The Carmel Christkindlmarkt opens Saturday, Nov. 21, and runs through Dec. 24 at 10 Carter Green. Entry is free. On Wednesday and Thursday the huts open at 4 p.m. and close at 9, so a weeknight market visit happens at dinnertime. Since last year's market, the downtown dining options have changed in three places. A French restaurant on Main Street became an Italian one. A steakhouse opened in City Center that only serves guests 21 and over. A third restaurant plans to open partway through the market season with a family dining room and a separate adults-only bar.
Put together, those changes mean the first question for a market night this year is who's coming with you. The choice of restaurant follows from that.
The market's week
The schedule decides which evenings work. The market is closed Monday and Tuesday. On Friday and Saturday it opens at noon, and on Sunday it closes an hour earlier, at 8 p.m. The Ice at Carter Green opens the same day as the market and keeps similar hours, except that it opens 30 minutes earlier on weekends. Charred, the newest restaurant at City Center, publishes hours for Tuesday through Saturday only.
| Day | Christkindlmarkt | The Ice at Carter Green | Charred |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Tuesday | Closed | Not listed | 4:30–10 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 4–9 p.m. | 4–9 p.m. | 4:30–10 p.m. |
| Thursday | 4–9 p.m. | 4–9 p.m. | 4:30–10 p.m. |
| Friday | Noon–9 p.m. | 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. | 4–11 p.m. |
| Saturday | Noon–9 p.m. | 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. | 4–11 p.m. |
| Sunday | Noon–8 p.m. | 11:30 a.m.–8 p.m. | Not listed |
The calendar has a few exceptions. The market closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas. On Wednesday, Nov. 25, it opens at noon instead of 4 p.m. In the last week before Christmas it runs noon to 9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21, through Wednesday, Dec. 23, which are the only Mondays and Tuesdays it opens all season. It closes at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
So outside that final week, a market night means Wednesday through Sunday, and on Wednesday and Thursday the whole visit fits between 4 and 9 p.m. Fitting dinner into those five hours is where this year's restaurant changes come in.
A table for adults only
Charred opened at 61 W. City Center Dr. by the end of July. Carmel City Center describes it as a bourbon steakhouse that is "designed exclusively for patrons 21 and over." The menu centers on prime dry-aged steaks, butcher block cuts and some lesser-known cuts. The bar has a custom Woodford Reserve + Charred private barrel and a rotating list of rare bourbons. City Center notes that seating is limited, and reservations go through the restaurant's own site.
Charred doesn't change your plans if you're bringing kids. For an adult night out, its hours line up well with the market. It opens at 4:30 on Wednesday and Thursday, half an hour after the market, and stays open an hour past the market's 9 p.m. close. On Friday and Saturday it serves until 11. That leaves time to walk the huts first and sit down for dinner after the market closes. With limited seating during the busiest weeks of the year, book ahead.
The Pizzi family's table on Main Street
On Main Street, the space that held Josephine is now Ambrosia. As Current in Carmel reported in August, Ambrosia Hospitality Group closed its French restaurant after Aug. 23 to open a second location of Ambrosia. The Pizzi family opened the original in Broad Ripple in 1979, and it still operates at 5903 N. College Ave. in Indianapolis. In the Instagram post Current quoted, the owners wrote, "This isn't a sad goodbye. It's a return to our roots."
Ambrosia's Carmel site now reads "NOW OPEN." The menu is traditional Italian, with antipasti and pastas that include the Pizzi family's lasagna. The building has some history of its own. The 5,162-square-foot space was The Pint Room until late 2023, then Josephine from early 2025. This holiday season is its third concept in three years.
For a market night, Ambrosia gives you a sit-down dinner on Main Street, on the other side of the Arts & Design District from City Center. That works well for a group that wants pasta and a long table more than a bourbon list. Hours weren't posted on the site, so check before you plan a dinner around a 9 p.m. market close.
The restaurant arriving halfway through the season
The biggest change for families is still a few weeks away. As Current in Carmel reported Oct. 21, Taylor's Restaurant Group plans to open Taylor's Bar & Table in early December at 885 Monon Green Blvd., Suite 108. That's the former Aroma Experience space at Carmel City Center.
The plan is to divide the space between a family dining area and a separate bar for guests 21 and over. That's a change from the company's longtime Taylor's Pub & Grill locations, which are 21 and over. The first opened in 1995 at 86th and Ditch roads. The company opened its first Taylor's Bar & Table in Ingalls in 2022. Clinton Hiatt, the group's president, told Current the goal is quality "comparable to some of Carmel's upscale restaurants at a different price point," with options for families and adult diners alike. He also said, "What the space is going to be is really something people won't expect from Taylor's."
The timing matters. The market's first two weekends, including Thanksgiving week, will likely pass before Taylor's opens. If it opens on schedule, it will be serving during the busy stretch before Christmas, and its family room will sit in City Center alongside Charred's adults-only one. The Ice at Carter Green stays open until Jan. 31, 2027, more than five weeks after the last market night. A new family restaurant near the rink would still have plenty of skating evenings ahead of it once the huts are gone. Early December is still a target, so check for an opening announcement before you plan around it.
The 2025 opening that rounds out City Center
Salt, at 11 City Center Dr., opened Sept. 24, 2025, in the space Matt the Miller's Tavern left when it closed at the end of 2024. Last year's market was its first holiday season. With Charred open and Taylor's on the way, City Center goes into this season with more options than it had a year ago, and Ambrosia brings the change to Main Street.
What's new inside the huts
The market has its own additions, so you can still eat there. The organizer lists Ino Schaller Papiermaché as a new 2026 vendor selling papier-mâché ornaments and figurines. The market map shows more than 60 huts. Visit Hamilton County lists Brathaus as a new food offering, with German sausages and ham-and-bean soup. A sausage and a bowl of soup from the huts is still the quickest option for a Wednesday evening with kids and a 9 p.m. close.
Getting there on the busy nights
On weekends the market runs a free, accessible shuttle from 535 College Drive about every 15 minutes, and there are parking garages nearby. Details are on the market's parking page. The rink's ticket page advertises advance skate-session tickets. On a Saturday, you could book a skate time, plan dinner around it and take the shuttle back to your car afterward.
Here's how the options sort out. For a weeknight with kids, eat at the huts or at Ambrosia, and once Taylor's opens, you can add its family room. For an adults-only night, try Charred after the market closes. Sunday is the earliest close of the week at 8 p.m., so plan dinner around that.
If this year's holiday season has you thinking about living closer to downtown Carmel, or about how a Main Street or City Center address fits your routine, Midtown Home Collective knows these blocks well. Schedule a free consultation and we'll walk through which parts of Carmel are close enough to walk to the market on a winter night.
