Alley’s Alehouse

I’m a long-​time resident of Fishers, and while I love living here, I do sometimes bemoan the lack of good restaurants in this area. I was really excited to visit Alley’s the first few times I was there as I could tell a lot of work went into revamping the place. The beer list is fantastic, the food is really good for bar food, and the atmosphere is great. Bartender Bobby has always been attentive and knowledgeable. For something attached to a very family friendly bowling alley– which can be good or bad, depending on your perspective, I’ve been very impressed.
However…I went last Friday night with a group and have to say I was very disappointed in the way a specific situation was handled. Let me preface this by saying that I am married to someone who has been in the service industry for a long time, and I have a long list of allowances I will make when a place is packed, loud, and possibly understaffed as it appeared to be on Friday. But this experience was just terrible.
I went in with a group of 12 and a reservation to have drinks/​dinner and play DJ Bingo. We all arrived between 5:45 and 6 and had a full round of drinks before ordering dinner (at the same time). Food came out for 8 of us around 6:30; one member of the party was told that a tray was dropped with her food on it and her burger would be remade — fine, no problem. Her burger appeared around 6:40. And then we waited. And we waited. Until about 7:10 when our server checked on the table and realized 3 people hadn’t gotten food. He went to the kitchen to check, admitted that there was an issue, and said it would be right out, and brought some chips and dip for those folks to munch on.
Around 7:40 the food finally appeared. The food, mind you, was 1 single chicken taco, the appetizer beef sliders/​fries, and vegetarian nachos. Things with a 10 minute spec (max). The food was hot and good but so abysmally late it was comical.
The real kicker? Each of those 3 people got charged the FULL PRICE for their meals. No discount. No comp. NO APOLOGY from management who were alerted to the situation by the guests.
This is terrible customer service and very disappointing to see. Again — we made allowances for the packed house, the overwhelmed kitchen, etc. But when a business expects a huge Friday night due to something like DJ Bingo and recommends reservations, you’d expect them to have servers that are on point, a kitchen that is prepared and management that cares about the customer experience enough to make it worth the extra hour they waited for food.
I want to return to Alleys — I really do. But I don’t have confidence that if I do so and don’t sit at the bar (where I typically get good service), I won’t have as good of an experience. I may be willing to return, but Alley’s has certainly disappointed 3 people from the immediate area (and the additional 9 who witnessed this) who will most likely never return.

Been here several times. Not your typical bowling alley bar. I repeat, not your typical bowling alley bar. Trendy Pub with outstanding burgers. I personally find the Blackened Blue Burger to quite possibly be the best in fishers. Soft pretzel is equally awesome. Wings and pizza are both above average as well. Beer selection is filled with lots of locals. I suggest giving the moonshine-​A-​Rita a try as well. Not up to Bakersfield standard but great nonetheless. Live music on the weekends as well.

We were really excited for the new restaurant. Unfortunately, the flavors were flat. The fries were smoggy and seemed to have been made for awhile. My husband states the ribs were tender but the bbq sauce had a burnt taste to it. The breaded tenderloin was flat on flavor. The atmosphere is great. Our service was great too! I so wanted it to be one of our favorite places.

My husband and I stop for a early dinner and we are so glad we did. We both love Bier Brewery beers so seeing their selection as the stars was great. My salad was the deep bacon with a wonderful apple rum dressing.

Ooga tiki ooga tiki ooga tiki… this is the song I sing when I’m at a tiki bar. Yes, we have tiki bars in Fishers, who knew? Alley’s Alehouse is connected to Pinheads Bowling and replaces what used to be Louie’s Bar & Restaurant. New menu includes dishes featuring Bier Brewery (Kolsh Queso and Weizengoot & Kolsh 10 hour braised meats). There is even a challenge on the menu. Here you will find a burger called the Scorpion Burger stating it will «Melt Your Face.» A waiver must be signed before eating. If you can eat the entire burger & fries you take home a t-​shirt, 2 free games of bowling, and a jar of Alley’s homemade Scorpion Pepper Jam. Yes, you too can eat through seven layers of hell just like Alice Cooper.
Tonight my husband and I were both craving a burger so I went with the Drunken Goat Cheese Burger (Olive Tapenade, goat cheese, garlic mayo, arugula, red onion, lettuce, tomato) and my husband went with the Classic. Both burgers were thick and juicy using a blend of Black Angus Chuck & Short Rib. The bun was soft and fresh. The hand-​cut fries were very good and well seasoned. No ketchup necessary.
Notes:
*Nice tap selection of local and national beers: Bier Brewery, Sun King, Dogfish Head, 3 Floyds, Goose Island, Triton, Scarlet Lane, etc. Make sure you ask for a drink menu. Tiki bar selections are limited. Inside bar has a larger selection.
*Seat yourself there isn’t a hostess
*Come as you are — bikini, gym clothes, tube top, mini skirt, mu-​mu, kimono — you can sit at the tiki bar and play beach volleyball so clothing seems optional.
*Live Music played outside
*Service was a bit slow but our waitress was extremely friendly and helpful once we managed to flag her down. Personally I think a hostess & more servers would help.
*Atmosphere is kind of interesting in a frat boy meets Fishers Soccer Mom mixed with the local townie posse all up in here sorta feel.
*Would love to see some tropical inspired dishes to go with the tiki theme outdoors.