Savoy Restaurant and Lounge

We went to this Cajun-themed seafood restaurant and lounge on an off night (Wednesday) and the initial view was a little off-putting. It’s the kind of place is meant for cool jazz and big crowds, but we didn’t get either this night. The lack of buzz and hustle no doubt made any flaws that much more apparent. The parking lot was cracked, potholed and empty, as if it had suffered long abandonment. The restaurant is in a large empty building that felt cavernous for lack of patrons. The layout is dumbbell shaped, with the restaurant on one end and the lounge on the other – a good layout for keeping the partiers and the diners separate, but far from necessary on this quiet night.

You only get one chance to make a good first impression, and there was some fumbling here. While it may seem minor, the water was extra funky – not “make-you-ill” funky, just “Indianapolis tap water on a bad day” funky. Given that the restaurant is trying to sell itself as elegant and classy, they could have sprung for a slice of lemon. This may seem petty but I was thirsty and the water was icky.

The appetizer menu was promising — pecan shrimp, oysters Pernod, and crab cake napoleon all looked like they were worth a try. The pecan shrimp were coated in a thick crust of pecans, deep fried, and served with a spicy bourbon sauce. The pecan coating could have been a little crisper, but the bourbon sauce was delicious — sweet and rich, with a maple syrup flavor. The six oysters, prepared with blue crab and pepper jack cheese, were nicely presented in the half shell. The flavor was a disappointment. If there was actually any Pernod in the preparation, it was suffocated by the congealed cheese, which dominated the flavor and made it difficult to taste anything else. The crab cake was the best of the appetizers: it's served in layers (like a napoleon!) of greens and these utterly light crispy-chewy wontons. I would have liked the crab itself to be a little more heavily spiced but the wontons almost made up for any other slight deficiencies. We also tried the highly recommended Mama’s Gumbo, a traditional Cajun stew that had a very good smoky flavor (if a bit on the salty side) and was rife with crawfish, shrimp, and andouille sausage. Appetizers are $7-12. The Gumbo’s a bargain at $4 for a cup or $6 for a bowl.

Like the appetizers, there’s nothing shy or retiring about the entrees. Most have snazzy preparations with big sauces and intriguing sides. I wished we would have had more people in our group so I could have entreated others to try the Grilled Filet Mignon with Shrimp Brochettes served with a Worcestershire reduction, as well as the grilled salmon in strawberry BBQ sauce. Alas, we were limited to three: crawfish and shrimp etouffee, Pasta YaYa, and the rack of lamb.

The etouffee was okay. Here’s my issue with etouffee. I try to like it, but it always just tastes like stew where someone seriously over-floured the sauce. I can eat a bite or two but always have to choke the rest down. So, maybe I’m not the best judge of etouffee. Or, maybe I’ve never had good etouffee. Either way, I can tell you that, aside from the flouriness of the sauce, the dish was nicely Cajun spicy and was teeming with crawfish and shrimp. Dave proclaimed that it was “no better than Yats,” (and $11 more than Yats, to boot). You are getting a little more meat for your money, but I don’t think the sauce is any better. Our friend Allen got the Pasta YaYa — linguini, chicken, and andouille sausage in a spicy cream sauce. The sauce was great — a rich and pronounced smoky flavor that made you want to shovel it in long after you ceased to be hungry. The chicken and sausage were plentiful, but the pasta was overcooked, which is particularly undesirable with a cream sauce.

Let me set aside a separate paragraph for the rack of lamb. The waiter told us that the restaurant was particularly known for it. Lamb always makes a great presentation and chefs usually try out some cool sauces with it, but I don’t always like lamb. Often, it’s just too…lamby tasting. This lamb, however, was amazing. The meat (cooked to medium) was incredibly tender with a gentle un-lamby flavor. The chops were encrusted in pecans, and it was no dusting, but rather a thick coating of pecan nuggets still big enough to hold their crunch. The real topper was the Peach demi-glace, which added a wonderful sweet-tart summer-honey flavor. It was a perfect texture combination – the tender chewiness of the lamb, the crunchiness of the nuts, and the creamy smoothness of the sauce. This was definitely the best thing on the menu.

Entrees can be pricy: $14 for pasta up to $27 for my lamb (9 bucks a chop).

Our server was knowledgeable about the menu and quick to offer suggestions. We ordered wine, and it took him what felt like forever to come back with it. And while I appreciated that he took a glass back when he saw it was dirty, it would have been better to check them before bringing them to the table. He also asked us to keep our dirty silverware for the next course, which is fine at Denny’s but sub-par at a restaurant that claims it’s going for “classy.”

I’d be amiss without mentioning their live music scene. With two stages — one in the restaurant and one in the lounge — it looks like this place can party. It’s great to have another venue for jazz/blues, and I’d like to go here on a weekend when a band is playing. Oh, and check out their events page. They have steppers lessons on Tuesday nights (how cool is that?).

Much like the parking lot, the experience was uneven. There were some delicious high points, but some rough-around-the-edges moments as well. If they can work out some of kinks, this place could be a real winner. I’m withholding my “atmosphere” rating until I can go back on a Friday or Saturday night, when there’s live music and the place is hopping. I’ll bet it’s a totally different and much improved vibe.

Location

Savoy Restaurant and Ultra Lounge
2200 W. 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260 (across from St. Vincents)
317-824-0800
www.savoyindy.com
Dinner, Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Ratings

Food:
Service:
Atmosphere: tbd
Price: $$$$