Commission Row
Steps from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, this glossy downtown showpiece matches all the Pacers and Fever excitement with its handsome high drama. Tall ceilings dotted with glowing orb lights and walls of windows overlooking the streetside action set the scene for dinner. Start with oysters, lobster bisque enriched with sherry cream and tarragon oil, or a towering arrangement of seafood on ice. Then, lean in with Australian wagyu, a dry-aged ribeye, or the 32-ounce tomahawk. Add lobster risotto, creme fraiche mashed potatoes, or French onion mac and cheese—restraint isn’t the point here. After dinner, descend to the lower-level Mel’s Speakeasy, with its ebony-stained walls and glowing stone back bar, for a bone-dry martini in a deep swivel chair. It’s the next best thing to courtside seating.
110 S. Delaware St., 317-550-2500
Corridor
Corridor does things on its own terms, and that confidence is part of its charm. Lunch is served only for a few hours each day, while most evenings are reserved for its coveted Chef’s Table experiences. Owned by chefs Erin Kem and Logan McMahan, Corridor explores swaths of the Mediterranean—a falafel sandwich with beet slaw and lemon tahini, a blond puttanesca of capers, tuna and anchovy—while celebrating great local ingredients. Fresh pasta is a cornerstone of the menu, and packaged versions are on offer in the market that fronts the building, along with a heavenscape of imported Italian treats. But the real magic happens around the butcher block Chef’s Table, where diners watch one-off meals come together mere feet away.
1134 E. 54th St., 317-257-7374
Daisy Bar
A year after opening in the Factory Arts District complex, Jon Carlos Rangel’s trendsetting all-day diner already has ardent fans of its deeply golden and crunchy thrice-cooked fries, its Korean-inflected bulgogi chopped cheese kicked up with candied chiles, and its delicate mandu dumplings stuffed with slow-braised birria and bathed in consommé. Equally admired are the bar’s complex pours, such as the refreshing Daisy cocktail and the earthy Windsor Sling, a nod to the restaurant’s Windsor Park neighborhood. Daytime chef Kirk Engledow and dinner toque Andrew Herrin continue to add more vegan and vegetarian items and specials, such as a knockout cauliflower curry and a Margski tofu sando that is a riff on the viral katsu sando. Even if you’re not an eastside local, a visit on First Friday or a short stroll from Mass Ave’s flashier spots will win you over to what Rangel and his team have going on.
1011 Massachusetts Ave., 317-390-4002
Fernando’s Mexican & Brazilian Cuisine
Fans of this Latin American gem in Broad Ripple and on Mass Ave may have spent the summer awaiting updates about when a larger location would open. Those who have filled the festive patio at the original since it opened in early 2024 know that wherever Fernando’s brings its caipirinha flights, bowls of guacamole and ceviche, and stunning fajitas and enchiladas, a happy crowd is sure to follow. What earns this fusion restaurant its stars are the homey stews and comforting seafood dishes that challenge more theatrical churrascarias for what Brazilian cuisine really is. Feijoda with fall-apart pork belly will soothe you to the bones, and a fish-and-shrimp moqueca enriched with coconut will have you booking your next flight to Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paolo.
888 Massachusetts Ave., 317-771-6653
834 E. 64th St., 317-377-4779
6320 Ferguson St., 317-377-4779
His Place Eatery
Chef-owner James Jones traded a career in radio sales for culinary school and ended up opening (alongside his wife, Shawn) one of Indy’s most beloved soul food restaurants. The original eastside spot, of which he took ownership 17 years ago, set the tone for a signature brand of warm hospitality and chef-caliber comfort food that drifts from golden fried chicken, to rib tips smoked over hickory wood, to classic sides like bourbon creamed corn and collard greens slow cooked with smoked turkey. But Jones is never content to stop with the standards. At the chef’s second His Place Eatery, which took its place among all the quick business lunch options along West 86th Street in July of 2024, Jones continues to, as he explains it, “reimagine what soul food could be.” In this case, that might take the form of peach cobbler chicken and waffles, a buffalo catfish po’ boy, a collard green grilled cheese, or a deconstructed chicken pot pie.
6916 E. 30th St., 317-545-4890
1411 W. 86th St., 317-790-3406
