Dinner Bell Indian Fine Cuisine is a great new place for Indian food

Hidden away from Eisenhower near Sam’s Club in the Shoppes at Bloomfield strip mall next to Serena Wholesale is a one of the best Indian restaurants in Middle Georgia, Dinner Bell Indian Fine Cuisine. The decor is humble and the atmosphere is what you bring with you, but the cleanliness and the food are top notch as well as the service.

Dinner Bell Chicken Seekh Kabab
Chicken seekh kabab is a poultry twist on the normally lamb dish. Photo by Doug Deal.

Since it opened a couple of months ago, I have had the chance to eat there twice, once for the lunch buffet and once for dinner off the menu. The experience for both meals was outstanding. Although I recommend the buffet, which is about $8, this article will focus on the dinner.

Dinner Bell Mango Lassi
A young lassie enjoys a mango lassi at Dinner Bell Fine Indian Cuisine. Photo by Doug Deal.

My wife, my kids and I pretty much always eat dinner together, and this was no exception. Although my children do not like food that is too spicy, we ordered them some mild chicken seekh kebabs with naan bread. My daughter thought the kebabs were too spicy so we had to get her something else, but my son gobbled up two before we knew it. Both absolutely loved the soft freshly baked flatbread. My daughter also wanted her favorite Indian drink, a mango lassi. Of all the lassis I have tried, this one has a stronger mango flavor and was one of the best I’ve had.

Dinner Bell Aloo Tikki
Aloo Tikki is an appetizer of spicy fried potato patties served with chana masala. Photo by Doug Deal.

For my wife and I, we took a break from our usual appetizer of samosas and instead tried the aloo tikki, which is a plate of spiced potato and cauliflower cakes with a bit of chana masala on the side. I prefer samosas, but the potato cakes were a nice change of pace and the chana masala was incredibly tender and perfectly spiced. We ordered the dish medium, so it was not too spicy for me, but Indian food is in general more spicy than most people in Middle Georgia normally eat.

For my wife’s entree, she ordered chichen sag. Anyone familiar with Indian food probably knows sag paneer, which is spinach and cheese, chicken sag simply substitutes chicken for the cheese. I am not a cooked spinach persons, but my wife loved it. She ordered her dish medium and to me it was not what I would consider hot, but to most it is probably where they would want it unless they like hot food.

Dinner Bell Chicken Saag
Chicken sag is similar to sag paneer only it has chicken instead of cheese. Photo by Doug Deal.

My entree was my long time Indian favorite, chicken vindaloo, which I ordered extra-hot. The waitress confirmed my order twice and when it arrived I was delighted at the flavor, spiciness, appearance and quantity. The heat at extra-hot was right at my limit of what I like, just enough to kick of a euphoria of endorphins, but not so hot to be unpleasant. Each bite was as enjoyable as the first and combined with the excellent garlic naan and basmati rice filled me up with half the dish left.

Dinner Bell Chicken Vindaloo
Dinner Bell chicken vindaloo is extremely flavorful, cooked in hot spices and vinegar with potatoes. Photo by Doug Deal.

There are a number of good Indian restaurants in Middle Georgia and we have been regulars at most, but as it stands today, this is my new favorite. I expect to make it to lunch and dinner as often as I can.

Dinner Bell Garlic Naan
Dinner Bell offers a selection of naans and other side items. Pictured is garlic naan which is a great accompaniment to spicy dishes. Photo by Doug Deal.

The  menu is full and has all sorts of options for different tastes. Some of the interesting dishes I would like to try in the future include the mixed grill, the large selection of tandoori items as well as some of the Indian-China fusion dishes. In price, expect to pay about $9-$15 for an entree with an average of about $11 with portions big enough to share. Appetizers run about $4-$7.

Give Dinner Bell Indian Fine Cuisine a try, if you like Indian you should not be disappointed and if you have never tried it before, this is a good place to go as a first timer. The lunch buffet is an excellent opportunity to try an assortment of items to see what you like. Although some Indian food might be daunting to picky eaters, tandoori is pretty much just grilled meat prepared in a brick oven. It is a good introductory dish.

Dinner Bell Sign
Dinner Bell has been open for a couple of months and is located near Sams and next to Serena Wholesale on Eisenhower. Photo by Doug Deal.

The restaurant is open every day except Monday from 11:30 AM – 9:30 PM and is located at 3892 Eisenhower Pkwy in Macon.

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Published by Doug Deal

Founder Doug Deal is a former chemical engineer from Georgia Tech who switched careers into software development at the turning of the millennium. He has lived in Macon for nearly 12 years and started Macon Community News in 2013 with his wife Lauren. His goal in starting the newspaper was to publicize positive news because he grew tired of so much negativity driving most local coverage. He has 2 children, Sam and Isobel.