Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern

This is a good place to go if you are with picky eaters who are looking for basic burgers, fries, sandwiches, and comfort foods, but you’d like to avoid the bigger, noisier chains. Yes, this is a chain as well, but it is a smaller chain and it has much more of a neighborhood pub feel.
The menu does not change, and the sandwiches I’ve had have all been good. The ribs are not bad either. On this visit, I had the blackened salmon salad, which was fine, but nothing I’d rush back for. The salad base was served as a chopped salad, which I wasn’t quite expecting; the greens were cut rather small and were soggier than I’d like as were the onions and the few bits of diced strawberries. I get that it is January, and strawberries aren’t in season, but I always prefer that places just take items off the menu or substitute an ingredient (and let customers know) if they can’t get something. I think I might see if I can get the dressing on the side if I do decide to try a salad here again since they were pretty generous with the amount of dressing. The salmon was fine, but was definitely served well-​done and a little dry rather than medium.
Service can be a bit slow even when not crowded, but everyone is always friendly, and I prefer a little slow and quiet to to the fast and noisy chaos at the bigger chains.

They have some gluten free options and Omission GF beer.

Great service. My food was delicious and reasonably priced. I love the atmosphere. It is a chain restaurant with a small neighborhood bar kind of feel. I had the shrimp scampi blue plate special. Full of huge shrimp and delicious pasta!

I don’t know if we came on an off night, but our experience wasn’t that great. We had a large group and our table was separated by a pillar which was slightly annoying because there were hardly any other patrons there except for a few people at the bar.
Service was s l o w. A few other groups came in and I can’t confirm, but I feel like there was only one waitperson.
The Reuben wasn’t great, seriously does anyone know a place in Indy that doesn’t over toast their rye bread?
Rusty Bucket was voted off our Thirsty Thursday list. It’s too bad because they do have a great drink selection and location is so close to work.

The service is still terrible. Waiting 15 min for two tables to be pushed together to seat 8 of us. Then waited 10−15min after we received drinks to order. We arrived at 6:30pm and it’s now 7:30pm and we have yet to have food arrive. I will never bring anyone here again. This is the third time we dined here and it’s not worth the wait/​terrible service.

It was like an episode of «kitchen nightmares» but we were the people who ate there before it was fixed. Smells like they may have a slight sewage problem. Staff was A1 though.

Very good buffalo chicken sandwich! Not too much breading and decent heat. Husband had a tenderloin sandwich (lightly breaded and cooked perfectly); daughter had the mahi tacos, 3 in the order fish was cooked well, a little spicy and she liked the black beans), son in law had the chili dogs (Dijon on the side) and said it cured his chili dog itch ‘top of the line’. My older daughter had a Bloody Mary ‘comparable to hotel Tango’, spicy and well balanced. She has two :). Good service on a Sunday morning Bar ambiance with lots of good sports on tv. I definitely don’t think this place is 3 ½ stars for comparative bar food

This was my first visit at Rusty Bucket but clearly a neighborhood bar with numerous regulars. As we were checking out the menu the servers greeted several customers by name and knew their regular drink orders. Since this was my first visit I was unsure of what to expect but told I’d be comfortable here. As soon as I walked in I understood their comments. The crowd consisted of a wide age variety from a few millenniums, several tables of families to seniors all having a nice dinner and enjoying the game. Speaking of games, there are 10 flat screens surrounding the restaurant with a decent view regardless of where you sit. Even with the game playing and a full house we had a pleasant conversation without shouting over the noise. The physical bar area is a large square off centered toward the front half of the restaurant. The entire bar area was taken when we arrived and the dining area only had one open table. The restaurant layout is a square within a square with booths and tables surrounding the bar allowing for family friendly dining.
We stopped in for drinks and appetizers after an event a few doors down from the Rusty Bucket. We all selected the spinach con queso with a generous blend of spinach, white wine and cheeses served with tortilla chips. The dip had more spice than we thought it might but was a pleasant surprise for all. The dip arrived fairly thin but as it cooled thickens nicely for scooping the decent amount of tortilla chips served with the dip. One order was enough for one as a light dinner or nice size appetizer for two and everyone enjoyed. The margaritas were on special and I was told extremely tasty, especially with the spinach dip.
I look forward to returning to try numerous menu items that caught my attention. My friends highly recommended several options I should try on my next visit.

The Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern offers a pub style experience to the denizens of Indianapolis.
On the last leg of my recent trip to Indy I found myself at the Rusty Bucket for a burger and a beer. The interior is your run of the mill sport bar with plenty of flat screen televisions and enough taps to keep any sport fan happy. The service was friendly enough throughout the meal and the menu is a large hodgepodge of comfort foods, pub grub and salads with caloric content that rivals a burger (so why bother?). The menu is nothing even close to what I would call inventive but I am sure it has enough options to win over the casual Indy palette.
With that in mind I decided to keep it simple and go with their namesake burger thinking they would name their best product after the restaurant. The Rusty Bucket burger turned out to be a ½ pound hand-​made burger patty, overly cooked from the medium rare I asked for, topped with melted American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, a sweet pickle relish and mayo on a sesame seed bun. This was a relatively boring burger to be totally honest and thanks to the scorched patty my eyes were rolling quickly. Their Fries did nothing to change the experience into a positive direction.
The Harpoon IPA was easily the best part of my meal and as a sports bar to watch a game and enjoy a drink the Rusty Bucket serves purpose. The kitchen however has plenty of room for improvement.

The spinach con queso and tortilla chips was delicious. Great patty melt too! Friendly and efficient service. Good kids menu options too. The bun on the kids hot dog was delicious, buttered and sesame seeds. Yum!

A-​OK. I had lunch on a Sunday en route from South Bend to Cincinnati. It was about 75% filled with sports fans. I sat at the bar and the service was great. The Meatloaf was good and the Mac & Cheese was delicious.

We went at lunch time in the Brickyard room! Service was good. I ordered the turkey burger. It was very most! They got a group of 10 in and out in just over an hour. Totally going to try dinner here!

The Asian Tuna wrap is the greatest thing in the world and I feel healthy eating it! Service is great and the atmosphere is good.

Pretty good fish and chips. I would go back just for that. Oh no, I lied. I’d go back for that bomb bread pudding. I’m not a traditional bread pudding fan but this was a sticky bun bread pudding. Yes, it was good.
We went around 2pm and there was only one real waiter and bartender, who did a great job but you had to wait a little. One of the drink I ordered was a little too spicy for me but I traded it out without issue.
I’ll be back.

The first thing I noticed about Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern is that it is much bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. While I wouldn’t necessarily assume the place to be a dive just based upon its name, I did expect a bit more of a hole-​in-​the-​wall than I got once I arrived inside. I’d driven by Rusty Bucket a couple times and swore I’d try it out one of these days — I decided that a quick meal between Indy Film Fest and performing a wedding was the perfect opportunity. It’s located in a small strip center on the North side of West 86^th Street on Indy’s Northwestside. While it has a local feel, it’s actually part of a small but growing chain of similarly themed restaurant/​taverns started in 2002 in Dublin, Ohio. With around 18 locations in four states (I think they just claimed their fifth state), Rusty Bucket seems to be focusing on building quality before it worries about quantity.
The strip center it’s in is kind of small, but they do have a couple of accessible parking spots with a curb cut that is probably stretching ADA but it works. The front door looks heavy, but isn’t and it leads to a host area with what appears to be both a main dining area and a bar area to the left. The Rusty Bucket is able to host families the way they are set up and, in fact, I watched the staff and they’re definitely kid friendly. That’s not always true in restaurant/​bars. The layout is very wheelchair friendly with multiple dining options — I’m always impressed, as well, when I’m offered a booth or table because it tells me I’m not just seen as a «disabled» customer.
The menu includes a variety of appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, soups/​salads, a kid’s menu, gluten-​free options, vegetarian options and the expected full bar options. They offer daily drink specials and also have daily «blue plate» specials. They definitely go above the usual bar fare and include a «fresh» menu that looks terrific. Meal prices seemed to range from about $ 8 — 20 not including drink. I ordered a breaded tenderloin with fries (you can add sweet potato fries for an upcharge) and my usual unsweetened iced tea. The entire meal came in at right around $ 14. Rusty Bucket has a chain is very charitable and they participate in «Round it Up America,» a nationwide charitable effort offering you the chance to round up your meal’s price and donate that amount to the restaurant’s chosen charities — I do wish they’d openly identify their charities. The servers weren’t 100% sure, but stated they worked with one local and one national and believed they were Gleaners Food Bank and Wounded Warrior Project.
Still, I admire anything that promotes community involvement.
My server was Natasha. She was friendly, attentive, and made sure I got my refill. She didn’t seem to mind when I lingered a bit to read and, in what is kind of rare, another staff actually made sure I got another refill while I was reading. I really appreciated that. When Natasha knew that I was leaving, she also headed to the front door to grab the door — not in a patronizing way, but in a friendly way. It was a nice touch.
The tenderloin sandwich was good — the meat was nicely textured and consistent throughout the sandwich. The bun was fresh and worked well with the sandwich. I wouldn’t call it the best tenderloin in town, but for a chain establishment it’s definitely upper tier. The fries, sort of lightly browned and shoestring type, are middle-​of-​the-​road but really didn’t detract from the meal at all. The iced tea was delicious and, as noted, I got two refills.
The décor is warm and inviting. They’ve nicely weaved together the whole restaurant/​tavern thing. There are multiple televisions, but they aren’t intrusive. I was amazed at how comfortable everything felt. Right now, this is the only Indiana location but with the chain based in Ohio I’d be surprised if the Hoosier state doesn’t play host to another location.
Rusty Bucket wasn’t a five-​star experience for me, but it was definitely a place I quickly liked and it is definitely a place I’d enjoy gathering with a friend. I experienced true hospitality, good food, and a winning atmosphere for a reasonable price. I’ll be back and look forward to trying some additional items on their menu.

Trying new places to eat has become a great new hobby. I love buffalo chicken and cheeseburgers. That being said I’ve tried to find the best of both here in Indy. I have heard that the buffalo chicken sandwich at the Rusty Bucket was amazing, it is true, it is one of the best I’ve had. The chicken is breaded and stays crunchy after being slathered in the buffalo sauce, which is not too spicy, I do like mine hot usually, but this sauce is great. We also tried the double bacon cheeseburger, which had ground bacon mixed in with the beef… It was amazing.
This is a nice tavern with friendly waitstaff. Will definitely be heading back soon.

This is a chain that feels like a neighborhood pub.
Wait staff and patrons are really friendly. I had amazing Fish N’Chips there a couple years ago but they’ve changed the recipe and it’s not so great any more.
This would be 5-​star if the food was better.

I don’t eat meat and so going to a place like this worried me at first because places with bars, men, and tvs with the sports channel on usually don’t offer a specific vegetarian option. But it turns out that they do! I order their veggie burger and it was so good! It wasn’t dry and it had some kind of chipotle sauce on it that was so good.
They also have really good fries

I frequent the rusty bucket whenever in need of a great buffalo chicken sandwich — which they have a delicious one!
Today I got the buffalo chicken in a wrap with sweet potatoes fries for carry out. I’m usually unsure when getting carry out if food will last when I get take out, but it did and it was just as delicious as when I eat in the restaurant.
Rusty bucket is always a fun place to go with coworkers and friends for a tasty treat.

Love this place… think Cheers! Everyone knows your name type of place. Bartenders are extremely friendly and go out of their way to remember your name and make sure you have everything you need. They have daily specials on drinks with Saturday being my favorite due to the Elderflower & Grapefruit Margarita… yum! From scratch!
The food is pub style with burgers, wings and those type of options, but from what I’ve eaten here so far, it is good quality. The dessert (Sticky Bun Bread Pudding) is AMAZING… my girlfriend and I will come here at times just for that dessert if we are craving something sweet.
Can’t quite give it that 5 stars because the food is good but not amazing… but for what this place tries to be… it succeeds.
I’m here every other weekend it feels like.