Hollyhock Hill

Have you ever had a long established restaurant in your city that for some reason you'd just never visited? That's Hollyhock Hill for me. One of Indy's original family dining restaurants, Hollyhock Hill was first established in 1928 and has existed my entire life of 50+ years. Yet, for whatever reason, I'd simply never visited until tonight. The restaurant is located in a residential area at 81st and College Avenue in a former residence turned restaurant. From what I was told tonight, there's still an existing apartment on the upper floor (I believe it's unused). As noted, this is a family dining establishment - an increasingly rare concept of sharing a meal with an agreed upon menu. They seem to take the greatest pride in their fried chicken, though they do have several other options available. In terms of access, they do have a handful of ADA compliant parking spots. They are at a slight slant - so you need to be a bit careful. However, that's hard to avoid in this particular area. There's also a wooden ramp from the parking lot into the restaurant. It has a couple twists and turns, however, it's a pretty well made ramp - I might argue it needs better handrails, however, there's an obvious effort there. It's a little weird as you get to the restaurant - there's a double-entry and both doors are on a slight incline. So, if you have a weak upper-body, you may need some help. However, both doors are pretty light. From what I could tell, about half the restaurant is accessible. There's a step down into a couple areas. So, if you need the accessibility it's best to note it in your reservation. The concept here is simple - you have a fried chicken entree or one of several combination dinners. Everybody's comes out together, though generally an order is considered about three pieces. You get salad, bread (rolls), some sides, and an ice cream dessert. Drinks are extra - they have iced tea and serve Coke products. They do have a wine menu with some beer and cocktails also available. I was with a party of 10. We had a reservation for 12, however, two canceled. Most of us ordered the fried chicken - there were a couple exceptions. I ordered my usual iced tea. Rolls were delicious and were served with apple butter. Sides included pickled beets, cottage cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes (gravy available), and corn. The sides seemed to just be what came with the meal. The ice cream dessert included chocolate sauce and a couple other options. The fried chicken was excellent. The rolls were some of the best restaurant rolls I've had. I was also impressed with the mashed potatoes. I did not eat the cottage cheese or beets. The green beans and corn were fine. The ice cream was a nice touch. Drinks stayed filled and I don't think I had to ask once. There was a bit of a kerfuffle when paying the bill as our organizer had intentionally checked to make sure we could pay separately, however, that's generally not the practice here. However, it was worked out in a friendly manner. Our server was quiet but hospitable. There's no doubt this is on the expensive end and in terms of value I'm not quite sure I'd say that's the emphasis here. This is more of a premium family and special occasion experience. I didn't mind paying it - I tipped well, however, this is not something I'd do regularly. But will I go back? I'm pretty sure I will. This was a good experience. The food was good to great, the service was attentive, the efforts at accessibility were appreciated, and it was a great night with great friends.

Absolutely the best fried chicken, sides are enough to fill up on. Our serves was five starts as well. Very nice cottage country style food.

Service and food is always top notch! I simply could just eat the beens and corn and be happy! The fried chicken is the best I have ever had!

Highly recommend for when doing family reunions or doing joint family events! Such a family friendly environment and so homey. Nice to be able to order a ton of food to share and can just ask to split bill evenly between everyone. The food was so amazing!

We come to Hollyhock Hill each year for my brother-in-law's birthday. The first thing that needs noted is how kind and accommodating their staff is. They make you feel like family. This restaurant feels like you went to your Aunt's house for supper. It's not a fancy or glamorous atmosphere, but it is cozy, consistent and delicious. Love this tradition and always look forward to going back.

Easily the best fried chicken I've ever had in my life. The servers and hosts were SO hospitable and I enjoyed every second of my time there! Cute, cozy, supper club-type feel. Family-style portions--I had lots of leftovers since I flew solo! Terrific lineup of food. I had the fried chicken dinner, which came with pickled beets, biscuits, cottage cheese, salad, corn, green beans, potatoes and gravy, and ice cream with assorted toppings. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Hollyhock the place to go if you want a family style dinner with your friends and family. It is a holiday tradition to meet up with college friends and their children and come here! It reminds me of eating around a table at grandma's house. You can't go wrong with the fried chicken meal. It starts with cottage cheese, pickled beets and salad. Their dressing is an oil based dressing that many go crazy for. It's sold Kroger if you are one that wants to find it again. Fried chicken comes out with mashed potatoes, gravy, home style green beans, corn and biscuits with a side of apple butter. The chicken is always crispy and juicy inside. I like to ask for hot sauce for the table. The mashed potatoes are your straightforward mashed taters. Nothing fancy added here. The white gravy is under seasoned but that is a personal preference I'm sure. The green beans have pork and onions which give it the homemade simmered for hours taste. The corn is straight forward. The biscuits however are a staple. They are the best when they're fresh from the oven. The apple butter is a nice compliment!!Lastly the vanilla ice cream. It's your choice on the topping of butterscotch, chocolate or strawberry.

It was my husband and I's first visit to Hollyhock Hills restaurant, although we have both lived in the Indy area for 60+ years. We met my in-laws for dinner on a Saturday night.They are known for their fried chicken , so we all ordered chicken. It was well cooked. The green beans, corn and mashed potatoes were all very good. Lard, from scratch biscuits were wonderful!Ella was our server and she was very attentive and friendly.

It's been 15 years since we've been to Hollyhock Hill and we went last week for my wife's birthday and were joined by extended family. We all had a great experience: the fried chicken and sides were as delicious and plentiful as we remembered. Good value for the three kids, too, with a set price for 5-12 year olds. Glad to see an old fashioned restaurant still doing well. We will definitely be back.

Food - Chicken was bland....- Salad was pretty sad looking (limited dressings)- Corn, green beans, masked potatoes, biscuits with apple jelly were good- Ice cream was too hard to really eatDecor - Older decor but it is nearly 100 years old. Service- OkCost-OverpricedWould I go back? No, the chicken was bland and very expensive.