Best Restaurants 2016

No. 1 – It wasn’t until Jonathan and Ashley Brooks opened their modern diner in Fletcher Place that we realized that, yes, we really were missing a restaurant that surprises us every day with dishes we’ve either never heard of or had completely forgotten about.

No. 2 – Everything about Marrow radiates years of forethought, from its russet-toned color palette to the dining room’s faint campfire aroma emanating from a smoker that John Adams installed before the restaurant’s November opening.

No. 3 – Herron-Morton is no longer a fine dining food desert. Peter George’s return to the scene has brought some of the best food to the area.

No. 4 – The Lockerbie neighborhood scored a major victory when Cunningham Restaurant Group opened this cutting-edge stunner in the former Amici’s Italian Restaurant over the winter.

No. 5 – The Delicia vibe practically whisks you away to a poolside cabana at a South American resort, while the menu provides a sample of the region’s cultures.

No. 6 – Since Rook reopened in February, the fully open kitchen in the airy yet cozy new spot has been putting out some truly impressive bites.

No 7 – The pasture-to-plate mantra drives every ingredient on your plate, from the grass-fed livestock to the freshly plucked ground cherries.

No. 8 – No one tells us what to eat—except Greg Hardesty, the Recess chef-owner who has been crafting a prix-fixe menu at his SoBro mainstay since 2010.

No. 9 – Escaping the northside shopping grind in Ryan Nelson’s sleek yet woodsy strip-mall supper club never gets old. Despite its placement in a former Smith & Hawken store in the middle of a shopping district, Late Harvest’s patio is one of the city’s most charming outdoor spots.

No. 10 – Black Market is far more than a special-occasions spot. A chalkboard of daily creations means you can refuel after browsing nearby shops with an impromptu plate of rabbit and dumplings or kraut pierogi.

No. 11 – The only thing more surprising than Indy’s newfound craving for chopped pork-tongue sandwiches and trout-skin chips is where we discovered this implausible love: in a tiny East 10th Street storefront.

No. 12 – Grab a seat at the restaurant’s raw bar for super-fresh oysters or an ever-changing tuna poke.

No. 13 – Since it opened in 2012 Cerulean quickly became known for its sense of adventure, earning its third Best Restaurant selection.

No. 14 – Amid all the Midwest-is-best chest-thumping going on right now, this is still the place we want to be.

No. 15 – Of all the unexpected places Indy’s ever-expanding food scene took us this year, we never figured on Main Street Fortville as the location for a rollicking comfort-food pub with a lighthearted yet sophisticated soul.