffée and a giant piece of what can only be referred to as cornbread cake. The sweet, moist blue cornmeal cornbread mushed down into the perfectly smokey Étouffée was the best part. I was able to sample the Jambalaya which was delicious but also the only Red Beans and Rice that ever seemed to me like they could be an actual meal all on their own. I am left looking ahead to when I can return for another piece of that amazing cornbread smothered under some Red Beans and Rice.

Miguel’s restaurant cracked me up today as I walked in and immediately could not see due to my glasses fogging up. Once i cleared the fog, I asked what they recommended. Jambalaya, étouffée, and meatloaf was the answer after the obligatory «it is all good.» I won’t claim to know what is authentic étouffée and what is false. I know that I love the local chains’ creamy versions which I sometimes hear aren’t authentic. I am not a member of the death-​to-​false-​food crowd that will talk about such things. I had the crawfish étouffée. It was definitely different than what i have had. It was served in a nice sized tin bowl and topped with rice. I picked it up from the counter and filled my Styrofoam cup full of aspartame juice. I was stoked on the amount of meat in the dish… both crawfish and sausage. Their version is a bit more soupy than some other, but that is ok. The dish was slightly spicy, but definitely not hot. Hot sauce is there to fix that. One can definitely tell this is a seafood-​ish dish by the flavor (or wherever crawfish come from. sea? swamp? river? I assume its water due to the second part of the word). My only complaints are the dish was a bit salty and the meal with a drink was $ 10 plus tax without tip. I look forward to trying the jambalaya and meatloaf in the future. Oh and they deliver which is cool. $ 25 minimum if its not right near the restaurant though.

I had the jambalaya and it was just perfect. The right amount of rice, shrimp and andouille sausage both cooked perfectly, and just the right amount of spice. The black and white chocolate bread pudding was also delicious. It’s still new and not a lot of people seem to know about it, so even in the middle of the Superbowl madness it was nearly empty and we had our pick of tables.

Delicious menu with great lunch prices! I know they are planning on extending to evening hours once they get settled in.
The owner and chef, Miguel Santana, comes from Northside Social. He has an amazing version of baked beans called soda beans. As their name notes — soda (or as we Hoosiers call it «pop») is used along with an excellent variety of beans in this tasty side.
I’d highly recommend the collared greens and mashed sweet potatoes as well.