My friends and I came here to watch the IU game a few weeks back, while it was busy, I did not think it was busy enough to affect service the way it did. We walked and were greeted by...no one. There was no one at the hostess stand, and when no one came to seat/greet us after a few minutes, we wandered around to the bar area. We found a waitress and asked her if it was open seating, and turns out, no you had to be seated by the hostess. She graciously showed us to a table. Soon after a couple of guys were seated next to us. Both of us waited in our section for 10 minutes for a waiter. Finally, we got some service and ordered our drinks. When we finally got our food order in after another long wait, and our food arrived, we were not disappointed. We split the fish tacos and the bypass wrap. We got waffles fries and a side of the "Messy" mac n cheese, which was the clear stand out of the night. If you go here, I would highly recommend you putting that deliciousness in your mouth.
Anyhow, we waited another long wait to get our drinks, and finally one of the girls just went to the bar and got our second round. Another friend joined us, and again, we waited and waited to put her food order in.
Our experience was "bad" but could have been made a hundred times enjoyable by not having to worry and watch for the next waiter/watiress to pass by to find ours, and get another round, etc.
The food was definitely good, and that is what would make me come back again.
I've updated my review quite a few times in the last year, and I feel like I should upate my review as I have noticed a general uptick in quality of service in the last few months. Â I have had both praises and complaints in the past about this establishment and while I still have some criticisms, overall Detour is shaping up into a nice restaurant for downtown Carmel. Â I'm still not so sure about the official hours though ... they have a hard opening time of 11-11:30AM but I can never really tell when they close.
Detour has added new staff in the last few months, changed up some of their menu, and overall these are welcome changes. Â The food still takes a little while from order to delivery, and there are a few items on the list I still would not order (onion rings for example). Â But on the other hand the regular menu, including items that have been on there since the restaurant opened, are definitely improving in quality. Â Either it is less greasy (excellent burgers!) or the flavor has improved, or both.
Will definitely recommend Detour to those looking for American food.
I can see both sides of the review scale...similar to any sports bar that you go to though decent to mediocre service fun family/sports atmosphere are server took good care of us and the food was decent! All in all a great addition to the Carmel community that isn't quite Buffalo Wild Wings nor Applebee's...I appreciate it as it is something different more similar to Scotty's than anything else.
Where there could be improvements in some of the service and food quality. I would say this is a sure winner for Carmel and I would go here over any national chain any day!
Thank you Detour for your wonderful addition to mainstreet Carmel! You help to make downtown Carmel a fun place to hang out!
We were initially a little concerned by the so-so reviews of this place, but we have enjoyed the couple times we have been there. Â It's a loud, sports bar atmosphere, but is also completely kid friendly.
Food is not amazing but is good for what it is .... bar food. Â Draft beer selection can be good, but is hit or miss and they often seem to be out of my first choice beer selection.
Be warned, they really mean it. The nachos are Huge!
A great option if you're looking for dinner along the Monon and other options have a very long wait.
I've heard so many good things about this place so I had to try it for myself. The rock shrimp was good. They copied the recipe from their sister restaurant which is Sansu. Â Everything else that we ordered was just ok. The buffalo chicken wings is just ok as well as their signature Detour burger. It was served on a hot plate with waffle fries. The burger was just ok as well. They don't have enough selection of desserts.
Overall, detour is a good place to go for drinks and maybe some nachos. Atmosphere is lively and very much of a sports bar.
I dont' know what some of the negative reviews are talking about. My husband and I just went here this past weekend and really enjoyed ourselves. Yes, it's pricey, but only if you go big. We had draft beers, which were huge, 32 oz. If I would have known that, I would have ordered a smaller one because I'm not a huge beer drinker, but still $7 for 32 ounces isn't that bad. My biggest warning is that if you get the nachos, definitly come hungry because they are enormous. They could easily feed a family of 4 and are super delicious. The chips tasted like they were made fresh, the cheese and toppings were abundant, and the dill pickle chips we got were delicious and definitly could rival Scotty's Brewhouse dill pickle chips. If you think about it, this is honestly  a agreat place for lunch because a couple or a groups of friends could share nachos for $12 and leave completely satisfied and then save money by getting soda instead. My only dissappointment was that we were there for lunch and not dinner. The menu was so impressive and looked so good that we made plans to return in two weeks. I did see some burgers go by on a tray that were skewered with a giant steak knife. Clearly, this place is a place where you get a lot for what you pay for and you won't leave hungry. It's a big place so seating shouldn't be a big issue most days. We would certainly consider coming here for late night drinks and bar food. Lots of tvs too so it's a great place to go and watch a game. I would definitly pick this place over Muldoon's hands down any day. Our waiter was very nice and friendly. THe 32 ounce beers do come in souvenier plastic cups that you can take home.
Review Source:Went for dinner after being ignored by wait staff at Muldoon's and Detour hit the spot by seating us right away and getting drink orders quickly. Boyfriend really liked his grilled tenderloin & waffle fries. I had the Bypass wrap and it was very tasty except the roast beef was sliced a little too thick for sandwich perfection. Â The drawback for me was the onion rings...way too much batter that was undercooked so they were soggy...kind of tasted like a doughnut that had beeen dunked in beer. Â Most people love a great crispy beer batter but these were gross...probably would have replaced them but I was tired and wondering why these 2 Carmel businesses can't simply be better.
Review Source:I had an internship in the Arts and Design District a couple of summers ago ... and during this time they were in the process of adding new buildings and restaurants. Â Detour was one of the "buildings in progress." Now, it's open and alive. Many of the shops and restaurants along Main St. and Rangeline are low key and quaint. It's nice that they've added a place for game watching, relaxing with your buds and beer chugging (or drinking.. depending on your pace.)
I was walking through the District last night around 8:30 and although most of the businesses were shut down for the day, Detour was still thriving and filled with a happy crowd. I love that there are places to go besides downtown that I can truly enjoy.
decor and location saving grace. slow service, food ok. all u can eat wings on mon nite surprisingly perfect! deep fried pickles soggy on plate of grease. On pricey side. only reason to go here if seeking burger is bc next door is full. I really want to love this place. To compromise eat before we go and just enjoy the tvs with a beer. Over spending $ on the food.
Review Source:Nice location in downtown Carmel. A bar type atmosphere with lots of activity. I had the fried breaded tenderloin which was very good. As I recall you can get it fried, grilled, or blackened. It had more meat than many other breaded  tenderloins which set it apart from the competition. It was on a tasty bun and had a piece of Romain lettuce, but a very small, thin tomato and onion slice. With such small slices you get very little added flavor to the sandwhich. It was more for decoration than taste. The sandwich comes with one side and I ordered the onion rings. My plate came with 4 very large onion rings which looked better than they tasted.They had too much breading on the onions. My wife had the Brickhouse burger which included avocado, cheese and bacon. It was excellent and also came with one side. She had the waffle fries which were good. Servings are large and we ended up taking a portion of the sandwhices and sides home. Nice selection of beers offered in 16 or 23 oz. glasses. We had a pleasant waitress and good service. We were celebrating a birthday and when we told the waitress she gave us a complimentary, very large cookie {maybe 6 inches wide} with a scoop of ice cream. A nice varied menu with burgers etc. around $11.00 and some entrees in the $17 range. They also had several salads and appetizer choices.
Review Source:We got here on a Sunday night and they had live music. Â The ambience was incredible sitting outside by the Monon trail. Â I really enjoyed it and the food was good. Â I even tried their Very Messy Fries which is Fries with Queso and Bacon... Â Their flatbreads are soooooo sooooo good : ) Â Great for yourself or for friends and family.
Review Source:My friend was really excited to try this place out because she was in a burger and fries mood. Being a yelper, I had to look at reviews first, so needless to say, I was a little skeptical about this place. I ended up having more of a favorable opinion of Detour than my friend, who, if she had a yelp, would rate it as a 2-star place. The inside of the place was very clean and quiet, probably because we came at 1:40 pm. The meals here are pretty pricey, so we didn't even consider trying to get some mixed drinks. The service was very fast and we got our food shortly after ordering; my friend had the Fajita burger and I picked the Patty Melt. We both would definitely agree that the waffle fries stole the show. My Patty Melt was good, albeit messy, with juices running everywhere. My friend was severely disappointed in her burger; there was no cheese and no sauce, so somewhat dry. It also wasn't seasoned well at all, so it just tasted like pure meat with toppings and bread. For me, I'm not sure if I would come back again because I think the food was a little on the salty side, but that could just be my Asian taste buds complaining.
Review Source:After reading some of the other reviews of Detour, I had pretty low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised when I visited for lunch yesterday. Â Our waitress of was nice and attentive and the food was really good. Â I had the Bypass Sandwich (italian beef with peppers) and it was excellent. Â The waffle fries were also pretty good with a nice seasoning on them. Â My wife had the burger with onion rings and really liked it. Â The portions here are pretty big, so if you don't eat a huge amount, you might want to consider splitting a sandwich. Â
Although we did not partake, they have a pretty lengthy list of beers on tap and the bar area is huge. Â Given the fact that it was 100 degrees yesterday, they had the wall of garage doors, which lead from the bar to the outdoor patio, closed. Â On a cool and sunny day, this would be a great place to hang out.
The only criticism I have is the prices for the sandwiches seem a bit high. Â $12.00 for a sandwich, in Indy, is a bit steep. Â I would rather seem them reduce the oversized portions and reduce the price.
I would recommend giving them a try.
Ho-Hum
Nice beer selection, but poor service, bland food, and a bar-restaurant-family spot-nightclub with an identity crisis. They try really hard to be "cool" but can't quite pull it off.
Not a bad place to sit at the bar, have a few beers, and an average burger, otherwise, nothing special at all.
Previously I have written a much more positive review about the same place. But felt the need to update my review based on yesterday's experiences. Just to put this review in context: my kids and I had just rode our bikes 12 miles or so from the Zoo to Carmel along the Monon Trail, and arrived at 1PM extremely thirsty and hungry. Any review from that perspective is bound to be biased: more sensitive to issues of service and more generous to issues of food quality.
And indeed my frustration with Detour yesterday was entirely with the service. First of all, we had to wait 15 minutes to be seated. I pointed out that the restaurant was half-empty (which it was, both inside and out). The response from the hostess was "we're backed up." Umm.....
Then finally after the wait we were finally seated. Again, desperate for something to drink after a long ride in the hot sun -- but didn't see a server even come near our table for another 15 minutes. And then when I attempted to order a draft beer, the server informed me that not only were they out of my first choice, they were out of my second, third, and fourth choices!
After that point I punted and ordered a mojito -- which to be fair was delicious. And the food (I had some sort of southwestern salad) was also quite good. Absolutely no complaints at all about the food quality at all. And the server was friendly and helpful -- just not very available.
In short: good food and drink, unacceptable wait, and bad inventory management on the beer.
Halfway through a longish bike ride, we stopped in here for some drinks. The drinks were strong and cheap (except for Patron Silver margaritas, but nobody expects a Patron margarita to be cheap) and delicious and the waiter was super nice and attentive and fast.
I didn't eat any food here, but I liked this place and their booze a LOT and will be going back again soon, I'm sure. At that point I will definitely be enjoying some of their non-alcoholic items, like nachos or something.
Their patio is striaght up ballin' out of control. Located on the Monon across from Bub's, there's ample people watching to enjoy on a nice, sunny afternoon.
I had high hopes for Detour, but overall it has not lived up to my expectations. The biggest reason is the service. Every time we go in, we are promptly seated and that's great. But it often takes a while for a server to get to us and take our drink orders.
The food is okay, but not spectacular. I do like that they have a diverse menu, which has given me an opportunity to try different things, but I haven't found anything that keeps me coming back.
Overall, I think Detour adds something to the neighborhood, but I hope they work on customer service. This will be key to bringing in and bringing repeat business.
Our crowd's late 30s, early 40s and Detour's atmosphere seemed to rally "college kids with money." Â *cringe* Â BUT we've had both lunch and dinner here now more than once, indoor and patio, and find it's a great place for us to hang on Main in the District. Â Casual sports bar with good number of tvs & a bar area that opens up to patio area beside the Monon trail in summer. Â Cozy dining booths available inside, too.
We must have started visiting since the staffing overhaul mentioned in other reviews. Â All of our servers have been swift, friendly, and knowledgable about the beer options. Â On a busier day, a Manager was concerned we'd waited too long, but our server had, indeed, already taken our order. Â Seems to be a renewed focus on service here.
Menu includes Taste of Sensu items from next door (Asian Fusion, Sushi), but primarily sports bar fare. Â No complaints when we split meals. Â Favorites include Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad (with black beans and corn), Patty Melt (caramelized onions), and Rock Shrimp Tempura (a Sensu gem). Â Onion rings were 2inches thick and required a knife and fork, more overbrowned batter than onion. I'll try a different side next time.
We're looking forward to coming back for one of the block parties as well as 1/2 price bottles of wine on Wednesdays.
If you're having trouble finding parking, there's 400 parking spaces underneath Detour! Â Entrance is on 1st street, just east of Detour.
It's OK. Â Burgers and sandwiches and nachos and . . . a small sampling of sushi. Â First, it's definitely a sports bar -- there are TVs everywhere. Â More TVs than I have seen in any bar. Â My burger was fine, if a little messy. Â The service was slow at first but then became more attentive. Â We were not happy that there are NO substitutions for their sides -- we wanted a salad instead of fries and were willing to pay more, but were told no. Â R Bistro or Oakley's may be able to pull this off, but a sports bar? Â Really? Â Second, I had a coupon from the Center for the Performing Arts which said it applied to the meal, but the manager stated he could only apply it to one meal -- not both. Â That just seemed strangely cheap on their part. Â I mean, a coupon's a coupon, but still . . .
it's fine and was fairly busy on a Saturday evening, but it is certainly nothing special. Â Perhaps the place to go if you happen to be in downtown Carmel and want to watch a game.
I was hesitant to try Detour because of the negative reviews. Â However, I gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised. Â My entire family ate there (6 of us) and we were all happy with our food. Â We started with dill chips and queso as appetizers. Â The dill chips were great. Â I really enjoyed the horseradish dipping sauce. Â The queso was not the best I have ever had, but it was still good. Â The chips are a little on the greasy side, probably because they are made in-house. Â For entrees, several of us chose burgers. Â They were quite yummy. Â I got the onion rings with my burger. Â They are gigantic and really good. Â I believe there was cracked black pepper in the batter, which was a nice little extra. Â I tried my sister's alfredo pasta and it was great as well. Â Our server was Bobby and he was GREAT! Â He was the perfect server. Â Attentive but not overbearing, friendly but not annoying. Â
I have just two complaints. Â The music was SO LOUD. Â I know it is a bar and grille, but we were there at 7 pm on a Tuesday. Â Not exactly party time. Â My only food related complaint would be about the mahi mahi fish tacos. Â They weren't terrible, just not great. Â They were a 'new' menu item, so perhaps they still need some tweaking. Â
I'm unsure where the complaints about price on here are coming from. Â Their prices are maybe $1 or so more than a large chain bar and grille and the food quality is MUCH better. Â I will gladly pay $10 for detour's big, juicy flavorful burgers with creative toppings!
The name of the game at Detour is big portions. The Under Construction nachos is probably the largest that I have ever seen. It's not the best nachos I have ever had but if you are hungry it will work. I ordered the Bypass Wrap which is a wrap version of their "signature" Bypass Italian Beef sandwich. To my disappointment I couldn't (or didn't want to) finish it. It's not too often that I doggie bag food home. That's how big the portions were. On the other hand the prices tend to be more expensive. Â Most of the wraps/sandwiches I can get somewhere else for a few bucks cheaper.
Atmosphere wise it's your standard sports bar w/ outdoor seating right by the Monon. It gets packed on the weekends w/ live music so good luck finding a seat or getting a drink. Having said that I think the Carmel Arts & Design District can use a place like Detour. It's probably more fun than the other bars on Main St.
If Scotty('s Brewhouse) had a baby with a half-Asian person & the baby was slightly more "high maintenance" than the father, Detour would be the result. Â
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Lunch with my old friend Sarah; haven't seen each other in quite awhile, so we decided to catchup. Â (And, she gave away her viola to me for recording purposes, bonus!)
Items we ordered:
-Signature Ahi Tuna (appetizer)
-The Hard Hat (grilled cheese with American/Swiss/White Cheddar)
-Tomato Basil Soup
-Teriyaki-Garlic Salmon
-Signature Ahi Tuna appetizer was good; there was a little bit of thickened sweet soy-sauce which added a nice flavor, and the sides were complete with sesame seeds. Â If you've been to Sensu downtown, I think they have something pretty similar. Â Only issue is, you get like ~6 pieces. Â For $16?? I was with an old friend, so price didn't matter... but REERY NOW. Â $16 for something this Azn can make at home in 20 minutes was a bit excessive. Â
-"The Hard Hat" grilled cheese was ordered by the lady. Â She said that it was the BEST grilled cheese she has had in a long time. Â I'll take her word for it. Â (Not much else I can say, since she ate it.) Â
-Unfortunately, same goes for the Tomato Basil Soup, she had that, so I can't say much about that. Â But, there were no complaints.
-Teriyaki-Garlic Salmon was presented quite nicely, over slightly-green-looking mashed potatoes and Asian *cough*Americanized*cough* coleslaw. Â Don't worry about the color of the mashed potatoes, Â they were wasabi mashed potatoes. Â That might sound weird, but personally, I was a fan. Â It wasn't strong, it just added an extra flavor to it that is usually not there. Â Overall, the mashed potatoes weren't super buttery or anything, which I like. Â And for all you afraid of spicy food, they were NOT spicy. Â
Yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking. Â I'm Asian! of course it's not spicy! Â No seriously, the wasabi mashed potatoes are fine, they're not spicy at all, they just add the tiniest kick, which was a great change in my opinion.
Overall, Detour was a good place for lunch, but I wasn't overly impressive or anything (nor was I looking to be). Â Definitely a place for lunch, or a more casual dinner. Â Service also took slightly longer than expected, but it looked like there were only a handful of staff and we arrived in the middle of the lunch hour.
If Scotty('s Brewhouse) had a baby with a half-Asian person & the baby was slightly more "high maintenance" than the father, Detour would be the result.
I love downtown Carmel, except for the parking situation, which is a whole other issue. Â That being said, somehow this placed has been overlooked by me on several occasions, but a girlfriend (hi, Yuki!) recommended it for a girls' night last Monday and it was great! Â First, we got to sit outside and without a reservation (they don't take them), they were more than able to accommodate our group of 11 girls. :) Score one! Â
Service was above average for a sports bar/grill. Â It really was wonderful, fast and friendly! Â Our server was also super accommodating to me and my two week old who took up a LOT of space at the table with our stroller and all the oogling and awwing! Â She was so sweet to us and made us feel super welcome! Â Very impressed.
They were more than happy to also split the checks (servers make more money this way - I don't know why it's an issue at some restaurants). Â Annnnnnyway, all was great in that arena. Â Score two and three for Detour!
The food was great! I ordered a BLT and had the chips with guac on the side and it was fresh, hot and delicious. I would get it again. The pickle chips were also a nice treat (there were a couple of PG chicks with us who ordered a second round!). Â
I really enjoyed my experience. We have decided to go back for Trivia Night in the coming weeks (they have something every night). Â I think this is definitely great for fun nights out with friends, family dinners or a date night with a fun girl/guy. Â
Walking distance to lots of other great downtown Carmel features as well to make a nice "night of it".
I'm surprised to see such poor reviews on here. Â My husband and I tried this place a couple weeks ago after walking the monon with our son. Â We walked in and were greeted by four hostesses who were more than accommodating that we had a stroller. We got it sat immediately. Â Someone got our drink orders and then our server helped us out with the menu. Â My his and ordered the ham and cheese grilled cheese with mac and cheese and both were amazing. Â I got the detour salad and added chicken. It was so good I loved the ginger dressing so good. Â We definitely recommend checking this place out ans we plan to go there again!
Review Source:I have consumed here several times...and yes...the first few times the service was awful....food marginal at best...
..however it seems things have turned around...servers apparently have been replaced..and there must have been some emphasis on hiring experienced staff...and/or....additional training.
Turns out a familiar face is managing this place....a young man whom I recognize from Scottys Lakehouse is apparently at the helm of this former sinking ship.
His efforts to improve the dining experience at this nice location are evident....as everything I value in a restaurant experience has exponentially improved over my previous visits.
...sometimes you don't know how bad a place was...until you see the improvements.
Hopefully management and staff will continue to be stable...and we can look forward to more good meals and times at this cool/trendy/hip  place.
I have been here a few times. The menu is comprehensive and prices are not too bad based on portion size. The open atmosphere is kind of loud. Nice outdoor opportunity next to the Monon. Service could be a little better. Staff seem to have a lot of fun talking to each other and do not always pay attention to their tables. Will go back if Bubs is packed.
Review Source:Ok, update time! Â This place has really gotten their act together since the last time I was there! Â Went for lunch with the hubs on a Saturday at noon. Â Got seated right away, and were greeted immediately by our adorable server. Â Everything I took points off for last time was completely fixed this time. Â Silverware was laid out on our table when we got there, food came out fast and hot, and she even asked me if we needed mayo or mustard when our food came out! Â (Did they know I was the one who wrote that other review??? Who cares, I loved it!) Â
Of course I had to get another lemon shakeup drink, and it was even better than I remembered it. Â It even had a sugar rim! Â Fun! Â The food we had this time was also great. Â I had the "you're my boy blue" burger, which was delish, and my hubby had the buffalo chicken wrap, which he liked a lot. Â But I've gotta say, the star of the meal is the FRIES! Â OMG their fries are amazing. Â I will not, not, not eat soggy smushy fries, and I can't stand those big fat steak fries. Â Their fries here are the perfect amount of crispy golden deliciousness. Â I could make an entire meal out of just the fries.
Bravo, Detour, on rocking my world this time!
My husband and I dined here about a month ago, and I wasn't that impressed. I know the GM because he interviewed me to work at Thr3e Wisemen while he was still working for Scotty's Brewhouse. Anyway, upon looking at the menu, I found there to be about 5-6 items that were completely ripped off of Scotty's menu, either with a different name or the same name. Come on people if you're going to copy menu items, at least make them BETTER!
Husband tried the dill chips as an appetizer and got awful food poisoning that night. I had the mild wings, and they were okay, but nothing special. We both ordered the Detour burger, and that was probably the best part of the meal. There was a ton of real bacon on it (not those thin prefab slices), cheese, and fixings. and I was impressed with the sizzling skillet it came out on.
Our server was very patient with us, as we had never been there before, and definitely earned his tip.
So I give this place a 2, simply because it's got evil dill chips and the food is overpriced and rip offs of other restaurants.
This place has a lot of potential. But the service is awfully slow. From walking into the restaurant to getting our check it took TWO HOURS to get two chicken sandwiches. First, it took a good half hour to get seated even though there were PLENTY of open tables. Next, the kitchen took about 45 minutes to get two chicken sandwiches out to us. The chicken was cold by the way and I was tempted to send it back, but we were so hungry at that point we decided to just eat it and make sure to complain on Yelp.
I'm not sure if they are understaffed or mismanaged or a bit of both but the restaurant is in a good location and the food tastes pretty good, probably better if it came out hot. However, this place will not make it if they don't get their act together.
Detour snagged up some prime real estate in downtown Carmel at the intersection of Main Street and the Monon Trail. Â They are most likely going to get customers who set out for Bub's only to discover the wait is well over an hour. Â They even have a Bub's style food challenge, The Triple Bypass. Â According to their menu, The Triple Bypass is 30 inch baguette topped with spicy slow cooked Italian beef, spicy giardiniera and mozzarella. Â Finish it and get your picture on the wall. Â Sound familiar, Bub?
I think Detour is going for a family friendly sports bar feel, think Scotty's on the Northside. Â There's a big bar and family friendly dining both inside and on the patio adjacent to the Monon Trail. Â
I checked out the joint for lunch and tried the veggie burger with a side of waffle fries. Â Both were cold and not good. Â They also ration ketchup, a personal pet peeve, by serving it in tiny ramekins rather than bringing a bottle to the table. Â If you're gonna serve crappy fries, then I'm gonna need a lot more ketchup than this. Â
Fellow diners thought the wings and chicken wrap were decent. Â The normal size version of Triple Bypass, bbq burger and quesadilla got a "meh."
Service was quick and friendly, and the manager stopped by to check on us.