Charlie Brown’s Pancake and Steak House

Very generous servings and my waitress (Deb) was very sweet and prompt. Was very busy but our food still came out quickly.

This is a Speedway staple. With all the redevelopment going on on the west side suburban town’s Main Street, Charlie Brown’s has been the one staple.
You won’t be hard pressed to find your favorite race car driver seated next to you in this small town dive. Their pancakes are heavenly and, if you’re down for lunch, you’d do well to order up a hand breaded pork tenderloin.
Reasonably priced, locally flavored, and iconic to Speedway, Charlie Brown’s is an expectation of you’ve ever visited the race track.

I’ve been going there since I was brought into this world and all the ladies know me. I use to go a lot, it was the thing to do with my grandpa.

Love it. In town for soccer tourney and we always enjoy a good breakfast at a local dive! This place delivers. Quality and quantity and a fun atmosphere.

We love this place! No matter the wait, the food is delicious, the service is excellent, and the prices are affordable. Def worth coming to Speedway for a yummy Sunday brunch!

I was expecting a lot reading the reviews but the food wasn’t that great. It’s a small place and it gets cramped very fast. The pancakes were too dry. The staff was nice though.

You had me at breakfast at dinner. Speedway is more than a place in the month of May, it is also a place for the best diner experience at this local institution. If you looking for the small town diner experience in the heart of Speedway, look no further than this no frills place.
Charlie Brown’s has all your breakfast traditional dishes but throws in some amazing specials like the Big Joe, the Haystack or the Country Fried Steak. I mean seriously, you can order just a side of their gravy, because YES everything is better with homemade gravy on the side!
The reason I love Charlie Brown’s is for their attention to detail with service. They don’t just bring you a cup of coffee, they bring you whole pot! Also any place that brings you your syrup warmed, well they are more than alright in my book.
They are typically super busy, especially around brunch time, because we all know America runs on Brunch. You may have to wait a bit for a table but they are pretty quick on turn over and you can usually snag a seat at the counter if your just looking for a quick bite solo.

I know this will be an unpopular review, but I just have to go there. Charlie Brown’s is terrible! The last time there, over a year ago, was the last straw after vomiting for hours after being served undercooked pork (biscuits & gravy). The coffee is terrible, the cheese in the omelets, etc. tastes like Velveeta, and it is all the things bad about a greasy spoon diner with none of the good. Generally the wait staff is very kind, but the food they are forced to serve doesn’t live up to the standard they put forth.

Love this place! Have been taking friends and family here since I found it a few months ago. Not one person has had anything bad to say. Always great staff and food is always on point! Never a long wait and have never messed up an order. Pancakes are the best in Indy and the hash browns make Waffle House look like amateurs! Oh yeah, did I say it’s cheap?! Prices are amazing and you get a full plate!

After eating here, I’m surprised this place has 4 stars and was recommended to us by some friends. The service was okay, but the food was not. I could’ve made a much better omelette and pancakes at home. We probably won’t be coming back.

Charlie Browns is a local staple for the town of Speedway.
I wouldn’t say this is the best in the entire world, but its better than most any other breakfast place around. Very consistent and great price for the money. I’d rather eat here everyday of the week compared to an over priced place like Yolk, or anything of that sort.
I always order the country fried steak and eggs and have never been disappointed. Its worth the eat, try it out!

The food was nothing special and it’s not the best place to go if you’re of color which is sad to say. After walking in we were greeted with dirty looks, rude racial charged remarks that people thought we couldn’t hear, and bad service. I do not recommend this place at all and will not go back there.

I don’t understand why this place has four stars it’s a real disappointment. The food is nothing to write home about, the staff acts like they could care less about being there. the waitress didn’t smile say hello ask how we were doing just threw the menus on the table walked past us to another table then came back and just asked what we wanted to drink.
I mean I guess it’s worth 4 stars if you love rude people, only have a few dollars to eat with and have no idea how to cook your own breakfast.

An endearing spot. Charlie Brown’s is a no frills dining experience that makes you feel like you are dining in a small town on Main Street USA. Okay, you are dining on Main Street in Speedway, so I guess that makes sense, but you catch my drift…
Highly recommend for breakfast. I know they serve lunch and dinner as well but breakfast is what they’re famous for, so stop in to catch them at what they’re good at.
Everything from the pancakes to the omelets to the coffee is just, good. And you can’t beat eating blocks from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 500 memorabilia as far as the eye can see.
Sit at one of the counters, sit at a booth, heck, I’d even sit on the floor to eat at Charlie Brown’s. A spot not to be missed in Speedway or the east side of Indy.
Side note: one time when eating here as a little girl, I accidentally left my retainer on the table in a napkin. Realizing this after they had already cleared our table, one of the bussers dove into the trash without hesitation to fish it out for me. Nothing major, but a nice personal touch that has always put a smile on my face when thinking of this place.

Love the racing atmosphere here. There is so much racing history all over the walls it’s great. Service is pretty fast. It’s been here forever. Can’t imagine coming to speedway without grabbing breakfast at Charlie Browns.

I have been to Charlie Brown’s many times from 2008 to the present. I started going here because I worked for an elderly gentleman that I also consider a friend. We used to go to church together on Sunday mornings and he wanted to have breakfast afterwards. The local Denny’s seemed dirty to me when we ate there. Charlie Brown’s was recommended to me to try instead, so I gave it a go and kept going back.
They can be extremely crowded on Sunday mornings, but I don’t recall ever having to wait very long. Everyone there is friendly and goes above and beyond. It is much nicer than going to a chain, especially a dirty one. The older man that accompanied me used a walker and the staff were always kind enough to store it for him while we ate so that it wasn’t in the way and then promptly returned it when we were ready to leave.
I love the comfortable booths and all the racing memorabilia on the walls. It makes you really feel like you are in Speedway. I know my friend enjoyed looking at everything hanging up. There was even one sign up from the year before he was born and he really seemed to get a kick out of that.
His breakfasts always looked really good. I like that you can also add ala carte items as he always liked to have three eggs and sausage and that exact combo wasn’t on the menu. I was also here with my sister when I was first back in town last summer and she had a BLT minus the T, lol, and really seemed to enjoy her food. I cherish the photo of us there since it was one of the last times I saw her before she passed away. My dad usually gets a grilled cheese on rye which also looked very appetizing. I also take my aunt to local Speedway restaurants when she is in town and she enjoyed the omlet and pancakes she ordered. They serve pretty big portions that also seem to taste pretty good, too.
There isn’t a whole lot for a vegan here, but I usually get their fries and a salad sans cheese. Their large salad is actually pretty big and filling. It does use iceberg, which isn’t my fave, but they add red onion, tomato, carrots, etc. that many places do not. So I feel it is a pretty decent salad, especially for a diner. Their fries are probably not homemade, but pretty damn good, in my opinion. They’re always hot and crisp. I used to get their hashbrowns in the morning, but they tasted like bacon, so I would suggest steering clear if you don’t want to eat pork. They are really good otherwise though. My elderly friend didn’t quite understand my diet so I smile thinking of how he laughed at my salad and fries at breakfast time. I think he thought I was just watching my figure. He always tried to share his sausage links with me, God rest his soul!
Service is great as well as the atmosphere, plus it’s really close to home. I can just feel the air conditioning and imagine sipping on an ice-​cold Pepsi thinking about the place. I haven’t had pop in five years, but I am tempted to order one just thinking about Charlie Brown’s. (And I was strictly a Coca-​Cola addict in my former life.) Overall, I give them a solid five stars. I’d probably eat here every chance I got if I was a meat eater. They have a pretty good-​looking menu! Comfortable place where I feel at home. Reminds me of another era.
*The only other thing I would note is I am not sure what their hours are. I don’t think they were posted on their door and they seem to change so it may be seasonal. Here on Unilocal it says they are open until 2pm, but I know I have eaten here later than that before. I would call ahead if you’re traveling any sort of distance and want to eat here in the afternoon…

Old school atmosphere, really nice people, mediocre food. Two out of three ain’t bad… but not good either.
Its hard to say something negative about this place because its so welcoming. Everyone smiles and says hello… and one look at the old, dated but charming atmosphere somehow makes you know you are in for a great breakfast. Alas, the food just falls short.
The pancakes are too dry. I ordered poached eggs and 10 minutes passed before the waitress informed me the cooks were having trouble making them… she actually told me nobody back there knew how to make them. Um… ok then. I got scrambled eggs. Nothing was bad, and they kept my coffee filled but there are better breakfast spots nearby.

If you asked anyone outside of Indianapolis to picture a stereotypical diner in Indianapolis, they would probably describe non-​stop racing paraphernalia, crowds of blue collar families, along with good midwestern service and food. Well, hypothetical out-​of-​towner, Charlie Brown’s is guaranteed to meet 100% of your expectations.
The diner itself is exactly what you’d expect a diner to look like. Lots of counter space, tons of booths, and short order cooks yelling out small windows. Every single wall is covered in racing history, as is to be expected when the southwest corner of the IMS is visible from the parking lot. All of the servers are genuinely happy to have you there and seem to enjoy every second of it.
The food is good. It isn’t anything that you would constantly crave, but it is definitely a good breakfast. The pancakes were flavorful, albeit a bit chewy. The coffee was horrible, don’t bother with it.
Overall, we had a decent time. It won’t crack the top 10 of our favorite breakfast restaurants, but it is somewhere every Indianapolitan should check out at least once.

The atmosphere is great the waitress are very friendly and helpful the food is good taste like your mom made it and priced very reasonable always have a nice crowd that in itself should tell you something will be coming back soon

The walls are totally full of generations of race memorabilia, many signed by the drivers. Majority of the wonderful waitresses have been here for years and know the regulars and their business. Feels like family waiting on you here with good comfort food.
Crowd on weekday is mixed age group but usually older retired crowd later in morning & many of the same families have been coming here for years. Weekends are busy but crowds move quickly. During May is always fun watching the crowd & atmosphere. Don’t avoid it just because we have a race in Speedway. You’ll enjoy the owners’ humor, guaranteed chuckle, when the crowds aren’t moving on race weekends.
The biscuits & sausage gravy, Belgium waffle, chicken salad, and cottage cheese with fruit are a couple of my favorites. The pancakes are one of my husband’s favorite and his favorite place for pancakes. Counter service is excellent if you’re a counter kind of person. Perfect when you’re in hurry and just grabbing biscuits and gravy… in-​out.
Tables just went outside yesterday but again NO WAITRESS service outside. Impossible to carry trays of fun through the line of folks waiting. Grab your chicken salad or take out and enjoy the warm weather.