From Italy to Japan and from fine dining experiences to lunch on the go, three new restaurants bring cuisine from around the world to Carmel’s doorstep. Aoma Experience, Hanami Sushi & Saki Bar and Tre on Main have dishes to please every palate.
Aroma Experience, 885 Monon Green Blvd., Ste. 108
Vinita Singh has been in the food industry on and off for around 10 years.
“My passion and my destiny brought me back,” Singh says. “I grew up in a family where frood brought us together. That is where we built our best memories. We want to bring that to our guests.”
After finding success with three restaurants in Indianapolis that serve North Indian food, including two locations of Aroma Indian Cuisine & Bar, Singh wanted to bring a new upscale, fine dining experience to Carmel.
Serving the classics people love at Aroma Indy but also creating new dishes unique to Carmel, Singh took a year to develop the menu for Aroma Experience, which also offers a delicious selection of milder menu choices for those who don’t like curries.
“Everything in this menu, I love,” Singh says. “If I don’t love it, I’m not going to serve it.”
While Delhi Butter Chicken is the most popular item on the menu, Singh recommends diners try Golden Rogan Josh with lamb or goat or a lentil dish like Muradabadi Dal Tadka.
“Everything is fresh,” she says, describing going through hundreds of pounds of onions, garlic and ginger every week. “We want to be authentic.”
In addition to dining in the elegantly appointed restaurant, Aroma Experience offers lunches designed with grab-and-go in mind and services the catering needs of area corporations.
Hanami Sushi & Sake Bar, 703 Veterans Way
Saowalux Fary owns restaurants throughout the Indianapolis area. After opening 14 Thai restaurants in as many years, Fary decided to partner with friends, including Dao Richmond and Wilai Johnson, to open their first Japanese restaurant. The friends even visited Japan to explore authentic food.
Hanami has fresh fish shipments coming in daily. Two of the most popular sushi items on the menu, Prime de Lobster and King of the Sea, incorporate real, whole lobster.
Partner Nuttapol Suktad, an experienced sushi and Japanese cuisine chef, brings diners an array of traditional Japanese choices, such as Ramen and Yakisoba. One of the recipes on the menu that guests won’t find anywhere else in the area is Buta Kakuni, a slow cooked pork belly. And, of course, diners will find one dish that pays tribute to the owners’ Thai heritage–Pad Thai.
In addition to a robust menu and beer and wine selections, Hanami offers sake and sake cocktails.
Hanami means “flower viewing” and most often refers to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan. In keeping with the theme, Fary has filled the restaurant with the rosy blossoms and carries the traditional Japanese theme through the decor, including original paintings by partner Natchapat Tongsri Boutenet’s husband, artist Guillaume Boutenet.
Closed on Sundays, the restaurant offers weekday lunch specials and is often full on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Tre on Main, 20 E. Main St.
Born and raised in Napoli, Frencesco Settanni, director of operations, brings to Tre on Main the taste of the coast of Southeast Italy. He also brings his vast experience in New York City, where he managed restaurants, including Scarpetta on Madison Avenue.
After moving to Indiana in 2018 to raise his children closer to his wife’s family, he began working with owner Chris Evans at Sangiovese Ristorante. Even then, the idea of opening a fine Italian restaurant in Carmel was on the table.
Evans designed an upscale interior incorporating the vibrancy of the coast seen in the Mediterranean blue front doors and an artwork package called La Vita, “The Life,” by local artist Jason Mayer.
“The menu is different from most Italian restaurants,” Settanni says. “It is more like ‘classic meets modern Italian cuisine.’”
For example, one menu item has been inspired by Chef Gualtiero Marchesi who brought the first Michelin star dish to Italy. Golden Risotto, a risotto carbonara with pancetta, boasts the brilliant color of saffron topped with an egg yolk covered with 24-carat gold leaf.
The wine list, cultivated by Settanni, received the 2024 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
“We have art, design, food and hospitality,” Settanni says. “Think of the best restaurant you’ve been to in your life. Think of how you felt when you left. That’s why you come back.”
“I grew up in a family where food brought us together."
“We are so lucky to have regular customers who are our cheerleaders."
“We have art, design, food and hospitality.”