The Owlery Restaurant

Really neat restaurant. A large selection of vegetarian meals and a nice draft beer list as well. Love the Philly cheesesteak and the grilled cheese sandwich. The British lady who works there is super nice. Located right on the square downtown and brings a much needed set of options to Bloomington.

Excellent place! I took my boyfriend here for his birthday lunch and we absolutely loved it. I’m vegetarian, and I loved being able to order (almost) everything on the menu. My salad and soup were amazing. Honestly, for what you’re getting, the prices aren’t too bad. I feel like $ 10 for a good meal in Bloomington is about the average. We’re definitely coming back!

What’s great about this place is that it’s not strictly vegan. Say you want the poutine, but you want real cheese made from real milk, that can be done. I’ve had the Reuben and the poutine here, both make for a great lunch. The restaurant’s layout is intimate and simplistic, but I’d say that’s a good thing. Don’t shy away from this place if you aren’t vegan!

I’ve been going to the Owlery pretty much once a week for the last few months and was loving it! But I went In today and they had changed some of my favorite menu items and raised their prices. For example, I used to love the BBQ seitan on a kaiser roll, but they’ve raised the price to $ 10 and have changed it to a sub with thinly sliced seitan on french bread. So disappointed and probably won’t be going back if the prices stay as high as they are now.

coming from a really small town i love being able to walk into a busy eatery full of patrons and a menu full of unique options! the onion jam was amazing! love this place

Couldn’t have asked for better! Service, restaurant, and THE FOOD! Our entire group with different diets and preferences could pick from anything on the menu, I want one in my town ASAP!

Here goes. Will I finally award the coveted 5 tahini-​fake-​chicken sandwiches out of 5? Cover the top of your screen with your hand and read to find out!
The Owlery AKA The Owlery Restaurant is a real treat. On a side note, it’s kind of funny how they had to be totally clear that this is NOT an actual Owlery. No Owls to be found here.
That being said, the minute you walk in, you’re looking at a ton of goofy owl trinkets and merch. This is my kind of place. They had one unifying idea for decoration and they thought no further than that. It’s like a place full of random Goodwill-​wave owl knick knacks. Pretty incredible.
Onto a roller coaster of highs and lows here. The food is all vegetarian, but in like a «Totally fool’d ya!» kinda way. It’s all fake meats, tofu, seitan and the like. The menu has it listed as like the meat it’s impersonating. So, the seitan Philly Cheese Steak thing is just listed as a Philly Cheese Steak. Kinda cool, I guess, or maybe not, depends who you are? Also, a ton of things on the menu are fried. I can’t say for certain, but a lot of it is probably not that healthy, haha. That being said, everything I have ever had there has been delicious or not bad. What more is there to say?
Well, actually a lot. So, the service is weirdly awful. It’s not like slow or anything, but it is basically the one restaurant I have had multiple bad experiences at. It kind of feels like maybe the servers are a little too cool for me? I mean, this is coming from somebody with a dumb haircut, so that’s saying something. I got a fake chicken sandwich one time and it mysteriously came with Tahini sauce on it. So, I was like «Hello, Good Sir, My chicken sandwich has Tahini Sauce on it. Might I implore you for a replacement?.» I mean, paraphrasing, I didn’t actually talk like that, but you get the idea. Anyways, he was like «Um, I’m pretty sure you asked for Tahini sauce on it» and then I mumbled «No» and we just sort of looked at each other.
For the record, I was given a new sandwich, but also, I totally did not ask for Tahini. Why would anyone ask for a weird sandwich like that? Even if I had, it seemed like a confrontational moment. I don’t know. His job sucks benefit of the doubt, I guess. They also followed my friend Xin outside of the restaurant and told him he hadn’t paid even though he had, which he was rightfully grumpy about.
Food is too dang good though, dude. 5 tahini-​drenched weirdo sandwiches w/​a dumb asymmetrical haircut out of 5.

I’ve only been to the Owlery during Brunch, but it never disappoints and the fresh roasted and brewed coffee is amazing! Now if only I could get it shipped down to Texas.

I’ll start off the review by saying that I was tricked into eating here. I am not vegan or vegetarian and would never choose to eat here by choice. But a girl suggested it and I happily went along.
I ordered the fish tacos. After finishing the first taco out of my hand, she asked how was your «fish» taco even tho it was made of tofu? The last bite almost shot out of my mouth.
I honestly had me fooled that it was able to swim on its own at one point. Snuck the fekking thing in on me. The last taco was not the same and the girl is now exiled for divulging the secret.
If you’re not vegetarian and read this, you’ll be disappointed. If you read it afterwards, you’ll also be disappointed. Don’t ask questions, just put it in your mouth.

The Owlery is a great affordable option for vegans and gf (celiacs or sensitivities).
I’ve gotten their soup (hearty and good), BLT (pretty good) and tofu salad or peanut bowl (my favorite and why I prefer lunch over dinner there). I have yet to go for brunch.
I wish they served wine for gf guests.
I think they could go a little further in their flavor combinations but I’m grateful they have gf options and are in a convenient location.

This is, by far, our favorite place to do brunch. We’ve been eating here since they moved to the square and their brunch has been consistently awesome! I love the biscuits and gravy with tvp. Every time I come in for brunch, I say I’ll get something else but I never, ever do. My wife always gets the This American Brunch (a special ran from 10 – 11) and she says the pancake that comes with it is the best pancake in town. A friend of ours usually brunches with us and she loves the tofu scramble with tofu bacon.
While I love the brunch here, I don’t usually find the dinner menu worth it. We’ve eaten dinner here three or four times and are never overly impressed. Don’t get me wrong, the food is good. It just doesn’t shock and awe me like the super fantastic brunch.

I love the appetizers here! The entrees though, get a bit disappointing.
There are a couple restaurants out there where I like the vegan alternative better than the real thing, and despite The Owlery doesn’t have much competition in Bloomington, they manage to do so with their appetizers. Flavourful, tasty, and light tofu dishes are a delight!
Their imitation cheese though, is the same brand that you can get for a couple bucks at any local grocer, and that makes any dish involving it taste absolutely terrible. Some others, such as the reuben are decent enough, but at the moment, their poutine isn’t good enough to be enjoyed as a full-​vegan dish. A lot of what they sell is very easy to make, so save yourself some money and get the ingredients at the nearby Bloomingfoods or Krogers and make it yourself
Imitation meat: ¹⁄₅
Cheeses: ⁰⁄₅
Bread: ¹⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Diversity: ¹⁄₅
Price: $$/​$$$$
Satisfaction:Price– ³⁄₅

When I first started going through possible restaurants once I found out I would be visiting Bloomington, The Owlery was at the top of my list. I ended up visiting it towards the end of my list and at one point, I even thought about not going. My first full day, I had called in to ask if I could eat anything (vegetarian food with no onion and garlic). It took a while, but I was essentially told I could have the salad (s) and possibly the fries.
A vegetarian going to a vegetarian restaurant and I can only get the salad and the fries. I might as well go to a Texas Steakhouse.
What got me was probably because how initially excited I was about their menu. I love comfort food. I usually lean towards healthy food, but once in a while, you just want to enjoy and indulge regardless of the number of calories and fat. I was on a trip so this was one of those times. I wanted to stuff myself with vegetarian poutine and maybe those «fish» and chips. I occasionally host comfort food dinners and I wanted to finally have someone else cook and serve it to me.
I ultimately decided to go in person because (1) I wanted to support vegetarian eateries and (2) I wanted to give them a legit chance.
The place is cute, small (not that small though) but somewhat easy to miss. It has a bar and serves alcohol and draft beers. The inside was very dimly lit; most of the light came from the windows and the restaurant went in deep. I enjoy the owl theme, though I wonder why owls. There were a number of tables there… and only one person. She gets a ton of respect from me because she was constantly running everywhere — and she STILL had a [genuine] smile on her face and was ready to help. However, because she was only one person, service was a little slow.
I was seated with my menu and I sat there for a while. After she tended to the people who came before me, she came over and I told her about my dietary restrictions. She was really helpful and went back and forth from the kitchen. I found out that I could also get the BLT and the Grilled Cheese, because I had a BLT the day before and Grilled Cheese would fit the title of comfort food. Though I could get the fries, the fries are fried in the same fryer as the onions. I decided to (sadly) pass on the fries. I got the side salad, because it was safest. At least it wasn’t the main meal?
The sandwich was pretty good. Instead of just cheese, there were also tomatoes and greens inside, which gave it a little extra something. It was crispy, juicy, and stringy (from the cheese, so a good kind of stringy). However, it wasn’t as stringy due to the added veggies in the middle (it cooled down the melty cheese slightly. or maybe it just needed more cheese). The salad was substantial and the dressing was good. It was essentially comfort food if you ignored the salad portion. Simple stuff that came perfectly together. Nothing amazing, but nothing to scoff at. It makes me curious about their BLT and how they interpreted it… and how they make their tofu «bacon».
They also have vegan goodies, but I opted out. They did look delicious, though!
I’m still very, VERY down about not having anything else on the menu, but have decided to make my own vegetarian poutine when back in my kitchen. The service was great considering how she had too much to do. Though lighting was a little too dim, I liked the simplicity of the décor. Food was good. Why only 4 stars? Merely because of the (lack of) variety of options for me.
Which still tickles my funny bone, haha. …It’s really not that funny because it’s at my expense.
I do love the idea of a vegetarian restaurant that specializes in comfort food, though.

I love this restaurant because this is a vegetarian restaurant, so when I don’t want to eat meat, I will go here to have a meal, they have some deserts like cup cakes in counter. I like their appetizer, fried tofu with coconut peanut sauce, their sandwich is so so, the fried tofu in sandwich B.L.T is too salty.

This is a really great vegan place in Bloomington. The food is actually very tasty and delicious. Prices are also very reasonable. The only issue I had was tha almost everything was made out of tofu which I am not a big fan of.

Went to for twice and this is designed for vegetarians.
Tried their signature appetizer coconut tofu with peanut butter sauce, and the BLT sandwich was so so, even though the ‘bacon’ was made of tofu.
The service here was average.

Deliiiishhhhhh healthy food. They have beer too. I wish I could go back and try everything on the menu but I don’t live in the area :(
Get the vegan BLT or the peanut veggie bowl thing.

Yesterday I went here for Lunch with my meat loving brother. He’s still afraid of any fake meat period so he got a grilled cheese with fries and (his favorite, Blu sky root beer soda). i get always get my favorite, the BLT w/​avocado and a sweet tea. It always hits the spot. I would skip their deserts though (most of the time they are stale).

This is a great place for anyone… veggie or non-​veg. They have stuff that doesn’t sound too experimental and I can get my non-​veg friends to love. Also, they typically have a $ 3 pint of some local brew.
All items can be made vegan. That’s a huge perk. Some come vegetarian (and you may have thought it was vegan) so do clarify as needed. I personally love the BLT with fried green tomatoes and avocado. Its a summertime special to add the fried green tomato as they try to serve seasonally
Its a great low key environment. From hipsters to courthouse workers that work across the street frequent this establishment. Plenty of healthy options and also delicious vegan desserts. Some food can be slightly salty, but use your brew to cover.

YAASSSS, Bloomington, YASSSS! Indianapolis needs to follow your lead here and get an amazing vegan/​veggie place like this. It offers all of those food items that us veggies crave every now and then.
This previous time, I was craving a Reuben. Of course they had a Reuben! One of the best tasting sandwiches I’ve had too, even when I did eat mean.
The staff are friendly and down to earth. The place is awesome inside (a little small so get there early). Overall, one of my favorite veggie places I’ve ever been to!