Restaurants in Fishers

Many people dine at His Place Eatery solely for The Experience—a term that could easily reference the restaurant's warm, down-home ambiance, but actually refers to its signature barbecue bologna sandwich. This Memphis-style meal piles coleslaw on top of fried bologna and barbecue sauce in an onion loaf bun. This is just one of several sandwich creations by Chef James "Mackie" Jones and his wife Shawn Marie, who excel at serving up Southern cuisine with plenty of panache and gravy. Their classic entrees range from fried chicken wings on a belgian waffle to ribs flavored by a 12-spice rub, which have been slow smoked over hickory wood rather than quick smoked in a time machine. Sides such as collard greens, candied yams, and bourbon cream corn complement tangy meals, and desserts conclude them with chocolate-chip cookies baked to order.

Proprietors Kent and Liz Esra set three main goals when they opened Cobblestone Grill. First, they wanted to create a gourmet menu that would adapt to evolving tastes and trends. Second, they emphasized customer service, aiming to provide attentive care to every table. Finally, they aspired to provide a warm atmosphere. Achieving all three objectives, the Esras offer a menu with three steaks and six preparation methods, cheerful table service, and live entertainment.

Whether crusting a 6-ounce filet mignon with blue cheese or submerging fettuccine in tequila-cream sauce, chefs take care to plate dishes with finesse. Servers bring these meals to patrons at the dining room, bar, or brick patio, navigating around jazz and blues musicians. On Monday nights, weather permitting, dogs are welcome to lounge on the patio, lap complimentary water, and bemoan the collapse of the housing market with their companions.

When party hosts sit down with Sweet & Savory chef Melissa Mudd, she listens carefully to what they envision, then helps them plan a menu to match the event. An office gathering might get a lineup of party trays. An elegant party might center on herb-roasted beef tenderloin with stone-ground mustard, or even a custom chocolate-zucchini wedding cake. Once the menu is decided, she and her team make everything from scratch, scorning time-saving measures such as premade icing.

Even when there's nothing in particular to celebrate, the aroma of freshly baking focaccia lures guests into Sweet & Savory’s café and bakery throughout the day. For breakfast, chefs drown buttermilk biscuits in housemade sausage gravy, and sauté bananas in brown sugar and dark rum to create bananas-foster buttermilk pancakes with vanilla crème anglaise. Later in the day, they heap slow-cooked barbecue pork on onion buns, then craft tartines with fire-roasted shrimp and corn relish, which pairs nicely with chilled soup or a salad drizzled with peach-champagne vinaigrette. Dinners can also be taken home to families or nests of baby birds, along with pies, cheesecakes, and other desserts.

Fusing tradition with innovation, the cooks at Miyagi's Japanese Restaurant continuously look for ways to give classic Asian cuisine unique twists. In addition to prepping a standard array of sashimi and maki, sushi chefs coil up a selection of gourmet rolls using premium ingredients, such as tempura lobster, salmon tartare, and seaweed harvested from a mermaid’s pantry. Back in the kitchen, cooks grill and pan-sear the rest of the menu's entrees, including citrus-marinated chilean sea bass and crab-stuffed shrimp.

Divided by two stone half walls, the intimately lit dining room boasts an eclectic assortment of ceiling-mounted lamps and lanterns. Tall, flower-filled vases and tables with etched leaf designs further cultivate a natural and comfortable ambience.

Chefs have been slicing maki and sashimi behind the black-granite counter at Sansui Restaurant and Sushi Bar since 1994. Uniting down-home hospitality with a deep knowledge of Japanese fare, they answer guests' questions about the restaurant's dishes, which range from standard tempura and teriyaki to the more exotic tako sunamono appetizer, in which octopus soaks in a vinegar sauce. Servers transport these artful creations through an interior adorned with floral accents and wall-mounted decorative fans traditionally used to waft hunger-inducing food scents toward one's enemies. In the lobby, sunshine filtered through rice-paper screens alights on a tall potted bamboo plant as patrons carry out parcels of sushi-grade tuna, salmon, or yellowtail, which Sansui also sells by the pound. (Call in advance to place orders.)

The rotisserie oven at Monon Food Company is kept busy all day, slow-cooking and smoking the slabs of meat that will go into barbecue rib and pulled-pork dishes. Rather than with a deep fryer and hydrogenated oils, the culinary team cooks its health-conscious dishes in extra-virgin olive oil before topping them off with homemade sauces, salsas, and dressings made from in-house recipes. Together, those elements make for the 10-ounce slice of grilled Cajun meatloaf and gourmet tacos topped with ingredients including pesto cream cheese, pineapple-mango salsa, and spiced buffalo chicken. To wash down meals, barkeeps decant more than 60 beers and ales including new releases, limited releases, and pent-up-anger releases from local and national breweries. Feasts unfold in a spacious, hardwood-floored dining room adorned with work from local artists or from a wrap-around porch overlooking the Monon Trail.