Big Mike’s Cafe

Ordered a deep dish pizza. It’s awesome! Staff is very friendly. Food took 30 min to cook so plan accordingly but definitely worth the wait!

We were traveling for a baseball tournament and saw this place on the way to our hotel. I looked it up on Unilocal and saw it had good reviews. Glad we decided to go there for dinner. Steve the manager was our server and he did a wonderful job. The pizza was amazing, piled high with toppings and cheese. When we are in the area again we will definitely stop by.

Came in on a recommendation from a work friend; pretty glad I did. Pulled pork is something I know a bit about, being a wandering southerner, but when you tell me you have a special of handmade pulled pork with your own rub in taco form? With housemade chipotle sauce and pico? I’ll buy it. Friendly place, service was fast even at 3:30 in the afternoon (yeah, late lunch…). They made fresh fries just for little old me. I’d go again, and probably will since I usually stay about 2 miles from here.

Big Mike’s is seriously one of my very favorite places to eat, and not only because I live around the corner.
The staff is super friendly, they all know me by now and welcome me and anyone I bring as if we were family. Mike and Katie are just wonderful!
The food is always superb! I have never had anything that was less than absolutely delicious. The pizzas are awesome (go for the pizza buffet at lunch!) and so are the parmesan garlic bread knots. All of the sandwiches are great… big, juicy burgers; huge tenderloins; tender and flavorful fish… and their french fries are the best I have ever had (I am not even exaggerating).
They are currently testing items (that will be featured on a new menu) as weekly specials… I have had the bbq pork tacos (they are perfect with the cole slaw actually in the tacos), the «Rise & Shine» burger (a burger with a fried egg and bacon… need I say more?), the Cajun fish sandwich, and the Cajun tenderloin… I have never once left dissatisfied.
The portions are perfect and the quality of the food is always perfect. The service is wonderful.
Oh, and I almost forgot… the desserts made by Mom are decadent!
I cannot recommend this place highly enough. You need to go!

I’ve been here twice now and it was fantastic both times. I tried the special, which was a sautéed chicken, mushroom, and onion pita with fried banana peppers. It was sooooo good. The fries are bomb. Service is great and friendly. This could be the new joint. The red velvet cheesecake was dank too.

The dinner that I had here was incredible. That was match by really great service from our waiter. I had the beat salad, pork butt and brussel sprouts. The sprouts were incredible and had a sweet tasting sauce with walnuts. The waiter advised that we could even download that recipe online. The pork butt was so tender that a fork was easily able to slice through. The atmosphere at the restaurant was vibrant for a Friday night. Great place to eat either with friends or that special someone.

I travel all over the US and currently working in Carmel IN. This little restaurant is the best place to eat period. The pizza is amazing, and the tomato soup is to die for. They have a nice buffet that includes salad, soup, and artisan pizza. Big Mike is the owner and always greets me and my boss. Nice friendly atmosphere. I try and visit at least twice a week and the prices are right.

Just finished eating here. Had the chicken Philly sandwich. Very good. Will certainly come back to try the pizza and home made deserts.

Very nice little place with good food & good prices. We’ve already gone back & my favorite is the fish! Couple of recommendations for the owners (who are nice and friendly):
–always a chocolate dessert on
Menu. Always!
–open for brunch on weekends! There is a serious lack of brunch places this side of town – so tired of waiting in line on Sundays. Just some nice basics is all, or buffet. Check out lines at some other places on the weekends & you will see what I mean.
We will be back.

Frok a Chicago native… Big Mike’s is legit. I’ve had friends who recommended Big Mike’s for years but i stayed loyal to Nancy’s which I loved Giordano’s seemed to retain their flavor but i felt they had used less cheese than in Chicago (the downfall of Uno’s?)…Big Mike’s loaded the ingredients– but the best was he sauce– get the marinara (chunky) and it’ll remind you of Chicago. Would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat!

Terrible service. Food is worse. Do not go here. Waste of time and money. Went by here. The waitresses was checking out her boy friends motorcycle. Guess her customers got to wait, and wait. They do not care about the customers. Went there on a Friday night. Fish fry. They were out. Nice special. I will NEVER go there again.

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place on here. It is one of the BEST pizza places in town (possibly THE best). Service is always perfect and the food (all of it) is amazing. You really wouldn’t expect it from looking at it in the outside as it isn’t beautiful. Who cares!!! It is so worth your trip for Chicago Style pizza without waiting for an hour (Giordanos) to get in. Skip corporate restaurants and try this one. You won’t regret it, I PROMISE!!!

Friends and fellow Unilocalers Rick and Holly Garrett are regulars at Big Mike’s Café, partly owing to the fact that Big Mike’s hosts an acoustic jam every other Monday night that they put together but also because it’s close to their home and a mighty fine place for a meal.
While I’ve not yet made it over for Monday nights, I finally found myself in the neighborhood on a Friday after work and decided it would be a great time to try it out.
I arrived at Big Mike’s early in the dinner hour and, in fact, was the only customer when I arrived. That didn’t last for long. I was greeted with a warm enthusiasm by Katie and, not surprisingly, offered my table of choice. Big Mike’s is located in a small strip center next to a liquor store and in a building with a Chinese restaurant, a video retailer of some sort, and a brand new cupcake shop. Being at 96^th & College, it’s right on the line between Carmel and Indy and surrounded by offices. I will admit that I was mighty tempted by their pizzas, which happened to be on special tonight, but looking at the sizes concluded there was no way I could down one on my own and I really wasn’t looking to take anything home. I considered their tenderloin, which Rick G. really likes, but decided to keep it simple and go for their ½ pound burger with cheese along with a side of your choice (I chose fries, but could have gone for slaw, chips, cottage cheese, or potato salad). The meal was $ 10 and it was another $ 1.95 for my usual unsweetened iced tea.
The dining room is pretty simple, a nice Americana décor with oldies music (like Simon & Garfunkel) playing overhead. While it’s easy to get used to the distractions that many restaurants put out there, it’s kind of nice to have a restaurant you can go to and actually have a conversation. They offer a variety of other appetizers, sandwiches, and a couple of meal options. I’ve heard their desserts are killer, but I opted out this time around.
The sign «Let our family, serve your family» gives you an idea of what to expect from Big Mike’s, a place that also offers catering for private parties. You’re going to be welcomed, remembered, and appreciated here. If they make a mistake, they’re going to immediately own it and fix it (as I saw happen tonight). In short, this was a place I just plain enjoyed hanging out.
The burger was served on a buttered pretzel bun, an interesting choice that added a distinct flavor to the beef. I won’t say it’s my favorite burger, but I enjoyed it and would have no problem recommending it. The fries complemented the burger well, lightly browned and having a simple yet agreeable texture. The unsweetened iced tea was terrific and served in a rather nicely sized mason jar, a jar that was so big I didn’t even need my usual refill.
When I return, and I’m pretty comfortable saying when, I find myself really wanting to try their pizza. It looks terrific. I also think this is a place I would enjoy on those nights I simply want to read and on those nights when I want to meet a friend for dinner. It has a casual, comfortable feeling to it.
My meal came in at right about $ 13 plus tip. The serving sizes were good, the customer service was great, and it was an awesome way to close out a busy week.
Big Mike’s is a true family business. Katie and Mike are brother/​sister, Katie specializing in the front-​end and Mike being the kitchen wizard. They even feature desserts from their mother, whose desserts were popular at The Abbey (Man, I miss that place!).
So, if you’re keeping score. Good food. Great service. Local. They host local musicians.
They’re freaking awesome.

Best deep dish pizza in the city. Tried to go to Giordano’s but I’m not waiting 2 hours to sit, plus another hour for pizza. Heard about this place reading reviews on the Giordano’s page. I’ve had Deep dish in Chicago and this is as good.

This is my favorite pizza place in Indy! The deep dish pizza is incredible and delicious. When I have guests in from out of town, I always wow them with some pizza.
Highly recommended.

Went here recently for a meetup. Even though we reserved for 21 we ended up with so many more and ended up taking over the place. Despite being understaffed for the number of people (totally NOT their fault) service ran fairly smooth. Food came out quickly, drinks were refilled in a timely manor.
On to the food! Which is what everyone really wants to know about anyways. For starters we had the garlic knots. Which were very yummy, loved the large chunks of garlic in the garlic butter sauce. Personally I would have liked it if they had a pinch of salt on them too but that’s a preference thing. Hubby and I split a chicago style pizza. OMG! So very very cheesy. It was bliss. I found the sauce a little sweet, but the server warned us it could be. They usually use a different one but I don’t like chunky pieces of cooked tomato. And for dessert they had lemon curd cheesecake. Felt like an orgasm in my mouth!
I would go back here again anytime!

I’ve driven by this place quite a bit in the 3 years I’ve worked up here in Carmel. The outside is not very inviting, set in a strip mall with just basic letters that spell Big Mike’s Café. The place appears to be a mom & pop shop with big writing on the back wall that reads «Let our family, serve your family» which makes it that much more personal.
I came here finally for lunch because I was really curious about it. I had no idea what to expect walking in. For lunch, they have a «buffet» open which I put in quotations because it offers 2 types of pizzas, 2 soups, a chili and an extremely basic salad bar. Ok, that option is out. What else?
The server who was extremely friendly and (I think) was part of the Mike’s café family told me I can order off the menu. She recommend a few options but told me that her favorite was the blackened fish sandwich. Wooo, that also happens to be a big favorite of mine. Unfortunately the fish was Tilapia which isn’t as delicious as say Mahi, swordfish or salmon… all which I believe blacken far better but it was still good. They give you tarter sauce on the side, which tastes like it came directly out of a large bottle like Walmart or GFS. You’d think they would take the time to make their own, it isn’t that hard. It also comes with a side choice and the only one that sounded good to me (options were fries, cottage cheese, cole slaw, baked potato salad and side salad) was the potato salad. It was very mayo heavy and had bacon and cheese in it. I liked it! It tasted like it was home made, but I’m not 100% sure if it was.
All in all, this place is a divey American food place that I’m guessing does well during lunch with the amount of companies around the area, but I’d be curious how many choose this place for dinner. According to reviews on here, the pizzas are good, but I’ll take everyone’s word on it.
I’m up in the air on if I’d ever be back here. Not because it was bad, but because there are many great lunch options near me.

It’s been a great improvement since the new owners took over. If you ate their previous to that, it is worth another look.
They do delicious deep dish pizza plus a great select of other dishes including burgers, sandwiches, pastas, and salads. They also a small rotating selection of craft beers in bottles.
Also, great dessert selections and a lunch buffet.

We love Big Mike’s! It’s a clean, friendly family-​owned restaurant with a great menu of specialty pizzas, apps and a changing selection of homemade desserts and local beers.
I’d give them 5 stars if the outside of the restaurant was a bit nicer – it’s in an ugly strip mall. (But a GREAT location at 96^th & College)

This is one of the largely undiscovered treasures on the North side of Indy.
There are some things they do VERY well indeed. The Breaded Tenderloin is one of the best in town, and it’s often on special at a very reasonable price.
My wife SWEARS by the blackened tilapia. I’m not much of a fish guy, but I’ve heard other reports that this is an outstanding dish.
If you’re adventurous, try The Horseshoe. If you’re prone to heart disease, though… be careful. I get it once in a while and it’s fabulous.
Their desserts are amazing! If they’ve got the Olive Oil Cake when you’re there… get a piece to share. It’s VERY rich, but oh, sooooooooooooo good. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
The service is always spot on, and I love the small town atmosphere!