The Sinking Ship

The food is great. They always have a good beer selection. BUT the service is absolutely terrible. I don’t know their exact table seating amount but it looks like about 20 and ive never seen more than 2 people serving them. There have been multiple occasions were a server disappears for an extended amount of time and comes back to 5 tables waiting on him they reek of weed. Service 1 star, food and drink 4

On my way back on a road trip and couldn’t wait to come back here only to learn they were only serving brunch until 2pm… Too bad they don’t post this brunch menu on their website. The person I spoke too seemed unwilling to help me over the phone and I simply didn’t have the time to come in and order and wait. Sad with the customer service here on my second attempt to eat here

Delicious food, fun staff, great prices for drinks, and hockey served up on a big screen! Sinking ship is a great spot for those in and near the south broad ripple area. The pulled pork, chicken and waffles, and club sandwich are among my favorites. Love this place for a quick bite, or for drinks while the Blackhawks play.

A brief review of a hockey dive bar:
If you want to watch hockey, this is the place. It’s also the place for a cheap drink! (Think less than $ 4 for a mixed drink.) I like their TV screen featuring the information about the beer on draft. They have a huge list of bottle and can beer as well. They also have some pretty decent food, especially the mac and cheese. There’s room for larger groups to sit comfortably and not too loud to talk. There’s a bit of parking in the front and on the side of the building.
Overall, a solid neighborhood bar that’s pretty affordable.

#NotAHockeyBar We went in to watch @IndyFuel since they were out of town. Well, forget that. They say they support the Fuel but told us they were «blacked out» on TV and couldn’t get it. Uh, just spring for the ECHL out of town package. We do.
Instead we got to «enjoy» the WWE Westlemania complete with trivia before.
Beer — usual Indy beer bar selection.
Food — mediocre at best.
Never. Again.

One of the first bars I frequented when I moved to Indianapolis a few years ago. Any time I hear about a good dive bar, I feel obligated to check it out. I originally went because I heard they had a ton of good beer on tap, but later kept going back for the food! One of the first times I went there, I was with my Korean friend and he had us try their HOT Tteokbokki dish. It was the first time I’d had Tteokbokki, and also the first time I had heard of it. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it is a Korean dish made with soft rice cakes and chili sauce. I wish they still had it on the menu! It was soooooo flavorful. I think this was before they switched management. Anyway, they should consider bringing it back! :)
Other than that, pretty standard bar food menu but everything is great and at a great price. I recently went for brunch (I had never thought about going to brunch there before?) and it turned out to be a pretty solid (boozy) Saturday morning. Kind of obsessed with the star tots because I’m a mature adult. Speaking of being a mature adult, try not to laugh when you order the «sack of balls.» But definitely order them and don’t ask questions. You’ll like them.
Always a ton of awesome beer on tap. Every so often I’ve been lucky enough to find Zombie Dust on tap. Bartenders are friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is super laid back. I love all the décor and sometimes consider stealing things off the wall. I haven’t though… There are a few pool tables, a juke box and usually good tunes playing. If literature is more your thing, make sure to stop in the women’s bathroom. There’s tons of good material written on the bathroom walls :)
I’m not a hockey fan but if you are then this is definitely the place for you! The only reason I took away one star was because I think they took a lot of good food on the menu that I wish they would bring back. But overall, one of my favorite little spots in SOBRO.

I am not a frequenter of the sinking ship but have made it there a couple of times. One thing I really like is seeing the progression of the place. While it is definitely a hockey bar and the look remains much the same, there are small things that have improved.
Number one is the beer board. While the beer list has always been good, the upgrade to the tv beer list that can be changed very easily was awesome. As much as I liked the old chalkboard, the tv is nicer and easier to read.
Of all the times I have been to the sinking ship, my biggest complaint has been service, whether it was slow or busy. Service last night greatly exceeded previous visits.
I will definitely recommend that everyone try the star tots. I am not positive what it is but the star shape memes them better and I must say, I get them every time I go.

Sinking Ship used to be our almost every day bar (especially when we were within walking distance) but lately it seems like their prices have increased (this could be attributed to higher quality beers) but there used to always be a few cheaper beers ($ 5 or below) on their menu.
The food is awesome. I always get the bbq seitan wings and star tots. The atmosphere has changed a bit since turning into a hockey bar but on non-​hockey nights, the bar is the same. I really miss the old sign on the front as it better encompassed the feeling of the Sinking Ship.

Great selection of tasty bar grub? CHECK.
Several local draft beers? CHECK.
LONG list of bottled & canned brews? CHECK.
TVs on multiple walls? CHECK.
Billiards? CHECK.
Juke Box? CHECK.
Funky wall art/​environment? CHECK.
Curveball: bring your vegan friend! At The Sinking Ship, vegans can choose from mac & «cheese,» wings, gyros, and more. Fear not, meat lovers… I had a great burger (the Nicholas Cajun).
I’ll recommend The Sinking Ship in the future to anybody who wants a fun place to watch a big game or just wants a laid back, casual place for dinner/​drinks.

I’ve heard about this place for years and just never made it in to check it out. I have to admit that I’m glad I finally did!
I’m always a fan of atmosphere at restaurants/​bars and this place has a feel that I really love. There are TVs, pool tables, a large bar, lower table tops, and higher cocktail tables throughout. The menu is awesome and the drinks are delicious and cheap. I ordered the chicken strips and asked for them to be tossed in the asshole sauce. I love spicy and this is the hottest sauce they’ve got. They were delicious! Also order the mac and cheese or the star tater tots. I still can’t get over the variety in the menu for being a rock and roll/​punk rock bar. I always need some meat in my meals but I love seeing vegetarian/​vegan options filling a menu.
I’ll be returning very soon. Most likely on another Tuesday to get that great $ 2 drink I had last week. Can’t find many good/​strong drinks for that cheap too often anymore.

How I did not realize how great this place is for vegetarians/​vegans until just last week is beyond me! I used to come here a couple years ago to play darts and/​or pool since it’s one of the few places to have that option.
This place is a mixture of a dive bar and sports bar. They have a ton of tvs and screens. I think the food is better than most bars I’ve been to. I crave their Seitan WIngs almost daily now that I’ve had them. It’s so nice to be able to go to a place as a vegetarian and have a variety of options to choose from. They usually always have a great variety of local craft beers to choose from as well. I wasn’t a fan that they’re only displayed at the bar. When I had asked my server, he just pointed to the tv screen which was too far to read so I had to get up to decide what I wanted. Not a big deal, but I think if they wrote it on the chalk board or the servers knew what they were that would be nice.
The service has varied every time I’ve gone. Not the biggest deal, but it’s something that can be improved.
I love that they have a lot of tap takeovers. It’s always nice to try new and different breweries. They also have $ 2 well drink specials on Tuesday’s!

Several thing have changed, for the better-​IMHO, since my previous visit. 1) The menu has expanded, but no longer includes stuffed burgers. 2) It seemed to be slightly brighter and happier inside. 3) It wasn’t so damn loud. Allow to me expand on those.
If you read my previous review, you learned that my wife was introduced to B. Nektar Zombie Killer at Sinking Ship. She loves it and it is hard to find. You can occasionally find it at a liquor store in Indy, but it is expensive. As soon as we sat down she ordered one. Our waitress, who was new, went to get it and came back with the disappointing news that they were out of stock. My wife settled for a different B. Nektar and was surprised a few minutes later when our waitress returned with Zombie Killer! She found one hiding in the back! As I mentioned, we now know these are expensive. They are $ 10 at the liquor store (its a 500ml bottle). Still, it was the standard $ 12 at the ship.
The menu and food have changed. The previous menu was very… let’s call it fuckless. I remember the vegan chili being described as «vegan as fuck.» The new menu is witty, but a bit more elegant with words. We had the cajun corn fritters with veggie ranch, chicken and waffles (me), and the Office Mac (the wife). The cajun corn fritters were good, but they were considerably smaller than a golf ball. This made it hard to taste the corn over the batter (which was spicy and delicious). The mac and cheese was good, but definitely rich. It isn’t a huge serving, but you would never want more than they give you. The chicken and waffles was nothing short of amazing. The chicken was huge, boneless, and juicy. The waffle was fluffy and sweet and used to make it all into a sandwich. The Jim Beam vanilla maple syrup (served as a side for dipping) really put it over the top. Seriously, I can’t tell you how delicious this was in words– You’ll have to try it on your own.
The atmosphere was definitely better than my previous visits. The ship is very much Indy’s hockey bar, and they had hockey on every TV. Perhaps it was the light from those TVs, but it seemed brighter inside. It could also be that it was full of happy and cheerful patrons on this visit. My previous visits the only other people were sitting at the bar and looked utterly disgusted with life. The place was packed full of conversing people, but it was still quieter than my previous visits in which music was blaring. As my wife and I were on a date, we were quite happy with the change.
Overall, we were very happy with the changes. I wasn’t blown away with the service, which is why I’m going with 4 stars over 5, but this is still a hipster place. However, our waitress was new, so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt and plan to visit again to see if we can add that 5^th star.

Check it out! My bartender waitress was super friendly and chill during my midday lunch visit. A perfect pit stop between work and the fairgrounds.
Pros: great draft choices and a huge bottled beer collection; awesome vibe and décor; friendly staff; food was delicious! — had the buffalo chicken salad (a tad spicy for me but normal for most)
Cons: I know things happen but apparently the ticket printer wasn’t working so I waited 45 minutes for my salad. Not the end of the world, but tough to enjoy my meal after that.
Definitely gets a solid vote from me!

I’m guessing I would grow to love the vibe of The Sinking Ship, but just passing through, i couldn’t figure it out. But based on their awesome looking vegan selections and good looking beer board, I’m sure we’d get along.
Just ordered some takeout one night and the food was great. Loved the seitan wings! Wish more places (as in closer to NC) could figure out how to offer vegan wing options.
So many other great sounding things on the menu, I wish I had been in town longer than the one night. Will definitely be back next time through Indy.

If you’re looking for a chill HOCKEY dive this is the place to be. Hockey bars are a rare breed, so I’m happy I discovered this hidden gem.
There’s an entire page of their menu dedicated to awesome gourmet burgers and another page for their extensive craft beer list. I like that they have rotating taps from different craft breweries every week. They’re also really good about posting what taps they have that day on their Facebook page (if you’re curious before you go in). The Stoner Fries are heavenly french fries covered in queso, onions, and bacon. They also have a variety of gourmet mac and cheese options (pizza mac, BBQ mac, etc.).
They have plenty of things to keep you busy (2 pool tables, pull tabs, Golden tee). Keep an eye out on their Facebook page for tap takeovers, special release parties, Bingo night, and plenty more.

The ultimate Broad Ripple hipster bar.
Absolutely love the ambiance here, people from all walks of life. I love the outdoor patio area which is the perfect drinking spot on a nice evening. Pool tables are a big plus. Beer selection is phenomenal.
Food is always excellent, if you haven’t had the fried portobello mushrooms yet, DON’T DO IT. You will be immediately addicted.
The only negative aspects about the Ship are the snobby hipsters that frequent the bar. Why is it so hard to be friendly these days?!

Stopped by here for Sunday brunch. Was a bit underwhelmed. The menu is extremely limited.
And no Decaf… well I did have a Mimosa instead, but I had to pry the information out of the waitress. Wonder why they do not list their special offerings of $ 5 Mimosas and Bloody Marys somewhere.
Well I chose the waffles with a side of bacon. The waffles were ok, just plain though. You get some syrup. Wish they had options like fruit, powdered sugar, whip cream… something???
The bacon however was well worth the money, some of the best I have had in a long time. And lots of it, a bargain actually.
I must say the chicken and waffles looked really good, I should probably have chosen that.
Live and learn…

Take the elements of a bangin’ breakfast – a deep-​pocketed belgian waffle, stiff, crispy strips of bacon, fried egg, globs of creamy peanut butter, sugary maple syrup – and you’ve got yourself a filling first meal of the day… but throw a ½ lb. prime sirloin burger into the mix, and you’ve got the rest of the day covered.
I won’t lie, I was slightly intimidated by this ‘wich. My boyfriend, a late-​night regular, bet me that I couldn’t finish it. However, I promised myself that no matter what, I would pulverize this burger, because heaven forbid that he knows better than I do about my food portions.
When my plate was set in front of me, I couldn’t believe my hungry, panicked eyes. Oh no… with so many ingredients stacked on top of each other, how was I supposed to fit this culinary colossus into my mouth?! My boyfriend turned to me and smirked. «Good luck with that.»
I’ll show you.
I gripped both ends of the golden waffle sandwich tightly, opened my mouth as wide as it would go, and chomped down. After that, I couldn’t put it down, partially because I could feel the sticky maple syrup oozing onto my hands, as if trying to help glue them to the ‘wich. My bites were varied with sweet and savory surprises of bacon-​peanut butter-​waffle, egg-​sirloin-​waffle-​maple, peanut butter-​maple-​bacon-​sirloin, egg-​bacon-​peanut butter… a solid heart attack-​inducing breakfast (but not) sandwich. I kept chewing all the way to the finish life.
When I got to my last piece of waffle, burger, and syrup, I made sure to catch my boyfriend’s eye as I dropped it into my mouth triumphantly. The expression on his face revealed that he was both impressed and humored by his stuffed, sticky mess of a girlfriend. Victory was mine.

Heavy metal hockey bar that serves food until 2:30 am? Yes, Indianapolis does need that.
The place is dark and has video games and lots of tvs (and of course metal blasting) and there is a good selection of local beers.
I have a pretty metal story from there. So it was after midnight liturgy on Easter and it is our tradition to keep the Easter candle lit for the rest of the year (Greek Orthodox thing). Well, this means driving with a lit candle. This year, we were hungry so we stopped at the Sinking Ship – the bouncer was not only nice enough to let two dudes in suits walk in with lit candles, but he got us some glasses to put them in while we ate.
The burger was solid, too.

«A Hockey Bar in Indianapolis‽» You can imagine my excitement when I heard that there was a bar just for fans of (arguably) the greatest sport on earth in a city that generally only really gets excited by balls that bounce on hardwood or spiral.
Unfortunately, I was kind of disappointed by the «hockey» aspects of the The Sinking Ship. Compared to most bars, where I have a hard time getting even Blackhawks games on the TV (let alone my Avalanche), The Sinking Ship is a vastly better place for a hockey fan to hang, but something was wrong. It honestly felt like a hipster pub in a good hockey city (Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Denver, Minneapolis…) Other than the hockey on every TV and some team banners, nothing really screamed «Hockey Bar». You could tell that most patrons weren’t there to watch the games, and some even complained. No one was cheering for their team and there was no fan atmosphere created. For what it is in Indy, it’s a hockey bar, but it could do a lot more to foster a hockey atmosphere. That being said, the waitstaff had no problem with us staying at our table for hours to watch all 3 periods.
That’s enough complaining from a hockey fan that misses hockey… lets talk food and beer.
Food!
Do yourself a quick favor, and look in the categories on the top of this page. See that, «Vegan»? Yeah, it’s not a mistake. They actually have vegan food including burgers, sandwiches, Mac and Cheese, and hot «wings.» My vegetarian friend was ecstatic with all the choices. I had the club sandwich which is literally a 3″ high stack of meat on 3 pieces of bread. It was pretty good. Fries are pretty tasty too.
Beer!
Most of the beer selection is bottled, which isn’t a problem, especially since the beer list is 30+ beers longs and they’re all pretty cheap. The tap list is all local craft beers with 6 – 9 selections. The waitstaff seemed pretty well versed in the flavor profiles.
Overall, I was disappointed about the «Hockey Bar» aspect, but I did enjoy the food and beer. It’s a good place to catch a game, but I’ll come back for the food, not the hockey.