Representative photography. Actual appearance may vary.
Indianapolis's 100+ year smashburger institution. Named best burger in Indiana by Food & Wine, Thrillist, and First We Feast. Cash only, 21+, lunch hours only — plan ahead.
Representative photography. Actual appearance may vary.
The Workingman's Friend has been smashing burgers on the same flat-top since 1918 — long before smashburgers had a name. Louis Stamatkin, a Macedonian immigrant, opened the tavern in Indianapolis's Haughville neighborhood to feed local railroad workers. More than a century later, the Stamatkin family still runs it the same way: Tue–Sat lunch only, cash only, 21+, and a flat-top that hasn't changed since at least 1960.
The Double Cheeseburger is built differently than any other smashburger in Indianapolis. Two beef patties are smashed paper-thin on a griddle seasoned by decades of use, then assembled Big Mac-style on a three-section bun — heel, middle bun, crown — with American cheese melted onto each patty, shredded iceberg, and a thin spread of mayo. The result, as Food & Wine put it, is 'so smashed it's not even funny.' The burger is nearly all crispy lacy edge. That flat-top seasoning is not replicable.
The Workingman's Friend is a 21+ cash-only tavern with very limited lunch hours. The Smash Score reflects the Double Cheeseburger specifically, not convenience, sides, or the broader bar experience.
So smashed it's not even funny, served Big Mac-style with bread in the middle, plus cheese on both patties, shredded iceberg, and a bit of mayonnaise spread thinly on the bun.
This decidedly unfussy 21-plus tavern has been cooking up what may just be the city's most legendary burger for decades.
Smashing the patties onto a grill top seasoned by the years creates those crispy, salty jagged edges we have come to love.
A really thin burger that's more than half made of crispy edges. The burger was stellar.
The juicy flavorful meat is really crispy on the edge and each thin patty is topped with melted cheese. A fantastic burger — the wait of close to an hour was worth it.
Everything's cooked to order, everything's cut fresh. It still tastes the same, the exact same.
Sides were mediocre — frozen fries and rings. Order a third burger instead.