Hubbard & Cravens

First time ever trying H&C and I really enjoyed it. The coffee was great, I tend to be sensitive to caffeine and their coffee was strong but didn’t give me the jitters! They’re seasonally driven so if you’re looking for a certain type of coffee and it’s not in season then they won’t have it.
Their menu is geared more towards lunch but they have a delicious fruit parfait which is perfect if you’re grabbing a bite after cycling :) I ordered the frittata and it was delicious. Plenty of food, wasn’t able to finish all of it.
Depending on what you order, it may take a little extra time to get your cup o’ Joe!
I wouldn’t consider this place pretentious as someone stated previously in a review but leaning more towards the hipster scene. The employees are very nice and knowledgable.

Ok coffee, but trying to be a bit pretentious. Overpriced food for what we actually received. There are better coffeehouse choices in Carmel… with much better parking!

Came for brunch on Saturday at 2pm. Coffee was decent. I was a little surprised with how small the brunch menu was, there were only 4 items. I ended up having the veggie artisan sandwich which was good. My husband had the quiche Loraine, which he liked. Service was good.
I think I would have liked it better if I realized it wasn’t true brunch food. Would come again for lunch or a smoothie, but there are better brunch spots in Carmel.

Don’t ask for anything specific here. I asked for flatbread without goat’s cheese and it’s covered in goat’s cheese.

A unique hidden gem inside the Carmel City Center. Fresh menu that is perfect for Sunday brunch. The apple strudel was amazing, I was slightly nervous about the white cheddar. The combination of the tart apples, cinnamon, and cheddar was awesome! Very fresh tasting coffee and other drinks to offer. This was very laid back causal place. This would be a great place to do some office work, have a meeting, or grab a bite after the farmers market. I will definitely be back.

Hubbard & Cravens is always a good spot to have a meet up or a nice brunch.
I went in for brunch with my husband. We both ordered chai tea lattes, and they were delicious! I also ordered the Bacon, Mozzarella, and Tomato Frittata. It comes with roasted potatoes. Very yummy and a ton of food!
The deduction of one star is for service. The server was polite and kind, but a little on the slow side. It wasn’t terribly crowded, so I wasn’t sure why the service was a bit behind. It didn’t ruin our time or anything though! We will definitely come again!

I love the staff here. Always so friendly and accommodating. Great coffee and excellent tea. I’m a weekly customer!
Also check out the beers they have on tap. I really like the pilsner they currently have.

AVOID. Took 25 minutes to get 2 drinks (espresso shot and macchiato, no modifications). Wifi speeds from 1992, we are talking 14.4 modem speeds here. Totally unusable for any actual work.
The offenses above *might* be forgiveable if the espresso is amazing, right? Well. It isn’t. The $ 2.50 FOR A SINGLE SHOT of single origin tasted exactly like the espresso in my macchiato, and neither were very good. I’d describe the flavor as earthy-​astringent with side notes of bitter. Macchiato was topped with big soap-​like milk bubbles … leisurely floating, blatantly mocking me for my expectation of microfoam.
Recap: I would rather drink burnt Starbucks drip coffee swill than come back to Hubbard & Cravens for espresso.

H&C is unassuming with what it brings to the table. Ive lived in Carmel for 3+ years and never felt inspired to go in. Today was the day, folks. And very happy that I did!
I ordered the brunch quiche and the better half ordered the praline pecan crunch French toast. I would absolutely order both again and they gave a good salty sweet combination (we were sharing, obv.). The quiche was perfectly salty, cheesy and the crust was buttery. I’d eat it again but my cholesterol would be through the roof. The French toast was drowning in a pool of wonderful caramel that gave me the shakes. Wow. Real tasty, and I don’t like French toast.
However, it left me ‘craven’ better service. We were there post brunch rush on a Sunday and it took about an hour and a half to get through the meal. Luckily, we had good company that got us through that wait.

I’m all about pumpkin everything whenever fall rolls around, so I was excited to see that Hubbard & Cravens offers a pumpkin spice latte made with REAL pumpkin! You can tell, too, because it’s hella good: not syrupy sweet like that other place that sells PSLs.
However: My husband got a cup of their house coffee and didn’t like it at all — he said it tasted too fruity and bitter. But the pumpkin spice latte was so good that I’m overriding his opinion.

We came here and sat outside on the patio on a Saturday morning last month. It was really nice! They had a guy playing acoustic guitar which was pretty cool. The coffee was really good and our food was excellent! And the server was a lovely girl — very sweet! We’ll definitely be back – and with our dog because you can sit outside with your furry friends!

Grat place, a mix between a coffee shop and a casual restaurant. Great Frittatas!

Love the staff. Favorite drink– Healthy Elephant! Live acoustic music outside makes for a nice Saturday brunch! Yummy food too!

Iced coffee with caramel syrup was great!

Hubbard & Cravens is an interesting restaurant, it has one foot squarely in each meal of the day. There is light and open seating, a coffee bar, and an actual bar. It seems like it excels at brunch though.
The true breakfast selection is quite small, but there is a big star, the Apple Strudel Flatbread. Take the sour notes of a granny smith apple pie, with the brown sugar/​cinnamon sauce. Then add a sweat flatbread and a little sharp cheddar cheese and you have an outstanding breakfast. Just look at the picture below and tell me you’re not dying to try it. You might be questioning the presence of the sharp cheddar, but it is hardly noticeable and it does wonders to counteract the sweetness from the other ingredients. I highly recommend it.
The frittata was ok. Nothing too special but pretty good. I can’t say that I’m going to try it again, especially with the flatbread on the menu.
I heard from some friends that the coffee was not to be missed and I respectfully disagree. The coffee is bland and has an astringent aftertaste that could easily peal paint. Given this may be just the roast they were serving that day, but I am hesitant to try again. By the time it was palatable, I had sugary cream, and this is coming from the guy who likes espresso in his coffee on a regular basis… not good.
Overall, I’ll be craving that flatbread again, but that’s about it. I might also make a return visit to check out the other meals of the day, hopefully when it’s a bit more socially acceptable to try the beer and wine.

Not impressed at all. Normally I am a HUGE FAN of H&C so when I happened to be in Carmel one morning needing a coffee fix, it was a no brainer where I was going. Don’t believe me? Check my reviews, I gave the 49^th and Penn location 5 stars and go there frequently. But I think this place is trying to do way too much with the restaurant and alcohol at this location. Stick to what you know, or at the very least, go by a different name so you don’t taint the name of your other great locations.
First and foremost, the Hubbard & Cravens I know and love is a coffee shop. Not a restaurant. I felt like I was in a bar/​restaurant (a pretty empty one at that) compared to a cozy coffee shop. That was strike one.
Strike two, I had no idea where to order. Usually employees are so friendly upon arrival. They weren’t at all busy but no one greeted me. Turns out, the coffee menu and register where you order is hidden behind a pole in the corner of the place. Speaking of location, in general, if you didn’t know this place was in Carmel City Center, you’d have no idea it was there. Completely hidden from view from passerby on the street.
So, I finally figure out where to order and see on the menu that not only the prices are higher but also that there is only one size option for many of the drink choices. Weird but okay. I need a Healthy Elephant. The barista (if you want to call him that?) rudely informed me they were out. You’re out of espresso and honey and peanut butter? Riiiiight. I had specifically come in for that drink so I said no thanks and left. When turning around, I saw three full jars of peanut butter behind the counter. Had to laugh — clearly the employee was too lazy to make my drink and felt the need to lie instead. Strike three, you’re out.
The purpose of this review is not to turn you off to Hubbard & Cravens. In fact, I would encourage anyone to visit any of their Broad Ripple area locations. However, just go elsewhere when you’re looking for a good coffee shop in Carmel. So disappointing.

We stumbled upon this sweet spot after exploring City Center. We wanted to have a quick breakfast and we informed the server that we were in a hurry. He was happy to help us get in, get fed, and get out. He put our coffee in to go cups and it was fresh and delicious. There is nothing worse than bad coffee… Ok that’s a little dramatic but it’s not my favorite! This coffee was fresh and the perfect strength. I ordered the pesto eggs Benedict flatbread and it was different but really good! My fiancé ordered a skillet and ate every bite.
The atmosphere was really light and upbeat. There were a lot of families meeting for Sunday breakfast. I would have loved to take our time and enjoy the atmosphere. We will be going back soon! Highly recommend for breakfast.

Quirky décor of rough wooden tables accompanied by orange modern plastic chairs and unusual lighting fixtures set the right mood from the first moment. Free WiFi was also helpful for my «have to work, yet have to eat and it better be good» lunch time.
Fresh squeezed carrot orange juice was absolutely delicious. French press coffee — lovely and strong. Vegetarian sandwich — all freshness, some of it lightly grilled. Friendly service. I wish the lunch could last a bit longer!

My fellow YIC ( Unilocaler in crime Scot C!) and I stopped in for a lunch when we were in the Carmel area last weekend. Lunch at a coffee shop? He assured me it was not like the other local Hubbard & Cravens.
This location is not just a coffee shop, but a restaurant that hosts a full bar. So far so good. We sat at the bar and waited several minutes for someone to stop by. She greeted us and then asked us if we were ready to order. However, we hadn’t been given menus or a drink list. After perusing the menu (most sandwiches, flat breads and salads along with a pretty decent wine list) I started with a penguin hot chocolate to warm up before ordering lunch.
It was one of the best hot chocolates I had ever had! Served at the perfect temp so I didn’t burn my tongue or have to wait 10 minutes to take a sip. It wasn’t prepared as shown on the menu, because it didn’t have a swirl of chocolate syrup on top, but I supposed that’s not a big deal.
Next was lunch. My YIC ordered a draught beer (they had maybe 3 on tap and the rest served in bottles) and I ordered a glass of pinot gris. They were out of the wine I ordered, so were kind enough to offer me a better glass of wine at the same price. I really appreciated that, and it was delicious.
Now here is where this place loses some stars. The food was just not good. I am open to trying new flavor profiles, but the sandwich I ordered (Tri-​Tip Beef Sandwich) was just not good. A steak sandwich with blue cheese served with au jus. It sounded pretty good, but the mix of flavors was so unappetizing that I couldn’t even force myself to finish it. So, my YIC offers to switch sandwiches with me. His Rustic Chicken sandwich was also unappetizing (very heavy on pesto). Perhaps I should have mentioned that I did not care for my food, but the server never stopped by to ask how we liked our food, but just gave us the bill. I definitely would have appreciated a follow up «How is your meal?», but she kind of disappeared after dropping off the food.
All in all, I’d be back for the yummy hot chocolate (with the chocolate drizzle please!) and a glass of wine, but I wouldn’t order any food.

I have been a long time fan of the Broad Ripple location of H&C, so I was very happy to see they were opening a new coffeeshop in Carmel, within walking distance of my house. We saw last weekend that they opened, and the nice surprise was that there was a dog sitting at one of the outdoor tables. (very few restaurants in Carmel allow dogs)
We came for dinner this evening, and H&C did not disappoint. The menu is relatively short, but well put together. They incorporate food items from Goose the Market and Trader’s Point Creamery, and there’s a fairly extensive wine menu. They also serve beer, Upland on draft and a couple others. We ordered the cheese and cold cut appetizer plate, a veggie sandwich and a margherita flatbread. The cheese was excellent (from Trader’s Point Creamery), as was my sandwich with mixed greens on the side with a simple balsamic-​olive oil dressing.
The interior décor is a mix of modern design and reclaimed wood — it will be a fun place in winter.
H&C is a good place to go for a nice cup of coffee with muffin/​bagel breakfast in the winter, or a pleasant, light outdoor dinner in the summer. It is nice to have another independent coffee shop in the neighborhood.