Lil' Charlie's Restaurant & Brewery

Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

504 E Pearl Street
Batesville, Indiana, 47006
United States

(812) 934-6392 | map
lilcharlies.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.78
Beers:
12
Ratings:
23
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.03
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
9
pDev:
12.9%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by Beejay:
Photo of Beejay
Reviewed by Beejay from Virginia

4.4/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
They also just started brewing their own beer in September I think. This has become one of my favorite places to eat during lunch. I work in a small town, and this is by far the best restaurant nearby. They have a good selection of bottles and tap beers.. including FFF and New Belgium, as well as 5 of their own beers. The service is usually pretty fantastic, and the food is amazing. Seriously awesome food. The brewing needs a little work, as a few of the beers taste similar, and some taste
"home brewey.." But with other beers on tap, and killer atmosphere and food. I am willing to forgive... Always a good time, and always worth the price.
Dec 14, 2009
More User Ratings:
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75
Quaint place in a quaint little town. About what you'd expect for the interior for a small family restaurant. Fast, friendly service. The chili really hit the spot. Good beer, well with the short drive from the highway.
Mar 12, 2023
Photo of IndyHopHead
Reviewed by IndyHopHead from Indiana

4.83/5  rDev +19.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Stopped in on the way back from Cincinatti heading home to Indy. Great atmosphere, great service and great food. Has 14 taps two 3floyds in rotation but not a fan of their own beer. Food was excellent can't wait to come back and will be making this a stop anytime in the area
Mar 06, 2016
 
Rated: 2.96 by West_Chester_Ale_Tester from Ohio

Oct 03, 2015
 
Rated: 3.94 by aasher from Indiana

Aug 10, 2015
Photo of boilermakerbrew
Reviewed by boilermakerbrew from Indiana

4.33/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Lil' Charlie's is in my hometown, and has easily become one of the most popular places in Batesville to eat.

The newly renovated bar is modern in looks, but still cozy. The service is great, granted I am a little biased because I know some of the staff. The food is tremendous. Chef Adam Israel created a menu with a wide variety of high quality foods. He stays true to some traditional Indiana fare with a good tenderloin, pulled pork BBQ, and fried chicken, but also has some good flatbread pizzas and higher-end steaks and other cuts of meat.

I have yet to have all of their beers. They brew five, of them, I enjoy the hefeweizen, and the red wheat ale isn't bad. The bar selection is as good as any I've seen in the area. In addition to their brews and macros, they carry some New Belgium and Shiner products in bottles and some on tap.

Overall, if you're traveling between Cincinnati and Indianapolis, stop in and check it out, you won't regret it.
Oct 24, 2011
Photo of jhp40219
Reviewed by jhp40219 from Kentucky

4.36/5  rDev +8.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Stopped by here while visiting a friend who lives in Lawrenceburg, IN. From the expressway, the town of Batesville seems unassuming. But once off the expressway you're greeted by a very clean, quaint little town. The exact same thing can be said for Lil' Charlie's. We decided to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather, so I didn't get to see much of the inside. Service was good, and waitress was friendly. Looked over the menu, but neither my friend or I bought any food, (we'd just eaten an hour ago). Very lengthy menu with a wide array of choices, many of which sounded delicious. Instead we opted for their beer flight, consisting of the 5 on-sight brews they currently had, (Blonde Pilsner, Hefeweizen, Red Wheat, Pale Ale, and a Porter, as their Bock was out). Most of the beers use either or a combination of the Liberty and East Kent Goldings hops. Unfortunately I didn't take notes, but 4 of the 5 beers were absolutely top-notch! The only disappointment was the Red Wheat, which didn't quite have the character I expected in a red wheat. All the beers, however, were extremely smooth and easily drinkable. This would be a great place to introduce craft beer to someone who doesn't normally drink them. I do plan on going back and taking notes, as well as having a bite to eat there soon.
Jul 04, 2011
Photo of JamesS
Reviewed by JamesS from Indiana

4.13/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Lil' Charlie's is a very nice stop if you happen to be in the Batesville area (or driving nearby on I-74). The atmosphere is nice and clean, although there isn't much to it other than a standard restaurant (no theme), bar area, and you can see the brewery equipment.

Service was excellent, with a very friendly and prompt server and bartender. Talked a little beer with them both, and watched some of the Purdue game with the bartender for a while.

Nice beer selection, they had six of their own brews (five standards and an IPA), as well as a lot of guest beers, including Three Floyds, Upland, and New Belgium.

The beers were good, although not fantastic. Worth stopping by to try, very enjoyable and quaffable, but nothing pronounced (the bock was my favorite by far).

The fish and chips were excellent, and I liked that they brought out a loaf of bread and butter as well. Very tasty indeed.
Feb 28, 2011
Photo of Yetiman420
Reviewed by Yetiman420 from Ohio

3.54/5  rDev -12.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
My wife and I were meeting family from Indiana at the Ertel Cellars in Batesville which offered an excellent opportunity to visit Lil' Charlie's for sampler of their beers before dinner (and winery wine).

This location in Batesville, IN qualifies as one of the more rural locations for a brewpub that I've had the fortune of visiting. Hill Rom and Batesville Casket company keep this town going and make it more active than one would think.

Located in a large, older but updated building near an industrial area. Seeing a couple of portable smokers behind the building on the way in was a good sign for me.

We entered the bar and took in the lovely three GW Kent 10 BBL stainless steel fermeters visibile from the bar and the outside thanks to plenty of glass. I didn't see any other part of the building. It was empty when we arrived around 4:45 on a Saturday and beginning to fill up when we left around 5:50.

The bar had some character with the fermenters and some historic brewing/city photos. Quite a few flat TVs atop the bar.

We were immediately taken care of by an overly friendly bartender. My wife and I split the sampler of the blonde pilsner, hefe, bock, red wheat, and pale ale. Overall, the beers lacked individual character. The hefe had a slight clove aroma and the red wheat was the best from a body and flavor standpoint. The pale ale, made with plenty of hops to give any beer drinker their hops fixation, was a let down. We followed the sampler by splitting a pint of the red wheat and then getting a round of Three Floyd's Alpha King (Mmmm). They had an IPA and stout in the fermenters. Also had New Belgium bottles and fat tire on tap. Lots of other macro crafts not worth mentioning.

I asked a couple of questions about the brewing operation and the bartender pointed to the wowner/brewer (I think) Kip at the end of the empty bar who answered my question with no interest in extending the conversation. Not that I was expecing it, but I usually wind up getting extended tours of small operations when I ask about brewing capacity etc. In this case I got a cold shoulder. Anyway, the bartender was so friendly and chatty that it made up for it.

It's difficult for me to be critical of a nice place like this in a remote location like Batesville. If you're making the drive between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, it's 8 minutes off I74 and I would encourage you to visit them. It may be that they are dialing in the brewing operation and the beers may improve with experience.
Mar 01, 2010
Lil' Charlie's Restaurant & Brewery in Batesville, IN
Brewery rating: 3.78 out of 5 with 23 ratings