restaurants for Plates and Mates

Host the next Plates & Mates and welcome a new crowd to your table.
You bring the food, we bring the people.

What is Plates and Mates?

Plates and Mates is a curated dinner series to make new foodie friends in Indy. Meet new people, try new local spots, & enjoy great convos.

This is an intimate, curated dinner series that brings restaurant recommendations to life. It’s all about supporting local restaurants, discovering new places across the city, and meeting people who love trying new things just as much as you do.

HOW it works

Guests purchase a $10 Plates & Mates ticket through FIND. We handle sign-ups and use our matchmaking technology to group guests with people who share similar interests.
Your restaurant provides the space and dining experience. Guests order and pay for their own food and drinks, and your restaurant keeps 100% of the food and beverage revenue.
We kindly ask that your team provide one complimentary appetizer or drink per table, enough for approximately 4–6 guests. What you offer is completely up to your team, you can select a specific appetizer or drink, or allow guests to choose from a designated selection.
We take care of the guest experience and matchmaking so your team can focus on what you do best: serving great food and creating a welcoming atmosphere.

Event Timeline

6:15–6:45 PM | FIND Arrives
Our team will arrive before the event to drop off conversation cards and flyers, greet guests, and help everyone find their table.

6:30 PM | Dinner Begins
Guests arrive, get settled at their tables, and begin ordering food and drinks.

6:45 PM | Appetizer + Announcements
Complimentary appetizers or drinks come out around 6:45 PM, once most guests have arrived. We’ll also make a few brief announcements to kick off the evening.

6:45–8:30 PM | Dinner & Connections
Your servers will treat each table as its own service while guests enjoy dinner, drinks, and conversation. FIND hosts will be available throughout the evening to help with any guest logistics.

8:00–8:30 PM | Event Wraps Up
The evening typically wraps up around 8:00–8:30 PM, depending on how quickly guests are served.

What to Expect

Our events typically bring 20–40 guests, with most events landing around 25–40 people. We’ll keep your team updated on the reservation count leading up to the event.

We typically recommend reserving approximately 18–20 seats to start, such as:

3 six-top tables, or
5 four-top tables

We can adjust the reservation as sign-ups come in. If your restaurant has a specific capacity limit, just let us know and we’ll make sure to cap ticket sales accordingly.

Plates & Mates is not a private event. Your restaurant can continue normal dinner service alongside the group, and there is no specific section of the restaurant that needs to be reserved exclusively for Plates & Mates.
Guests will be seated at individual tables and treated as their own parties from a service perspective.
Guests pay for their own food and drinks on individual checks. If guests decide to share something, they may choose to split the cost themselves.
There is no minimum food or beverage spend per guest, although we expect each guest to order at least an entrée.
No-shows and last-minute cancellations are handled by the FIND host on site, so your restaurant team doesn't have to worry about rearranging tables or managing attendance changes.
If there are multiple no-shows at one table, our host can move guests around to make sure tables are balanced.

Restaurant faqs

The event begins at 6:30 PM and typically wraps up around 8:00–8:30 PM, depending on how quickly guests are served.
No. There is no minimum spend per guest. We do expect each guest to order at least an entrée.
We ask that the restaurant provide one complimentary appetizer, dessert, or drink for each table, enough for approximately 4–6 guests. Your team can decide what you'd like to offer.
We’ll provide the final guest and table count one day before the event. However, we’ll keep your team updated on reservations throughout the lead-up to the dinner, especially if we need to add additional seats.
Don't worry about it! Our FIND host handles last-minute cancellations and no-shows on site. If needed, we'll move guests between tables to keep the seating balanced.
FIND typically creates one promotional post before the event and one recap post afterward, highlighting the Plates & Mates experience and participating restaurant.
Yes! Participating restaurants are welcome to use photos and content created from the event afterward.

VENUE INTEREST FORM

WHAT ARE RESTAURANTS SAYING?

"Bo and the FIND Indianapolis team are fantastic to work with. Communication is great, time commitment to execute their events is minimal and she runs a great operation. It’s a win-win for our venue on our slower evenings."

- Stephen, Owner, The Hangar
"Working with FIND has been such a great experience! Bo is incredibly kind, organized, and truly passionate about creating meaningful connections. She’s a fantastic partner, and we love collaborating with her!"

-Hannah, Skyline Club Indy