Best Burgers in Indianapolis: Indy Guide

The best burgers in Indianapolis are found downtown and along Massachusetts Avenue, in Fountain Square, Broad Ripple and Irvington, and on the near West Side, where a century-old burger counter still serves lunch. Expect thin, smashed cheeseburgers and tavern burgers, often listed next to Indiana’s other famous sandwich.

The Workingman’s Friend opened in 1918 in Haughville, west of downtown, as a lunch counter for railroad and factory workers, who gave it its nickname. Its double cheeseburger is pressed very thin, with cheese on both patties and a slice of bread between them. That other sandwich is the breaded pork tenderloin: a pork cutlet pounded flat, breaded and fried until it hangs far past the edges of the bun. It is the order to know before you sit down at any Indiana diner.

Burgers in Indianapolis: key facts

• Neighborhoods to explore: Mass Ave, Fountain Square, Broad Ripple, Irvington, Haughville and Downtown around Monument Circle.
• Oldest counter: the Workingman’s Friend in Haughville, open since 1918.
• Local style: thin smashed double cheeseburgers.
• Local specialty: the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich.
• Busy season: the Indianapolis 500 in May fills the city and the town of Speedway.
• Getting around: the IndyGo Red Line rapid bus links Broad Ripple and downtown.
• Currency: US dollar (USD).

Every guide we publish on Indianapolis is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. Our burger restaurant guides list every city we cover.