January 2013

The 75-year-old former movie theater has anchored Broad Ripple since your grandparents were going there to see talkies.

This English pub caters to scarfed soccer fans, and apparently there are a lot of them. It’s perfectly acceptable to show up alone here and belly up to the bar for the house-specialty fish and chips and an Old Speckled Hen.

Its iconic neon sign remains a beacon for the downtown legal set, returning Noblesville expats, and, on Saturday nights, a raucous karaoke crowd.

Among sports bars in Indy—and there are a lot of them—this SoBro veteran remains the champion.

Well-dressed out-of-towners make fast friends around the white marble bar and the comfy couches of the lounge. Unlike most hotel watering holes, traffic flows in and out all day, making for five-star people-watching.

It’s a gay bar if you need to categorize, but patrons don’t care whose tree you’re barking up if you came to sing.

Opened in 1908, this Cottage Home bar caters to a loyal following of urban hipsters and neighborhood transplants who flock to it for cheap PBR and the divey digs.

An amber-hued jewelbox of a nightclub in Fountain Square, it’s more deliciously racy than raunchy, celebrating the time-honored tradition of burlesque.

Its lineup of punk, metal, and indie music draws rock fans, sure, but also neighborhood-bar types who come for the thoroughly lived-in vibe.

Don’t be surprised to hear a ribald pickup line like “Muddle my blueberries,” but don’t expect the bartender to blush, either.

Stories from behind the counter and in the thick of it all.

The Aristocrat presented “a refreshing cocktail that reminded us fondly of limoncello and summer evenings on the front porch swing.” Congrats to the victor, and to all of the mix-off’s participating bars.

Three simple ingredients—vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice—go into the Moscow Mule, yet every bar makes this trendy cocktail its own. Our stubborn Mule aficionados found the best.

Step 1: a successful background check. If you’re not a felon, you’ve aced the first requirement.