It’s finally the weekend! Are you and your friends having a chill night in? An Area 51 celebration? Whatever floats your boat. My friends and I love exploring downtown Indy and finding different places we can hang out and spend time together. It was so hard to narrow down this list (how could I leave out Brass Ring, Ball and Biscuit, Burnside Inn, Tini… SO many more!). This is my top 5 list of the best bars we’ve found so far (with some honorable mentions of bars I can’t wait to visit) and will hopefully give you some ideas for the weekend if you’re not into Brothers or a sports bar!
#1: The Tap, Downtown/Mass Ave
Weekly Wednesday night trivia is a must for my friend group; we began going to The Tap downtown while we were all still in grad school as a way to relax and have some non-school-related fun. The Tap (as the name suggests) offers 90 beers on tap with 20 of those being original to the brewery. I make it my mission to find a new beer to try every time we go, and now that it’s fall my seasonal favorite is back - Taptoberfest. Trivia is Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8 to 10(ish) and covers all categories, so everyone in the group has a category that’s their specialty. If you ever find yourself at Wednesday night trivia, cheer for “L’eggo My Eggo”!
#2: Rooftop Garden, Fountain Square
Since most of my friends have recently moved to the Fountain Square area, we have found ourselves more often than not exploring the bars here. We recently just tried the newly opened Upland Brewery, but that could be a whole other post (best local brews, anyone?). Our main spot in Fountain Square this summer has been the Rooftop Garden. If not for the stunning views of the city, stay for the numerous variations of Moscow mules that the bar has to offer, my favorite being the Gin Gin Mule. This is arguably the most “instagrammable” spot in town, especially during sunset! We could stay up on the roof for hours talking and watching the city, but if you’re looking for more adventure, Duckpin Bowling is only a floor down in the same building!
#3: Hotel Tango, Fountain Square
Hotel Tango is a Fountain Square gem! It has an almost military/speakeasy vibe and the spirits are distilled by the bar. You can even purchase bottles to take home if you enjoy them in your drink that much! Not that long ago, they announced even more spirits they’ve distilled and their incredible website provides recipes to try and more information. You can really taste and feel the amount of work and dedication that goes into their cocktail concoctions and I’m itching to go back soon. I tried the Mawage from the Winter menu, which has a base of strawberry gin and orangecello, but also acorn squash, lemon, and lime! I also tried the kombucha-based drink, Revenge Business, that uses locally brewed Circle City Kombucha.
#4: Punchbowl Social, Downtown
I recently got to enjoy an evening downtown at Punchbowl Social, basically a giant game room but with alcoholic drinks. It’s seriously massive, it felt like the space just went on and on with more games around every corner. Money can be loaded onto a card and then you can bowl, ski ball, and play vintage arcade games. There are also tabletop games if that’s what you’re looking for. I tried the house punch of the night that had pineapple juice and kombucha (I’ve been loving that combo, apparently!) and played some ski ball, my favorite old school game. And of course, no night at Punchbowl Social is complete without a picture by ‘the wall’ with someone you love so much…
#5: The Inferno Room, Fountain Square
Last but not least, Indy’s hottest (literally) bar - The Inferno Room. Before meeting my boyfriend, I didn’t realize that the tiki scene in Indy was very much alive and well. His dad is very into tiki and we recently went to Makahiki, a night of tiki here in Indianapolis. The Inferno Room takes tiki to a whole new level - the decor is all sourced ethically from Papua New Guinea and the drinks are on another level with interesting names and little to no description, so order wisely! The first time I went was opening weekend and we had to be put on a strict “one in, one out” list; I ordered the Saturn and it was amazing, garnished with flowers and all! The second time was for my friend’s birthday and I was able to hook her up with a custom birthday drink involving her favorite poison - tequila. Others ordered drinks that were literally set on fire and smelled like cinnamon! Definitely check out this unique bar in Fountain Square.
Honestly, it was difficult choosing this list! But I’m so lucky to have such adventurous, ‘down-for-whatever’ friends who are always willing to try something new. Let me know if you try out these places or tell me which ones I should add to my list! And now, for the honorable mentions!
Honorable Mentions: While I’ve definitely tried my fair share of bars around Indy, there are still some honorable mentions that I am wanting to visit!
This bar is something else - it is a self-described ‘micro-bar’ that only has 16 seats, but provides visitors with fine dining from the creators of Patachou. Reservations are a must and it will be well worth it since they have state-of-the-art listening technology with a curated collection of records.
Even though I’ve walked down the stairs to get into Libertine, I’ve never gotten to actually order a drink. But that one experience was enough to leave me wanting more. The bar is basically nondescript and you wouldn’t know walking down Mass Ave that it is underneath you, but once you find the stairs, you enter into a comfortable den of soft light and warm atmosphere. They pride themselves on being a place to get away and I’m looking forward to trying it.
Since it looks like summer is going to stick around for a while in Indy, it doesn’t seem that our time for rooftop bars is coming to a close. Livery offers Latin American inspired food as well as quality cocktails (specializing in tequila) and in my experience at the Rooftop Garden, everything tastes better when it’s a few stories up.
