Perk Up Cafe

«You can’t buy happiness but you can buy coffee. And that’s basically the same thing.»
I was able to buy some happiness today at Perk Up Café! This small café offers a great variety of coffee drinks that can get your day going! The staff is extremely nice and helpful. I told the barista that it was my first time there and she gave me some advice as to what drinks I could try. I ended up getting the White Knight Iced, and it was delicious! The best part– they don’t screw you over like some coffee shops where they fill the entire cup with ice. The majority of my iced coffee was coffee! I experienced a mild case of price shock at the register ($ 5.75), but quickly recovered after my first sip.
The only downside– They are only open until 2 p.m. on Mon-​Sat. I wish they were opened a little later!
Next time I go, I will want to try either their sandwiches or pastries!

I love this place — it’s quaint, peaceful, and full of culture and broadripple flavor.

I have seen this coffee shop on Unilocal a few times and thought today that I would give it a try! All I can say is… delicious!
Perk Up Café has transformed an old into a perfect little cozy coffee shop. There are plenty of tables with comfy chairs for enjoying your daily coffee. They also have a very cute patio that I bet becomes quite crowded in the summer.
I opted for the iced coffee and a breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg and American cheese. The coffee was the perfect blend of strong and smooth. I added a tiny bit of sugar and it could not have been more perfect! The breakfast sandwich was truly amazing. Simple, yet delicious. The bread was toasted on a panini maker and the egg, bacon and cheese were all fresh. I could eat this sandwich daily!
Overall, I am extremely impressed with Perk Up and cannot believe this is my first visit. I will definitely be back and cannot wait to try more coffee and sandwiches. The quiche also looked great!

Perk Up is an adorable café off the Monon in the upper area of Broad Ripple. My hubby and I both got lattes. His was iced and mine was hot, but they were both strong and delicious. I got an egg + bacon sandwich, which my brain told me was on a bagel, but was actually on wheat bread. Still very good, but next time I will make sure to ask for a bagel! Hubby got the veggie melt sandwich. He thought it was good, but not quite enough food to get him through to the next meal. Make sure to check out their website for an updated list of fresh bread deliveries. Also check out their art, which are pieces by the «Arc Artisans,» adult artists with disabilities. All sales go back to fund the program.

Still my favourite coffee shop in Indy.
Today I broke my trend of only ordering breves and got the Hot Cocoa. You can taste the rich flavour of the cocoa and the milk is creamy as can be. The young lady smiled at the departure from my regular order. She asked after me with genuine interest and we had a lovely bit of conversation. This place is a gem!
Also, the quiche is tasty and the crust is as good as ever!

If you love places that have a community of regulars that met at random, warm cozy seating, and fresh food, then perk up is a must for you.
I started coming to perk up about ten years ago as a high school student. Saturday mornings are like the Midwestern version of cheers. A person from every age group, every demographic, sharing coffee and breakfast together. Seating is typically in tables of two but the small house that is the restaurant is really a community room. Conversation is shared between tables and it is not an exclusive environment. If you come, prepare to share your conversation. As I graduated high school, college, and law school it has been a treasured moment in my life returning a few times a year and seeing the regulars and the people passing by – sharing my life’s milestones, and catching up on theirs. Perk up is a true treasure in my heart. It will be in yours too.
In terms of food: the veggie melt is my favorite sandwich in the city. Cheese lots of fresh veggies, homemade bread, I have dreamed about it. The German baked goods are so fresh and unlike anything else in the city. Coffee is good, but their baked goods are their specialty.
This is a sit and enjoy place. The perfect stop off the Monon. Don’t come here and expect Starbucks speedy service. Come here to enjoy the community, to learn about someone completely different from yourself, and to laugh for a little bit.

Russischer Zupfkuchen, speciality coffee, cute barista, real wood, local artwork, intellectuals, Monon Trail access. Pleasant bakery.

Great breakfast! So tasty
The barista was very personable & super funny.
A true café experience.

A great little German Kafé, doing all the espresso right with their own small batch roasted beans. I definitely suggest a visit!

Perk Up Café was pleasantly surprising and not at all what I was expecting, but definitely a hidden gem! My friend and I decided to stop in after passing it on the way home from dinner the night before. We were expecting to just grab a pastry and some coffee, but there were so many different options that we had to stop and reconsider our choices, and the barista was super helpful, explaining the menu and chatting with us.
Saturday is French Toast special day (yum!), but we were in the mood for eggs, one of our favorite foods. I ordered a Dirty Hippie blended drink, which was a chai with espresso, and their regular egg sandwich (egg, your choice of cheese, and bacon) on a pretzel bun. My friend ordered a Funky Monkey (mocha and banana) and a deluxe egg sandwich, and our barista was very accommodating to her lactose allergy, removing the cheese and replacing milk. It also turned out they were out of the banana flavor, but my friend was allowed to substitute her choice of syrup, and the resulting mocha raspberry had me wishing I’d ordered that instead — however my Dirty Hippie was also to die for.
After we received our coffee, we sat down (inside to avoid the 90 degree humidity), but the patio was still packed with BRipp locals, chatting and people-​watching the Monon Trail despite the heat. The dark interior and furnishings were very cosy, and the artwork on the walls was all for sale — an added flair. The atmosphere was relaxing and not loud or overstimulating, which was nice. Our food was delivered to us, and despite having asked for a pretzel bun, my sandwich came on wheat bread. Minor blip, and I’m pretty low maintenance, so I ran with it, and it was still just as good.
All the coffee beans at Perk Up are roasted on site and pastries are made in-​house, which makes it even better. It’s also right next door to residences, so it blends right into the neighborhood, making it very locally accessible and easy to stop in on your way to work in the morning for a really good cup of coffee. It’s also dog friendly, which is even better because I got to pet a visiting puppy. I will most definitely be back (to have the raspberry mocha and try a cranberry coconut muffin)!!

Check out that patio for Monon gawking. Dog friendly! Love their fresh roasted coffee, really delicious & memorable. Can’t understand why anyone would pick Starbucks over a wonderful local coffee house like this. It’s so easy to pull up, go in, plunk your change in the self serve box, grab n’ go. Interior is cozy & welcoming; note the bearded regular sitting in his spot by the door most mornings. Haven’t had a lot of their pastry items, but I do know the homemade quiche was fabulous.

Perk Up Café is in a charming light blue house with white trim. The dining area is small and intimate with warm, dark tones. The staff has always been cheerful, as well as helpful, taking time to go over the espresso, bread and pastry items. One of the foreign exchange students I supervise is German and informed me that he missed German bread. i asked Jeanette, one of the owners, which bread she thought he would like. She took the time to describe the breads and told me what she thought he would enjoy the most. Additionally, she gave me a business card to give him and stated that I should suggest that he look at the website in order to familiarize himself with the bread offerings and the days they would be available. I purchased a loaf and delivered it to him, along with the business card. He was absolutely ecstatic to receive the bread. I also purchased a loaf for myself. My family and I spread butter on it and put it under the broiler until it was a golden brown. It was good, however, it seemed to lack a bit of salt.
In addition to bread, I have purchased the Mint Monon, White Mocha, Lemon Poppyseed and Blueberry muffins, Apple Cake, and biscotti. I absolutely love the White Mocha, which boasts a bold, rich and creamy flavor and the Blueberry muffin, which was light, airy, and loaded with blueberries, as well as the biscotti. The Apple Cake had an amazing amount of apples in it and the crust was great, I just wished it was sweeter. However, I am aware that European desserts are generally not as sweet as American desserts. The Lemon Poppyseed Muffin was good, but nothing I would feel compelled to make a special trip to purchase. The Mint Monon was good also, however, I would have preferred more pronounced mint flavor, but I am sure I can remedy that by simply asking for more mint syrup.
Once I have made my purchases, I enjoy sitting in the warm and cozy dining area in order to read a good book, or to converse with family and friends. Due to the small size, it does fill up quickly, which means that one may have to sit in the chairs against the window that don’t have a table, which results in having no where to place your coffee, etc. It would be nice if small tables could go between the dining chair and wingback chairs on either side since one may not want to hold their beverage the entire time or sit it on the floor.
I truly love coming to Perk Up Café. The staff is outstanding, the ambience is great and I enjoy relaxing in the cozy dining room with a biscotti and hot White Mocha. I have given four stars instead of five because the bread needed a bit more salt to bring out the flavor, I would have preferred the Apple Cake to be sweeter, and the four chairs in the dining room without a table need at least two small ones to share between them in order to have somewhere to place drinks and food. However, overall, I enjoy The Perk Up Café very much and intend to keep visiting them often.

A good place to pop in a grab a cup of coffee real quick.

This small little Café had a great space and feel to it. We got some tasty coffee, some breakfast bagel sandwiches and everything was really sweet.

Perk Up is one of my favorite coffee places in Indianapolis. It’s warm and inviting and a great place for a morning meeting or a remote work space. In warmer months their patio is a nice place to spend a morning. The coffee is always fresh and delicious, with a depth of flavor you don’t find at a lot of places. I traditionally go for drip coffee (and they have several to choose from) but I occasionally shake things up with a skim milk cappuccino. So. Good.

Perk Up café is awesome! We stopped by here to get a cup of coffee but ended up ordering their delicious tomato basil soup, a traditional german cake with poppy seeds and a cup of chai latte. Everything was the highest quality and service is super friendly. I wish they close a bit later during the day. We hit closed doors a few times before but finally made it today on time! Their location just a few steps off the Monon trail is incredible.

My wife and I have been coming here for years to enjoy the German coffee time, «Kaffeeklatsch» that is held on Sunday afternoon starting at 1pm.
The wonderful owners of this shop create a selection of German pastries during this time. Each week, the variety changes. They have a keen eye for quality and a traditional focus.
The place is a converted older house and is quite cozy. The space is well maintained with the «dining room» offering ample enough seating for the size. The coffee drink selection is typical but well executed.
If you have the chance or the inclination, try the traditional German breads on offer here when they come available. For Christmas, try the stollen bread.
Recommendations: Everything. I have never been disappointed with any of the offerings. German cheesecakes, apricot cookies, pretzels, farmer’s bread, rye and bee sting pastries. Great, great stuff served by a friendly staff and made with true love.

I enjoy coming to this place to just work. It’s fairly small and can get a bit noisy, but still a great place to work or meet up with a friend. During my first visit, I had the pumpkin latte which was pretty good. It wasn’t as heavy or sweet as Starbucks. I love the copper espresso machine. So neat. On my second visit, the espresso machine was down, so I had to have hot tea. The selection was pretty basic. They also have an assortment of pastries. Thumbs up for the pumpkin muffin. Keep in mind that this place is in the broad ripple area, so parking can be pretty limited. I do not believe they have a private lot. Venture away from Starbucks and be sure to check this place out. Worth a visit.

First and foremost– I do not drink coffee. I came for a meeting and had the house special apricot and something tea, which was bland. Their Saturday special on French toast was pretty good. Fresh and tasty.
The best part about the place is the atmosphere. Would be really good for a study session or casual meeting. I believe they said their food was made in house as well.

Tiny building that I mistook for someone’s home. We walked in and were greeted by a very good smelling aroma, grabbed a quick cup of their house blend, and rolled out. It looked like only one guy was working at the time, so because he was ringing everyone up AND making the coffee himself, we didn’t move too quickly through here. Still, it was fun to try out a local coffee shop off the beaten path!