Marianne S.
Yelp
TLDR; We just had what was our favorite meal in Indy (and the Indy area) in the two years we have been living here. From the service (we had so many touch points by multiple people who worked there and they were all good) to the food it was an all-around excellent experience. Will be back and would highly recommend Tinker Street.
To start: The Tinker toast is such a fun touch and although I am 9 months pregnant they had a solution so I could partake (ginger beer) which was very nice and appreciated. They also had a selection of non-alcoholic wines which was a nice surprise (the sparkling Rose was excellent, I didn't miss the alcohol at all) for this pregnant person's birthday celebration.
We had the fried mushroom as an appetizer and agree with so many of the reviews. It was excellent. The dishes' combination of textures (fried, soft, crunchy, a little chew, etc) to the flavors (umami, salty, touch of sweetness, acidic, a hint of spice). Seriously an impressive dish, we ate every bite. For our mains, we went with the Duck and dumplings and the Korean Short Rib pasta. The duck was perfectly cooked and the dish as a whole was delicious. The short rib was on the saltier side but full of flavor (if I had one comment maybe just something small to cut the salt..maybe just a little fresh bread) but was still delicious, the pasta was perfect.
For dessert, we went with the seasonal pumpkin creme brulee. Perfect amount of burnt (in a good way) sugar on top and the pepitas also added a nice crunch and a hint of spice. Flavors were great! Not too sweet, just right. The one thing my husband and I both thought was it would be nice if the 'creme' was a little warmer or room temp (I know maybe not traditional, it just felt with the pumpkin personally a little warmth would be good) instead of cold and, again because it's pumpkin, it wasn't very smooth. But those are just personal preferences, it was a good dessert. I could also see it being turned into an amazing bread pudding, but I digress. Next time (and there will be a next time!) we will try their popular ricotta donuts. But if you love pumpkin, this would be a good choice and who doesn't love a seasonal dessert??
All in all, we will go back with every excuse we have (and we live 40 min away) and will be recommending Tinker to others as well.