John's Famous Stew — Restaurant in Indianapolis

The restaurant is tucked away in an industrial park just west of downtown Indianapolis along a diagonal road. It's justifiably famous for its support of the working class people in the area and the prices still reflect this.

The menu is mostly traditional hoosier-isms including ridiculously large pork tenderloins. The stew the restaurant is named after is a rich beef gravy-based hungarian goulash. It has pretty much all the usual ingredients plus some extra spices particular to the recipe. There's some coriander in there and probably cumin and a healthy dose of cayenne pepper.

The medium spice level is hoosier level medium spicy but nothing much to anyone who enjoys a fiery chilli, spicy thai or tex-mex foods. For spice enthusiasts, go for the hot. For standard hoosiers, go medium.

The stew flavor is excellent as they don't stint on the ingredients. There's cooked down remnants of celery, onion, green pepper, carrot slices, chunks of potato and a very generous portion of stew beef chunks. Large enough you'll need to use the spoon to chop them down to manageable bites. I didn't feel a need to add any seasoning to the stew itself. It comes with a few slices of white bread (and butter) that are a nice accompaniment.

I'm a big guy and I was full after just the stew and a drink. You might want a side if you haven't had breakfast.

The decor is basic but very clean. You don't come for the atmosphere but for the company and the food.

Speaking of company, the wait staff and chef are all very warm and welcoming. You're made to feel at home and welcome to stay as long as you want. Nobody is rushing anyone out the door or made to feel like an interruption. You get just the right amount of attention to make sure your needs are being met.

I strongly recommend the stew and their manhattans. I haven't tried any of the appetizers so far. I'll definitely be...

John's Famous Stew is pretty popular with the construction crowd and Lilly Personel from the complex down the street. During lunch hours it is usually filled to the brim.

I have had their Beef Manhattan, the Meduim Stew and the Tenderloin Supreme. All of which were excellent and very filling. Trust me, you do not walk away from Johns feeling hungry in the slightest. My favorite is the Tenderlion Supreme which is a huge Fried Tenderloin with your choice of Stew (Mild, Medium or Hot) ladled over the Tenderloin with a big slice of bread on the side. It is very delicious!

Only problem is that their wait staff is not the quickest around, not even during down times. And they are certainly quirky and a might bit onery at times. I myself do not mind it while some I know do. Bottom line is, make sure you have the time for a longer than fastfood lunch.

I would actually give them 5 Stars on the hardiness of their food but on 3 stars for service, hence...

The southwest part of downtown Indy is largely industrial but you’ve most likely driven by John’s Famous Stew, a true dive that has been open since the 1910s. I saw it on a Google search and it looked great so we decided to stop in.

Came on a Saturday at around 2:30 PM and they weren’t busy. Our waitress was super friendly and attentive to our table. The overall vibe of the place is very vintage, and looks like a true dive.

I got the breaded tenderloin sandwich with fries as my entree. I was overall impressed! The size of it was insane! Overall, it tasted good, and the fries were decent. I also had a bite of the classic stew my parents got along with the bowl of chili. The stew was great and the chili was fantastic too! Pro tip: dip your tenderloin in either of these, it makes it even better!

Overall, if you’re on the near southwest side looking for a cool longtime dive, John’s Famous stew gets a high recommendation from me!...