OK... I must first preface this by reminding everyone that Mann's Grill is a TRUE greasy spoon. They serve MASSIVE portions at the least expensive price possible. Because of this fact, much of the food is preprocessed, or pre-prepared.
That being said, you will find NOWHERE that will give you the amount of food that this establishment provides for the cost. Wet side dishes (Mac n' cheese, cole slaw, green beans, etc) are served in small CEREAL BOWLS! many of the dry sides (French fries, "home fries", bacon, etc.) are served on separate plates! Every single meal will be served on at LEAST 2 dishes. For example.... Let's say you would like Lasagna with a side salad and apple sauce.... You will receive a plate with a brick-sized hunk of lasagna, and 2 separate bowls filled with the sides. One of the most amazing meals is the Mann's Breakfast... served all day. 2 eggs cooked to your liking; choice of bacon, ham, sausage or smoked sausage (probably on a separate plate); choice of hashbrowns or homefries (the homefries are more like french fries); choice of pancakes, french toast, or half-order of biscuits and gravy (DEFINITELY served on a 3rd plate because will fill it by itself!)... did I mention it's less than $7?!
Every single meal on their menu (excluding the premium meals like steak and shrimp) is less than $7!!!
Burger and fries? Yep... it's a frozen 100% beef patty... just like 95% of fast food restaurants... the difference is that the patty will be cooked to perfection. The burger is big enough to make a Hardee's Thickburger look like a White Castle Slider! You will DEFINITELY need to use two hands to eat it! Make it a bacon cheeseburger and add a pound of fries, and enjoy greasy meaty heaven for less than the cost of a Big Mac Value Meal!!!
The atmosphere is extremely laid back and casual. A board hangs on the wall with available Entree items written on pieces of paper... as they run out of the entree (It's guaranteed the board will be almost bare by the end of the day) the paper is removed. None of the silverware or dishes will match, and your drinks are served in 32oz styrofoam cups with lids. The idea is to save on costs and labor to provide lower costs to the patrons. The place will always be packed, and the crowd and staff are always a quirky bunch. Nothing makes me smile like hearing the amazed exclamation from a patron in the next booth when the table is literally covered in food :-D
They are closed on Sundays (which makes me sad, but I respect them even more for it!), and they DO accept credit (in response to those who say they don't). There may be food that you don't care for, but the menu is so vast you should try something else next time. I live an hour away and still travel 1-2 times a month just to enjoy some good breakfast that won't empty your wallet, or to enjoy some delicious pork chops and burgers.
If you enjoy a TRUE greasy spoon, then be prepared for the Ultimate experience :-) Hope to see y'all there some time!
Rik Smits (pacer's player) used to have a spot he always sat in here. Â This place has comically large portions of food for the money because there used to be a huge plant next door. Â This means that blue collared guys would (and still) come here to get ready for the day. Â The food is very basic, but it is an experience. Â Its basically a diner out of a movie.
Review Source:Oh.my.god. PLEASE save yourself and don't come here. People of Indianapolis-have your taste buds burnt off and fell on your frozen sausage patty? This place was seriously packed. My boyfriend and I decided to try this place because it got stellar reviews on Yelp.
I was super excited because I thought this would be a dive with some home-cooked yum yumz. FALSE.
First things first- I got a coffee and my boyfriend ordered a water, which came in a styrofoam cup...? Bizarre. I am a foody and have been to multiple restaurants and to be quite honest this was one of the dirtiest and unappealing  dive I have ever been to. I honestly hate writing that because I am all for local business. I am at a loss for words after this horrifying experience.
WOOF. Is all I have to say.
I finally made it in during their open hours and I was glad that I did. Â They are closed on Sundays and the info on here is incorrect. Â They are also cash only, FYI.
The portions are ridiculously sized, and I loved it. Â The old man and I both got the Mann's Breakfast and we could have shared one. Â We are not people who share breakfasts. Â I have never seen so much bacon in one place literally anywhere in my life.
I got the home fries instead of the hashbrowns and I wasn't happy about it. Â They tasted like at one time in the not too distant past they had been frozen, and I don't like that. Â As my boyfriend said it, they tasted "fake". Â That is my only complaint about the food though.
It is also a great place for people watching, and table watching. Â The portions here are so huge. Â I mean, I had to say it again. Â I don't think you understand still how much food they will give you. Â I saw a turkey manhattan that could feed an entire family of four, and I wanted it so bad despite how full of bacon and gravy I was.
The good:
- Breakfast. Â All day. Â Loves it.
- Packed to the gills. Â People love that shit.
-There are some characters to behold here, that is for sure.
-Service is fast (way fast) and attentive despite being super busy
- You can literally see them cooking your food right there in the dining room.
- The kitchy decor is super up my alley.
The bad:
- The walls have about an inch thick of grease on them, especially in the back dining area. Â Try to sit in front if you can for a more pleasant dining experience.
-It's closed on Sundays, the day that I most likely will be seeking out some serious greasy spoon time.
- Cash only always sucks so much.
- The home fries really turned me off and made me suspect of the overall food quality
- OJ was... don't get the OJ.
- Ice water in mis-matchy plastic cups from Wal-Mart, kind of a turn off, but what can you do?
The ugly:
-Some of your fellow patrons aren't going super easy on the eyes. Â Ya feel me?
I am going back to get some of that turkey manhattan though.
This place is great, its what every other chain restaurant tries to be. Â We have lived in Indy for 6 years, and am happy to of finally found a place to go and enjoy great home style foods. Â The staff is down to earth, and certainly are not teenagers that just don't care.
If anything you should give Mann's a try. Â Don't let the neighborhood, parking lot, or inside of the restaurant scare you. Â Wait to form your opinion until you have taken that first bite!!
Mann, this place is good! Â Mann's Grille is one of those down-home places that you might find in a movie. Â The place is a bit small, but the portions are bountiful. Â Keep in ind that eating at Mann's Grille on a daily basis could be a health hazard. Â The food is covered in grease, but heck, that's why you go to Mann's Grille anyway. Â Try the breaded pork tenderloin...it's probably one of Indianapolis' best.
Review Source:I have been thinking about Mann's Grille a lot lately. It has been about a year since I have been there, but that first experience has held a place in my memory.
It was almost a sensory overload. It was dark, full of smoke, and loud. The cashier was yelling to a line cook, who was yelling to a waitress, who was yelling back. The cook, in a "white" tank top under his grease stained apron, was slapping a huge pile of onions on the sizzling flat top grill while a long Pall Mall hangs from his lips. The back wall is covered with name plates of different specials and desserts. Someone yells to a server when there is only one piece of coconut cream pie. Two minutes later the name plate is yanked off the wall. I had ordered a fried fish dinner. The plate came out with 2 monsterous planks of fried cod holding down a mound of crinkle cut fries. The other plate of food on the table was a bacon double cheeseburger. It had a half pound of bacon! The line of locals was starting to pile up. People wanting to pay, wanting to get a table, or pick up take out orders in repurposed Kroger paper bags. The Manhattan's seem to be the crowd favorite whether turkey or beef.
It's a great place to gorge yourself on simple meals in mass quantity. The people watching is also a bonus. The breakfast is also awesome and starts early. Can't wait to go back and update this review. I hope not too much has changed, fingers crossed!
I have to say when I first pulled into the (packed) parking lot of this place, I am glad I was visiting when the sun was still up. Â However, I must say, don't let the outside (or inside) scare you, the food is very good.
As others have said, this is comfort food; it is what cracker barrel wants to be but can't (because the food at cracker barrel sucks). Â The portions are more than enough for a person (or two) with enough for lunch the next day.
Good food, nice staff, and safe enough to visit more than once. :)
I've witnessed dramas unfold inside the walls of Mann's Grille that would make Shakespeare both weep, & bay with laughter.
And the Food is worth the trip as well. Â Massive and I really do mean massive portions of honest mid-western comfort food.
This is Indianapolis's version of Alice's Restaurant.
Now you know Beef & Boards isn't the only place to go for dinner & a show ;)
If you asked CeCil B. DeMille to describe Mann's, even he would say EPIC!
Very, very popular with the locals.
Walked in for a brunch around noon on a Thursday, and sat ourselves in a back corner booth. After several minutes, presumably as a social experiment to determine our worthiness of service, we were pleasantly greeted by a clearly overwhelmed and stressed waitress.
The menu claims they charge for soda refills, though (since in a fine establishment (much like all of Central America) I refuse to attempt to imbibe the "water" that comes out of the tap) upon mentioning my displeasure with the idea of the paying extra for each cup she offered to waive the fees.
The most interesting part of our meal was the flagrant discord between our waitress and the one presiding over the adjoining section. Obviously, they were both having a very bad day, however I suspect this has been a developing issue. The adjoining section waitress, when asked how her day was going preceded to berate her coworker's ineptitude. They argued back and forth throughout the meal, each struggling to work all their tables though they both took our drink orders (one of them twice) and both brought us drinks (in oversized take-out cups without lids) and then also both brought us lids.
Well, on to the reason for existence of the establishment. Once our waitress took our order (all this happened very quickly - we had a very short lunch break) the food arrived very rapidly and was extremely good as well as perfectly prepared.
I thoroughly enjoyed the french toast, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, breakfast potatoes (thick, round, crinkle-cut style), as well as well buttered and lightly toasted white bread.
This establishment is the definitive "greasy spoon", but if that's a restaurant genre that appeals - Mann's will not disappoint.
Great value, great home-cooked food, no pretense within the wait staff or establishment itself-- the ultimate greasy spoon. Â While lunchtime is full of wonderful menu items "like Mom used to make", their breakfasts are amongst the best in town and not overpriced like the trendy haunts downtown and on the northside of town.
Review Source:Mann's Grille will always hold a special place in my heart. Â My grandmother, perhaps one of the premiere nutjobs in the history of Indy's westside, had vendettas against every restaurant in town.... except Mann's. Â She'd found this gem while working at the defunct Allison plant, and they'd never rubbed her the wrong way.
And there's a good reason. Â While Mann's might be the greasiest of greasy spoons, it's well worth a visit. Â It used to be a shift-change and a lunch stop for all of the factories around there. Â Now that all of those factories are gone, years later Mann's still remains. Â That should tell you something.
Daily dinner specials run you $5.69, and when you're done they'll have to roll you out. Â Food's really honest and surprisingly good -- it ain't Gordon Ramsay gourmet shit, but if you're looking for that, why are you at a place like Mann's anyway?
When we were in town for the holidays, my parents took us there for nostalgia. Â I can gladly report that nothing had changed since my grandmother's days.
For the greasy-spoon breakfast diner-seeking person, this place is super-dope.
Located on the southwest side of town, they cater primarily to a blue-collar crowd that works at nearby factories (my grandpa probably went there back in his Allison days).
Known for great, friendly service by attractive young ladies, they serve up great breakfasts and lunches, and if you're on that side of town, give em a try and ask for Randa. Tell her Ryan sent you!
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