Mass Ave Pub

Dive bar. Cheap, fun, have trivia and karaōke on certain nights. We love it with the right group of people

I stumbled in here with a couple of co-​workers. I’m not local nor am I familiar with the area but was glad to have come upon this pub. The locals were friendly and asked me questions about my native California. The restrooms and dining/​drinking areas were clean. If ever again I find myself near the Indianapolis area, I’ll make sure to stop by for a belt… or two.

I came into the bar sunburned from a day on Morse Lake. Dwight, the bartender, found some aloe gel for me to put on my arms/​face!!! So sweet!!!

One of the last, laid back, intimate, low-​key bars left on Mass Ave. We like going to the Pub for some simple grub and a brew. They have a nice selection of local crafts and a full bar of hard liquor as well. We’ve had the pizza, burger and fries, nachos, chicken wing, and liked all of it enough to keep going back. The staff is friendly and treats us well with good service. They can fill up due to trivia on Wednesday nights; or at times, they may have a tap takeover going on.

I had the same experience that several people mention about rude staff. Our group instantly got the feeling that the bartender simply didn’t want us there. The waitress wasnt much better. Beer list was fine. Felt too unwelcome to order food.
My question to Mass Ave Pub is, what’s the plan? We’ve got several great (and I hate to say, chain) bars popping up on Mass Ave, and you guys are basically begging customers to take their business to them instead of supporting a local place.

I was a little concerned when I walked past this place on a busy Friday night and saw plenty open tables while every other place had a minimum 30 minute wait so after hitting my step goal for the day trying to find a place to eat, my wife and I hiked back and sat down. I could tell within a few seconds why the place was mostly empty. There was a distinct smell of sulfur or sewer gas that had filled the room but I was hungry and pressed for time.
I’m glad we decided to stay because the smell either went away after a few minutes or I was just high on fumes. The beer was very reasonably priced and offered a fairly diverse selection. The menu is comprised of *shocker* pub food like pizza and burgers. Our service was a little lacking to the point that I kind of had to flag down the waitress for a beer but the food was good and the reasonable prices more than made up for anything negative that I experienced.

In an area that is becoming overrun by high priced eateries lacking in personality, I always know I can count on Mass Ave Pub for a good meal of comfort food served by friendly staff. The beer selection here is always AMAZING, and if I sit at the bar, I can always count on making new friends. This is always a solid choice for me when I’m out downtown, and the owner is always supportive of local charities (thanks for supporting Indy Literary Pub Crawl since the beginning!).

A good place to stop for a bite when you’re just not sure what you want. Average is about the only word that comes to mind. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but nothing to write home about.
We popped in one evening on the Ave when everything else had a long wait. We were able to sit right down, which was a huge plus.
We were greeted right away and provided with menus and ordered drinks. We then waited what seemed like a particularly long time before our drinks showed up and were able to order. I didn’t time it, though, so perhaps I was just really hungry. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt here. The drink selection, I will say, is quite good.
I ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich. It was a buffalo chicken sandwich like any other. Nothing special, but didn’t taste bad.
Overall, if you’re in a hurry or just don’t know what you want, it’s worth a try. There are other places to eat on Mass Ave, though that are better.

Good local pub with plenty of character. Surprisingly strong tap list and really solid can and bottle list. Good food selection of local favorites and Indiana classics. Karaōke is one Monday. Conveniently located near several entertainment venues along Mass Ave.

Oh boy! I’m a fan of sampling beers and late night snacks (snacks, meals, however much I can eat between chatting). Last weekend I shared the nachos and mushroom burger with a friend. They were both great. The fries are pretty standard fries, but I love them. I have gotten an order the past two times I’ve been to Mass Ave Pub. My boyfriend had the fried food sampler and he said it was really good. It’s fried and we had our fair share of beers for the evening, we were stoked!
If you’re craving some classic bar food and a good craft beer selection, this is your place. They also have a full bar, so if you’re not a beer person, have no fear, there’s something for everyone.
I like their neighborhood, hole in the wall feel. It’s a chill environment where you can relax and catch up with friends or watch the game.
Service is usually pretty good. There is one guy bartender who isn’t very friendly and seems to take care of his regulars first. All of the female servers that I’ve had at the table are friendly and smile and handle my giggly, tipsy self pretty well.
I’ll definitely be back to my favorite Mass Ave bar.

Mass Ave is that great bar that doesn’t seem like it’s in a major hot spot place in town. Which to me is great! It seems like that neighborhood bar that doesn’t have to impress you with fancy cocktails (though they can make them) or food. This is a come as you are bar and they do it well! Trivia is a must on Wednesday nights.

Just recently started going to the Mass Ave Pub for trivia on Wednesday nights. I had passed by the spot several times without thinking of heading in. It is a lot of fun for trivia! The staff is nice and accommodating. The prices on beer and food are reasonable. The food I’ve had was pretty good. They have about 10 craft beers on tap that rotate and several bottles and cans.
I’ve enjoyed the times I have gone in there. On trivia night it can get very crowded and loud, so get there early. Sometimes it can seem a little understaffed with the amount of people present, but don’t worry they keep the drinks flowing.

Mass Ave has changed over the last several years. The local places are making way for the chains, the street gets busier, and apartments and condos are popping up everywhere. Living within walking distance of Mass Ave, I like to find a place to relax and unwind with a drink in the evenings with friends, and Mass Ave Pub is usually one of our stops on a Friday or Saturday evening.
The Pub is usually fairly lively with a good mix of people. The drink menu doesn’t have the largest list of local beers, but it’s respectable and I’ve always been able to find something I like. Prices are typical for Mass Ave, and the food (typical bar grub) isn’t bad either. I recommend the nachos!
Trivia nights throughout the week for those wanting to compete in a friendly game.

Stopped in late on Thursday evening. The place was pretty noisy and the bar was crowded. The menu is basic, but covers the essentials. I ordered the swiss mushroom burger. While it tasted good, this is relative as I was starving at the time. The burger was obviously a frozen patty and the shrooms seemed to be from a can.

I had a little bit of fun when I went here last Thursday, but I wasn’t incredibly impressed.
Well to start off, the place is a really cute place. I love the brick wall and the petite bar. It has a cozy atmosphere that can be intimate.
With that said though, I do not find this place incredibly welcoming. The bartender working that evening didn’t smile, seemed thoroughly displeased and just all-​around miserable as soon as we walked in the door.
I haven’t even had a drink yet, but she rolled her eyes and asked me if I were planning on driving. If she would have asked that with less of an attitude, I thought it would have been a friendly gesture.
I tried to give a tip to turn her day around, but she could have just had a long day. I don’t know. I’m not entirely sure if it’s a place that I’m dying to go back to though.

Love this pub. The employees are true gems. It’s just a good down-​home no-​frills bar that treats its customers well. The food is decent, but I go more for the casual ambiance [basement/​sports cave] and the drinks… which they happen to pour most excellently. The beer taps are always on rotation and they feature a lot of awesome local beer. Sports are always on tv and the staff are always helpful. A few times there have been some weird situations and they’ve handled them promptly [homeless trying to panhandle inside, drunk guys not leaving my friends and I alone, etc].

I moved around the corner and finally was able to stop in on a Friday night. Despite a crazy large crowd for the FDIC concert, the staff seemed friendly and keep drinks flowing. I wasn’t fan of plastic cups but with the huge crowds — I’m sure it was only that night.
I had already eaten but I’d go back and check out food and another night without lots of firefighters.

Greasy, fried, delicious pub food. Casual, laid-​back vibe. Good drink/​food prices. I’m a fan!
Surprisingly, this place has one of the better microbrew offerings, and also interesting bottle varieties. While they don’t have a large quantity of offerings, what they do have is very good, and also some rare options. Where else can you go and see elusive Upland sours available for purchase? They were $ 30/​bottle, so no price gouging here. I think I will make this my local watering hole.

I’ve been here a handful of times and have had consistently pretty good experiences. We even came here on St. Patrick’s Day (or maybe St. Patrick’s Eve?) to drink good beer not just green beer. They have a nice selection of craft beer, food is reliable, and service is usually fine. Mixed drinks, while not fancy, have the ratio of booze to mixer right.
This is a bar where a lot of the patrons know the staff, so sometimes if you’re not pals with someone you might get slightly slower service because they’re working their tables in between their conversations with their other tables. Not bad service, just not quick either. I’ve had the soft pretzels, tenderloin, burger, and some kind of grilled chicken sandwich, all have been good and appropriately priced. Servers tend to check on you throughout your meal rather than dropping the food and disappearing.
The only time myself or my friends have been even a little bothered by the other patrons was NOT the time the guy was using Indianapolis Indians schedules to hit on girls, but the time a table of orange-​skinned, yellow-​haired sluts was yelling, «I’m soooooo drunk! Woooo!» and falling off their chairs. I never saw the Mass Ave Pub staff refilling their booze-​drinks so in all likelihood they’d done most of their drinking elsewhere and showed up at the pub to try to sober up with nachos and fries.
I used to avoid this place at all costs because you could barely breath before the smoking ban… but now that all the bars are smoke free it’s a great place to hang out. Oh, and this is (un)officially the firemens’ bar.

After living on Mass for more than two years I was pretty embarrassed that this was the final straw in my hat for hitting all of the bars and restaurants on the street– finally! Tonight was the night!
It was just what I expected, but in a good way. Extremely casual, old booze advertisement signs, dive-​y but not in a dirty way and intimate in size. For those seeking bar food– you’ll find a short menu including classics like mozz sticks, fries, etc.
This small town-​feeling bar adds a great mix to the vibe on Mass Ave.
–local brews available
–low lighting but not in a sexy way– more off a golden yellow bulbs from the eighties way
–feels a lot like the VFW in my hometown, if you get my drift