Crema

About Crema

Crema is a coffee shop downtown Indianapolis located on one of my favorite streets in the world, Mass Ave. While this new café shares its name with several others across the world, Indy’s Crema is one-of-a-kind, and everything about it rings true.

Serving up that good good Tinker Coffee, Crema operates as a coffee shop by day and a swanky cocktail bar at night by the name: Almost Famous. Because of the nature of the establish, Crema is always 21+, and I’m going to be honest with you… I’m glad. There are so many kinds of coffee shops in Indianapolis catered to all different kinds of crowds, and Crema’s hybrid model and unified space make it one-of-a-kind.

The intimacy of the space, the velvet booths, the sexy chandeliers and mood lighting, the adult-themed wallpaper, and… the fact that it’s a bar, all bring a truly unique and refreshing perspective to the coffee scene. I, for one, love sitting at a bar top and working, and Crema’s bar boasts plenty of space. There are also comfy booths to nestle into, tall cocktail tables that double as standing desks, and plenty of traditional café seating that make this space perfect for business meetings, hanging with your (adult) friends, and camping out to get work done. They’ve got the best internet on Mass Ave and plenty of outlets at or near every table for the laptop crowd.

While the primary focus of Crema during the day is delicious coffee, they will also serve a limited menu of daytime-appropriate cocktails and beer alongside an expertly curated snack & lunch menu.

One of the main reasons I’m excited about Crema is that it’s being run by my friend Curtis, who was one of the first friends I made when I moved to Indy. We served tables and bartended together back in the early naughts, and since, Curtis has been perfecting his cocktail-making craft on Mass Ave for over a decade, serving as the manager-turned-owner at Tini and now Crema / Almost Famous. He’s got an incredible eye for detail and cares about every drink he makes, so it’s really exciting to see him bring his talents to the coffee scene.

Scott Recommends

You can’t go wrong with Tinker Coffee, and Crema is really crushing it with the coffee game. They’ve got a sick matte black Modbar setup and they’re pulling dialed-in shots of Tinker’s spro to blend with creamy lattes, house-made syrups, or a simple glass of soda water to sip alongside your shot. Everything I’ve had so far has been great, especially the pour-over and the pistachio latte.

More Info