This Indiana Restaurant Sits Inside A Restored 19th-Century Horse Stable

Horses used to live here. Actual horses, right inside the same brick building where you can now sit down for empanadas and street corn.

Built in the 1890s, this old stable once held horses, buggies, and all the noisy business of getting around town. Today, the horses are long gone, but the building’s personality is still hanging around.

A giant mural wraps around the outside, while low lighting, clamshell seats, and a long red-velvet booth make the inside feel nothing like a stable. Then the menu brings another surprise.

Central and South American flavors fill the table with skirt steak, empanadas, street corn, and plenty of bright spices. Who would expect to find all that inside a former horse stable?

This Indiana restaurant somehow makes the strange combination work, turning a piece of old city history into a place that is just plain fun to visit.

The 1890s Stable That Became A Dining Room

Horses once stood where diners now sit. The west end of this two-story brick building worked as a genuine livery in the 1890s, a hub for the horse and buggy trade that kept Indianapolis moving.

The name of the restaurant comes straight from that history, and the restoration honored it rather than hiding it. Old brick, solid beams, and the general sturdiness of the structure survived the transformation.

Guests who slow down for a second before ordering usually notice the details first. Thick walls.

Tall proportions. The kind of construction that was built for work, not for looks.

What makes the space interesting is how little it tries to be a museum. There are no fake horseshoes tacked to the wall or corny stable props hanging around.

Instead, the building simply gets to be itself while a modern Latin American kitchen runs inside it. That contrast is the whole appeal.

Anyone curious about Indiana history gets a free bonus with dinner here, since the address itself is part of the city’s 19th-century story. It sits at the northern edge of the Mass Ave district, an area known for creative reuse of older properties.

Arriving a few minutes early helps. A short walk around the exterior gives a better sense of the original footprint, and the brickwork looks especially good in the late afternoon light before the dinner rush begins.

Rooftop Seating With Downtown In View

Climb the stairs and the whole mood shifts. The rooftop patio at Livery is one of its most talked-about features, an all-season space that opens up to sky, air, and a lively slice of downtown Indianapolis.

Warm evenings turn it into the best seat in the building. On clear nights, dinner happens under actual stars.

The view is not a mountain range or an ocean, and it does not need to be. City rooftops have their own charm, with traffic humming below, lit windows in the distance, and the low buzz of Mass Ave nearby.

Because it works across seasons, the rooftop stays usable well beyond a few perfect summer weeks. Cooler nights in spring and fall still draw a crowd up there.

Groups tend to love it. The setting is casual enough for a relaxed catch-up, yet it still feels like a small occasion.

A few things help. Requesting rooftop seating when booking is smart, since the space fills quickly on pleasant evenings and weekends move fast.

Doors open at 4 PM daily, and arriving on the earlier side gives the best shot at a rooftop table plus that soft pre-sunset light. Later reservations trade the view for a cozier, glowing city backdrop.

Either way, the elevation adds something the ground floor cannot match. Fresh air, open sky, and a little distance from the sidewalk noise.

Red Velvet Booths And Clamshell Seats Downstairs

Design lovers get plenty to look at here. The main dining room stays low-lit and moody, anchored by a long red-velvet booth that runs the length of the space and instantly makes the room feel a little glamorous.

Next to it, a bricked-in bar area softens the historic walls with brightly upholstered half-clamshell seats. Those chairs are fun.

They practically invite lingering.

Then there is the enclosed porch, airy and wrapped in large windows that look out onto College Avenue. Three distinct moods, one building.

What ties everything together is restraint. The modern furnishings never fight the 1890s architecture, and the exposed brick keeps reminding everyone where they are.

Choosing a seating area is basically choosing a vibe. The booth suits a slow dinner, the bar suits a casual stop, and the porch suits daylight and people-watching.

The rooms carry sound, especially when the restaurant fills up on a Friday or Saturday. Anyone hoping for quieter conversation should aim for an earlier weekday seating shortly after the 4 PM opening.

Lighting stays dim through the evening, which flatters the space but makes menu reading a small challenge. Phone flashlights get used.

Nobody minds.

Details like the polished brick, the color pops, and the mix of textures give the interior a distinct identity rather than a generic remodel look. It photographs well, though it feels better in person.

Small Plates Built For Passing Around The Table

Sharing is the natural rhythm here. Much of the menu arrives in portions meant to be passed family-style, which turns dinner into a table-wide sampling session rather than a set of separate meals.

Yuca fries show up constantly in conversation, served with queso blanco and chihuahua cheese. Earthy, crisp, and easy to keep reaching for.

Street corn brings cotija cheese, jalapeño butter, and cilantro into the mix, while sweet plantains arrive with black bean purée, pineapple slaw, cotija, poblano crema, and a habanero-guajillo sauce.

Guacamole gets its own small following, plated with black bean purée, salsa fresca, fresno, and tortilla chips. Roasted cauliflower is another favorite, dressed with avocado salsa, pepita, fresno, and amarillo gastrique.

The cauliflower runs large enough that some tables treat it as a main. Good to know before over-ordering.

Bold spices and fresh ingredients define the approach, drawing from Central and South American cooking traditions rather than sticking to one single country’s playbook.

Strategy tip for groups: order three or four starters for the middle of the table and let everyone build their own plate. It works especially well for larger parties.

Menu items are marked for gluten-free and vegetarian options, and the staff answers questions readily. That makes mixed-diet groups far easier to feed without anyone feeling left out of the fun.

Empanadas, Skirt Steak, And Other Heavy Hitters

Ask around about Livery and the empanadas come up fast. The lineup covers a lot of ground, including steak with chihuahua cheese, onion, and pepper, plus corn with cheddar and truffle.

Queso versions arrive with havarti, gouda, and black bean purée. Others include chicken with chihuahua cheese, bean, and tomato, chorizo with carrot and peach salsa, and lamb with tomato and poblano crema.

Each one hides a burst of filling inside a crisp, fluffy shell. Ordering a mixed platter is the smart move for indecisive tables.

Beyond the pastries, the skirt steak holds star status, grilled and sliced over crispy griddled polenta. It appears on more tables than almost anything else.

Red drum brings sweet plantain, yuca fries, chorizo chutney, and chimichurri together on one plate, a nice option for anyone leaning toward seafood.

Arroz con pollo goes the comfort route with chipotle chicken, red rice, queso, guacamole, cilantro, and pickled pepper and onion wrapped in a flour tortilla.

Paella and birria also draw steady attention, and churros with dulce de leche close things out for plenty of tables. Tres leches shows up in rotating variations too.

Portion sizes vary across the menu, so mixing a shared starter with one main per person usually lands right. Save room for dessert.

That part matters.

Planning The Visit Around Mass Ave

Location does a lot of work for this restaurant. Sitting at 720 N College Ave, Livery lands at the edge of the Mass Ave district, one of the most walkable and creative corners of downtown Indianapolis.

Theaters, shops, murals, and galleries fill the surrounding blocks. Dinner easily becomes part of a longer evening out.

Doors open at 4 PM every day, with closing times running to 10 PM most nights, 11 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and 9 PM on Sundays. Weekend evenings get busy, so reservations save time.

Parking has options. Valet is available, and street parking usually turns up within a block or two with a little patience.

Sunday evenings tend to be calmer, which makes them a solid choice for anyone who prefers a slower pace and easier curbside spots.

Large groups are worth calling ahead about, since the restaurant handles bigger parties and can work around dietary needs when given notice. Livery is part of the Cunningham Restaurant Group, a familiar name across central Indiana.

Pair the meal with a walk down Mass Ave afterward. The stretch lights up nicely after dark and connects to plenty of other stops.

Between the restored stable, the mural, the rooftop, and a kitchen built on Latin flavors, one address covers history, art, and a memorable dinner.