NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — After a meal at 9th Street Bistro, you may not feel the urge to recommend it to anyone you know. That’s because you will find yourself feeling the stronger urge to keep the delightfully charming spot a secret: Holding it close. Coveting it, like the Holy Grail of eateries.
There’s a reason every person feels a connection when they sit down at this restaurant nestled in the heart of Noblesville. Many reasons, in fact.
You can feel in your bones the warmth emanating from the historic brick walls and glowing lights strung delicately across the aisle. You can smell the enticing, clever scents wafting from the kitchen. You can see the time taken with every piece of cozy décor, carefully positioned to make you feel at ease in the intimate space: A true bistro, with no more than a dozen tables. You can hear the staff intentionally working as a seamless team to make each guest feel like part of the family.
What’s more: You will taste things you’ve never tasted before, from a thoughtful and locally sourced menu that will tempt you to order half a dozen entrees for yourself. Their “Fried Thing of the Day” always delivers. And their mocktails are so divine you forget they’re supposed to be mocking anything. They stand alone.
You can feel the affection and care in the place, feelings built on the foundations of 9th Street Bistro co-owners Rachel Firestone Mohammad and Chef Samir Mohammad.
“After realizing that I had fallen in love with a chef, I knew I wanted to be in this world with him,” Rachel said of the couple’s origin story.
Rachel and her front-of-house team make connections with the people that come in by treating them as one of their own. The Mohammads say it’s been easy to feel at home themselves at their downtown Noblesville location.
“We were drawn to Noblesville,” Rachel said, “Because of the great historic architecture in town, as well as the progression of new businesses (and) new people coming to this area. We were really impressed by the small-town feel while still having a lot of growth happening.”
The bistro carries an old-downtown homey feel, but pairs it with an internationally-inspired menu: Keeping you on your toes as a guest in the bistro.
“I've traveled all over the world and get inspiration from every place I go. And I would say there's no specific specialty. We get excited and try to experiment with new cuisines whenever we can,” Chef Samir said. “And I would say it's always changing what our specialty is and what we're really known for.”
Always changing, indeed. Another unexpected twist of charm: The menu’s surprise nature. Many of the food and cocktails/mocktails are changed out on a monthly basis.
One particularly memorable dish I savored in May of 2023 was the bistro’s lobster grits. Local andouille sausage and Maine lobster are sauteed with shallots and roasted red peppers, then served over white-cheddar grits in a tangy, garlicky white wine sauce, and topped with asparagus chow-chow. With each bite, I felt hugged by its velvet embrace.
Another favorite was a dessert on their April menu: Homemade carrot cake topped with cream-cheese frosting and a sugared carrot tuille. Delightful, not too rich, and the tuille was perfect for a crunch at the end.
And the cocktail menu even has a personality of its own. Some are named after local Noblesville community members. The seasonally-varied cocktails and mocktails incorporate little bits of the bistro’s home state, like the peony-infused martini I enjoyed this past summer.
It's no wonder 9th Street Bistro has earned the recognition of a James Beard nomination. And now, they’re hedging their successes toward a new endeavor, taking a fresh angle on a homey noodle dish.
“I love ramen. I don't know how else to put it,” Chef Samir said. “I've eaten more bowls than I can even think of. I love the process of making the broth: The fact that you can take something that's just a very simple raw ingredient like bones, and maybe a little backstrap and some chicken feed or something like that, and turn it into something that needs nothing more than just a little bit of noodles and a couple of veggies, is really amazing.”
The couple says their pop-up ramen shops at 9th Street Bistro were so popular this past year, it inspired them to create a second restaurant concept: Their very own ramen shop.
They plan on showing Hoosiers just how creative they can be with the noodles that are growing in popularity in Indiana.
“One of the most playful fun things that we have to show is that ramen can kind of embody other cuisines as well,” Rachel said. “So, Chef came up with a carbonara ramen on our last pop-up, where he made a parmesan broth, our house-cured pancetta went into that, and the sunny-side-up egg. So maybe if you're not familiar with ramen, but you've had Italian carbonara, you could see where those worlds collide and meet us in the middle.”
Rachel and Chef Samir say they hope to open their ramen shop sometime in the first half of 2024.
In the meantime, if you want to get a spot at the cozy bistro for dinner, check out the menu and make a reservation. You won’t regret it.
9th Street Bistro is located at 56 S. 9th St. in Noblesville. It’s open Wednesday through Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. You can also follow along on what 9th Street Bistro is doing on their Instagram.
