Grand Centro
Somewhere between the bottomless salad bowls of Italian chains and the house-cured pancetta of the most cutting-edge ristorantes resides Ambrosia, the Broad Ripple institution now with a downtown outpost. Refined but modest, consistent but unassuming, the family-owned Italian eatery has been serving up linguine with clam sauce and veal piccata for as long as most local diners can remember—30 years, to be exact. You won’t find the pappardelle with hand-foraged mushrooms you had on a trip to Tuscany here, but you will enjoy a respectable plate of pasta and a decent glass of wine in an atmosphere with white tablecloths, candles, and a waitstaff that won’t trip over the Italian words on the menu. Though the new Maryland Street location—Ambrosia Centro, as it has been christened—has been open only a few months, it already feels like it’s been there for years. Which is to say it is comfortable and inviting, and lacks the kinks and wrinkles most new restaurants take months to smooth out.
With its glowing burnt-orange walls with dark trim, the cozy brick fireplace, and a spacious dining room, Ambrosia Centro hearkens little to its previous tenants, Bada-boomz and J. Gumbo’s. It’s not quite the same vibe as in Broad Ripple, where family matriarch Anna Pizzi welcomes guests as if they have stopped by her house for dinner, but son Gino, who came to Indianapolis from Liguria in the late ’60s and opened his landmark eatery in 1979, has taken pains to make the experience equally as comfortable. Chef Victor Ruiz, a longtime collaborator and friend of Pizzi, has preserved the classic, flavorful cuisine of the Broad Ripple location in dishes such as a beef filet with peppercorn brandy sauce and spaghetti with shrimp in a tomato cream.
The new spot boasts the highlights of the original location on its well-edited menu. With so many Italian-American clones piling on the sauce and the cheese, it’s refreshing to dine at a restaurant where the portions are sensible. You can hardly go wrong with most appetizers, salads, and soups, but a starter of baked goat cheese floating on a pool of rosemary-scented cream is a good bet, even if you typically find goat cheese a bit too strong—this one is light and flavorful. Shrimp, either with shiitakes and balsamic vinegar or a special with a trio of dips, are lightly seasoned, highlighting the freshness of the shrimp themselves.
A salad of baby arugula and shaved Parmigiano wants for a stronger garnish than its lemon vinaigrette, but the Mista salad of tender lettuces with Gorgonzola crumbles and a balsamic dressing packs a satisfying flavor and tang. Soups rarely disappoint. If asparagus soup is on the menu, don’t pass up the smooth, creamy elixir garnished with caramelized spears of roasted asparagus and a spicy dollop of garlicky red-pepper relish—another subtle dish expertly executed.
Ravioli stuffed with savory spinach and ricotta are adequately dressed in a pesto cream sauce that’s flavorful without the harsh bite of too much garlic. Lasagna with layers of meat sauce and bechamel will compete with your grandma’s heartiest version. For pastas, though, tender ribbons of housemade fettuccine in a hearty three-meat Bolognese sauce with a quiet herbal undertone demonstrate the kitchen’s restraint and skill. Among chops and seafood, meaty bone-in lamb chops with a delicate herb crust and a light reduction sauce sweetened with honey and balsamic vinegar are always a good bet. Roasted potatoes on the side are golden brown and tender inside, and green beans are always fresh, crisp, and bright green. Veal piccata could be seared around the edges more, but lemon and white wine are nicely balanced in its sauce; a bowl of spaghetti with the simplest marinara sauce with little other than bright tomatoes shows that fine food need not be overly complex. In the same vein, a melange of sea scallops, mussels, and salmon allows the seafoods to assert their natural flavors in a pristine broth with delicate touches of tomato and garlic.
Wines and desserts don’t wow, but they’re not afterthoughts either. Not surprisingly, the wine list leans heavily toward Chianti and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. But the Andaluna Malbec from Argentina is a bold, spicy red that pairs nicely with just about every meat dish on the menu. Tiramisu is to the dense side here, though not too rich or too boozy as some versions can be. Berries layered in mascarpone and vanilla gelato with cherries are good ways to finish a multiple-course meal here. Ambrosia Centro may not feed you the over-the-top saucy feast that other Italian eateries will, but in its control and polish, it continues to live up to the vision that Gino Pizzi had for the original location three decades ago. You don’t stay in business that long if you’re not doing a few things really well.
Ambrosia Centro15 E. Maryland St., 635-3096,
ambrosiaitalian.com
HOURS Lunch Mon.–Fri. 11 a.m.–2 p.m.; dinner Mon.–Thurs. 5 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 5 p.m.–10:30 p.m.
CUISINE Flavorful Italian standards that are more restrained than at most Italian joints. Soups, salads, and appetizers start the meal off nicely, and lamb and veal chops and simply dressed pastas are good bets for main dishes.
PRICES Soups and salads $5 to $8; pastas $14 to $18; entrees $18 to $32; desserts $5.50 to $7.50; wines by the glass $7 to $9
ATMOSPHERE Set in a low-ceilinged, intimate streetside setting on Maryland Street, this white-tablecloth-and-candlelit Italian eatery is bathed in deep burnt oranges with dark trim. A small but stylish bar and brick fireplace make this place especially cozy and inviting in winter months.
PEDIGREE Longtime Indianapolis restaurateur Gino Pizzi, whose Broad Ripple Ambrosia opened in 1979, launched his second location in the former home of Badaboomz and J. Gumbo’s. He’s installed longtime friend and collaborator Victor Ruiz as his chef.