Cafe 251

Tasteful and delicious salads, soups and salads. A quiet place, spacious, friendly staff and quick service. Highly recommend it!

This restaurant is on the first floor of Fifth Third Tower, so it’s definitely got a sort of «business cafeteria» vibe, but don’t let that scare you away from the amazing food, wicked fast service, and reasonable prices.
I don’t know how many people eat here in a day, but I’d guess the lunch crowd is probably north of 400 people. That’s a huge lunch service, and the staff keeps the line moving rapidly. The food is served cafeteria style, but it’s way on the high end of cafeteria quality.
There were at least a dozen unique soup selections, a huge salad selection, sandwiches, and accompaniments. The line flies, the servers are awesome, and the prices are spot on.
Definitely would recommend for lunch when in downtown Indianapolis.

Food is pretty good, but it’s not my idea of a casual lunch spot. It gives off corporate cafeteria vibes.

This is a great little gem! I walked past this place on my way into work for about six months before giving it a try. Why did I wait so long? This is so much more than a typical café. Their soup assortment is great (recommend chicken velvet when available). They also offer a great variety of sandwiches, salads, wraps and baked potatoes. They even steam the baked potato to makes sure everything is hot and yummy! It is definitely my go-​to spot, especially on cold winter days when soup and potato will warm you up!

I frequent Café 251 because it’s close to my job which is across the street. The food is pretty good. It’s your typical café style food, made to order salads, sandwiches, baked potatoes, soups, etc. Friday’s are my favorite because they do taco salads on Friday’s with all the fixings. If you work close by, give it a try. It isn’t the best food I’ve had but it’s descent.

Stellar food and a very fast and friendly staff. I just barely beat the lunch crowd, and watched them handle a line of about 20 with no problem. The food was great (I had the club with broccoli cheddar soup), and the staff made great recommendations. Prices are good, and the atmosphere is pretty low key, at least at the time of writing (11:45am).
As this is my first time in town, I was feeling pretty underwhelmed about the downtown Indianapolis food scene. Mostly chain restaurants, not much on Unilocal to get excited about, and even the locals were recommending Subway and Steak and Shake. On my last day, I came across this place and Indy, you have redeemed yourself!

This place is wonderful for lunch. Many soup, salad, and sandwich options. I love that I can create my own salad. I’m interning downtown from out of state, and have not been very impressed by the customer service in the food sector here in Indiana. However, at Café 251, I am always greeted with a sincere smile and am never made to feel like I am inconveniencing anyone by asking for my food the way I want it, which is what I am used to getting at similar establishments. The staff is always communicating with each other in a respectful manner, which I also appreciate. Just feels like a positive environment! The staff is great, the food is delicious. I highly recommend it!

This is a great café offering soups, sandwiches, salads and much more. Wide variety of soups and sandwiches, plus the combo deals allow to sample a few items on the same visit. Highly recommend the White Bean and Chicken Chili, perfect for a cold day in Indy. Definitely worth a visit if your downtown and looking for something quick, easy and satisfying for lunch.

This place truly is a lunchtime gem. Quick yet delicious.
When you walk in, it’s a bit like a cafeteria line. You grab a plastic tray and walk along glass cases, picking what you want.
There’s the soup section up front. They have some pretty great soups: the only comparable Downtown soup places are Au Bön Pain and Café Zuppa for also having a wide range of options. One of my favorites is the stuffed bell pepper and their tomato soup. They used to have a great cheesy beer bratwurst soup, but I haven’t seen that one in a very long time.
Then there’s the salad aisle. I have to admit, I’ve been obsessed with one specific salad here, the penne pasta salad, and so I haven’t even tried any of their other salads. The penne pasta salad mixes up spinach, penne pasta, onions, sunflower seeds, Parmesan cheese, and a salad dressing – it’s full of flavor, filling, and yet healthy!
Then there’s the sandwich and wrap section. They have a delicious chicken salad croissant sandwich, some really great paninis, and some fun wraps. My favorite panini, a mushroom and ham panini is no longer on the menu, but I’ve liked every other panini I’ve tried, including the Cuban I bought a few weeks ago.
One amazing option: their cheesesticks. They’re absolutely amazing. They’re covered with a thick layer of cheese and perfect for dipping into their tomato soup. I’ve often come here for nothing more than a cup of soup and two cheesesticks for my lunch. Get the cheesesticks with a salad as one of their daily lunch specials.
This place is the perfect lunch-​on-​the-​go place. Add it to your bookmarks, and if you happen to have a meeting Downtown right before or after lunch, make this a stopping place for a little grub.