You know what’s better than trying a brand-new restaurant? Trying a restaurant that’s been open for six months. As much as I’ve been dying to eat at Hedge Row since it opened, I was happy I waited until the newness wore off and the fanfare about the place died down before checking it out, and this summer’s Devour Indy was the perfect excuse to head downtown to try it.
Hedge Row has a free lot that’s available evenings & weekends! There’s plenty of metered parking around the restaurant as well if that lot gets full, but I get overly excited about downtown & Broad Ripple area restaurants with their own lots and just had to mention it. The parking’s right behind the restaurant and there’s a sign saying that it’s for Hedge Row, though it’s a shared lot with other businesses.
After getting an immense amount of satisfaction from being able to park for free, I was happy to walk up to the front of Hedge Row and see that the place had an awesome patio with a nice view of Mass Ave… but unfortunately couldn’t sit out there for this visit unless I wanted to get rained on.
Meeting up for brunch early on a Saturday afternoon, the place was not busy at all! And it was a lot smaller than I had envisioned it being, though it’s still a very well planned and decorated space. On the right side of the restaurant is a bright, cheerful bar area, and on the left side is restaurant seating. One of the fun decorative features I thought was great was the use of a mirror on the side wall of the restaurant, above a booth lined with fun pillows.
On to the food— I went in expecting to order a steak salad from the Devour Menu, but completely changed my mind after seeing the brunch menu! I ordered the Farmer’s Breakfast which included eggs, bacon, hash browns & toast, but I replaced the toast with grits. I also ordered all three of the “morning sweets” which were a Maple Old Fashioned Doughnut, Bourbon Pecan Sticky Bun and Lemon Blueberry Babka. I also ordered an Aperol Spritz to sip on while waiting for my food.
I enjoyed the Bourbon Pecan Sticky Bun and would rate that highest of all of the items I tried. It was flavorful, moist and generally the perfect sticky bun. But in the world of cinnamon buns, would I rate it higher than my fave Wild Eggs cinnamon roll? Absolutely not.
My second favorite item was the Aperol Spritz, as it bought back fond memories of sipping them on a trip to Italy last year — a light, refreshing summer drink.
I’ll put the eggs, bacon, and hash browns in the “good enough” category. Nothing to rave about with these, but they were all fine. In the “never again” category is the grits! It tasted like they cooked the grits with shrimp, which was absolutely disgusting if you’re not actually eating shrimp with the grits! I really should have asked the waitress to replace them with something more palatable, but instead just left them mostly untouched.
Overall, I thought Hedge Row was just “ok” for brunch, but not a top pick with so many stellar brunch options in the Indy area. I wouldn’t go out of my way to return, but the options they have for lunch and dinner look delicious, so I’m open to coming back for something other than breakfast foods.
