Daddy Jack's Review

Date: 05/07/25

Restaurant Name: Daddy Jack's

Address: 9419 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46260

Phone Number: (317) 843-1609

Email Address: jacksarebetter.net

About: For over 35 years, Daddy Jack’s has served up tantalizing appetizers, salads, pasta dishes, chicken, hand-cut steaks and seafood. It is unique in that there are three different Jack's restaurants in one corner of the shopping plaza at 96th and Meridian. For our part, we enjoyed the steakhouse and its patty melt with our colleague Logan Blomberg.

Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Daddy Jack's patty melt contained Swiss and American cheeses, rye bread, and grilled onions. All of these are as close to patty melt orthodoxy as you can get, with the addition of American cheese that we found to be a nice touch.

Taste: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The taste was excellent; the flavors combined very well, and the patties were of incredibly high quality. One thing that detracted from the taste was careless assembly of the patty melt. On one of our orders, most of the meat was on one side of the sandwich and most of the onions on the other.

Value: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️★

The price was $18, with a $3-4 upcharge for sides. A fair price for the quality of meat that they serve. So go to Daddy Jack's for a tasty patty melt, but expect to pay for it.

Ambiance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The ambiance was quite nice, as notably it was a nice enough evening for us to sit outside. It was warm and there was a nice breeze, so the ambiance was amazing for the experience that we had.

Total Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The food was great, our server was pleasant, and the overall experience made us want to return soon. The only blemish to the evening were the bugs that were outside and were also patty melt fans, but that was not the fault of the restaurant at all.

Summary: Daddy Jack's possesses one of the best patty melts we have ever had, but most of their success rides on the quality of their meat and the outdoor seating. It is not the cheapest patty melt out there, but it definitely is one of the tastiest.

Leadership Lessons: I have long admired the clever business strategy of the three Jack’s establishments and their strategic location at 96th and Meridian. You have Apres Jack’s in the middle, flanked by Daddy Jack’s on one side and Kona Jack’s Restaurant, Fish Market & Sushi Bar on the other. All three are connected to one another and I presume are served by a single kitchen. On a pleasant evening like the one we enjoyed, a family can sit outside and order off of different menus and still eat together. The opportunity to shuffle staff where needed is also a benefit of this strategy. So my hat is off to Jack for this clever business strategy that has survived the test of time.