Restaurants in Beech Grove

Within a dining room whose streamlined design includes earth-toned walls, a dark-wooden bar, and high ceilings, the wait staff at Pipers Restaurant ferry Chef Will Osgood’s upscale variations on classic American cuisine. Fresh and local ingredients grace the from-scratch creations, which range from Szechuan-style stir-fries to premium hand-cut steaks. To spice things up, Chef Will deviates from his already-prolific lunch and dinner menus to organize dinner events such as wine pairings and celebrations of culinary traditions from around the world.

Nominated as one of Metromix's best bars in 2011, Taps & Dolls matches a medley of appetizers, sandwiches, and pizza with more than 44 draft beers, including craft brews and big-brewery ales. As bartenders loosen the taps, a line of flickering flat-screen TVs above the bar lets patrons cheer on their favorite sports teams or bellicose cartoon animals while they quaff PBR or Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. In addition to the 2-D entertainment, pool tables and arcade games—including Golden Tee and Silver Strike Bowling —keep fingers busy in between bites of chicken wings or fries, and a dance floor pulses with the beats of an all-request DJ Thursday–Saturday.

A rich red exterior welcomes patrons into confines of The Bosphorus Istanbul Café, where classic Turkish dinner fare from kebabs to hummus platters weighs down white linen tablecloths. Waiters transport dishes to a gaily painted front porch or colorful interior rooms whose wall-hung rugs protect paint from scuffing on days with sideways gravity.

At Ichiban Sushi Bar & Sammy's Asian Cuisine, the kitchen preaches inclusion. Chefs stir-fry plates of pad thai along with mongolian beef, and sushi experts arrange artful rolls of fresh fish behind a glimmering black bar. Collectively, this culinary ensemble crafts a menu of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai traditions served amid the warm light of suspended lanterns.

For dinner, patrons peruse everything from homestyle tofu to panang curry and the Dreaming duck—a pan-fried duck breast served with basil sauce. House sauces bring signature flairs to other dishes as well, with a sweet tomato sauce topping the sweet-and-sour fish fillet and the chef’s specialty sauce drizzled over the OE sushi roll’s spicy crab, green onions, roe, and lobster. Other sushi options threaten to overwhelm the indecisive with maki, nigiri, sashimi, and combinations between. Textures collide in the golden cheese roll's mix of shrimp tempura and cream cheese, whereas the volcano roll dresses a california roll with spicy crayfish instead of baking soda and vinegar. Sips of sake and imported Japanese beers wash down bites from any culinary tradition, leaving mouths ready for desserts of green-tea ice cream.

Each day at noon, a chorus of “God Bless America” rings through Acapulco Joe's dining room. The tradition started when Joe, the original owner, guessed the Statue of Liberty's weight and became a U.S. citizen, as required by federal law. He brought with him a rich love of Mexican cuisine, and the scents of fried beans, chimichangas, and other Mexican classics have continued to fill the eatery for more than 50 years. Over the decades, Acapulco Joe's kitchen has built a reputation for its huevos rancheros, chili con queso, and a setting that echoes the menu's South American heritage. Vibrant Mexican blankets wrap the cozy dining room, while a desert mural shines bright on the outdoor patio.