Culinary Innovators

The greater Indianapolis restaurant scene has never had more to offer, and this year's culinary innovators are the ones proving it. They are willing to take real chances—swapping out old formulas for something riskier, more personal and more specific to the people cooking it. A rigatoni recipe handed down from one chef to another. A listening room built for vinyl instead of television screens. Two family food legacies sharing a single kitchen. And a steakhouse obsessed with precision.

None of these restaurants look alike, and none of them play it safe. What they share is a refusal to hand guests something generic, choosing instead to build places worth coming back to again and again. Here's a look at who’s raising the bar for your next night out.

Emilio Cento,
Owner & Executive Chef Apicio Ristorante & Enoteca
Emilio Cento's culinary education happened around family tables and in kitchens, not classrooms. He started young at his family's restaurant, learning from his mother, grandmother and aunts who taught him to respect ingredients, tradition and the people he was cooking for. Some of his earliest memories are set in Italy, where meals were never rushed. That sense of gathering follows him still, more than thirty years later, at Apicio, his most personal restaurant yet.

“For me, innovation is about respecting tradition while continuing to grow as a chef,” says Cento, explaining it as taking the recipes, techniques and lessons that have been passed down and building on them without losing what made them special in the first place. “Italian cooking teaches you restraint,” he continues. “If your ingredients are exceptional, they don’t need to be hidden behind complicated techniques.” Nowhere is that clearer than in The Gabriele, a rigatoni dish with pancetta, peas, marinara and fresh basil, named for the chef who taught Cento the recipe years into his career. It's still prepared exactly as it was created, proving that some recipes don't need to be reinvented, but deserve to be preserved.

Cento has spent most of his career cooking in Central Indiana, and he has watched diners grow more adventurous and curious about authentic regional Italian cuisine, eager to know where a dish comes from and why. "Authenticity never goes out of style," he says. That same philosophy recently earned Apicio's wine program Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence. Cento is already looking ahead, with new seasonal dishes, wine dinners and private events planned for the months to come.

Visit Apicio Ristorante & Enoteca at 3311 South US 421 in Zionsville, or explore the menu at apicioindy.com. Follow @apicioindy on Instagram for seasonal dishes and upcoming events.

Blake Fogelsong,
Owner & Director of Operations Clancy's Hospitality
Four years after opening The Fountain Room in the Bottleworks District of downtown Indianapolis, Blake Fogelsong is at it again, this time in his hometown. The Pretender, a hi-fi listening lounge tucked into historic downtown Noblesville, marks Clancy's Hospitality's latest departure from the burger counters and casual dining rooms that built the company's name, and its boldest bet yet on an idea Fogelsong has been chasing for years—rooms built entirely around a feeling.

Inspired by Japan's jazz kissa culture, The Pretender pairs a curated vinyl collection and vintage-style sound system with a menu built to complement the experience rather than compete with it. Central Indiana had nothing quite like it before now. "There really wasn't anything like it here," Fogelsong says, and he saw the gap as room to introduce something new while keeping it approachable for local guests.
Under Executive Chef Ricky Martinez, the kitchen leans into thoughtful small plates and shareable dishes alongside elevated comfort favorites, all designed to pair easily with handcrafted cocktails, wine, beer and sake. The menu moves at the same unhurried pace as the room itself, built for guests settling in for a while rather than rushing through a meal.

That instinct for reading a market runs through everything Fogelsong builds. "If you create something with intention, pay attention to the details, and consistently deliver great hospitality, people notice," he says. It is less a strategy than a standard, one he has now applied twice in four years to very different rooms with the same result: a concept that could not exist anywhere else in Central Indiana.

Visit The Pretender at 818 Logan Street in Noblesville. Explore the menu at thepretender.com and follow @the.pretender.hifi on Instagram for events and updates.

Elizabeth Fernandez & Cristiano Rodrigues,
Owners Fernando's Mexican & Brazilian Cuisine
Fernando's Mexican & Brazilian Cuisine started as two family recipes on one table. Co-owner Elizabeth Fernandez is Mexican, her husband and business partner Cristiano Rodrigues is Brazilian, and since opening their first location in 2023, the couple has built a menu around both of their upbringings rather than choosing one. "We are not just serving Mexican food or Brazilian food, we are telling our story through both cuisines," Fernandez says, adding that guests can order handmade tacos, feijoada, margaritas and a craft caipirinha all in the same meal, a rare find in Indianapolis.

Cristiano's mother, Katia, shapes much of what happens in the kitchen, and her influence shows most clearly in the Feijoada, Brazil's national dish and one Cristiano is especially passionate about serving. Deeply rooted in tradition, the dish takes hours to build, with premium meats, beans and seasonings simmered slowly until the flavors turn rich and comforting. "Every dish has meaning," she says, "and we work hard to ensure every guest feels welcomed like they are dining with family."

That same standard carries into sourcing. Many ingredients come from Indiana farms, including grass-fed beef from Fischer Farms and organic chicken from Miller Poultry, a decision Fernandez says guests can taste in every dish and one that keeps the restaurant connected to the community it serves. Growth has followed quickly. After adding a second location on Mass Ave, Fernando's recently moved its original Broad Ripple restaurant into a larger space, with a new concept in the works for the original Broad Ripple address.

Visit Fernando's Mexican & Brazilian Cuisine at 6320 Ferguson Street in Broad Ripple or 888 Massachusetts Ave in Indianapolis. Explore the menu and catering options at fernandosindy.com, and follow @fernandos_cuisine on Instagram for news and events.

Raffaele D'Eusebio,
Owner & Executive Chef Charred
Charred keeps its lighting low and its focus narrower than most steakhouses in Central Indiana. Tucked into Carmel City Center, the restaurant pairs an open kitchen with plush, private booths, a combination meant to feel like theater and refuge all at once. Owner and executive chef Raffaele D'Eusebio, who also owns Ristorante Roma in the Carmel Arts & Design District, built the concept around fire, bourbon and rare spirits rather than scale. "Most steakhouses focus on volume," he says. "Charred focuses on intention."

That shows up in the details most guests never think to notice. As a smaller, boutique concept, D'Eusebio says every element of the space, every plate and every pour is taken into account before it reaches a guest, nothing left to chance. The approach draws inspiration from steakhouses around the country, particularly Chicago's speakeasy-style rooms, filtered through D'Eusebio's own instincts for what belongs in Carmel.

Anchoring that philosophy, Charred serves steaks that are one hundred percent Certified Angus Beef, never frozen, sourced fresh from Fischer Farms in Indiana, a decision D'Eusebio treats as non-negotiable. Supporting local producers matters to him, and the kitchen handles every cut the way he'd want it served to his own table, simply and with care. At the bar, an extensive bourbon and rare spirits program is built to match the menu pour for pour. D'Eusebio isn't calling Charred finished. "We're not done," he says, "Charred will continue to evolve, always pushing to better serve our guests and the dining scene in Carmel and the surrounding area."

Charred is a 21 and older restaurant. Visit Charred at 61 W. City Center Drive in Carmel City Center. Explore the menu and make reservations at charred-indy.com, and follow @charred_indy on Instagram.