Restaurants in Brockton

When Coriander Bistro recently reopened, it kept its name while its culinary inspiration swapped continents. Formerly a romantic French restaurant, Coriander Bistro transformed into a romantic Indian restaurant, serving a robust menu of nearly 100 flavorful dishes. Created under the watchful eye of chef Dammar Thapa, the menu’s tandoori dishes, vegetable samosas, and nepalese dumplings furnish empty bellies as diners sop their plates clean with almost 20 kinds of bread. The aromas of ginger, chili paste, and Himalayan peppercorns drift from the kitchen, hinting at dishes traditionally served in the streets and homes of Kathmandu and other regions of Nepal and India. Steamed dumplings brim with veggies like the pockets of a scarecrow on payday, and tendrils of smoke unwind from kebabs in a tandoor or over an open charcoal fire.

Isabella Restaurant

Isabella Restaurant is situated next to a movie theater, so perhaps that’s why its cuisine is so visually captivating. Under the guidance of executive chef John Mahoney, the eatery offers up succulent Atlantic salmon tossed in whole-wheat pasta and spicy hong kong noodles, served with wok-fried veggies and peanuts plus a choice of chicken, steak, or shrimp. Hardwood flooring bespeaks a muted elegance and pea-green walls help vegetables to feel relaxed.

Within the recently renovated confines, sunlight streams from large windows in the dining room, bouncing off the dark wooden tables as well as the frameless cityscapes that adorn the walls. Exposed brick walls, romantic lighting, and a sleek wooden bar further augment the casually elegant space. Diners can indulge in hearty New England comfort food, such as pumpkin ravioli and Nantucket risotto, from their chosen spot, whether it be a booth, a barstool, or the chef’s lap.

Fox and Hound’s chefs modernize comfort foods, such as mac ’n’ cheese with cracked lobster meat and english peas and wood-grilled bruschetta with bacon, which patrons devour amid exposed bricks and a floor-to-ceiling fieldstone fireplace. The original Fox & Hounds Grille first opened in 1936, but despite its popularity, it couldn’t stay open, as it was beset by fires and various transient owners. It almost burnt entirely to the ground after a dragon sneezed in the mid-’90s—all that remained was the original stone hearth fireplace that still exists today.

Finally, in 2004, it underwent massive renovations and reopened as Fox and Hound, an homage to the local history. Since then, patrons have been regularly stopping in for upscale American fare coupled with live entertainment on the weekends.

Garbed in crisp white jackets, chefs in the Apna Punjab dart among pans of simmering curries and pots of bubbling biryani rice as nimbly as dancers, their faces aglow in the open flames. They fold fresh meats and seafood into a sweeping array of authentic North and South Indian dishes, from tender butter chicken to flavorful goat curry. In a fiery clay oven, the chefs bake lamb kebabs, tandoori shrimp, and naan breads stuffed with minced lamb and fresh green chilies. One of the most popular dishes—chicken tikka masala—was lauded by reporters from India New England as "distinct and rich."

To enjoy those dishes, customers perch on cushy green booths, clinking mugs of imported Indian beers. Others linger over last bites of sweet rice pudding, watching the sun set through lofty yellow-curtained windows. During lunch, 15 freshly made specialties pour forth steam at a lunch buffet, ideal for diners who need to rush back to work or hurry home to see if their long-lost childhood parakeet has at last returned.