7th & Elm Bar and Grille

Atmosphere is nice, makes for a great place to have holiday parties etc. Food is just okay. I have eaten here several times and nothing has the wow factor. Burgers are mediocre.

At first, I would have given this place a 4 or 5 star rating as the first few times I had the different burgers and fries… which you have to pay extra for the fries and the burgers are not cheap as it is… but I would have said this was A1 for the burgers and the drink specials aren’t bad. If you are in a big group, do not go here… the servers cannot handle large groups. My close friend has been in with two large groups… the first time they ignored her when she joined the group… then last Friday, they were just down right rude and the server rolled her eyes when the group asked to move out of the sun on a very, very hot day… and they still didn’t get to move and had lousy service… and this was set up and planned ahead of time, so they had warning that the group was coming… they also knew that there was a special food request as someone has major allergies and the server just kept saying…“I don’t know anything about that”…but since I witnessed the call ahead, I know they had plenty of warning and the two men that my co-​worker talked with said they would be ready… even with the special request. But back to the food… Do NOT get the steak sandwich… the steak was sooo tough and the sandwich, even though it says it has balsamic onions, didn’t have enough balsamic to even taste it and not enough onion either for that matter. It was also an extremely dry sandwich. Today I had the French onion. I’m not sure who taught them to make French onion soup, but the cheese is supposed to be melted and have a browned top which is supposed to help give it the great flavor it’s supposed to have… no browning what so ever, and the cheese didn’t even melt over the top or anything like you see everywhere else, I thought they forgot to cook it! We really only went for drinks, but we decided to get soup or appetizers while we talked and had our drink. My coworker had the Spinart… spinach and artichoke dip, but it looked like clam chowder… not thick like a dip should be, more like a soup and it was very small for even an appetizer.
The last time I was in (a couple weeks ago with the fam), my daughter ordered the fried pickles, I mean how can you mess up fried pickles? When you only get maybe 10 –12 tough pickle chips, but you pay the price they are asking, I was shocked. My appetizer, although very good, was also waaaayyyy too small. It was a Bake Goat cheese in marinara… again, extremely good, but not enough of anything but marinara… not even enough of the little toast pieces to get through the marinara at the end, so it went to waste and I was willing to finish it if I had had more toast… but it went to waste. If you only want burgers and beer, this is the place to go… but again, if you have any more than 4 people in your group, don’t even try it. By the way, every burger costs $ 10 or more and fries are extra… and they shouldn’t be.
Take my advice, if going for food, go to Copper Bar down the street instead. A little less in price, better selection of food, more servers to go around and the fries are part of the price and the burgers are only about 7 – 9 dollars… again, this includes fries.

Food is alright at best. Service is probably the worst in town. Get everything you need the first time you see the server, you might not see them again. Countless people have told me they have left after waiting extended periods of time for service. Not surprised at all.

Service was mediocre and to top it off, the food tasted like dollar store quality. I paid $ 13 dollars for a boat of noodles, not a bowl, which were soggy and watered down. And the server forgot the chicken for our pasta. We waited a good ten minutes for our bill, thinking we would receive some type of discount — we did not receive one at all. So not only did I leave dissatisfied, I also left hungry. Absolutely horrible. And it is clear the servers are rookies, and the boss/​owner needs to upgrade his food quality if he expects his guests to pay $ 13 for basic pasta.

Stopped here for a casual dinner date. Nice atmosphere, clean, and updated. Had the hummus appetizer which was light and refreshing. Other options were typical, greasy bar food selections. The main course was a fancied up grilled cheese sandwich with different cheeses and pesto. It was very satisfying. The penne pasta with chicken and Alfredo sauce seemed bottomless, too.

It was Wednesday the 1^st of April. Party of 5. Recommended by our hotel clerk. He must own stock in it to recommend it.
Great décor and atmosphere as you enter. The good ends there.
Busy, but several empty tables inside and on the balcony. Only 3 servers, and it appeared one cook.
First drink order taken within 5 minutes. Then 15 minutes to delivery, and one was wrong. Beers were empty before they came back for the food order. We ordered more drinks, but, another 15 minutes till they came.
All of us ordered something different, and we sampled each. Not impressed. For the most part, dry meat and nothing warm.
I’ll not go back, as I’m in town a couple times a month on business.
I’m rating it just to warn others, but even 1 star is too much.

A stripper at 6^th Ave. once told me that 7^th and Elm taste like the inside of President Bradley’s asshole. She couldn’t have been more accurate. I wish 0 stars was an option.

Giving 3 stars is seriously generous for me. I’ve been a couple of times now to explore the menu and nothing has really stood out to me. The burger is the best entrée but is over priced. The buffalo wrap is a hit or miss and salads are weak. I honestly give the 3 stars for the bar. They have some good drink specials and the bartenders have all be awesome. And the Thursday trivia night is a personal favorite of mine. Other than that diner expect anything too exciting food wise.

Used to be good. Has gone downhill recently. For instance today they were severely short-​staffed the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. Our party of 5 probably would have ordered another $ 50 in drinks if someone would have actually bothered to stop by and ask if we wanted more. Our appetizer (onion rings) took 30 minutes and were burned. The burgers were all overdone, chicken was burned, chips were burnt to a crisp. Overall a very disappointing experience for a spot that used to be great.

7TH & ELM COULD BLOW TERRE HAUTE AWAY
This place has all the right ingredients to blow Terre Haute away, but it hasn’t quite yet.
The location is good… The look is good… With the right management and marketing they’ll go from good to great.
That said, they’ve invested a lot of money to give locals, older students, faculty, staff and visitors a nice place.
Give ‘em a try.

It’s a shame that this place can be quite empty at times. Although the selection of beers on tap is limited, 7^th and Elm offers a great selection of ingredients for a DIY burger, a great upper terrace for warmer evenings, and two nights a week of insanely fun trivia. I was instantly a fan upon my first visit and was eager to return (although going 5 times in the past month did begin to feel excessive).
There are daily specials on drinks, and the while the guests get rowdy during trivia nights, the usual volume is at a nice conversational level. If you’re looking for table service, though, you’ll have to stick to the terrace. Order at the bar if you plan to stick around indoors.
All in all, the place is a neat place for a relaxed hangout with friends or just a chill dinner stop. And don’t forget to say hi to the owner. Two words: trivia guru.

I wish I could’ve had a better experience here. Came with a group of 25, the call for a reservation was made at 630p for a 745p seating. My friend & I got there early (around 7) for a drink & let them know we were part of the group. The 4 – 5 ladies waiting looked scared like a large group had never been by here. Friend & I went upstairs to have a few drinks before everyone arrived, got cold so we came inside & sat at a table for 5.
We were under the impression (from the phone call) that they would begin reserving tables for us… that definitely did not happen. By 745 we were all spread out on the 2^nd floor, anxiously waiting for a group of 10 – 15 to leave so we could get their tables.
Issues I had:
At one point I recall having 3 different servers come to our table. I was told there was only 1, but we had 2 take orders at different times. 3 guys got their food immediately, and then it was about 20−25min before anyone else really got served.
Drinks were hard to come by — had to go downstairs to the bar and ask for water refills & for a round my friend & I ordered (15min prior) & missing sides/​condiments from food which had been delivered.
The busser sat on her behind at the downstairs bar everytime I saw her, didn’t really look like to be working.
Food was meh.
I give them a star for dealing with us, but not being prepared (with enough time) is really no excuse.

I’ve been to 7^th & Elm several times, usually during the summer when one can sit on their terrace (which is pretty unique to Terre Haute). The other day we went for lunch and the first thing that stood out was the new «build your own» menu. The idea is cute, the execution not so much. From 50 ct for seasoning to $ 2.50 for a quarter avocado your burger can get really expensive. The service was slow, the waitress inattentive, seemingly frustrated with the menu as well. Overall it was too expensive and not a pleasant experience. I’ll check back in later this year to enjoy an evening on the terrace and hopefully, by then, this will be taken care of.

«Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription is»… burger time. Yes that is a shameless ripoff of Chris Walken and his demands for more cowbell. 7^th & Elm was recommended as a good place to get a burger, but what really sold me on the place was their wholebeef burger. 7^th & Elm purchase a whole cow and create their patties from all of the roasts, round, cube, Delmonico, chuck, and sirloin steaks. I had to try this.
7^th & Elm features a build your own burger with a variety of cheeses and buns to select from. I opted for the ¼ pound burger with the classic lettuce, tomato, add cheddar jack and jalapenos between a pretzel bun [$ 1 extra]. The meat was a little over cooked but was still juicy [surprising], and the home made potato chips are always a welcomed change of pace from french fries. There was just a light sprinkling of salt, but really it was just right. I feel compelled to warn you of the slightly skunky iced tea.
The high top tables and all wood finish of the interior is vintage bar and grill. The service was good as she managed several different tables and seemed to keep everybody’s beverage happy.
I’d return to try another variation of their burger.

Basic pub food. Decent but average burgers. Good selection of beers.

I came here with friends on November 10^th for the evening to play trivia. I haven’t had stellar experiences here before so I wasn’t expecting much off the bat.
We arrived at the bar and met our friends upstairs. It took the one server/​bartender about 10 minutes to get to our table and even then he seemed bothered and frustrated to have to serve us. We ordered our beers and they were out of both the beers my girlfriend initially ordered (goose island 312, shocktop). The bartender replied ‘I don’t care, I’m more worried about my f***ing phone’. Apparently he misplaced it and wasn’t concerned with doing his job, but more concerned about checking his text messages. I ordered a Mad Hatter IPA which I have had before at other bars and is usually very good. I could tell this beer had been tapped for quite awhile and didnt taste fresh at all.
Then came the food order…
There were six of us, but the order wasn’t too terribly complicated. Our server didn’t write any of it down, which I’m usually ok with. But, based on his performance so far I was positive something was going to get messed up. Sure enough, I wasn’t disappointed! I ordered the ½lb fjord burger cooked medium with their home made chips. My burger came out much too small to be the ½lb (which our server admitted it was the ¼lb, but he offered nothing to rectify the mistake) and it was charred to a crisp and dry. I asked for the chips, but I was served the French fries, not a big deal but another check against this place.
Throughout the evening, it always took too long to get a fresh drink. Everyone at my table went too long with an empty glass or bottle.
Overall, the service was poor, the food was very mediocre, and the atmosphere wasn’t as welcoming as I would have hoped. The one redeeming quality I found was the trivia game. It was well put together and efficiently run. I used to run a weekly trivia game at a bar in Washington, DC and I traded tips with the guy who ran this game afterwards and complimented him.
In the end, I wouldn’t recommend this bar at all. There are far better locally owned places in Terre Haute that are better staffed, have better food, better prices, and a fresher more diverse selection of beer.

I agree that this place provides a hint of something interesting in a town and neighborhood dominated by the conventional, but the beer list is still just about as conventional as can be.
With almost ten taps and STILL nothing interesting, 7^th and Elm is in the running for the highest selection-​available to selection-​worth-​selecting ratio I’ve ever seen.
Beer, beer everywhere … but not a drop to drink.
I hope the food is better than the beer.

This place is indicative of why Terre Haute deserves a second look! It’s not the place I left 30+ years ago! There’s substance here! It has it’s own vibe!
Had the burger at the recommendation of another Unilocaler. Good. Only yellow mustard, which is for hotdogs in my mind. Keeping a little dijon behind the counter could really class up the joint! They make their own chips, so I tried those. Just ok.
Loud because it’s a bar full of hard surfaces and college kids. There’s outdoor seating which I’d like to try. Seems the place might be non-​smoking (yeah!).
We were there on a weeknight and they had a special on a group fishbowl drink. Our waitress was outstanding! Took time to explain that silly drink, checked back with us often. Attentive, but not annoying.
Next time, I’d like to finish with a stroll of the campus. Man, has this place changed! And for the good! Very reasonable!

In a town where every restaurant is a chain and is in a shopping center, or the parking lot of a shopping center, 7^th and Elm is a breath of fresh air for the Terre Haute restaurant scene.
7^th and Elm is easy to find as the name is the location of this quaint sports bar.
The food is generally what you’d expect from a sports bar. They have fried appetizers, burgers, wings, pizza, sandwiches, salads, soup, and entrees such as ribs, brisket and fish and chips.
The restaurant really pushes the burgers and explains «We do not buy frozen, pre-​formed hamburger patties for our burgers. We buy the whole steer. Our WholeBeef Burgers™ are made from grain fed steers locally grown by beef producers we know personally. The selected steers are locally processed to our exact specifications.» Based on the recommendation I tried the burger. I thought it was cooked well. It was juicy and flavorful. It wasn’t the best burger I’ve ever had but it was better than one you can get at a chain restaurant.
The bar offers a decent selection of domestic and specialty beers. I think the selection is quite exotic for the Haute but I wasn’t blown away by it. But if you want more than just Miller Lite or Bud or Coors, they have it here.
Finally, the space is nice and large. There are tables downstairs and upstairs with a bar at each location. Outdoor seating is even available. The service was decent. I don’t remember it being outstanding, but I know it wasn’t bad either.
I would definitely return here the next time I’m in Terre Haute.

Indiana State University was in need of this kind of bar. It’s a place where professors and professionals will go for lunch and where older students will go for a relaxing evening. It just opened only months before I left Terre Haute, but the atmosphere and food were good enough for us to visit frequently during our short time there.
I really liked the BBQ Chicken Pizza, Spin-​Art Dip, and greesy Combo Platter, but I also had good salads and soup there as well. The actual bar is quite small and you’re invited to choose your own table for sit-​down service throughout the building. If the first floor is packed, head up to the second floor and the service is just as good– if not better for some odd reason. The space upstairs can be reserved for private parties and they just put in an outdoor patio that would be great for summer evenings. A nice addition to the Terre Haute bar scene.