Urban Element

I have often driven by Urban Element and thought, «hmm, I need to check that place out.» Well, my husband and I finally stopped by recently for an early lunch. After reading a few Unilocal reviews while standing at the counter, I decided to order the hummus and a vegetable sandwich served with homemade chips. My husband ordered the salmon cakes. I was only disappointed with the hummus, as it was pretty bland. I believe it was supposed to be red pepper, so I was a little surprised at the lack of flavor. The vegetable sandwich was delicious and tasted fresh on a hot summer day. My husband loved the salmon cakes. While I am not opposed to an adult beverage during lunch, I skipped it this go around, but would definitely return in the evening for some music, a good beer and good food. The space is unique and fun with funky local art work.

We went here for lunch after purchasing the Groupon they offered a month or two ago.
For a starter, the hummus was is order. I thought it was pretty disappointing, especially after reading some earlier reviews. I like hummus with a decent amount of garlic and this seemed to have none. In fact, it didn’t seem to have any seasoning at all. I just found it to be pretty bland and forgettable.
The good thing is, that was the only negative. I had the salmon cakes, which I though were pretty tasty. They were huge but had plenty of salmon and not just a bunch of filler. They were served on top of creamed spinach and that was also very good. The fries were crispy but not greasy which is just the way I like them.
My wife had a veggie sandwich and she said it was good. Hers came with the homemade potato chips which I thought were awesome.
Overall, this is a cool joint with a nice vibe. Local artwork hangs on the walls and I always like that touch.
We’ll be back and next time we’ll skip the appetizer and try the cake balls.

The food, atmosphere, staff — it’s so great! I keep meaning to try other things on the menu — but I keep ordering the chicken tenders — they are so good. and they make their own chips… so delish!
It’s close to downtown — easy parking… Sometimes the service gets a little backed up — but they are so nice there, it’s ok.

Before they expanded their hours, I had a few failed attempts on dining here for dinner. On one of my favorite small blocks of the city, Urban Element — since re-​opening under new ownership — has crafted a menu that’s been missing from Indy.
First up, that block it’s on. The block is small, and maybe that’s why I love it. On one side of the street you have Datsa Pizza & Urban Element. On the other it’s The Ambassador with the first floor bar — all in the shadow of the Central Library. Maybe it’s how narrow Penn is… maybe I’m delusions of grandeur and like staring up at tall buildings while eating.
The menu that’s been missing. Since living in Los Angeles for a long while, I love mid-​priced lunch menus that have a healthy slant: entrée salads for under $ 10. Now don’t go huffing and puffing because you want your deep-​fried fix — they have that too. And they serve beer. Yes, beer at lunch is quite all right. Really, it is. Handle yourself much unlike you didn’t handle yourself at your Big Ten school. It’s okay. A cream ale with a salmon salad is just fine.
I opted for a curry chicken salad sandwich. Is curry chicken salad it’s own genre? Lunch’s own oeuvre? Is «Curry Chicken Salad» nom de guerre for a suave Ceylonian spy hunter in the War For Awesome? Because this curry chicken salad is silky and woo-​ing me to order it everywhere I go.
Urban Element’s version… terrific. The whole chicken makes a difference. I didn’t ask what chicken they used but I liked it. Annnnnd… it’s green curry paste! Now you see… the traditional batch is yellow curry. Here, green. It’s easy being green if you’re the curry in me.
It’s listed as on grilled or deep fried pita. I’m not interested in the deep fried. The pita as it is was solid.
The chips were damn good chips. I do believe these are house cut, house fried potato chips.
I’ll be back for the entrée salads, the porch sitting under the library. If there’s ever place to pay to drink a cream ale or just sit outside of your home, it’s this place.

I’m so glad Urban Element is open again! Service was great during lunch. Prices are reasonable and portions are generous. The hummus wrap had way too much hummus inside, but l enjoyed the extra on my chips. Welcome back Urban Element!

Super cool place for a beer and a bite to eat! I sampled a couple of appetizers with my party of 7… The baked crab dip was amazing, the hummus was good, and Bruschetta was decent but not noteworthy. Our group had a variety of entrees, only the hamburger was called «meh» (dry) — everything else seemed well above average. My seared tuna steak with basil aoili was awesome, asparagus on the side…
The owner was walking around while we were there, very personable guy, and made some excellent beer recommendations for us. Overall, we all enjoyed the visit, and look forward to coming back the next time we’re in town.

GREAT food. Average coffee. Good selection of boutique wine and beer. Cool, urban atmosphere. Great staff.

Had my first opportunity to visit Urban Element last Friday. They hosted Run4LifeIndy’s (
) kickoff event and donated 20% of the proceeds of a special Haitian themed dinner to the group.
The Haitian themed specialty items were delicious, although I didn’t realize the fish was a soup. I wondered why it was so runny haha.
There were a couple of their normal menu items on the buffet as well, and I was impressed! The hummus is quite peppery and I was surprised by the spiciness. The bruschetta was AMAZING. I could have eaten the stuff with a spoon.
The atmosphere was fun and funky and I felt very comfortable. They have a decent beer and wine selection as well, so I can imagine this would be a neat place for a night out.
Bottom line: Enjoyed thoroughly and I’ll be back!

I was recently in Urban Elements for my going away party. I am moving to Chicago and HATE that I had not discovered this place earlier. The staff was AWESOME Steve and Heather you rock!
The atmosphere was cozy and comforting. Poetry on Thursdays and live music on the weekends.
If you life downtown or even if you don’t Urban Elements is a great place to spend some time.

I was living at 9^th and Alabama and stumbled across Urban Element’s cool funky interior.
Had a sandwich and a slice of cake which was okay, but at around 8 the DJ started to set up and within a half hour the place was filled, very cool spot to hang out.

Wow! I can’t believe I’ve never visited Urban Element before. This aptly-​named «restaurant, café and lounge» just across from the Central Library feels almost too urban to be in Indianapolis. Chic furniture, local art on the walls, funky waitresses, well-​dressed clientele and a really cool chalk mural all lend this place some street cred.
We came here last night for the Wednesday «happy hour,» featuring half-​priced appetizers and DJ Metrognome. We had the shrimp and crab bake, a gloriously fattening crab spread with three delicious shrimp on top, all to be scooped up with very well-​buttered sourdough toast. For $ 4, this was unbeatable. A lot of the other appetizers were sorely tempting as well, and I plan to come here often enough to try all of them at half price. Props to DJ Metrognome, too, for spinning cool trip-​hop-​ish stuff at a volume low enough not to interfere with conversation. I was a little nervous when I saw there was a DJ coming, as I was in more of a wine-​and-​conversation mood than a party mood, but Metrognome rose to the challenge admirably. I’d be glad to see him again.
Then there was dinner. I ordered the blue cheese pasta with chicken. The sauce was a bit rich for me to finish it all, but the chicken was blackened to perfection. My friend’s bacon-​topped steak left nothing to be desired. We also ordered a bottle of 2004 Merlot, for which we paid $ 18. Pretty decent price for a nice bottle of wine in a restaurant, I’d say.
Sadly, we had no room for dessert, but it was a pleasure to drink our wine and listen to DJ Metrognome’s fresh beats. Keep checking in on their website to see who else is performing – they offer live music several nights a week.