Rock Bottom Restaurant And Brewery

baos

Indiana

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$$

I used to go here quite often and shoot pool in the downstairs and sample of their beers before I started taking notes and learning about the differences of types and flavors of beers. This place is located in a nice part of downtown near circle center mall right on Washington street. The place is set up pretty nicely with outside seating in the summer. Evening is nice with a nice dark pub lighting kind of feel. Pool tables in the basement and darts. Service is pretty good. The few times i did get food there I sat in a booth near the upstairs bar and was treated very well. The food is good is okay nothing spectacular, but its along the lines of TGIF and maybe a bit better than Applebees. These brew pubs need to get some chefs and get their acts together. I've been to all kinds of wine bars with awesome food and not one brew pub come on people.

12-17-2008 22:47:28 | More by baos

JamesS

Indiana

3.64/5  rDev -4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Nice atmosphere, your general chain restaurant, although I do like seeing some of the brewing equipment around.

Everything was nice and clean and the beer was good, if not outstanding. Nice menu, although I was only in for the beer.

Good service, if a little slow. My server answered questions and came by to check up on my occasionally, although it seemed like at the end she wasn't worried about me as much, and I think she didn't work as hard since I only ordered beer.

Nice beer selection, including a cask ale (that I didn't see until it was too late).

11-27-2008 16:49:57 | More by JamesS

pmatz2

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Visited over the weekend while in town with a 14 month old baby. They were kid friendly (for a 5:30 sitting)
Beer selection was varied covering all the key bases. There was even a cask conditioned beer on the blackboard.

Sorry that i wouldn't be in town for the the brewers dinner 4 course meal with 4 beer pairings.

Food choices were varied (something for everyone) including fish tacos which weren't bad. (fish tacos outside of CA scare me!) Overall worth a shot if your in the downtown area looking for good food and good beer.

01-22-2008 03:23:43 | More by pmatz2

Redrover

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

The Indy RB has a great location just off the circle. This is a big space with lots of dining areas. The bar area is located near the main entrance and in the center of the room.

They have wood floors and very high ceilings. Attractive but you know you're in a chain. Stone cold classic rock in the background.

The bar proper seats about 20 but is hampered by a couple of large pillars that screen about 4 stools from the bartender and result in only about 6 inches of space to put your beer. The bar area also has some high pub style tables and some other long tables for groups.

Crowded on a Wednesday at 5:30 with good happy hour specials. I was kind of shocked how popular this place was. From 5 to 7:30 there were successive waves of folks waiting for tables.

My server was friendly and could describe the beers, but she went MIA for long stretches of time.

The food I tried was good and fresh tasting. Seems to be a spot for eating as much as a it is a beer place.

If I recall correctly, they have 4 house beers and then rotating wheat and "dark" beers. While I was there the wheat was a German style hefe and the dark was an expresso stout (yummy!).

10-11-2007 17:52:41 | More by Redrover

shbobdb

Indiana

4.13/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Just joined the Hoperatives program, so I should declare that status.

Anyway, the downtown RB is a solid brewpub. I've reviewed most of their beers, so I'll let that record speak for itself, but I definately visit the Rock Bottom semi-regularly. So, it is definately good enough to keep me coming back. They all have a pleasant 'juicy' character to them, I am not sure if it is the yeast or maybe the english hops, but it is quite pleasant. Very nice, easy drinking beers.

But it is not just the quality of beer that makes me return to this bar again and again. First off, the mug club is an awesome rewards program and whenever they tap a new beer it is fun to hear the brewer talk about his product.

As for the atmosphere, it caters to an older crowd which is both good and bad. It is a great place to come with friends or to come to 'just have a beer'. If you are looking for a wild party, this place generally isn't it. But hey, after a long day at work, what I usually want is to sit down and have a beer. And for that, it is perfect.

The food is tastey, if a little on the expensive side. Check out the Calamari, it's pretty awesome.

08-02-2006 19:48:21 | More by shbobdb

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

I was reading a review of my home base, LNCBC, by diakron, in which he characterizes me as "ubiquitous". Ha! Outside of the FBI, I didn't realize that people were tracking my movements. That is, until I remembered my ankle bracelet and my Rock Bottom Mug Club card, which has seen me in King of Prussia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, Boston, Milwaukee, Bethesda, Arlington, and now, Indiananpolis, with Mini-Apple-Us scheduled for next weekend (17 to 19 December 2005). I guess that I do get around, come to think of it.

I really like this chain, if I haven't copped to it before. It is always the same, yet different. Each place is unique to its physical location, but the menu is standard and many of the beers are repetitive, but the brewers all put their own spin on their product, as well as being able to create their own seasonales.

As usual, my personal compass pointed to "Bar", so after passing through a short vestibule and announcing my Pestian presence at the reservation desk, as required by federal law, I took up my usual position. Above me, again like the sword of Damocles, was a massive chalkboard touting "Fresh Handcrafted Beer" and broken down by "Style", "OG/FG", "ABV", Tapping [Date]", and "Description". Cleverly, the "U" and "P" in "Coming UP" are the Colts' and Pacers' logos, respectively. This was fitting, since it was the Stillers/Colts MNF game that had brought me to town.

My notes show that on Saturday late afternoon/early evening, the place was ungadly busy. Astounding!

Directly in front of me, behind the back bar, was a set of windows overlooking a bank of five fermentation vessels, which I felt as though I could have looked at for hours. Simple things fascinate simple minds ...

One of the waitstaff put me onto a new menu item: a cheese plate, pairing three different cheeses with three different beers. Brilliant! Did I mention that I love this chain? Here's my idea of a grand day out: the cheese plate as an appetizer, followed by their signature fish 'n' chips made with salmon, paired with an IPA. When's the next bus to KofP? Perhaps I can become their spokesperson ... or not.

In the overhead, above the servers, were the growlers, which reminded me that I wanted to add to my collection. I also feel compelled to mention the frosted glass light fixtures, which lent a very retro look to the place. Behind me, and to my left, was the the brewhouse, which gave me something else to salivate over for an indefinite period of time. Directly behind me were a bunch of high tables and bar chairs, followed by a short bank of booths. To my right, and up just a couple of steps, was an abbreviated dining area. The main dining area was off to my extreme left, behind a small partition, but it was too busy to go exploring until the impetus came in the form of a head call. The Mens and Ladies are all of the way aft, on the left side. The kitchen is off to the right, behind the fermentation room.

I almost (but only almost) missed "Under the Rock"- a basement pool hall with five pocket billiards tables, its own bar, a cigar lounge, high ceilings, and great black & white photos, especially of monks playing pool.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the preponderance of TV monitors in the place. I felt overwhelmed by the onslaught of varying images. Geez-O, man.

Finally, I want to give props to Merry the Bartender and Angela, a customer to whom I explained the difference between a "sweet" and a "dry" stout. She was nice enough not to have me hauled away as a looney.

12-09-2005 17:16:22 | More by woodychandler

Bierguy5

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

We came here as part of a large group, so we went down to the basement. We had it almost all to ourselves. There were televisions, and pool tables to occupy time. Basement seemed pretty much like a sportsbar. At the time they had a light lager, hefeweizen, pale ale, red ale, brown ale, stout and IPA. I had the sampler, and some were good, others just average. The service was ok, the bartender was somewhat frinedly, but really didn't seem to care about conversation. I was puzzled because they could only serve a couple samples at a time, they did not have enough sample glasses. We did not eat, so I couldn't say anything about the food. Overall, this seems to be a typical Rock Bottom. Worth a stop to sample, and maybe a pint of their seasonal.

08-07-2005 18:24:58 | More by Bierguy5

rdailey76

Indiana

3.3/5  rDev -12.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

I have been to a couple different Rock Bottoms, but this was the first time I have eaten at the one in Indy. The sidewalk out front is torn up for road construction, but it didn't seem to hurt the business at all.

I decided to enjoy my meal and beers on their outdoor patio, which is streetside on a busy east/west street in Indy. Nice night, so nice atmosphere so far.

I was able to sample a IPA that they had on cask. It was ture to style, but definitely not satisfying. There was just something amiss with it, but I can't put a finger on it. I also had the seasonal wheat that they were pushing. It was better, but still has that "tang" that puts me off of Hefes.

The server took our drink and food orders and then we didn't see him again until after the food arrived cold and incorrect. He returned with our second round and the check, so I guess he wasn't inviting us to stay for another round.

I think they had approximately 6-8 taps to choose from, with one being cask. They had the standard brown, light, seasonal wheat, stout, the brewer's choice IPA and maybe another 2-3.

The food was pretty good, but definitely had been sitting under a heat lamp. The fries were cold and the salad was warm.

Anyway...definitely will be back, but probably only for beers next time.

07-11-2005 18:12:51 | More by rdailey76

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.2/5  rDev -15.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Rock Bottom venues are often solid and consistent. Although, the standardized feel becomes comonplace.

Always a clean, vibrant, nicely lit, and casual hot spot. Nice feel, similar to Applebees and O'Charlies, although the beer here is better.

The service is always good and solid, but nothing special. The food is mostly standard for Rock Bottoms, but they do throw in a few special plates for the vernacular.

The beer is always good, but lacks much creativity, uniqueness, or boldness. As do other franchised Brewpubs, they appeal to the average beer drinker and offer little for those of us who appreciate better.

A fine place to enjoy a meal, ball game, and a beer. Easy to get bored with the cookie cutter brewpub. No complaints, but can't brag on it too much either. No real uniqueness, but safe.

06-20-2005 00:51:57 | More by BEERchitect

oracle

Indiana

2.7/5  rDev -28.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 2 | food: 4

This was the second stop of the BA Indy Pub Crawl. I have been to various Rock Bottom Cafe's before, but this was my first time at the Indy one.

My first impression was a nice one, of a clean and well run establishment. It was moderately crowded but not too much so. I did have to wait a tad too long at the upstairs bar to get a pint of their dark german wheat beer (which was pretty good).

Then we went downstairs to play pool. Nice tables at $10/hour. I had to walk up to the downstairs bar to order food, as they had only one guy handling all of the downstairs. Not good, in my opinion.

Food was good, but nothing out of this world. Their beer selection seems to be pretty much limited to their own brews, which is a real shame.

10-19-2004 20:49:37 | More by oracle