Vera Mae’s Bistro

I’m always a fan of the service here. Easily some of the best wait staff in town. It’s the only place in town to get a proper cocktail as well.

We were coming from a wedding and thought lets try this place, it did NOT disappoint. Service was young and may have been new but that was ok. Food was spot on and the drinks, well my friends this bartender is GOOD! Anyone can sling drinks but not everyone can make a great cocktail. Atmosphere was perfect, small intimate dining, great for date night or a small group, but the inside did appear to be able to accommodate large groups. They have large wine selection, wish our waiter would have had more knowledge. Pretty good beer selection as well. Started with a key-​lime martini that was really good, not overly sweet. The french onion soup came which a pair of scissors and I was quickly told to «cut the cheese» :D, was the best french onion soup I have ever had. Filet for Matt and Strip for me, both wonderful. I liked Matt’s filet better but it does not mean the strip wasn’t good. For dessert, salted caramel crème brûlée, perfect. Wonderful food, beautiful night, Fabulous experience. Absolutely worth the price.

First visit — found on Open Table, the only restaurant in Muncie listed. Our evening was wonderful. Table was waiting on us upon our arrival. Décor fit the renovated downtown area with a a nice elegant feel. Piano music playing in the adjoining dinning room was a wonderful touch.
My first pleasant surprise was the selection of white wines from Verona Italy — one of my personal favorites. We started with the Apple Bacon Fritters and Spinach and Feta Wontons. Both good and large portions. — should have only ordered one.
I had the soup du jour — a delicious oyster and crawfish stew (which I would call more of bisque) and husband had the French onion soup. The only odd thing about the meal was the scissors served with the French onion soup to cut through the melted cheese.
For dinner we selected the stuffed quail and the Filet of Beef Tourteau, both served with broccolini. The meals were well prepared and delicious. I did not particularly like the Choron sauce but the steak was better than the filet I recently ate at Morton’s — in flavor, preparation and overall cut of beef. The stuffed quail is served with two quail amply stuffed with a rice based jambalaya, both prepared well and very tasty.
For dessert we had the bread pudding and the bananas foster with French Press coffee. All delicious.
The owners /​managers stopped by several times making us feel quite at home and welcome. They showed a true interest in carrying on a conversation with their patrons and not just that quick run by «hi how was your meal — thanks for coming in».
We plan on coming back as there were so many yummy options that we want to try next time.

The ambience is warm with a touch of elegance, The meals are absolutely wonderful. Best gourmet meals in Muncie! Perfect for a romantic night out or a fun evening with friends. The barkeep is friendly but not intrusive if you’re there to share or for a intimate late night drink before going home.
Love

Great atmosphere and great food. I had the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich and it was really good.

Fabulous! That says it all! This is one of the best dining experiences in the area, although it IS pricey. The food is amazing and the bar well-​stocked. The service is attentive without hovering, and the owners are always there to make sure everything is well above par. We will be back again and again and again!

Fantastic atmosphere, the staff is very friendly, the food delicious. A Muncie must!

We love the atmosphere, the food, the drinks, and the owners. We were able to find a seat on a Friday night without a reservation, but I would recommend a reservation to make sure that you are not disappointed. The seasonal decorations were unique and well done.

Love to sit outside in a nice afternoon

The ambiance and atmosphere is relaxing, chic, and pricey (for Muncie) but worth it. Great service, unique drinks and wonderful food. Try the baked Brie or French onion soup then the pork chops or fish special, and definitely, definitely, finish off with the bread pudding. I’ve traveled the country and tried bread pudding anytime it’s offered on the menu, and none have compared!

Great place to have a private party. Went their for Uncle Jim & Aunt Rita’s 50 Wedding Anniversary and Uncle Jim’s Birthday Surprise Party. The staff was really attentive. I do not drink but I had cranberry juice and the glass was always filled. Plenty of room, well lite and very clean. Would highly recommend it for anyone’s event. My cousin (Jim & Rita’s daughter planned the entire evnt and did a great job)

I’ve had good experiences at Vera Maes in the past few years but my most recent experience made me question if I’ll go back. The owners are great– really take good care of you but one wait person in particular ruined our most recent visit with her attitude. Too many details to go into about the ins and outs of what happened, but she seemed downright hostile and condescending for no reason. Had been so looking forward to this time with friends and it was such a negative experience.

This place is way overrated! It’s the kind of place that wants to be something it’s not, but because there is little competition for the space they are trying to be in, they can get away with not producing.
Décor — Needs a good cleaning. Don’t look at the mirrors, floor, or walls, or you might not stay. It does have white table cloths, but they cover them with glass like at your grandmother’s house. So it’s pseudo high class. Trying to go for the mismatch décor (chairs, mirror, dinnerware) is just not working for them either, it just comes off as old and sloppy.
Food — We had the french onion soup, which wasn’t too bad. On the other hand, the wild mushroom risotto was horrible! It was piled on the plate in a big dome shape. Not only was the consistency all wrong, the flavor was bland at best, though weird would be a better description. And, it was luke warm, probably due to the 45 minute wait for the food to come out. Yes, I said 45. We also had the grouper special. That was also luke warm with a hard crust forming on the outside of the fish, which suggesting it have been sitting back there for quite a while.
Service — Our waiter was good. He seemed knowledgeable and had the presentation of a nice restaurant. The food took way too long to come out for its quality. If you are going to have to wait that long, the food needs to be much better.

Very nice atmosphere, but one that I wouldn’t recommend for children. We did not order any drinks (alcohol) but did enjoy a full meal with dessert.
The food was above average, and only slightly overpriced, for what we had. My wife’s cod was very nice, and well seasoned. She didn’t care for the tarter sauce, and I agreed. Her roasted potatoes and broccoli were perfect.
I was disappointed with the risotto; it was dry and had too much oil as a finisher. I won’t be ordering it again. It seemed consistent with a reheated dish, and sub-​par when compared to everything else. I only ate about a third of it.
The highlight of our meal was my French Onion Soup, although it was mostly cheese (gimmick?) and broth, and had very little actual braised onion, which are my favorite. It was, however, overall, the best version of this soup I have found in Muncie.
Our dessert was wonderful. My wife had Bananas Foster, Table side, and I thoroughly enjoyed the bread pudding.
Would we recommend? Absolutely. Will we return soon? Absolutely.
Would I take my kids there? Absolutely not. This is a place for adults, plain and simple, and harkens back to a day when the kids stayed at home, and the adults stepped out for a monthly fine dining experience.

What took us so long to try out the most elegant dining experience in Muncie? We celebrated our wedding anniversary here a few weeks ago and there was nothing but top quality service and food that night! I sent over flowers earlier in the day and the Vera Mae’s had the flowers on our table and greeted us with a very nice happy anniversary greeting! The waiter was great, the wine fabulous, the food was out of this world, and then to top it off the dessert was out of bounds!
We will now make Vera Mae’s a pat of our list of places to go and suggest if you have never been… get there tonight!

I have had only good visits to Vera Mae’s over the years. The staff and owners are wonderful, the atmosphere is relaxing, and the bar is super fun to sit at and have a drink or two. That being said, even though my experiences are good, I still feel a bit unsatisfied with the establishment.
My problem with Vera Mae’s? In all the years they have been open, their menu has never changed. EVER. It’s the same every time, except for a dinner special or two not on the staple menu. They have only one vegetarian option, Pasta Primavera, and it gets really old really quick. Seasonal vegetables in the dish are always zucchini and yellow squash. No matter the time of year, it never changes, and for this they charge $ 16, plus 75 cents extra if you want it with marinara sauce.
The restaurant is one of the nicer ones in Muncie; the prices are on the higher side, but that is expected of fine dining. Vera Mae’s is in serious need of a more varied menu.
Again, service is great, the bar is fun, and the owners are fantastic. I just have to think the kitchen staff and chefs are bored to death making the same few things night after night, year after year.

We were so excited to try Vera Mae’s in downtown Muncie. For 5 long years we’ve been looking for a decent place to eat dinner and finally found this place. Unfortunately, it did not live up to our expectations.
Wait staff was very casual, dining room was VERY loud. Appetizers were ok, a bit sparse on the toast points. Serving French Onion soup with a tiny pair of scissors to cut the cheese was clever. Their poppy seed dressing was very good.
But the thing that put us off were the entrees. I had the salmon, totally over cooked and hard. NY strip steak was very fatty and not prepared as asked – simply not worth the money. And the veal chop was tough which is unfortunate given the cost.
The one decent thing in Vera Mae’s was the drink prices. So often the booze is waaaay over priced (yes, I know this is how they make their money) but here it was reasonable. I think they try but it just was not the rave place to go that the reviews here led us to believe. We were disappointed and won’t go back. Fortunately we won’t need to as our child has graduated from BSU.

The meal started out well with their soup of the night, cream of potato bacon, seasoning was well balanced and the bread served with it worked.
The staff was friendly and attentive and there was a musician who played piano, giving the place a good vibe.
Unfortunately the entrees which followed were not what we were expecting. Both the NY strip and the chicken brie raspberry were cooked perfectly (well close enough), which is what saved them… the sauce used on the steak tasted like A1, which totally ruined it and the meat was too salty for our taste, and for the chicken i feel like the raspberry brie combination on top just didnt work. The sides served with them were mashed potatoes and a green bean casserole, the mashed potatoes were dry and felt like they had been sitting out for a while and the casserole was lacking in flavor, but wasnt bad.
I don’t know… maybe we chose the wrong things, or maybe eating in Chicago for the last year has ruined me, but for ~25.00 a person I expect the chefs to at least know what they are serving tastes like, because if it was me those dishes would never of made it to the table.

A special family occasion called for a special dinner out and when in Muncie Indiana, there is only one place to go. Vera Mae’s!
I’ve previously written about VM’s so I won’t go on but suffice to say our party of 7 had a wonderful evening, tremendous food and even live piano music adjacent to our table to add a special touch to an already great night.
I thoroughly enjoyed the NY Strip steak, perfectly cooked, juicy and tender. The majority of our party went with the Lobster Stuffed Ravioli and they all raved about it.
From start to finish, it’s a 5 star gem in the heart of downtown Muncie. It’s a can’t miss!

Vera’s is worth coming to simply because of the décor. Historic and vintage without feeling old and dirty. The woodwork around the bar is gorgeous and the ceilings are nicely redone tin. With the classic music from yesterday softly playing you don’t even have to close your eyes to go back in tme.
It is also clear that Vera Mae’s has been instrumental in holding up or invigorating downtown Muncie. There is still a dearth of activity for a college town, but at least Vera’s brings a bit of life to the area. This could be a gorgeous old downtown with the river and college nearby.
I only give Vera’s a 4 star rating because my Cajun Pecan Tuna was not quite what I was hoping for. That is, the flavor was excellent, but the cut of fish was a bit tough for tuna. In addition, it came out medium instead of rare (but somehow it was still cold on the inside… odd). Everything else was spectacular though — salad, red skin potatoes, green beans, etc. Just work on the tuna and I will go with 5 stars next time.
Also, with the lack of fine dining choices in the area, I am quite sure that the other reviewers are correct… that this is the premier restaurant in Munie. A pleasant surprise for a one night stay such as mine.