INDIANAPOLIS — Almost 4 years ago, Alison Keefer and Ben Hardy opened Gallery Pastry Shop in SoBro and quickly gained acclaim for their decadent European-inspired pastries that look as beautiful as they taste.   

With that success already under their belts, they decided to do something that was always on their radar: open a downtown location— which they did in early July.  

Their goal? To bring “brunch culture” to downtown Indianapolis.

“When Ben and I travel doing market research,  one thing we always look for is bottomless mimosas and good brunch.. and there isn’t much of that in Indianapolis… That’s really what we wanted to bring here was kind of the party/fun atmosphere in the morning, especially when you’re a little hungover,” Keefer said with a laugh. 

Located on Pennsylvania Street just across from Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Gallery Pastry Bar is bringing everything customers loved at their SoBro location, then upping the ante with new additions.  

We’re brunching it up downtown on this trip In Your Neighborhood.     

“Broad Ripple has really been known for our brunches and we’ve brought that downtown and we’ve elevated it even more,” Keefer explained.

But she says you’ll still find their bottomless mimosas, dedication to local ingredients and plenty of the European-inspired staples from their Broad Ripple location here at Gallery Pastry Bar downtown. 

“We still have the chocolate pillow which has been one of our top-selling desserts since we opened our doors, our Provence. We have our macaroons,” she said. “We’re still doing dollar macaroons downtown as well as in Broad Ripple.”

Four Things You Need to Know About Gallery Pastry Bar:

• Gallery Pastry Bar is the newest venture from Alison Keefer and Ben Hardy, who opened the original Gallery Pastry Shop location in SoBro nearly 4 years ago. Their goal with the new downtown location was to bring their popular brunches, bottomless mimosas, tasty pastries and other customer favorites while elevating the experience.
• Gallery Pastry Bar is located downtown at 110 S Pennsylvania Street Suite B.Their hours are 7AM-10PM Tuesday-Sunday (closed on Mondays). Since they are open later than the brunch-centric Broad Ripple location, Gallery Pastry Bar provides a full dinner menu and full bar.
• They’ve also brought cooking classes and demonstrations to the downtown location, but they’ve lowered class numbers to  8 people at a time due to current COVID19 restrictions.  
• In the future, Keefer says there are plans for a third location so she says to stay tuned to their social media for the latest info on when and where that location will be opened here in the Circle City. 

At the downtown location you’ll also new food offerings like oysters on the half-shell all day long and a full bar.

“That [bar] list has been curated by Corey Ewing… and he’s done an awesome job here,” said Keefer.  “So we have some unique cocktails where he’s played on some of our pastries also… like an orgeat in one of our cocktails and the macaroon Mai Tai from our macaroon shells.”

They’ve taken inspiration from their pastries when it comes to the food menu as well.

“We have a couple of new dessert crepes and they’re based off some of our highest selling pastries so we have a lemon tart crepe, a chocolate pillow crepe,” she said. 

Gallery Pastry Bar also features a full dinner menu with entrees like Smoking Goose pork chops and a foie gras burger. Another popular new option is The Bougie: an eggs Benedict made with Smoking Goose jowl, roasted red pepper pesto and —yes— caviar on a croissant.  

Or try the Crème Brulee French Toast. 

“It’s cinnamon twist croissants and then we drip them in creme brûlée base and we put them on the flat top with fresh local honey comb and it goes with a lavender honey butter,” Keefer said.

Get your caffeine fix with their top-selling pear lavender latte, which is created using syrup they make in-house. 

Inside, the space is open and you can get a clear view into the kitchen to see what chef Ben Hardy and his team are whipping up. And décor and ambience is cozy yet contemporary, with long tables perfect for getting together with friends —safely, of course. 

“When you walk in the door, you’re going to get your temperature taken,” Keefer noted. “You do have to have a mask. If you don’t have one, we’ll provide you with one.”

Their dedication to safety precautions haven’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated by those who walk in their doors.

“A lot of our customers have said ‘This is the first time that I’ve sat inside a restaurant to eat or I’ve even gone out and left my house to eat,” she noted. “So to hear that they trust us to give them the experience has been really nice.”

For more information about Gallery Pastry Bar, check out their website by clicking here. To see more photos and reviews by local Yelpers, check out their Yelp profile. You can also connect with them on social media via Facebook and Instagram.

While downtown, check out some of these other local hot-spots within walking distance of Gallery Pastry Bar:

• Taxman CityWay
• Spoke & Steele
• Patron Saint
• 1933 Lounge