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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The restaurant is open every day except Monday from 11:30 AM – 9:30 PM and is located at 3892 Eisenhower Pkwy in Macon.
You must be logged in to post a comment.