Bluebeard is a restaurant and bar located in the historic Holy Rosary Neighborhood on the South East edge of downtown Indianapolis.  The menu features contemporary Italian-inspired cuisine featuring the best local produce and meat that our farms have to offer.  Husband and wife, John and Abbi Adams have joined up with their longtime friends Tom and Eddie Battista to create a unique food-focused experience.  The space, a rennovated 1924 factory warehouse, features a family dining room, a bar room, and a courtyard.

Our operation includes a wholesale bakery, Amelia’s, to provide Indianapolis with high quality, hearth baked bread made in the Italian tradition. The bread is available at the carryout counter of Bluebeard and other independent establishments around Indianapolis such as:  Goose the Market, Nicole Taylor’s, & Pogue’s Run Grocer.  You may find Amelia’s bread incorporated into the menu at Goose the Market, The Legend, The Loft @ Trader’s Point Creamery, Recess & Room Four, Cerulean, Revolucion, Black Market, Fermenti Artisan, The Mariott East & Duos.

The kitchen of Bluebeard serves lunch from 11am-2pm and dinner from 5pm-11pm, but also offers a snack menu in between services as well as late night. Libations include a carefully selected list of old and new world wines, 10 beer taps from regional breweries, craft spirits, hand made Bluebeard house tonic designed for bluebeard by Wilks & Wilson, and an inspired cocktail menu designed by J.B. Andrews.

Our Family

John Adams

Co-Chef

John Adams has worked his way through the Indianapolis restaurant scene since 2001. Originally inspired from a trip to South East Asia and a stint bussing and dishwashing at Greg Hardesty’s H2O Sushi, he attended cooking school at AI Minneapolis.  Upon returning to Indianapolis in 2005, he went back to cook at H2O and also worked at Brugge Brasserie until opening a breakfast and lunch restaurant, Ruth’s Keystone Café. He left Ruth’s to become the sous chef of L’explorateur and returned to H2O a few years later. H2O changed hands a few times, but Adams moved into the executive chef position and remained in it until leaving to pursue the opening of Bluebeard.

Abbi Adams

Co-Chef

Abbi Adams began her cooking career in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001 at  The Ten Top and Cora.  She returned home to be closer to her family in 2005 and became a line cook at Elements. She received a presidential scholarship to the Chef’s academy in 2007 and earned a degree in Baking and Pastry after completing an internship at P*Ong and working at Falai in NYC.  After returning, she cooked at R Bistro and became an assistant instructor briefly at the Chef’s Academy until she was hired as sous chef of Greg Hardesty’s restaurant ‘Recess’ in 2010.

Tony Cooper

Sous Chef

Tony Cooper’s first kitchen job was at Restaurant Tallent in Bloomington, Indiana. Tony worked under Chef Tallent for almost four years and simultaneously opened a mobile food cart named Happy Pig with his business partner, Eric Sjaaheim. In January 2012 he sold his half of Happy Pig and in early February began working with John at H2o sushi in preparation for his sous chef position at Bluebeard.

J.B. Andrews

Bar Manager

J.B. takes life experience, culture, and research into account when he considers what he is pouring into your glass. Having spent time behind the bar at Dorman Street, Euphoria, Ambrosia Centro, and The Ball And Biscuit J.B. has developed skills that enable him to serve the needs of a diverse set of clientele. A strong base knowledge of classic and craft cocktails facilitates his ability to prepare drinks that are refined and inventive. He utilizes this knowledge of fundamental drinks as a starting block. Where he takes them relies on carefully selected components and knowledge of flavor profiles as well as the interests of his patrons. “The most important part of my job behind the bar is ensuring that the people sitting in front of me are happy. Taste is completely subjective. I like to get to know the likes and dislikes of my customers and build drinks based on their personal taste.” J.B.’s skill set pairs naturally with Bluebeard and he looks foreword to continually evolving the bar program to encapsulate the desires of our clientele and utilize the freshest locally sourced ingredients.