Ralston's Drafthouse — Restaurant in Indianapolis

This place gave me the worst experience I have ever had in an establishment. Doesn’t even come close. It was nothing due to the food, drinks, atmosphere- as we didn’t even have a chance to try anything out or get settled before the server came over being disrespectful. It ultimately escalated to the server following us off of the property & harassing us. This is going to be a long story, so buckle in as every part from before we stepped foot in the establishment to when we stepped off is detrimental to get the full picture and just how out of line your server was.

A group of 5 of us were in Sunday (4/28) night. Actually, we were invited in; we were just walking on the sidewalk & passed the window and everyone inside, including the DJ, yelled for us to come in? So we did. Big mistake. We do what the DJ told us to and head inside. My friends get a table, I go ahead and go to the bathroom. I come from the bathroom and 2 of my friends are sitting down, the other 2 are standing behind them as there were no more chairs. My friend says something funny, doesn’t matter what, and I’m laughing. I guess in the middle of me laughing, a server came up and I didn’t take notice of her. I was enjoying time with my friend, I didn’t know I had to be silent as she approached the table or I would be targeted. Like I said, I’m laughing with my friend, I notice him getting his ID out, that’s when I happen to look up and see a server standing there, already looking dead at me, giving me the meanest look? I was immediately uncomfortable? Had no clue why she was looking at me that way. I follow suit of my friend and get my ID out. I kindly hand it to the server and she looks at it, looks at me, and says “ok, you look like you’ve had a lot to drink so I’m going to let you have one drink but no more after that.” Excuse me? You’re going to let me have one drink? I didn’t even order a drink! I didn’t even have time to say hello before I was getting dirty looks from you. I didn’t say that of course, all I said was “what?” because it truly caught me so off guard as I was not doing anything: not being disrespectful, not being disruptive, not disturbing other guests, I was simply laughing with my friend and didn’t acknowledge her come up. She repeats herself. I say “okay, I don’t even want a drink?” I really didn’t. I’m only handing her my ID because I noticed my friend do it and I’m under the impression we are in a bar and have to be 21 or older. She says “okay, cool, I’ll get you a water or a coke?” I say “Umm. No, I don’t want anything.” I couldn’t even say hello to her before she was what seems to be, targeting me? She gave me dirty looks as I was smiling at her from the very moment she walked up to the table, does she really think I want to spend any money here, now? You think ANY of us want to spend any money here now, as she immediately made the entire table, not just me, feel very uncomfortable with her unfriendly demeanor? She leaves to go get the rest of the group’s drinks. I turn to my friend for reassurance like did you just see that? Asking him things like was I doing anything wrong? We were (and still are) seriously trying to figure out what I did to make her act that way. My friend reassures me and says “no, that was really weird. I don’t want to be here anymore, let’s leave.” So we do. We walk out the doors, onto the patio, then OFF the patio. We are no longer on the establishments property. The story could’ve stopped there. But thanks to your oh lovely server, it did not.

I’ve ran out of character limits and unfortunately the story does not stop there. I will post another review immediately after. The next part is even worse. Law enforcement honestly shouldve...

Impression: Typical bar/restaurant with a big outdoor patio that overlook the Mass Ave sidewalk. During nice weather, the patio is a great place to eat for lunch and drink in the evening. Inside to the left they have bar games including darts, pool (I think), and some game where you slide a metal puck across a table with sand on it and try to get it as far as you can without the puck falling off the table part (I guess called table shuffleboard?)... they're fun bar games and when you're drinking the fun/competition is obviously amplified. This is a great "bro" bar at night.

Pros: Food is good during lunch, I recommend the bourbon pork sandwich or the chicken sandwich. I haven't eaten there for dinner so can't comment. Beer selection is huge. Also, the entire restaurant turns into a bro bar at night and all the normal bar shenanigans. Most people keep it rather classy so it isn't bad. Outdoor area is great during warm weather as it overlooks Mass Ave sidewalk and you can see all the stuff going on.

Cons: At night it get super noisy. If you are looking for a place to drink and talk, this is not it. This place is for drinking beer, playing bar games, and hanging out.

Conclusion: Its a bar that serves good food during the day. At least I like the food a lot. Portions aren't too large (or too small) and reasonably priced. Beer selection is big so you will be able to find at least several beers that fit your palate. This is not good for talking, but instead for hanging out and enjoying the night scene.

Great for: hanging out with friends at night, drinking beer, casual lunch during...

We had eaten at this place several times before, but never had ordered a sandwich. So, my wife and I ordered the Hot Mess sandwich. The server said we could get one side with the sandwich. We asked what were the choices and he said french fries, bear battered fries, red potato fries, etc. So I ordered bear battered and my wife ordered red potato fries. Then he asked us what kind of sauce we wanted with the fries. We asked what the choices were and he said ketchup, ranch and a few other choices. I asked for ketchup and my wife asked for ranch. At no time during the order he mentioned anything about extra charges. When we got the bill I noticed $2.50 for each side and $1 for the two table spoon of ranch dressing they had given us. When I asked the server about the extra charges, he said it was on the menu and said that only regular french fries were free. I asked about the little ranch dressing and he said ranch dressing is " labor intensive" and that is why they charge a dollar for two table spoons of dressing. So I asked for the manager who was the heavily bearded bar tender disgised as manager!! He reprated exactly the same thing and emphasised on the fact that ranch dressing is " labor intensive" and that ketchup is not. After some back and forth he removed the charges for the sides but not the labor intensive ranch dressing. One more thing is their 16 oz glass of draught beer which is no more than 12 oz. Next time you order a 16oz beer, also order a 12oz bottle of beer and pour into the glass after you drink the draught beer and see if it fills...