Ole Dinner Bell Restaurant

I have been eating at this place for more than a year. I loved it but unfortunately things change. On September 13, 2011, I stopped in for take out. As always, I ordered a veggie plate. My boyfriend and I sat down to enjoy our dinner and my first bite produced half of a ROACH. I almost lost it but understand things happen. We threw out our dinners in disgust and I called the restaurant to alert them what I had found in my greens. The kind lady apologized several times, took my name and told me to stop by for a refund. A few days later I stopped by for my refund of $ 17.83. I won’t get in the full details but it was an awful experience. The (owner or manager?) was asked to come speak with me and instead ran out the back door like a coward, never apologizing or recognizing what had happened. The cashier told me he instructed her to refund me only for my veggie plate ($ 6), not for my boyrfriend’s food which also landed in the trash after one bite. So I have to ask, why on earth was he so afraid of me? After not such a pleasant dialogue with the cashier, who I have gotten to know over the past year and really like (d), I decided to NOT cause a scene and leave my contact information for the owner to call and make things right. Did he ever call… NO. I know bugs find their ways into food but not refunding me the full $ 17.83 is bad business and clearly he does not care about his customers. $ 11.83 won’t change my life but it would have kept the peace. I will never go back and have alerted the health dept. I moved to Nashville to open my own restaurant/​bar and I am appalled by these actions.

I like this place. The food is typical country style «Meat and Three.» Choose a meat from their «everyday» list or one from the «meat of the day.» The same process applies to selecting veggies. The third veggie is only a a couple of dimes more… go for it!
The location is very country in terms of not fancy and could use a scrub down!

Not impressed today… the beef briskett was rubbery and black eye pees tasted spoiled

I ate here for lunch on Wednesday July 25^th with my fiancée. I had the country fried chicken with white gravy (which is a daily special & not a regular menu item), black eyed peas, cabbage, and turnip greens. My fiancée had the catfish, squash casserole, black eyed peas, and turnip greens. My fiancée really enjoyed her fried catfish. I tasted one bite and was impressed too. My country fried chicken was good. I thought the batter was on a little too thick but that is really sort of a personal preference concern than an issue with the taste. We found all of our veggie side items to be fresh and tasty. The service was pretty good. Our server was I believe Lauren or Laura. She was courteous and very helpful. Our total bill was I believe just under $ 17. I feel we got a pretty good value for our money. I would recommend this restaurant as a good meat and three in the Donelson area.

Had to leave right after I sat down… tea was good and staff was courteous

Okay, I am all for southern comfort food… but this place everything seemed to be frozen or microwaved. Also, the service was mediocre. They kept asking our party to pass plates instead of going around the table to set them down themselves. I say pass.

What good can I say about this place? Well, I guess the service slightly better than mediocre. That’s about it.
I brought my son, and was greeted and informed I needed to seat myself. Really? You can’t show me to a seat?
I seated myself near the kitchen window, which was an enlightening experience, and in no good way.
We were not given menus, but they were stowed on the wall next to the table. None of the food looked all that great, and the specials board had what seemed like a decent meal of beef soup and grilled cheese, figuring they couldn’t screw that up.
The Sandwich was decent. Nothing special, but they didn’t screw it up. But the Beef soup was nearly inedible, it was absolutely gross. The «meat» was an unrecognizable clump. It truly looked like vomit in a bowl.
The place looked as cheap as a dollar store umbrella. Tables and chairs looked twenty years old. The décor was silly and stupid. I was genuinely suprised they took plastic, because a lot of better places (including the Hermitage Café) I’ve been to are cash-​only.
Donelson is not known for its high-​quality cuisine. I had hoped the the Olé Dinner Bell would be a nice alternative, but I could easily have run from the place screaming. I won’t be back, and don’t recommended to anyone.

I just moved to Nashville from Florida, and this is the best thing since sliced bread. I don’t think it’s Atkins Approved, but who cares! I had the best piece of fried catfish I’ve ever had and the fried green tomatoes are definately something to write home about. Every Tuesday at 11:45, they do a drawing and whichever table number is drawn gets their lunch for free.

Cracker Barrel, eat your heart out. This is what comfort food is meant to be.
Housed in an unassuming storefront in a non-​descript strip mall, Dinner Bell is just what your momma ordered. The daily specials vary, from chicken fried steak to roast beef to chicken and dumplings. Be assured, however, that the meats are going to be incredibly tender and the veggies cooked in enough butter to make Paula Dean blush.
Granted, this isn’t the place to eat healthy, but c’mon, who goes to a meat-​and-​three on a diet? Want to truly blow that caloric count? Enjoy the banana pudding when it’s on the menu.
Word to the wise: if you go at lunch, go early. The line is often out the door around noon, but it is totally worth the wait.