Pawn Shop Pub — Restaurant in Indianapolis

Being completely honest, our experience came with mixed results. But what I realized is that with every negative aspect I was quick to find an opposing upside. It was an exercise in compromise, and setting realistic expectations.

We walked in and found it moderately busy. It was unclear if we were supposed to seat ourselves or wait, and no one was available to direct us. I decided to find a table myself, taking advantage of the nice weather and sitting outside on the patio. A nearby server let us know she would inform our server. I’m still not sure if that was the accepted protocol. 🤷‍♂️

After a few minutes we were greeted by our server and she provided us with menus as she took our drink order. We knew a classic tenderloin and their hand-dipped onion rings were a must, and we added a charbroiled cheeseburger and fries. 🍔🍟

We were immediately shocked by the menu pricing. Eight dollars for a sandwich? Sides that were just a few bucks? Dollar fifty fountain drinks?! Did we jump back in time? 🤯

As we waited for our food I did occasionally pick up the smell of cat urine in the breeze. Looking around the patio I noticed a few water bowls for pets. So while the brief smell wasn’t pleasant, I did appreciate their accommodation of pets while dining outside. 🐕‍🦺

Our food arrived and I was immediately impressed with the large golden-brown tenderloin before me. It was medium thickness, twice the size of the large bun, and came with fresh lettuce, pickles, onion, and mayo. The bun was lightly grilled, which always bolsters my first impression. 🥬🍅🥒🧅

I divided the cutlet in half and dressed the sandwich. My first bite told me they understood the assignment. The fatty mayo complimented the salty breading, with the veggies providing the clean top notes. While I didn’t personally crown it the best ever, it was an excellent BPT that clearly deserved the recognition it’s received. If you go, get one.

And if you’re feeling adventurous, they also offer specialty BPTs, with combinations like “Philly”, “Buffalo”, and “Italian”. 😎

The onion rings were equally excellent. I love extra breading and these delivered. Every bite was clean, without removing the entire onion. They were served with cocktail sauce, which I found interesting. 👀

The Charbroiled Cheeseburger was good but less impressive by comparison. The shredded cheese was a curious choice but it included the same fresh veggies and grilled bun.

Overall I was quite happy with the food and am now wondering what other items might be worth ordering. 🤔

So the building was old and seemed a bit dingy. Our Cokes were weak, and service was down the middle. We felt a bit like outsiders, and the pet-friendly patio smelled like pets.

BUT . . .

The food and drinks were crazy cheap. Portions were large and the food was great. We were able to eat outside on a beautiful day and we got to experience what so many people before us already had.

The Pawn Shop Pub is a local dive bar being a local dive bar. Once I accepted that I was able to fully enjoy what makes them special— great food, sold cheap.

The Indianapolis foodscape includes restaurants of all kinds. We have the freedom of choice, and so many options. If you’re looking for a killer BPT at a jaw-dropping price, give The Pawn Shop...

On today, June 6, 2025, myself and a friend of mine came to the Pawn shop for food and drinks. It was crowded, but there were two seats at the bar on the end towards the kitchen so we sat there and next to me was a customer. I ordered water, my friend got a vodka cranberry. We later ordered food. My friends order was taken first, then myself, and next the guy next to me. In essence we all ordered at the same time. What was disappointing was to witness the other customer get his food first. He ordered a taco salad and we ordered tacos. I watched other servers run back and forth delivering food to tables while we still did not have our food. The lady that was serving us at the bar was talking to a patron and seemed engrossed in the conversation. All the while, we still did not receive our food. Servers are still running food out the kitchen and moving fast, yet we are still waiting. I then get the attention of another server and told her we are ready to go and need to pay for a drink. The server got the bar tenders attention and told her she was needed. I watched the bar tender ignore the server and kept talking. Eventually, the bartender with blond hair and long ponytail turns around. I told her we need to pay for our drink, we are leaving. She then goes to see if our food is ready, saying it just came up. She brings us the food. Against my better judgment, we cash out and take the food to go. As we were boxing our food, i noticed it was not hot. Had the bar tender not been running her mouth, we could of had hot food. I definitely did not leave a tip. I gave this establishment a 1 for poor customer service. The fact the bar tender kept talking when she was told she was needed. The fact the other customer was served before us and our food was not hot. I have been to Pawn shop many times. We love the food, but the customer service at times suck. It is not always warm and inviting. It bothers me to feel like we were treated differently than the other customers and that's not fair. Everyone deserves quality customer service and care and tonight there was lack. The food is absolutely amazing and delicious, but I will think twice about returning, especially after today's visit. Please work with your staff on providing good customer service, paying attention to details and making sure food is delivered fairly and in a...

Spent 93.00 on food today based on recommendations from previous customers. Pricing wise they don't sound bad and when comparing to others around they do have good prices. However, don't think you will get Pub style portions on your food. The Double Cheeseburger is not any larger than the Single Quarter Pounder but the burgers are thicker. You only get 4 onion rings per order. If you order fries, you don't get any more fries than you get in a double cheese bundle from McDonalds basically a small it is the fries are bigger around. Tenderloins are an okay size not big though. They are maybe 1" bigger than the bun so to do a half Tenderloin sandwich you definitely are eating way more bread. DONT GET FOOD TO GO. It doesn't travel well at all. If you can't eat it there then I would not recommend this establishment. The fish and chips, you literally get 2 little pieces of fish which is no more than 1 ounce total but it too doesn't travel well. Just one big soggy ball by the time you get home and let me say I only had a 9 min drive to home and immediately started handing out boxes b4 turning off the car and the onion rings were pure soggy floppy no batter left on ring, just mushed up breading mixed in with moisture wetness inside container. Not recommended if you order anything that has a batter. They poked holes in the Styrofoam containers but definitely don't think ahead for traveling customers. Deep fry things a little longer or on a higher temp to really give it a crispy texture so it can be heated up or eaten after 10 mins.

The pictures I included are a total of 5 orders of onion rings and 1 order fried mushrooms, the onion ring after 9 mins no batter and the order of fish and chips. I don't know maybe it is just me, but for 93.00 which maybe actual cost of food max 15.00 you would think you would get more for your money or at a minimum,...