Tilly's Pub & Sports Grille

came in for an IU game after we went to other bars that were packed. We got great service and will continue to come back!

So, this place wasn't at all what I expected. Which is a good thing. Actually, a GREAT thing. Somehow I thought this was gonna be a chain-like sports bar with chain-like food and beer. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Even though located in a boring strip mall,Tilly's has a genuine dive bar vibe inside. Lots of cool, old pics on the walls and several (more than two) deer heads and a juke box make this place pretty darn cool in my opinion. I've been wanting to go to here for years because somehow I had heard that they have fried smelt on the menu which thankfully they still have, along with excellent burgers and  breaded tenderloins and pepper fries. The food here is absolutely wonderful. And, to my delight, they have a great selection of approx 5 beers on draft including 2 local breweries. I didn't really check-out the rest of the beer & booze list but I think it was completely adequate for any bar. Yes, I'm giving this place 5 stars after only one visit. Hopefully I'll be returning to Tilly's soon to try more of the menu and to see what beer they have on tap and to have some more of the best fried smelt I've ever had. Castleton isn't a place I go to often but Tilly's could change that.

I teetered between three and four stars, but the free bottle of wine tipped the scale. My friends wanted to go karaoke on a Friday night, but couldn't really deal with the crazy smoke at the Living Room Lounge, so we came across Tilly's. And I must say, I'm glad we did. It was a hodge podge mix of folks, some biker folks, some first date lesbians, several awesome singing hipsters with glasses, a waitress from Cheesecake Factory (we knew because she wore her tie and apron all night), a really hot bald guy, and us.

There was plenty-o-singing, and most people were either really entertaining or really good so that was fun! Apparently, there was a contest and I won (thus the free bottle of wine) so that was a definite bonus. The KJ was very fair in his song rotation and had to leave a little early due to a family emergency and was so apologetic. It was very nice.

The mixed drinks were STRONG! The first one actually startled me because of it's strength. Allegedly there's no draft beer here, but that wasn't such a big deal for our group. I had just come the State Heart Attack Center (the Fair) so I really didn't want anything heavy anyway. But my beer drinking counterparts seemed happy with their selections.

We were too late for real food, but my friend ordered some chicken fingers from the late night bar menu. They didn't look spectacular, but they looked like your run of the mill bar chicken fingers. She's not too picky of a girl, but I'm thinking if they were terrible, we would have heard about it.

Overall, it was a really fun night. The bar patrons were friendly enough, the karaoke had plenty of songs, the drinks were strong, and it wasn't too smoky. The only thing I'd say is that there's a kind of weird set up to sing. You have to basically stand in the middle of the room and sing towards the opposite corner from where everyone is. I guess it helps if you're nervous, but seems to sort of defeat the purpose. And there was only one bartender and one server who I think might have been the cook too. But hopefully they made pretty good money! If I didn't have to go back next week to try to win my million dollar prize ( ok, it's just $175) I don't know that I'd plan to go to Clearwater from Brownsburg for karaoke, but if I was in the 'hood, I'd surely stop on by!