Excellent service, excellent food. The whole entire place was completely packed and we went I left with a full belly and I'm pretty happy man! A little hidden gem on the side of town as I don't think there's really many good locally owned places in this area at all. So if you're on that side of town you should definitely check it out.
(4)
Richard P.
I'd pondered stopping in to Kinsey's Italian Cafe on many occasions while serving a church in Hagerstown, Indiana. Every weekend for several months, I'd drive by Kinsey's and find myself intrigued by its sign decorated in the colors of the Italian flag. I'd think to myself "This seems like a unique restaurant for tiny McCordsville, Indiana" and then I'd continue on my merry way. Today, a holiday for state employees, I took the time to drive out to McCordsville, a small town on the border of the Marion/Hancock County line, and I decided to finally visit Kinsey's Italian Cafe. Kinsey's is located in a small strip building right on W. Broadway in McCordsville. For Indy residents and the directionally challenged, Pendleton Pike in Indy turns into Broadway in McCordsville. There's only one accessible parking spot, not truly ADA compliant, but workable. There's several other parking spots and it is not really that difficult to find a spot that will work for a chair. The front entrance has one fairly light door going in, though it's a pull-out door rather than a "push." The spring on the door isn't the greatest, so I had to stretch a bit to get it to close. Once you go in, you're smack dab in the middle of a modestly sized, simply decorated dining room with light Italian touches, white walls, and a smalltown Indiana feel. I instantly found it comfortable. There was a "please seat yourself" sign out, but the only server working, Mickie, was at a table nearby and instantly started serving up hospitality. She allowed me my pick of tables and moved an appropriate chair to accommodate the wheelchair. In what had to be a weird occurrence for Kinsey's, about five minutes after my arrival another couple arrived and one of the two adults also was in a wheelchair. Mickie took my drink order, the usual unsweetened iced tea, while I browsed the menu. It was clear, and later affirmed, that they are consciously expanding their menu beyond the already comprehensive Italian fare they offer. While the menu had dinner prices, Kinsey's also offers smaller luncheon fare that are lower price. The luncheon specials include a side salad and garlic knots. I will admit I sort of compromised my crave - I was actually in the mood for Italian, but when I spied a tenderloin on the menu I instantly wanted to try it. A friend of mine is The Tenderloin Connoisseur and I'm always trying to steer him to a new place. Mickie also informed me that they'd only recently started hand-breading their tenderloin and already made their own breads. To summarize their menu, they serve up appetizers, salads, pizzas, calzones, Italian specialty dinners, subs, a variety of sandwiches, desserts, and more. They have daily lunch specials in the $6-8 range, though dinner prices are in the more moderate range (think in the teens). They offer dine-in, carry-out and catering. While there was no question that the tenderloin was truly hand-breaded and served as ordered, I must admit that I was quickly disappointed with this selection. It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It was simply a hand-breaded tenderloin. I appreciated that the thickness was consistent and the texture was consistent, but I found the meat itself to be too chewy and the overall flavor to be somewhat bland. I was glad I'd ordered mayo, which I don't usually do, because that eased the the texture issue quite a bit. Still, it's not something I would order again. It came with chips, though you could upgrade to fries or onion rings - I upgraded to fries for $1.75. They were good - lightly browned and slightly crispy. The serving size for both items was quite abundant and with a meal just over $11, you got a good amount of food for the price. The iced tea was good and I received a "topping off," a refill, and one for the road. So, that was definitely awesome. While I've seen several reviews mention teen servers, on this visit only Mickie was around and she was top notch throughout my visit. She was friendly, hospitable, and genuinely interested when I critiqued the tenderloin in a less than positive manner. I didn't ask for nor expect a refund/discount - again, it wasn't bad. It simply wasn't something I'd try again. Next time, I plan to hit their Italian menu. So, if you're keeping score (and you should be), that's good access, average tenderloin, terrific service, and a pretty darn good value. I even listened to Mickie deal with a customer's order issue and resolve it without ever getting a "tone," not always easy when you're representing a smaller, local business. I also found Mickie's service of diversity worth mentioning - with only a few customers, this particular smalltown Indiana business had black, white, disabled, and a child all amongst their clientele. Mickie treated each person well and managed the dining room quite nicely the entire time.
(3)
Kim T.
I ordered carry out last night and my egg drop soup was green and tasted gross! How in then world can a restaurant serve green egg drop soup? This was disgusting. I will not go back. Think of what could be lurking in their Sushi.
(1)
Ellen B.
This place is a hidden gem! The food is always amazing!! The atmosphere is nothing special, but if you can look past that, the food and their prices are worth it!! Portions are HUGE and prices are good, plus they have great coupons on Coupons4Indy.com
(5)
Charles J.
Tonight was our 4th time eating here in a months time. They are the bomb! The salads are fresh and delicious. I had the lunch portion fettuccine alfredo and it was huge, well-priced, and delicioso! The chicken wings are awesome. We get 20 at a time. They come in multiple styles, but our favorite is the garlic parmesan (which they make themselves) - which we dip in hot sauce and ranch. And of course while dining at this fine Italian Cafe you can't forget to end your dinner with some cannoli. The service is fast and friendly. And the owner even came and talked to us to ensure we were satisfied. Highly recommended.
(5)
Aaron V.
I really want to give 4 stars but I can not. There a couple issues that I really can't get beyond. I have dined in at Kinsey's four times and have carried out pizza or calzones many times. It is local and is very convenient. So here are my gripes: 1. The wait staff is made up of teenagers that are oblivious to the proper way to greet and wait on customers. This is understandable from teenagers and I salute the owner for hiring local people to wait on tables. They need more training upon hiring. They need to address a customer the moment they walk through the door. Every single server needs to keep an eye on all customers regardless if it is their table or not. I received the cold shoulder from 2 out of 3 of the servers tonight more than once because I was not "their" table. Two times I was totally ignored even after it was clear that heard me. Unacceptable! Service is the main concern with Kinsey's. If they could get this in order things would go much better for them. 2. Too much cheese on the dishes and the addons are super skimpy. I had Lasagna and added Italian sausage at a $3 premium to my meal tonight. I could barely find the lasagna under the pound of cheese. Just serve it without 2 inches of cheese on top and let me ask to add parm! That was the first thing that ruined the lasagna. The other was that the $3 Italian sausage add on was tiny pieces of sausage floating in the cheese and pasta sauce hot tub of stuff floating around the lasagna cheese barge. Just put two nice sized sausages on the dang plate with no cheese blanket and it would be awesome. Heck even cut the portion in half! Only Garfield the cat could eat that large of a portion of lasagna in one sitting. So..take lasagna, put a nice square on plate, spoon a little sauce on top, sprinkle a few herbs on top, and serve. No cheese barge! 3. Do something with the dang front door. They need an entryway built in front of the current doors so you don't get wind chill drafts in your face as you eat when someone else walks in. If you sit anywhere near the entrance you will freeze while eating your cheese barge. I recommend sitting to the far right as you walk in. 4. Invest more money on the greens you put in the salads. The greens in our salads were almost entirely the white part of the lettuce. Not appetizing and bitter. You should also have the server ask the customer if they want Feta Cheese on their salad or not. A lot of people do not like Feta.
(3)
Jeanne B.
So glad to have Kinsey's in the area. Great italian food! The marinara sauce is wonderful and enhances all of the entrees. The lasagna and chicken Parmesan are our family favorites. Entrees come with salad - crisp greens with tomato, olives and cheese & garlic knot rolls, cannoli for dessert is a great choice! The have a great beer and wine list too! Not a formal setting- but great food at great prices.
(5)
Andrew C.
After a very long day of work and fun my wife and I wanted to go out to eat but wanted something close by. I searched our nearby restaurants on Yelp and came up with Kinseys. We have lived in the area for about a year but had not tried this place and we could almost walk there. It's located in a pretty run down looking center but thankfully the inside is better kept than the outside. I ordered the Spinach Abbruzo and my wife ordered the Chicken Cattatorie. The meals were started with very fresh salads that were a perfect start to the meals to come. Both entrees were served piping hot and in very large portions. The flavors were great both entrees were packed with flavor. My wife's chicken Cattatorie had some of the most flavorful marinara sauce i have ever had. The garlic knots were a very nice accompaniment to our meals to help sop up the rest of the sauce left in the bowl. We finished things off with a salted caramel brownie with a pretzel crust. This will definitely be a go to spot for us especially with it so close to home. The servers were all very friendly and we had a great experience overall.
(5)
Jared S.
Family owned & operated and it shows. More care goes into the food & service when locally owned versus chain restaurants. While more pricey than say Olive Garden the food is of much better quality. I've been here plenty of times and loved everything I've tried. Garlic knots are a must!
(5)
Lindsey P.
I have high standards for Italian food, and Italian restaurants usually let me down. My husband and I have been to Kinsey's twice. On our most recent visit, I ordered the fettuccine alfredo and my husband ordered a combination plate (lasagna & spaghetti). We both felt the food was too greasy/buttery. I literally had to use my napkin to sop up the pools of butter in my dish! I also wasn't convinced the alfredo sauce was homemade... which is a big deal to me. The service has always been pleasant, and the prices are decent... But we probably won't be back.
(2)
Brian M.
I've never tasted such greasy pizza in all my life. I would rather spend extra money on big name pizza chains and get quality pizza than to eat that grease trap again. My company orders this crap all the time and half of us do not eat it because its dripping with grease.
(1)
Susie H.
We had an outstanding experience for the price. The decor has been updated nicely, and everything we ordered was good. We started with calamari, which was in fried rings, different, but fine. The salad had a nice variety of ingredients, and was chilled and crisp. The entrees were enormous, and the sauce is obviously homemade. The garlic knots were exceptional. All in all, I figure I will have had two meals for my $9.99, because we had leftovers of everything. When I got home, did some research and discovered that Kinsey's is connected to Daddio's, it made a lot of sense. We will be back.
(5)
Connie O.
One of the great things about small, privately owned businesses is that customers can build relationships with the owners and operators of these establishments. We were thrilled when Kinsey Italian Cafe opened up near our home a couple years ago, because this meant an opportunity for us to support another small business, and in our area! We are a large family, with older and small children. We do not go out too often, but when we do, we teach our children that we don't go to large chains to eat... we support our community by frequenting small businesses whenever possible. As such, many of our children have never even been to the golden arched place or its competitors. Obviously this costs us more money when we go out, but we think of our purchases as investments in the people that own and work at these places, and until today... this philosophy has always been fruitful. The first time we frequented Kinsey's Italian Cafe, within weeks of opening, we were seated by a very courteous waitress. We tried many different things off the menu, because we wanted to test the waters. Everything came back with good quality and taste, but problems we had were that the wait time was too long and the pizza slices were too large for the smaller children (since we got the largest size pizza that they had). When the children would pick up the slices... all the toppings would slide off and there would be teardrops, and one of us parents would have to put all the toppings back on and cut the slices into smaller pieces with our fork and butter knife so that the little ones could handle their own food. This is something we are used to doing at home, but when we go out we like to make life as easy as possible. We knew that the next time we came to Kinsey Italian Cafe, we would be better prepared. The next time we came, we brought activities for our little children to do while we waited and chatted with the older children. We asked the waitress to have the pizza cut into squares, party style, so that our 3 younger children would be able to handle the pizza themselves. Our waitress looked very confused and replied that all their pizzas were in circular form and not in squares. We replied that we knew that the pizzas came in circles, but when the pizza is done, it is normally cut into large triangular wedges. We very much desired that the pizza would be cut into a grid form, so that square shapes would be the result. This way, our children with small hands could handle their own food. The waitress had an "AH HA" moment, and said that of course we could have the pizza that way. The wait time was still long, but we were prepared with activities this time. The pizza and other food and drinks were produced. Quality of food and drinks was very good, and children happily ate their own food. It was a tremendous experience, and we looked forward to coming back again. Each time we ordered pizza at Kinsey's Italian Cafe, we asked for this style, and with some explanation, we got what we wanted and it worked out great. The last couple times we had a newborn baby, so when we had a craving for pizza, we called Kinsey Italian Cafe and since the mother did not feel her best, going out was not an option. We used the carry out method. We phoned in our order and asked for the pizza to be cut into the square shapes. The person answering the phone informed us that they did not do that. We replied that they had done it for us before. She said okay. When we got there to pick up the pizza, it was cut into 16 slices in the triangular fashion. She explained that they didn't cut pizza into squares there, but their party style cut was to produce super skinny slices by cutting their regular 8 slice pizza into half. We didn't want to argue, so we accepted their pizza. We took it home and tried it. It was a disaster, so we had to cut the pizza ourselves, over their pattern, which was okay for the small children... but terrible for the parents and older children. We wrote it off as a communication problem, and just promised that we would communicate better what we wanted next time. The last time we ordered was last night. We called and asked for a 18 inch pizza cut into squares. The phone response from the lady answering the phone was that they didn't do that there. They could cut into smaller slices like they had done for us last time. We said that it didn't work for us, and that they had cut the squares for us before. She went and asked the owner or manager and they refused to cut into squares for us any more because it make the pizza "soggy". This is strange and regretful to us. We went to Gramboli's in Oaklandon instead last night. They cut our pizza into squares no problem. I am sorry that they don't want our business, or more importantly, a relationship with us.
(1)
Jim L.
Fantastic food. Good service. Great prices!
(5)
T.J. M.
Just tried the pizza, spaghetti, tortellini, ravioli, lasagna, ziti, light and fluffery manicotti, and a few alfredo's. I have to say this is a delicious place. Big portions, super fresh and all in house. LOVED IT. Prices really good too compared to all the other apples to apples italian in Indy actually a bit less. Six dinners, three desserts, three soda's $90, not too bad and I came home with enough leftovers to not even think of cooking tomorrow. Oh and the cannoli, I regret not getting a half dozen for later. This place is worth the trip to way out there, watch your speed and don't let the building shade you out, just look past it. The interior is clean and the food is worth it.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Jason T.
Excellent service, excellent food. The whole entire place was completely packed and we went I left with a full belly and I'm pretty happy man! A little hidden gem on the side of town as I don't think there's really many good locally owned places in this area at all. So if you're on that side of town you should definitely check it out.
(4)Richard P.
I'd pondered stopping in to Kinsey's Italian Cafe on many occasions while serving a church in Hagerstown, Indiana. Every weekend for several months, I'd drive by Kinsey's and find myself intrigued by its sign decorated in the colors of the Italian flag. I'd think to myself "This seems like a unique restaurant for tiny McCordsville, Indiana" and then I'd continue on my merry way. Today, a holiday for state employees, I took the time to drive out to McCordsville, a small town on the border of the Marion/Hancock County line, and I decided to finally visit Kinsey's Italian Cafe. Kinsey's is located in a small strip building right on W. Broadway in McCordsville. For Indy residents and the directionally challenged, Pendleton Pike in Indy turns into Broadway in McCordsville. There's only one accessible parking spot, not truly ADA compliant, but workable. There's several other parking spots and it is not really that difficult to find a spot that will work for a chair. The front entrance has one fairly light door going in, though it's a pull-out door rather than a "push." The spring on the door isn't the greatest, so I had to stretch a bit to get it to close. Once you go in, you're smack dab in the middle of a modestly sized, simply decorated dining room with light Italian touches, white walls, and a smalltown Indiana feel. I instantly found it comfortable. There was a "please seat yourself" sign out, but the only server working, Mickie, was at a table nearby and instantly started serving up hospitality. She allowed me my pick of tables and moved an appropriate chair to accommodate the wheelchair. In what had to be a weird occurrence for Kinsey's, about five minutes after my arrival another couple arrived and one of the two adults also was in a wheelchair. Mickie took my drink order, the usual unsweetened iced tea, while I browsed the menu. It was clear, and later affirmed, that they are consciously expanding their menu beyond the already comprehensive Italian fare they offer. While the menu had dinner prices, Kinsey's also offers smaller luncheon fare that are lower price. The luncheon specials include a side salad and garlic knots. I will admit I sort of compromised my crave - I was actually in the mood for Italian, but when I spied a tenderloin on the menu I instantly wanted to try it. A friend of mine is The Tenderloin Connoisseur and I'm always trying to steer him to a new place. Mickie also informed me that they'd only recently started hand-breading their tenderloin and already made their own breads. To summarize their menu, they serve up appetizers, salads, pizzas, calzones, Italian specialty dinners, subs, a variety of sandwiches, desserts, and more. They have daily lunch specials in the $6-8 range, though dinner prices are in the more moderate range (think in the teens). They offer dine-in, carry-out and catering. While there was no question that the tenderloin was truly hand-breaded and served as ordered, I must admit that I was quickly disappointed with this selection. It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It was simply a hand-breaded tenderloin. I appreciated that the thickness was consistent and the texture was consistent, but I found the meat itself to be too chewy and the overall flavor to be somewhat bland. I was glad I'd ordered mayo, which I don't usually do, because that eased the the texture issue quite a bit. Still, it's not something I would order again. It came with chips, though you could upgrade to fries or onion rings - I upgraded to fries for $1.75. They were good - lightly browned and slightly crispy. The serving size for both items was quite abundant and with a meal just over $11, you got a good amount of food for the price. The iced tea was good and I received a "topping off," a refill, and one for the road. So, that was definitely awesome. While I've seen several reviews mention teen servers, on this visit only Mickie was around and she was top notch throughout my visit. She was friendly, hospitable, and genuinely interested when I critiqued the tenderloin in a less than positive manner. I didn't ask for nor expect a refund/discount - again, it wasn't bad. It simply wasn't something I'd try again. Next time, I plan to hit their Italian menu. So, if you're keeping score (and you should be), that's good access, average tenderloin, terrific service, and a pretty darn good value. I even listened to Mickie deal with a customer's order issue and resolve it without ever getting a "tone," not always easy when you're representing a smaller, local business. I also found Mickie's service of diversity worth mentioning - with only a few customers, this particular smalltown Indiana business had black, white, disabled, and a child all amongst their clientele. Mickie treated each person well and managed the dining room quite nicely the entire time.
(3)Kim T.
I ordered carry out last night and my egg drop soup was green and tasted gross! How in then world can a restaurant serve green egg drop soup? This was disgusting. I will not go back. Think of what could be lurking in their Sushi.
(1)Ellen B.
This place is a hidden gem! The food is always amazing!! The atmosphere is nothing special, but if you can look past that, the food and their prices are worth it!! Portions are HUGE and prices are good, plus they have great coupons on Coupons4Indy.com
(5)Charles J.
Tonight was our 4th time eating here in a months time. They are the bomb! The salads are fresh and delicious. I had the lunch portion fettuccine alfredo and it was huge, well-priced, and delicioso! The chicken wings are awesome. We get 20 at a time. They come in multiple styles, but our favorite is the garlic parmesan (which they make themselves) - which we dip in hot sauce and ranch. And of course while dining at this fine Italian Cafe you can't forget to end your dinner with some cannoli. The service is fast and friendly. And the owner even came and talked to us to ensure we were satisfied. Highly recommended.
(5)Aaron V.
I really want to give 4 stars but I can not. There a couple issues that I really can't get beyond. I have dined in at Kinsey's four times and have carried out pizza or calzones many times. It is local and is very convenient. So here are my gripes: 1. The wait staff is made up of teenagers that are oblivious to the proper way to greet and wait on customers. This is understandable from teenagers and I salute the owner for hiring local people to wait on tables. They need more training upon hiring. They need to address a customer the moment they walk through the door. Every single server needs to keep an eye on all customers regardless if it is their table or not. I received the cold shoulder from 2 out of 3 of the servers tonight more than once because I was not "their" table. Two times I was totally ignored even after it was clear that heard me. Unacceptable! Service is the main concern with Kinsey's. If they could get this in order things would go much better for them. 2. Too much cheese on the dishes and the addons are super skimpy. I had Lasagna and added Italian sausage at a $3 premium to my meal tonight. I could barely find the lasagna under the pound of cheese. Just serve it without 2 inches of cheese on top and let me ask to add parm! That was the first thing that ruined the lasagna. The other was that the $3 Italian sausage add on was tiny pieces of sausage floating in the cheese and pasta sauce hot tub of stuff floating around the lasagna cheese barge. Just put two nice sized sausages on the dang plate with no cheese blanket and it would be awesome. Heck even cut the portion in half! Only Garfield the cat could eat that large of a portion of lasagna in one sitting. So..take lasagna, put a nice square on plate, spoon a little sauce on top, sprinkle a few herbs on top, and serve. No cheese barge! 3. Do something with the dang front door. They need an entryway built in front of the current doors so you don't get wind chill drafts in your face as you eat when someone else walks in. If you sit anywhere near the entrance you will freeze while eating your cheese barge. I recommend sitting to the far right as you walk in. 4. Invest more money on the greens you put in the salads. The greens in our salads were almost entirely the white part of the lettuce. Not appetizing and bitter. You should also have the server ask the customer if they want Feta Cheese on their salad or not. A lot of people do not like Feta.
(3)Jeanne B.
So glad to have Kinsey's in the area. Great italian food! The marinara sauce is wonderful and enhances all of the entrees. The lasagna and chicken Parmesan are our family favorites. Entrees come with salad - crisp greens with tomato, olives and cheese & garlic knot rolls, cannoli for dessert is a great choice! The have a great beer and wine list too! Not a formal setting- but great food at great prices.
(5)Andrew C.
After a very long day of work and fun my wife and I wanted to go out to eat but wanted something close by. I searched our nearby restaurants on Yelp and came up with Kinseys. We have lived in the area for about a year but had not tried this place and we could almost walk there. It's located in a pretty run down looking center but thankfully the inside is better kept than the outside. I ordered the Spinach Abbruzo and my wife ordered the Chicken Cattatorie. The meals were started with very fresh salads that were a perfect start to the meals to come. Both entrees were served piping hot and in very large portions. The flavors were great both entrees were packed with flavor. My wife's chicken Cattatorie had some of the most flavorful marinara sauce i have ever had. The garlic knots were a very nice accompaniment to our meals to help sop up the rest of the sauce left in the bowl. We finished things off with a salted caramel brownie with a pretzel crust. This will definitely be a go to spot for us especially with it so close to home. The servers were all very friendly and we had a great experience overall.
(5)Jared S.
Family owned & operated and it shows. More care goes into the food & service when locally owned versus chain restaurants. While more pricey than say Olive Garden the food is of much better quality. I've been here plenty of times and loved everything I've tried. Garlic knots are a must!
(5)Lindsey P.
I have high standards for Italian food, and Italian restaurants usually let me down. My husband and I have been to Kinsey's twice. On our most recent visit, I ordered the fettuccine alfredo and my husband ordered a combination plate (lasagna & spaghetti). We both felt the food was too greasy/buttery. I literally had to use my napkin to sop up the pools of butter in my dish! I also wasn't convinced the alfredo sauce was homemade... which is a big deal to me. The service has always been pleasant, and the prices are decent... But we probably won't be back.
(2)Brian M.
I've never tasted such greasy pizza in all my life. I would rather spend extra money on big name pizza chains and get quality pizza than to eat that grease trap again. My company orders this crap all the time and half of us do not eat it because its dripping with grease.
(1)Susie H.
We had an outstanding experience for the price. The decor has been updated nicely, and everything we ordered was good. We started with calamari, which was in fried rings, different, but fine. The salad had a nice variety of ingredients, and was chilled and crisp. The entrees were enormous, and the sauce is obviously homemade. The garlic knots were exceptional. All in all, I figure I will have had two meals for my $9.99, because we had leftovers of everything. When I got home, did some research and discovered that Kinsey's is connected to Daddio's, it made a lot of sense. We will be back.
(5)Connie O.
One of the great things about small, privately owned businesses is that customers can build relationships with the owners and operators of these establishments. We were thrilled when Kinsey Italian Cafe opened up near our home a couple years ago, because this meant an opportunity for us to support another small business, and in our area! We are a large family, with older and small children. We do not go out too often, but when we do, we teach our children that we don't go to large chains to eat... we support our community by frequenting small businesses whenever possible. As such, many of our children have never even been to the golden arched place or its competitors. Obviously this costs us more money when we go out, but we think of our purchases as investments in the people that own and work at these places, and until today... this philosophy has always been fruitful. The first time we frequented Kinsey's Italian Cafe, within weeks of opening, we were seated by a very courteous waitress. We tried many different things off the menu, because we wanted to test the waters. Everything came back with good quality and taste, but problems we had were that the wait time was too long and the pizza slices were too large for the smaller children (since we got the largest size pizza that they had). When the children would pick up the slices... all the toppings would slide off and there would be teardrops, and one of us parents would have to put all the toppings back on and cut the slices into smaller pieces with our fork and butter knife so that the little ones could handle their own food. This is something we are used to doing at home, but when we go out we like to make life as easy as possible. We knew that the next time we came to Kinsey Italian Cafe, we would be better prepared. The next time we came, we brought activities for our little children to do while we waited and chatted with the older children. We asked the waitress to have the pizza cut into squares, party style, so that our 3 younger children would be able to handle the pizza themselves. Our waitress looked very confused and replied that all their pizzas were in circular form and not in squares. We replied that we knew that the pizzas came in circles, but when the pizza is done, it is normally cut into large triangular wedges. We very much desired that the pizza would be cut into a grid form, so that square shapes would be the result. This way, our children with small hands could handle their own food. The waitress had an "AH HA" moment, and said that of course we could have the pizza that way. The wait time was still long, but we were prepared with activities this time. The pizza and other food and drinks were produced. Quality of food and drinks was very good, and children happily ate their own food. It was a tremendous experience, and we looked forward to coming back again. Each time we ordered pizza at Kinsey's Italian Cafe, we asked for this style, and with some explanation, we got what we wanted and it worked out great. The last couple times we had a newborn baby, so when we had a craving for pizza, we called Kinsey Italian Cafe and since the mother did not feel her best, going out was not an option. We used the carry out method. We phoned in our order and asked for the pizza to be cut into the square shapes. The person answering the phone informed us that they did not do that. We replied that they had done it for us before. She said okay. When we got there to pick up the pizza, it was cut into 16 slices in the triangular fashion. She explained that they didn't cut pizza into squares there, but their party style cut was to produce super skinny slices by cutting their regular 8 slice pizza into half. We didn't want to argue, so we accepted their pizza. We took it home and tried it. It was a disaster, so we had to cut the pizza ourselves, over their pattern, which was okay for the small children... but terrible for the parents and older children. We wrote it off as a communication problem, and just promised that we would communicate better what we wanted next time. The last time we ordered was last night. We called and asked for a 18 inch pizza cut into squares. The phone response from the lady answering the phone was that they didn't do that there. They could cut into smaller slices like they had done for us last time. We said that it didn't work for us, and that they had cut the squares for us before. She went and asked the owner or manager and they refused to cut into squares for us any more because it make the pizza "soggy". This is strange and regretful to us. We went to Gramboli's in Oaklandon instead last night. They cut our pizza into squares no problem. I am sorry that they don't want our business, or more importantly, a relationship with us.
(1)Jim L.
Fantastic food. Good service. Great prices!
(5)T.J. M.
Just tried the pizza, spaghetti, tortellini, ravioli, lasagna, ziti, light and fluffery manicotti, and a few alfredo's. I have to say this is a delicious place. Big portions, super fresh and all in house. LOVED IT. Prices really good too compared to all the other apples to apples italian in Indy actually a bit less. Six dinners, three desserts, three soda's $90, not too bad and I came home with enough leftovers to not even think of cooking tomorrow. Oh and the cannoli, I regret not getting a half dozen for later. This place is worth the trip to way out there, watch your speed and don't let the building shade you out, just look past it. The interior is clean and the food is worth it.
(5)