The Arts & Market District in historic downtown Lafayette features galleries, a farmers’ market, and concerts. From meandering down Main Street to exploring galleries, you’ll want to eat at some of the locals’ favorite restaurants. You’ll need the energy to keep exploring.

With West Lafayette being a college town, restaurants typically offer affordable options. While this isn’t a comprehensive guide to the greater Lafayette area’s culinary scene, here are seven of the top places to eat in Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana. I grouped them by town, Lafayette versus West Lafayette, and then listed them alphabetically.

Thank you to Visit Lafayette-West Lafayette for hosting my visit.

Arni’s, Lafayette

For over 50 years, people in the area have said, “Meet you at Arni’s.” This popular restaurant is the perfect place to have dinner and celebrate the big win, after football on game day, or drown your sorrows after a loss. Win or lose, Arni’s is one of the best pizza places in the region.

Arni’s, a family affair, offers an inviting atmosphere no matter your mood. They have several rooms with a wide range of décor. You’ll find the toy room for the young or the young at heart. For those that like the trucks, you’ll want to sit in the loading dock dining room, complete with big-scale trucks. You’ll also find a dining room, which is plainer than the rest. So, you’ll find the perfect atmosphere, however you’re feeling. Arni’s is a fantastic place to hang out with friends on a Saturday night.

They serve Italian cuisine, including pizzas, pasta dishes, sandwiches like stromboli, meatball subs, and a hot Sicilian. You’ll also find some all-American favorites like burgers and loaded cheese fries.

What to Order

While you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, the original BBQ Pizza is a crowd-pleaser. It features sausage, onion, mozzarella, and BBQ sauce. The pizzas have toppings that go all the way to the edge.

As an appetizer, we had their loaded cheese fries, which featured a mountain of crispy fries, loaded with cheddar cheese sauce, then topped with bacon bits and diced green onions.

Piper’s Pro Planning: You’ll find several locations of this local favorite throughout the region. Check their website to find your preferred location and place your takeout order.

East End Grill, Lafayette

The dining room at East End Grill features a warm atmosphere with a modern upscale vibe while still being casual. If the weather cooperates, they also have street-side outdoor seating trimmed with flower boxes for a pretty garden vibe.

What to Order

My choice on the dinner menu was the BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs. They braised them for seven hours, then grilled and finished them with house-made BBQ sauce. The dinner is a whole rack served with brown sugar, bourbon baked beans, and creamy coleslaw.

My friend chose Saffron Leek Pappardelle. The dish featured pappardelle in a creamy saffron sauce tossed with sauteed leeks, peas, cremini mushrooms, Parmesan, and Smoking Goose Tasso Ham. The chef added some red pepper flakes for a bit of zip and topped it with crispy leeks. She confirmed that it tasted as good as it looked.

They have several vegetarian options, including the Black Garlic Marinated Cauliflower Steak, covered in panko breadcrumbs, then cooked with cremini mushrooms and served with Romesco and Gremolata.

I had the Tres Leches cake, which was as beautiful as it was tasty. It started with a yellow sponge cake infused with the traditional three types of milk. They decoratively topped it with Chantilly cream and garnished it with strawberries. The dessert sat in a pool of raspberry sauce with a sprinkle of cinnamon for added flair. While this summery dessert may not be on the menu when you visit, I’m sure you’ll find something equally delicious.

Piper’s Pro Planning: You’ll find easy parking in a lot across the side street.

RedSeven, Lafayette

RedSeven, located at 200 Main Street in downtown Lafayette, has upscale urban vibes, making it a great place for almost any occasion. While it is upscale, the atmosphere is still casual. They offer a full bar with craft cocktails and local brews.

While the menu offers some comfort food like pork chops and mashed potatoes or shrimp risotto, you’ll also find a variety of steak dishes, chicken, and burgers. Several dishes had an international twist, like steaks served with a chimichurri sauce or a Salsa Verde.

What to Order

I over-ordered this meal, but everything on the menu sounded so tempting I couldn’t help myself. If you end up in this situation, take a doggie bag and plan tomorrow’s lunch.

My meal started with bacon-wrapped shrimp that had been spread with a bourbon BBQ sauce. They served it with an apple pear slaw. You’ll want to share this unless you’re having it as part of your entrée.

I had to try the Peach and Bacon salad. The foundation of the salad was romaine lettuce. Then came the brandy-marinated peaches. The peaches and bacon, the stars of this dish, appeared generously. Tomato, corn, and a topping of queso fresco also came along. The chef topped it with a BBQ ranch dressing. While this was an entrée salad, I split it with my friend because I had to try it. I wasn’t disappointed.

All the entrees come with a salad, so you should decide between the entrée salad and a heavier entrée. I ordered the Flank Steak with a spicy Salsa Verde. The salsa was reminiscent of a chimichurri sauce and wasn’t overly spicy. It had more of a zip, but flavorful. They served the dish with jasmine rice, cilantro lime butter, and charred corn on the cob.

I finished the meal by sharing the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake, topped with chocolate icing.

Piper’s Pro Planning: RedSeven pays for two hours of parking when you park in the attached parking garage. Take your parking validation card to have it validated at the host stand. You can enter the parking garage off Ferry Street.

8Eleven Modern Bistro, West Lafayette

8Eleven, a modern bistro inside the Union Club Hotel. The restaurant celebrates the traditions of two of NASA’s aerospace programs, Gemini 8 and Apollo 11. It celebrates the missions’ command pilot, a Purdue University alum, Neil Armstrong.

The upscale, fine-dining restaurant features locally sourced, farm-fresh, seasonal ingredients. This restaurant was one of my personal favorites in the area—the perfect place for special occasions.

What to Order

We dined at 8Eleven for lunch, but they also offered a dinner service.

I had the smoked salmon dip with Boursin cheese and white truffle, topped with chives, and served with Kennebec potato chips as a starter for the table. Then, my lunch included an heirloom tomato salad with Persian cucumber, watercress, basil, and feta, where the tomatoes rather than the lettuce was the star. I made it an entrée by adding grilled shrimp and a bowl of watermelon gazpacho. The soup starred cucumber, tomato, red pepper, and olive oil.

The restaurant also offers a full bar.

Piper’s Pro Planning: 8Eleven closes between lunch and dinner from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Leaps Coffee Shop, West Lafayette

Leaps Coffee Shop inside the Union Club Hotel offers counter-style service with specialty coffee drinks, smoothies, and baked goods. It’s the perfect place to grab a quick bite for breakfast or a snack after a relaxing spa treatment in The Spa at the Union Club Hotel Purdue University.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Leaps Coffee Shop opens at 7:00 AM for breakfast.

Ritual, West Lafayette

Ritual is a great place for a night out with friends, a date night, or a place to stop by after work for a post-workday cocktail. In addition to its cocktail menu, smashes and swizzles, beer, and wine, Ritual offers an extensive bourbon menu. So, it’s the ideal spot to do a bourbon tasting.

What to Order

Small plate menu items include chicken and mango spring rolls and spinach and artichoke dip. For a late-night treat, try the bacon cheddar tots, or for a sweet indulgence, the donut holes.

Their small plates are available until 9:00 PM and late-night snacks until midnight.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Ritual doesn’t take reservations. They are open to walk-in-only guests.

Triple XXX Family Restaurant, West Lafayette

Triple XXX Family Restaurant got its name from the oldest brand of root beer in the nation. Once there were more than 100 Triple XXX franchises in the United States and Canada, but that ended years ago, and today, the one in West Lafayette is the only Triple XXX Restaurant left.

What to Order

They’ve been serving chopped steak burgers since 1929. And you’ll find that it is still one of the top places to eat in West Lafayette, especially for a burger. They take beef and grind it into chopped meat, making the best burgers in town.

Their menu pays homage to Purdue’s football heroes through the years. For example, you’ll find a “Duane Purvis Burger on the menu, a quarter pound chopped steak with melted American Cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion on a toasty sesame bun that’s spread with thick, creamy peanut butter. They serve it with fries. Some say you’ll either love it or hate it. Since I was there for breakfast and had a peanut allergy, I’ll never know how I’d like it. If you’ve had it, let me know in the comments.

For breakfast, I ordered the Drew Brees, which included two eggs. I had it with chicken fried steak, but you could choose their signature 100 percent ground sirloin. I had fried potatoes with sausage gravy, but you could select hash browns. It also comes with two buttermilk biscuits. And, of course, I had a frosty mug of Triple XXX Root Beer. They serve generous portions, so be prepared for that.

Seating includes outdoor seating with picnic tables, weather permitting, and a continuous curved counter with bar stools. The entire inside seating is sitting at the counter. You won’t find tables inside.

Piper’s Pro Planning: You can order online if you prefer to take out your meal.

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