Let's Do Brunch: Special Occasion Brunch

Chef Joseph’s at the Connoisseur Room

When the thick doors open onto this downtown dining room, the scene animates like Hollywood magic, luxe and convivial with ruby-red carpet, garnet silk curtains, and rich walnut walls. A jazz trio plays over the clinking of silver, and the dapper maître d’ wears an easy smile. The eponymous chef is Joseph Heidenreich, formerly of Agio and California Cafe in the 1990s. Heidenreich’s cabaret-style dining revival relaxes on Sundays with a loose brunch menu and dress code suitable for tucking into vanilla-bean French toast; fluffy biscuits you’d happily eat without the gravy; or a popular Chef’s Stuffed Sandwich loaded with capicola ham, sautéed shrimp, sausage gravy, and cheddar cheese. Servers keep a close eye on diners without fussing, allowing patrons to filter in and out of the bar to serve themselves at the bottomless Bloody Mary station. After a couple, you might approach the maître d’ to make a request, lingering over one more song and the spell of it all. Brunch hours: 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Sun. 115 E. Ohio St., 317-600-3577, chefjosephs.com

The Loft Restaurant & Dairy Bar

Fancy Sunday brunches offering local farmstead fare abound. Few, however, take you as close to the source as the bucolic Loft Restaurant on the second floor of an 1860s barn at Traders Point Creamery. Whether you choose a seat in the shadow of the cheese cave or on the screen porch overlooking the 150-acre dairy farm, you can enjoy plenty of dishes dreamed up from ingredients produced right there. Highlights include eggs Benedict on hay-smoked salmon and a horseradish potato cake, as well as breakfast mac and cheese enriched with leeks, bacon, roasted squash, and a fried egg. Corned-beef hash with apple cider aioli is a surprisingly sophisticated and restrained take on the gut-busting diner favorite, and an egg-topped grass-fed burger is a dolled-up lunchtime favorite for those who like to stay on the savory side of brunch. Brunch hours: 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Sun. 9101 Moore Rd., Zionsville, 317-733-1700, traderspointcreamery.com

Mesh on Mass

Mesh on Mass attracts a pulled-together crowd of Colts-game goers, out-of-towners, and well-heeled neighbors. The clientele befits a menu full of elegant twists, like lamb hash, crab hash browns, a mole short-rib omelet, and a Bloody Mary called Queen of Scots that packs the punch of scotch and vodka. Mesh’s ambitions appear squarely in the “quality” column, showing up in fluffy housemade biscuits under a pork gravy, and a just-sloppy-enough burger oozing Dijon-maple gastrique, bacon, and a fried egg. By not skimping on the “unch” part, the menu skews savory rather than sweet. Salads, sandwiches, and starters make up more than half of the offerings, with sugar represented only in apricot marmalade, lemon curd, and fruity vinaigrettes. But when you pass around a skillet of pan-seared sweet potatoes topped with poached eggs that resemble fat cumulus clouds, you won’t be craving a scone. Brunch hours: 11 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Sun. 725 Massachusetts Ave., 317-955-9600, meshrestaurants.com