TJ’s Kitchen

This place is great. Awesome catfish dinner. They didnt close as the post says, they just changed names to Dale’s Family Resturant.

Better than expected and service was good. Cheap eats. I don’t know what else to say. Im not sure everything was made in house like stated. More like prepared in house. Had the beef manhattan, mac and cheese, and buffalo chicken pasta. Pasta was better than the boring flavored mac and the chicken in the pasta was overcooked. Manhattan was good but meat tasted like some frozen philly steak meat from restaurant depot. I had two meals and spent $ 15 so its cheap don’t expect a four star meal. If you want some home cooking and are in the area.

TJ’s is our home skillet. Plain and simple. We go there when the sun is up. We go to Flashbacks when the sun is down.
Today, I broke form and ordered a salad at TJ’s. The Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad was perfect. A bed of greens adorned with two sliced hard-​boiled eggs, a generous portion of cubed grilled chicken tossed in buffalo sauce, and all the fixin’s to round out this lunch salad turned dinner salad, and I was so happy with it, they knocked the blues right out of my bleu cheese dressing.
If there is any complaint at all with TJ’s it would have to be leveled at their timeliness. Many a Memorial Day family was there for lunch and it seems like their propensity for «getting slammed» is higher than what the average Indy diner would tolerate.
That stated, I know Rob and co. will address it and continue to make this eatery one whose service lives up to their great menu. They get my full endorsement again and again.

I will never give this place another chance. Service is always horrible. They may be friendly, but they are incompetent and inefficient! This last time, we went for breakfast and were there for 90mims for only 3 simple breakfasts! After 45 mins of no food and No server, I sought out manager to ask about food, it was almost another 10 mins before we got our food! The server took 10 mins after we asked for bill, to bring bill. He took another 10mins to bring back my credit card. Food is decent but by far NOTHING special. I ordered the crazy Karen has browns (hash browns w. peppers and onions and eggs)…the charge $ 7.29 which would have been fine had I got a real serving. There wasn’t even a half cup of hash browns and only one egg on top! I am fine w. small servings but I am not paying $ 7.29 for a half cup of hash downs!
We love supporting locally owned, but this place desperately needs new management or owners or staff or ALL 3

I went for breakfast and wasn’t very impressed with the offerings. The food wasn’t inedible, but not very tasty either. My server was not very attentive. Looking at other reviews, service must be hit or miss. I might try lunch or dinner later when this breakfast fades from my memory a bit more.

I’m not sure I’d typify the fare as Southern rather Mom and Pop with a few surprises.
The service was very good, our waitress was pleasant and quick with the beverage refills.
I ordered the chicken n dumplings which was disappointing, it should have been called dumplings with hide and go seek chicken.

This was my 2^nd visit and last. I’d only give 1 star but our server was friendly and efficient. We had potato skins for an appetizer, they microwave them cheese was not melted and husband had a cold spot in one. Stroganoff was so so nothing special, tenderloin was greasy and not fully browned. Supposed to be home cooked comfort food. How can it be home cooked when it is nuked in a microwave, and we were sitting near the kitchen and heard it going off frequently. Won’t be back.

let me say I love new dining experiences and I love them even more when they are low risk investments due to groupon.
So here is my dish!
Vegetarians — don’t go here! There is almost nothing you can eat, just side dishes. They don’t even have a veggie patty to sub in for their burgers.
The best part — fried biscuits with apple butter. ZOMG cold apple butter! hot biscuits! THIS IS AMAZING eat it!
Atmosphere Pros — nice warm tones and well lit. Clean, ladies room. No idea bout how things smell for teh mens. They did a good job gussying up their strip mall abode and i can’t complain. The booths are nice and new, no sagging seats etc.
Atmosphere Cons — We went in early fall and I found the restaurant chilly so bring your jacket in if you are likely to get cold. The dining room has an easily visible flat screen which had fox news on both times we were there. It was muted but I kept getting distracted by the scrolling nonsense subtitles. But hey if Faux News is your bag enjoy!
Groups — They have ample seating and they seem equipped to handle you though i can’t report on this from first hand experience as it has just been me and the man eating there.
Food — standard American diner fare. I had the turkey manhattan and i just scraped off the turkey. It was filling, I’m not a big gravy person and their gravy was everything I hate about gravy: gelatinous. Their fries are great and they have red gold ketchup which I love. The man had one of the burgers and he found it tasty.
Service — punctual, we didn’t sit waiting for drinks and I’m one of those pesky hot tea drinkers. She kept me full up on hot water and even brought me more tea bags!
Prices — The groupon was for 14 bucks and we could have easily stayed under that if we had not gotten the biscuits and drank water. Without scrimping, like I usually do, two can eat for about 25 $ (including an «Im-​not-​a-​cheap-​jerk» tip.)

I work close to here and ate there for the first time last week. The prices are reasonable and the food looked good. I got an 8 ounce steak and baked potato for lunch for about 8 bucks flat. The steak was ordered as med rare, but came out med well or well done. I was in a hurry and just ate it, but it really ruined the steak. That was why I nicked them out of 2 stars. I would go back though.

Tj’s kitchen has improved drastically since they first opened in 2011. Their servers are some of the most friendly you will get. Their food is always to die for. I highly recommend their Fried Fish or Alfredo. Their stuffed burgers, salisbury steak, etc. all stellar. A great ‘beech grove’ spot for Southsiders looking for some home cookin’.

I love this place! I have been here 5 times now and we love it! Excellent food I have had both breakfast and dinner here, awesome staff and I love that we are being served by people with a smile who want to be there. definitely becoming one of my favorite places to eat!!! And I love that they are right near our home…

I was in town for business and asked some coworkers to recommend a good place for lunch and they sent me to TJ’s Kitchen.
They advertise comfort food and they deliver on their promise. The menu is quite large and the prices are very reasonable. The service is friendly and fast. I stopped there twice for lunch. The first time I had their Fish sandwich which was very good. The next visit I had their «Stuffed Burger» and Fried Okra. Very tasty sandwich and the Okra was a nice change from fries.
The Staff is very friendly and will make sure your food is cooked to your satisfaction. They serve Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Highly recommended for «Comfort Food» Will be sure to return next time I am town.

The food has great prices! We will definitely be back. They have a good variety on the menu and seriously the most expensive thing was maybe the prime rib and I think it was maybe $ 15.99. Portions were a good size. We will definitely go back.

Tj’s Kitchen promises a home-​style meal and that’s exactly what they deliver. I tried the stuffed burger and a reuben with mac and cheese. It was awesome! I’m a bit of a mac and cheese junky. Delicious! The stuffed burger was like something I’d make at home. That’s just what I told the owner when he was nice enough to stop by our table to see how things were.
Did I mention this place delivers their delicious one-​of-​a-​kind comfort food? Genius!
Great job Tj’s Kitchen! I’ll see you soon.

My fiancé and I are a little leary of trying new places only because one of us usually has a less than spectacular experience. Fortunately TJ’s Kitchen was not one of those. The staff was very welcoming and attentive, and our waitress always greeted us with a smile. We never had to wait on a drink refill or ask for one. The food was good, not awesome but good value for what we paid (approx $ 30 for two). We ordered the fried pepperjack cheese wedges for our appetizer. They were awesome and possibly the best of the entire meal. I had the fried shrimp dinner w/​baked potato and house salad. The salad was very good, comparable to TX Rdhouse salad (yum). The shrimp was good and good size, not the mini fried shrimp. My fiancé had the spicy shrimp pasta. It wasn’t spicy at all so we asked the waitress if they had any crushed red pepper, etc.“Sure, no problem”, and she promptly brought us two different spicy concoctions to choose from which made the dish much better. The warm and attentive staff and good food make this place a winner in my book. We will be back!

I have given them 3 chances. I want to support local business but I just can’t give this place a good review. Food is not good, lacking in flavor and slopped on the plate. service was slow, and took forever. Should not take 35 min for breakfast after you order. I wont be back.

I’ve been driving by this place every Wednesday for the past 2 years and never even noticed it. The way I discovered it was by doing a proximity search for restaurants near the intersection of Thompson and Emerson.
They advertise themselves as a home-​cooking joint and they are exactly that. No frills, no pretense (and no liquor license). Chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, burgers, etc. Appropriate-​volume country music playing over the loudspeakers. Attentive service with a smile.
Just wish I could have a brew with my Manhattan.

The service was absolutely fantastic! Our server was attentive w/​out being overbearing. The manager took care of us when there was a problem and we left very happy.
The food was decent w/​out being just OH MY GOODNESS great. The first item my wife ordered was the philly cheesesteak sandwich that was ok but didn’t really have much flavor. We sent it back, got the chicken breast and she was much happier. The manager was awesome on taking care of us.
The décor was contemporary, not raising my plate price with lavish decorations, but not a stripped down diner look either. It is comfy, feels homey, almost like dining in your living room.
The plate price was exactly where I’d have expected, approx. $ 8−13/plate with drinks extra. If you’d like, you can add a salad bar to your meal for only $ 2.99, but until they expand it, I wouldn’t recommend this. The salad bar isn’t that big of a deal, not a lot of extras available here and if you’re jonesin’ for greens, it would be less expensive to just add a side salad to your meal unless you just want a LOT of salad.
All in all, it’s a place I’d like to visit again. It’s not too close to my normal traffic areas but it’s not too far out of the way either. Conveniently located at the junction of I-​65, Southport and Emerson, it’s pretty easy to get to.
Check it out, they’re worth it. I hear from another friend that the steaks are delicious!

You CAN NOT get a better deal in Indianapolis than TJs Kitchen. Just ate there again tonight. They have new chicken quesadillas for appetizers. GET THEM if it is the last thing you ever do. I eat quesadillas A LOT, and these were the BEST I have ever had, bar none. Great food at AMAZING prices. They deliver too!!! I think next time I am there I am going to have to find this mysterious «TJ» fellow and shake his hand. Well done.

Picked up dinner from TJ’s Kitchen a few nights ago… We were looking for a reasonably priced dinner without having to drive out of the way. Its located in a strip mall between Marsh and Kroger.
We ordered our dinners for carry out. One major plus, is our entire order was packed right :) That doesn’t happen often. We ordered the catfish dinner, a steak dinner and two kids meals. We also ordered a side of onion rings and mac and cheese. The catfish and the steak were cooked well. The side dishes weren’t too tasty… I threw out the mac and cheese and the onion rings must have been beer battered because the smell was so strong… We ended up putting them in the toaster oven to make them crispier…
They are very reasonably priced, and the diner was packed with lots of senior citizens and some families with small kids. They have coupons on the internet fi you would like to save a few dollars.
Cozy atmosphere.