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Indianapolis, IN

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Dawsons On Main

4.0 (394 reviews)
Closed • 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

Dawsons On Main Photos

Business Info

DAWSONS ON MAIN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Happy hour specials
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Dawsons On Main

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Reviews With Photos

House salad
Kyle A.

It was kind of weird to me. I arrived they asked if I wanted to sit at bar, I've been working would prefer not. They said sit wherever you want. There was a small table open so I took it as on my own and it was fourth of four tables against wall and other 3 were occupied. Then guy that works there with bushy hair came up and said would you like to sit at bar. I told him no. Then he said we don't like to sit people against wall why don't you go to a booth. I'm by myself and booths sit 6 so I wasn't planning on that. Just weird. Then waiter said what dressing on salad. I said Italian. He said don't order the Italian you might like these better. I wouldn't have noticed as much but first guy was weird wanting to decide where I seat when his test said sit wherever you want. Food was good.

Callie K.

I've been meaning to try out this restaurant for a long time. The stars aligned and I finally made it over. Our group was seated right away on a Tuesday night. They also do offer outdoor seating too. They have a wide variety of items from steak, to sandwiches and seafood. We started with the crab cakes, and I really enjoyed these. For dinner I took my friends suggestion and went with the Tonys famous chicken. This was delicious. It was also a ton of food. I got 3 meals out of it. The flavors all went well together and the shrimp are a nice addition. The green beans were cooked and seasoned perfectly. The baked potato could have been a bit more fluffy, but that is my only feedback. I plan to come back to try additional items next time I'm on this side of town.

Chicken Alfredo
Karen C.

Love the location right on speedway main road. Friendly waitress and good food. Will definitely have to come back when the weather is nicer for that outdoor patio seating.

Double Cheeseburger without the bun
Jonel Y.

What a nice location to dine in after a long ride at B&O. On a good weather, they have outdoor seating and there is a bike parking across the street. Service was attentive. Ours was lunch menu. Started with calamari streak. It's not the same as actual calamari and the batter was just ok. Main courses were ribeye steak with side of rice and double cheeseburger without the bun (subbed with lettuce) with side of fries. The rib eye was not bad, decent flavoring and love the crispy edge. The burger meat was also decent. Fries didn't have much flavor. Overall, the ambience and service make up for just an ok food, and it was filling. Dinner menu might be better. If you're used to flavorful food, you might get disappointed.

Side salad
Marley W.

Delightful! Sat outside. Split a Rueben & salad with my DH. Fresh and crisp salad. Reuben very good. Too bad we were not more hungry. Everything that went to other diners looked wonderful. We will have to return here next month when we are in the area! Friendly wait staff and speedy service!

Breaded pork tenderloin
Chad C.

I stopped for lunch after a long drive from Detroit to Indianapolis (only 300 miles) next to this fine establishment near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and home of the Indy 500 on Main Street in Speedway, IN. I showed up without a reservation and was greeted upon arrival and seated at one of the tables in the dining room. My server, Kelsi D. , was very friendly, prompt, and kind. I ordered my Indianapolis "go to" pork tenderloin sandwich which is a portion appropriate for someone who has a 500 mile drive ahead and was absolutely delicious yet once again! The sandwich comes with lettuce, pickle chips, and a sauce on the side that was very tasty (maybe horseradish/thousand island dressing?), and a side of French fries. Several of the staff wore t-shirts with saying, "a drinking town with a racing problem". Always a fun stop and seasonally has patio and outdoor seating available. Make sure you're hungry and you will not be disappointed with the staple described above.

William S.

Everything here was executed at a top level, the food, the service, the overall vibes. This was a pork tenderloin sandwich I was told by many people to get, it absolutely did not disappoint. Just a fun and delicious experience.

Chew
Richard A.

Ordered angus cheese burger with provolone cheese, lettuce , tomato and pickles. It was cooked to perfection. Very delicious

House salad
Ricky F.

Front in hostess waitress bus boys ect staff was awesome my waitress the best waitress I've ever had Shay Lee she went beyond and above to care of me this place has the best service and staff I've seen

Hand Breaded Tenderloin Sandwich with fries
Dustin G.

Dropped on for lunch with a family member from out of town who wanted a tenderloin. We both got the breaded tenderloin sandwich with fries. Thought it was very good. Service was very attentive and good was ready quickly. Parking in the lot beside the building was easy enough. Price to value ratio was good. Would recommend.

House Soup
Carolyn W.

Dawsons is a retro diner on Main in Speedway just minutes from the track. The vibe is 70s with big comfy booths and swishy glass lighting. The music over head is pop from this under appreciated era. We were greeted and seated for a late lunch on a rainy day of sight seeing. Pleasant staff and clean tables and seats. So far so good. As for the food. Calamari: big thick, juicy and tender breaded "steak fries". Perfectly cooked and the remoulade was just spicy enough. I got the crab cakes for my main with a bowl of the house soup. The crab cakes are delicious and rich. The house soup is a cross between mushroom and French onion soups complete with melted cheese. A winter warmer! My husband had the tenderloin with jalapeño potato cakes. The cakes were great (he wasn't a big fan). The sandwich looked excellent and was well dressed. The kids had burgers and the meatloaf sandwich. Both looked great and were more than they could finish, which was fine. Cold beer all around. Dawsons is a delicious winner all the way around!

California BLT
Ellen F.

I came here with my mom and boyfriend on the most beautiful afternoon to enjoy their patio. I am remiss that the weather is only good for patios here for a few months, but it looks like they have weather flaps to extend the season a bit. The staff are friendly and the service moves at an average pace for a nice afternoon lunch rush. We ordered... California BLT Blackjack chicken sandwich Grilled chicken club sandwich All of the sandwiches seem similar in nature here where we all had bacon, and the first two had avocado (or, at least the BLT did). Everything came out wonderfully and the fries are fantastic with the chipotle aioli. I really appreciate places like these and I look forward to my next visit!

Julie M.

This was the best grilled cheese I have ever had. Crisp buttery sour dough with a crunch and ooey cheese inside with bold flavor. The chili was excellent as well. Fast lunch on a busy Friday. The waitress was super helpful, I forgot my wallet and she let me know they had Apple Pay so I didn't have to drive back to office. Excellent experience all the way around!

Atlantic Salmon, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes

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Reviews are generally positive. Diners highlight the friendly staff, flavorful food, and lively atmosphere, with portions and pricing also appreciated.

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

Good service, excellent food. Many options to please all diets or preferences. Large portions.

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6 years ago

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3 years ago

Great food, great location, it's only 2 blocks away from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

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4 years ago

Food is always good no matter what it is. Good soups and great salads. I love the horse radish crusted steak! Yum

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7 years ago

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3 years ago

Good food . Outdoor dining . Older crowd but that's Speedway . Fast and great food. I will be back

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7 years ago

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4 years ago

It's one of top down in earth steakhouse with a bit bar style feeling with awesome tossed salad and steaks!!

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9 years ago

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Page 4 of 10

Ask the Community - Dawsons On Main

Can you hear each other talk or is it super loud? Looking for a place to meet friends that we haven't seen in awhile. Thanks!

While there are times with "loud-ish" groups, the set up makes it easy to have conversations

Do they still do half off martinis on Thursdays?

Yes, Thursdays are half price martinis!

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Foyt Wine Vault - pinot and charcuterie

Foyt Wine Vault

4.4(63 reviews)
0.2 mi
•$$

We came to Foyt for a conference and they did an amazing job hosting…read more Food and alcohol was tasty and plentiful. The wine room is nicely appointed with lots of Indy 500 merch and museum worthy items.

A friend and I made a reservation for a "fast six tasting". They had already set up a spot at the…read morebar and had iced waters waiting, which was a nice touch. We didn't really know what to expect, but you essentially choose sixes wines each from their list. Unfortunately, they were out of 2/3rds of red wines. They had 12 wines left, so each of us took six, deciding we would share and try everything they had to offer. We noticed that any of the sweet offerings were from Oliver winery, and they confirmed they don't have sweet wines at Foyt. After trying them all slowly with a charcuterie board and conversation, over a period of 90 minutes, there were only 2 wines that I liked, and only 1 of them that I would ever order a glass of. This experience was fine, and the place is nice, but considering it is a tasting, I expected to learn about the wines. No information was shared with us when we made our selections. Lastly, we noticed there were two other groups at the bar, each of them with a different tasting set ups. They had large glasses in a row with all their options in front of them, but we were given a mini glass that was refilled when we made new decisions. I'm not sure what the difference was.

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Tinker Street - Fantastic first course

Tinker Street

4.5(1k reviews)
4.8 mi•Old Northside, Herron Morton Place
•$$$

This was such a great restaurant to go to in Indy, especially as a first timer in the city. I sat…read moreat the bar with a colleague of mine where we chatted with some of the bartenders. The hospitality was great, and their drink and food recommendations were equally wonderful. One thing to note is the portions on the appetizers are fairly large, so keep that in mind when ordering. To start, we ordered the Korean Fried Mushrooms with baechu kimchi, gochujang honey, daikon radish, furikake, and scallions. These were great but unfortunately had to save room for the other items and could not finish. Then got the Center Cut Ribeye which came with cajun spiced spaetzle, summer squash, remoulade sauce, pink peppercorn ricotta, scallions, sweetie drops, and chimichurri. The steak was cooked to a rare/medium rare consistency that was delicious and we loved the tiny peppers. We paired it with a nice red wine the bartender recommended and it was a lovely experience. Lastly we ended the night with the strawberry dacquoise and espresso. The dessert came with strawberry mousse, pistachio cake, strawberry glaze, white chocolate bark with pistachio & pink peppercorn, and frosted mint. It was a refreshing summertime dessert perfect to end the day. I definitely recommend the steak dish and heard the airline chicken and Chilean sea bass were good too. Would love to come back and try a cocktail and a different dish while sitting on the patio! Second Time: Got the tamarind disco cocktail that comes with a lollipop - amazing, would order again!We tried the fried chicken and caviar, pork chop, and honey cake! All three were delicious - the fried chicken and mushrooms are tied for appetizers, bowers we still think the steak is better than the pork chop. The honey cake was amazing and it paired perfectly with the decalf espresso martini (or a black coffee perhaps). Looking forward to round 3 during my next work trip!

Been a minute for us to visit. Service was great and ambience nice. Biggest problem was they were…read moresold out of 2 entrees by 7pm. 2 of the 9 on the menu and 2 were what we wanted to order. Just beware get there early if you want the good stuff. Getting to the food we did order, mind you the chef was not in the house on a Monday, which is fine and modus operandi for chef driven concepts. I know this and I am fine if everything is executed per chef expectation. So either it was a tough night in the kitchen or the food concept is off, maybe a lil of both. Soup of the day Carrot was spot on, spicy, savory. Needed a lil salt but very nice. Roasted Carrot - curveball when I see roasted i think warm. Nope- cold appetizer. Which would've been fine that was mentioned. Problem also was I wouldn't say they were roasted really because they did not seem to have the roasted look, morenlike a few light grill marks and they had a snap/crunch like a raw carrot. A roasted carrot is sweet and unctuous. The concept of the dish was good but execution not. Unless you just want to say carrots w harrisa. Entrees we could order we will start w scallop risotto . Risotto was under by a stretch. I have risotto far and wide and I know its supposed to be al dente but this was quite under. Scallops cooked nicely but salty Pork chop - chef recommendations on temp is mediumish, I concur 145 to maybe 150. Pork chop i received was more like the old days of 165 even by the bone not a sheckle of juice. My mother would have been proud (iykyk, cause when I grew up nothing had juice. It could kill ya). Flavor was decent. Accoutrements were forgettable. Overall the I know why I haven't been lately. Tinker is okay but should be better if you want $50 per entree. I know this is not finest dining in the city, it's not meant to compete with the Vidas, or 32 down town steakhouse, but at least make the food memorable. It wasn't.

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Fried Korean mushrooms

Dawsons On Main - tradamerican - Updated October 2026

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