I'd been wanting to stop by Mashcraft in Fishers for quite some time, but I seem to always be in the area at off times. I drove by the opening of the new Shake Shack and decided it wasn't worth the hassle - so, I drove around a bit and finally made my way here.
Mashcraft has 3 central Indiana locations - Greenwood, Fishers, and Indy. This location is in a strip center just south of 116th and Allisonville Road. There are a handful of other businesses in the strip center, though Mashcraft has the end spot and does offer a handful of outdoor tables. However, today it was raining.
I was a little nervous about being in Hamilton County given I'm still being fairly cautious with the pandemic and the mask mandate does not still exist statewide (it does in Marion County, my home county). However, it seemed like precautions were pretty steady here and I felt fine being here despite it being a relatively small spot.
This strip center is obviously older and not particularly wheelchair friendly. There are accessible spots completely at the other end of the building. There's a curb cut there. So, I had to park a decent ways away from Mashcraft.
The entryway is a glass doorway entry. It's kind of heavy but workable. When I arrived today just after the lunch hour, everything was seat yourself. To the right of the entry are some taller tables, while there are some shorter tables directly by the entry that are basically of the half-booth variety. To the left, you have a combo of taller/shorter tables. The front half of Mashcraft is family friendly and a wall separates a bar that is 21+.
In addition to serving their own brews, Mashcraft has a food partnership with 5280 Bistro. My server, Kennedy, stopped by fairly quickly and was attentive throughout my stay. I typically only drink one beer and have a meal - not exactly high maintenance.
They pretty much have the spectrum in terms of types of beer - they are all brewed by Mashcraft (I believe). I don't recall seeing any guest beers. They offer a flight of four for $12 - 6 ounce pours.
I ended up ordering a Jamaica Joe, a coffee-infused red ale made with coffee from Greenwood, Indiana's Strange Brew. The coffee gives the hint of caramel in the mix and I rather liked it.
From the menu, I ordered a pub burger. It comes with chips, but I upgraded for tots for an extra buck. The pub burger serves up a six-ounce patty with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion on a Hawaiian Bun. I usually pick off some of the stuff, but I'll note it was definitely tasty and the tots were nicely done. I would easily order both items again, though I was tempted by the fish & chips.
The menu overall is pretty standard bar fare.
They had at least a couple widescreen televisions, though I'd be hard-pressed to call this a sports bar. The servers are all friendly that I could tell. I did think it was fairly noisy - mostly the acoustics just really echo the conversations. However, it wasn't overly distracting and I was able to do some reading while enjoying my meal. The meal came in just over $18 including the beer but not including tip.
Overall, this was a solid experience. I tend to prefer quieter settings, but I enjoyed this and service was good. I enjoyed my beer and food. There are two strip buildings right here and they both have accessibility issues - this building is the better of the two because the curb cut is better. However, it's ridiculous to only have a curb cut at one end of the building. That's not Mashcraft's fault, of course, but it's still a concern.
I'd easily return, though I also want to try the Indy location on Delaware in the near future. read more