No, you guys...no! You guys be lying to yourself if you say this food is good. Come on now child. I bought 3 plates (#1- meatloaf, mash potatoes, arancini #2-roast beef, mash potatoes, Mac and cheese #3- beef enchiladas, Mexican rice, and beans) and 2 pies (lemon meringue and raspberry cheesecake). Total was $51.47. All I can say is..where is the salt?! Seasonings?! Love?! I regretted going in the moment I walked in, but I ordered anyways. The meatloaf was probably the best out of the 3 plates, and even that wasn't good. The roast beef was not good. Let me tell you, you can get a cheap cut of meat and still make it taste good. But this cut was cheap and not prepared correctly. It was a sad sad lunch. I got side eyes the whole time at lunch because I chose the lunch spot. The pies were good. Out of the lemon meringue and cheesecake, I preferred the lemon meringue. I would be surprised if they made the pies in house, because if they do, great for them. They should just be a bakery. Regardless, I will never..NEVER return. I'm sorry to whoever's mamas or grandmamas in the kitchen, but they need to retire. I said what I said. read more

I walked in a was greeted by a friendly lady who welcomed me. This place is a cafeteria style restaurant, like Piccadilly, Wyatt's and Lubys. As I was ordering and asking questions, I found it to be a little hard . It was a language barrier. The steam table consisted of spaghetti, meatloaf, baked chicken, dressing, chicken fried chicken and steak, green beans and corn. They had deviled eggs that looked good. I like my deviled eggs sweet so I asked her were they sweet and she keep repeating no no deviled eggs So I passed on them. I also got a wheat roll which was so old and hard when I pieced off of it , it crumbled The food was actually ok but not hot at all. The meatloaf plate was$11.50 and the spaghetti was $8.50. The decor was super old and brought back memories of my family going to eat after church on Sunday in the 80s. Would i go back here again I probably would. I'd just try something different. read more

Dinner Bell Cafe and Bake Shop - Meatloaf mashed potatoes and Mac and cheese - American Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

I was very impressed with this cafeteria. Growing up we used to eat at Wyatt's Cafeteria on Griggs Rd but they shut down decades ago. Dinnner Bell gave me that feel. It was very cozy, customer service was exceptional, and the food was good. I tried the chicken fried chicken, with mashed potatoes, and cabbage. I had cornbread and a slice of sweet potato pie. The spinach lemonade was so good too! I will definitely be back. The reviews don't lie. It's a little hidden gem. I hope they continue to stick around. We need more home cooked restaurants like this. read more

Picked up an order from Bed & Breakfast Burrito Co which looks to be working out of Dinner Bell. The Spinach and Mushroom lacked and seemed more of a potato burrito, and the Morning Bacon Breakfast was your typical taste for a Tex Mex burrito. Nothing special. I usually have enjoyed Dinner Bell Cafeteria in the past, but this experience was strange. The young lady behind the counter welcomed me with a teenage attitude. It was funny actually. She walked off after I repeated my pick up order. So I gathered I needed to follow her (cafeteria line) with only three patrons in the establishment eating (usually is slow). After she figured out how to package my order that was sitting at the counter in front of her, she handed my order with such a dismissive handoff, walked off with no thank you. Girl, find employment if you are unhappy dealing with customers. Oh wait...this may be the perfect job for you since this place is usually dead. So if you like a basic Tex Mex Burrito with soso salsa, and a side of who the F cares, then this place is for you. read more

Home style cooking. Lunch was phenomenally good. I had fried fish and broccoli rice casserole but my friend had enchiladas and they looked equally and good. This place is a gem. read more

See all

In speaking to one of the employees we found out this place has been here for 68 years! Located on Houston's east side, we happened to be in the area and had heard that this was a nice non-descript cafeteria with good food! Well it is! One thing that made the experience good was everyone working there was very friendly and nice! That to me is a big part of the experience. They had these "mini plate" deals which are basically an entree with two sides and bread for $7.99. Believe me, that's plenty of food in my opinion. I was quite full! I ended up getting the meatloaf with a side of macaroni and cheese and okra. Very good! My wife had the salmon, squash casserole and okra. Plenty of food! She couldn't even finish hers. We topped it off with a slice of lemon pie and the filling was just right! Not too sweet. Very good as well! I was surprised at how good the food was. It doesn't look like much when you see it but the taste was really good! Down home cooking, priced well and served with a smile! You can't beat that! read more

I went for lunch last Sunday being somewhat nearby. This restaurant has a large parking lot out front. I walked in and headed toward the serving line. There were about 7 or 8 people in line and it took me about 5 minutes to get to the starting point. Moving right along, I asked for a garden salad, chicken and dumplings, green beans, black eye peas and a wheat roll. With a drink and tax the bill was $14 and change. The restaurant was fairly empty so getting an empty table was easy. Actually, this is a large restaurant with plenty of seating. The interior (and exterior for that matter) are dated in design. Eating here makes you feel like it's the 1960's. It reminded me of Doyle's Italian Restaurant and The Barbecue Inn both up on the north side of town. The food was very good. I liked everything I ate and thought it was like a good home cooked meal with the serving sizes being adequate. I was full when I left. This place is similar to Luby's except it tastes better but is also slightly more expensive. Restaurants like this are a dying breed unfortunately. Come and enjoy while you can. If in the area, I would be happy to return. read more

See all

It's been over 60 years since I've been in the Dinner Bell Cafeteria!!! My dad took my mother, brother and me in there when I was around 4 or 5 and that was about 1959!!! I remember it well because they have the same seating and booths! At that time we sat in a booth and my dad for on to me and told me to turn around and quit talking to the patrons sitting behind us trying to eat their food!!! I told my wife about that story from long ago as my father is interred at Forest Park Cemetery just a little ways down the road and we almost always go by here going to the cemetery. I've been wanting to stop for a long time and we finally got to do that today with my 5 year old!!! The inside is just about the way I remember it from back then. And the food is very good!!! Today's special was Stuffed Bell Peppers which looked delicious, but I opted for the Meat Loaf as did my wife which looked every but as delicious as the stuffed peppers! We passed on getting salads. They also had sliced Roast Beef, Fried Chicken, Baked Cod, Chicken Fried Steak and there were a few other items as well. It all looked really good! We got sides of Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli with Rice and Cheese. My wife had the Mashed Potatoes and Cooked Cabbage with hers. We got Easton our 5 year old a Fried Chicken drumstick and Mac and Cheese. He said his fried chicken was really good!!! He also got himself a strawberry shortcake!!! We all had Iced Tea for our drinks. All in all it was a very great experience to come back in here after so many years and really enjoy our food!!! And I didn't have to get on Easton for talking to the people behind us because of the social distancing protocols being followed!! I really Highly recommend trying out the "Dinner Bell"!!! As a side note, the owner recently lost his son. He was going to close the doors, but there were so many people who wanted to keep it open and even run out for him that he decided that he would keep going for his soon and all his faithful patrons. I want to support that endeavour to keep this treasure open. read more

See all

Generous portions, good food, courteous staff. Breakfast and lunch has been great. I'm

Great food and friendly staff ! Building needs some TLC but definitely worth coming back. Pastries are really good !! read more

Great place! Good food with excellent service. Everything is hot and fresh. Like eating at a family reunion.

Stuck in the past, old school furniture, high school cafeteria style lines, classy service. Food is really southern, collard greens, chicken n' dumplings, turkey with stuffing. All reminds me of a thanks giving meal with family love floating through the air. Where no one has to force anyone to clean the pates, because all of them will be at the end. Not a place I would ever guessed that would be great on paper, yet it's here, still, like a museum for the next generation to enjoy. read more

This place is nostalgic and brings back some cherished memories with the southern comfort vibe. We went on a Tuesday because I found out they were serving chicken and dumplings. I'm a sucker for good chicken and dumplings and there are only a few places that get it right. This is one of the places but beware of the bones!! Man oh man the hubby and I both had a bowl and then we ordered 2 bowls to go. That's how good it was. Loaded with chicken and such a creamy texture, it was amazing. You do have to look out for bones and chicken skin but other than that, fantastic. We also had the greens, sweet yams and macaroni & cheese. The yams were old fashioned and sweet as hell but yummy. The greens were bitter but delish and the macaroni was ok, not my fave but still good. My hubby had an egg custard pie and he loved it. The only downside to this place is its buffet style and I'm not a fan of that but if you go when it's fresh early lunch or early dinner, it's good. They close at 7pm, remember it's old folks style so they tend to eat early. I went around 4pm and much of the items were dried out and old. I'm definitely going back to try the turkey and dressing and broccoli, rice and cheese casserole. They do have a bakery attached if you want to take some goodies to go. read more

See all

Old school cafeteria that is essentially a meat and three, with a featured special every day. Had the chicken fried chicken .... next time I am going on Thursday and trying the liver and onions. Home cooking, old school vibe, nice folks. read more

Dinner Bell Cafe and Bake Shop - Old school cafeteria. - American Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

Today I went to buy 1 dozen donuts and well as advertised on the back of HEB reciept you get a few dozen donut holes. Well they didn't have donuts. This isn't the 1st time this has happened. Why advertise if you're not going to have it. The service and food quality has gone down since they took over. They no longer have all the delicious pastries they use to have. I guess it will be a Shipley morning. read more

I really wanted to like it, especially because I was a few dollars short and the woman at the register paid the $3 I didn't have. If it was purely about how the restaurant made me feel, I'd give it 5 stars, the staff was so friendly it filled me with love, and the atmosphere is old (something I enjoy) with the only guests I saw being elderly. They weren't glued to their smartphones (if they even had any) and they just talked to their families and friends. But the food, oh the food... It was bland--the definition of bland, actually. I was and still am very disappointed :( One redeeming quality, though, was the bakery. My brother got a pastry and says it was good. I feel guilty writing a negative review when the staff was so nice to us and treated us like old friends, but I like the truth to be told. To put it very basically, this is just another cafeteria with bland food for old folks. read more

Finally got to return to the Dinner Bell Cafeteria last week. As a child lots of people met here after church. (They are closed now on Saturdays) Anyway grandma always cooked big Sunday and so I only got to go maybe once. Had no idea it was still open. Went with a friend for lunch and we got 1/2 portion on meat, I had baked Salmon with 2 veggies, cornbread and perfectfully cooked. Around $10, extremely reasonable, and had friendly service. Pay in the Bakery when you are leaving. Will return. It is not all sparkly but clean and food great. Will return. Not that far from downtown. read more

Dinner Bell Cafe and Bake Shop - Dinner Bell Logo next to Front Enterence - American Near Me - Houston, Texas

This is a really good cafeteria and they have a bakery also it's like it used to be it's the only place except for Cleburnes cafeteria that I know that's really good and has good homemade food it has all the soul food, mamas cooking, country Cookin American just really good kind of food that mom made read more

Our family has been coming here for generations (I realize it opened in the 80's)- I remember being small and coming with my grandmother. My great grandparents loved coming here too! The restaurant is cafeteria style, similar to Luby's, but this is NOT Luby's, so don't expect the same experience. The food has a home away from home taste, and the staff is very friendly. I love seeing that Mr. Bill and his wife still work the food line and the counter in the bakery. The food is great - it's not high end, but it's still good, and the treats in the bakery make for a good dessert. I will ALWAYS recommend the wedding cookies and chocolate fancies. read more

This place is the only place that has authentic home cooking that actually tasted good. They had a wide variety of food selection which is good for me since I am a very picky eater. The service was outstanding!!! Very friendly environment couldn't get any more home feeling than that. I try to go there every chance I get! They also have a bakery which is amazing you get lunch and then desert. I always pick up some cookies or banana but bread and take back to work and everyone loves it Everyone I've recommended to the restaurant just loves it!!! read more

Dinner Bell Cafe and Bake Shop - A custom white cake with buttercream icing - American Near Me - Houston, Texas

To take a step back into the heydey of cafeteria-style food and service you can do no wrong by stopping in at rthe Dinner Bell, located on Lawndale @ Wayside, and just across from Wortham Golf Course. Daily specials, all foods cooked fresh, and something available for most dietary types. Prices are moderate, and while there don't forget to sample the bakery goods; cookies, kolaches, pies, etc. They are also now also opened for breakfast. Days of service Sunday thru Friday, closed Saturday. Give them a try, you be glad you stopped in. read more

Dinner Bell is awesome. The food is always good and fresh. They have a good variety and it tastes good. The service is excellent and they are very caring. This jewel has been around a long time and the reason is that they care and provide good food for a good price. They have an attached bakery where you pay your bill, and the baked goods are really wonderful. Places like Luby's cannot match up to Dinner Bell at all. If you want a great meal for a good price, Dinner Bell is the place. read more

Terrible, old steam table food. It didn't look or feel like anything was fresh. They say don't judge a book by its cover, but I wish I did. read more

Dinner Bell Cafeteria will re-open for business on Thursday, January 17th. The tradition will continue.

Many Americans that I have met seem nostalgic for "neighborhood diners". The longing is not for the chain restaurant diners that are so predominant today but for the family owned, home cooked, home baked type that holds its own special charm and quality. When I entered Dinner Bell, I knew this was the type of establishment that the people were talking about. Dinner Bell is a neighborhood, home cooking, friendly and comfy place that has been around for some time and is not only a rare find but a great find. I have to start with the bakery, the sweets that I ordered to go. I LOVE sweets and Dinner Bell sated my sweet teeth to the fullest. I'll begin with the cookies. The angel cookies are Heavenly, chewy chocolate delights that made me happy. They are rich without being overly so with the perfect consistency of a crusty type outer and a soft brownie type inner. These are amazing. The wedding cookies (I tried both the plain and nut variety) are another wonderful delicacy. Crumbly, sugary, slightly shortbread-ish in texture but melt in your mouth also, these cookies are perfection with a cup of coffee or tea. The black and white cookies are not so much a true black and white cookie with the icings but more of a chocolate/vanilla duo with the cookie itself being part chocolate, part vanilla. These cookies also had a somewhat shortbread texture. The chocolate and vanilla were well balanced and neither overpowered the other. I am also a lover of coconut and the coconut macaroons were sweet and chewy, full of coconut and satisfying. This place knows how to bake cookies. I also tried a pumpkin empanadas, a sweet potato empanadas and a pineapple empanadas. The sweet potato empanadas was rich with a slightly heavy texture but very flavorful. The pumpkin was a little more moist and tasted just like a pumpkin pie. I enjoyed both and I really cannot pick a favorite of these two. The pineapple was delicately sweet and fresh tasting. The crusts on all were flaky and light. The menu changes daily for food servings and specials. Dinner Bell has an online menu that you can check before going but do know that sometimes they can run out of certain specials so it's best advised to get there early for lunchtimes. The food is as good as the bakery items in that same home cooked way. Turkey and dressing is a classic American diner staple that isn't just for Thanksgiving so I gave that a try. It was tender, flavorful and filling in a good way. The macaroni and cheese was very creamy and cheesy and calories be damned pleasurable. The broccoli and rice casserole was another home-style choice and very tasty. I recommend checking this place out. This is a friendly, cozy, comfortable place that will bring back memories for some and introduce others (like me) to something from an era past. read more

See all

After my brush with the new Star Trek movie, I decided to try out the Dinner Bell Café and Bakery. At the confluence of South Wayside and Lawndale across from the Gus Wortham public golf course, stepping in here is like stepping into a wormhole and going back in time. The place has been around for decades, perhaps as much as half a century. The interior is huge - made up of three sections: first section contains the cafeteria line and main dining area, second is the smaller anteroom with just tables and a picture window view of the parking lot, and third is the bakery store. The cafeteria line has plenty of choices as befits a cafeteria line. I had my eye on the beef stew [bowl for $4.09] since Allison Cook mentioned it positively in her column but then switched to the chicken-and-dumplings [bowl for $4.39] once I spied it. Nothing says "down home Southern" as this and they claim on the signs outside that they do home cooking. The main dining area is huge, too: all of the booths had a fashion-forward space age boomerang design when these tables were new. They have held up quite well over the intervening decades and I enjoyed studying them while chowing down. The smaller second room didn't have the special tables but had a cheerier vibe to it with a homey décor and a lot more sunlight lightening the mood. In the main room, I couldn't shake a slight twinge of Catholic parochial school cafeteria malaise. The bakery is a cozy clean area where the various pies, breads, muffins, and other baked goods are on display. The bakery worker was chipper and eager to answer my questions about both the bakery and cafeteria. She pointed out that the bakery side is open for breakfast: kolaches and croissants are the main staples. On my way out, I picked out a banana nut muffin [80 cents] and pineapple empanada [65 cents] upon the recommendation of the bakery gal. The empanada was a truly lovely tropical treat. My chicken-and-dumplings were satisfactory but nothing like the delightful recipe at the Triple A Diner [http://www.yelp.com/biz/triple-a-restaurant-houston#hrid:7SNRm1pprtse0Hs4wp4vsw]. Using only dark meat, the bowl was full of dumplings but a little lacking in the chicken broth taste. While dark meat is moister than white, I like the textural mouth feel of the white meat in my Southern comfort food. The dinner roll I picked out was unacceptably dry but I adapted by using it to sop up the last of the broth. Both the food line and bakery employees vouched for a bustling business for weekday lunch from downtown and Navigation Boulevard workers. If true, I'm sure the vibe would be different in a positive way which is something I'm rooting for - this working link to the past is worth keeping well into the future. read more

It was a new experience. I liked it I wanted to know how the food was since I had passed by for so many times. I really like it.

Rewarmed food that is at best reminiscent of a TV dinner that has sat around for a few hours. I live in the neighborhood and would love to frequent this restaurant but it's just pathetic read more

Before lunch I was sitting at my computer thinking... I sure would like some down home southern cooking. So, I thought and thought... Were can I go? I remembered a friend's mother always goes to the Dinner Bell Cafeteria around Thanksgiving and Christmas time and get's her pies from them. They are always DELISH!!! So, I thought... hum... if they make good pies, then surly they also make good food. Right? So, this was my thought process before going to Dinner Bell Cafeteria. Now to my thought process after going to Dinner Bell. When you walk in, it is a GREAT representation of cafeteria dinning. Not that that is a bad thing... I have to admit... I love Luby's. Anyway... you can tell this place has been here for a SUPER long time. There are old ashtrays on the wall in the line so that you can put out your cigs! =) I was lucky and got there right after the lunch crowd, so there was no one in line in front of me. I picked up my tray and headed down the line... looking to see what jumped out at me and said...EAT ME! Nothing on the salad bar said that... so I skipped the salad selection... on down to the meats. Scanning the meat selection I was pretty disappointed. The meats looked like they had been there for a while... so I settled on the safest choice and ordered the fried chicken. Then it was on to the vegetables. Hummmmm... Again... Nothing jumped out at me... so I got fried okra and greens. Then ended my selection with a wheat dinner roll. Upon entering the dinning room... It was pretty dark and dreary. I understand this place is old... and I've eaten in some pretty ran down places and the food was wonderful... I mean... I eaten at Don'key in Pasadena... so come on! So, I was not going to let that take away from the food. I picked out a booth... sat down... unrolled by utensils... and dug in. First the chicken... BLAH!!! Super dry and the batter wasn't that much better. It was just about uneatable. So, I decided to move on to the greens... again... WTH? I mean really... how can you make something sooooo good taste so bad? I had to take another bite just to make sure I was not having a nightmare. No... they really were THAT bad! After that I was scared... but I thought... really??? How can you possibly mess up okra. Fried okra at that. Well my friends... They did. I would rather have it pre-breaded fried right out of the bag before I ever eat this again. Now on to the wheat dinner roll. At this point I'm thinking... I know their pies are good... so the bread will be good... OH BOY!!! Was I sooooo wrong again. The dinner roll was even bad. How does this happen? Not one good thing on my plate! I got up... paid for my food... and got out of there as quickly as I could... You can bet... I'll NEVER be back.... Oh... unless it's to pick up a pie. =) read more

Dinner Bell has reopened as of today. They posted on Facebook that they apologize for the confusion their sign created.

Great old place . Better than Luby's... always hot fresh food , great wait staff and atmosphere

its good old fashioned yummy food!! places like this are becoming extinct. i love it!!

Excellent food in nice cafeteria located at Lawndale & Business 90. Had nice sized servings including the meatloaf which I had. Not as wide of selection of items as Luby's, but all taste home cooked. Nice attached bakery where one can buy pies, cakes & pastries. Don't miss the day old specials by the bakery exit door, which only cost $1.40 per multiple item package. Has two sets of restrooms, the regular ones by the cafeteria checkout & some wheelchair accessible restrooms in the bakery area. read more

My favorite place to go when I need to remind myself of home. The owner and his staff are awesome. I love the food and the cobbler is delicious. Avoid the cinnamon rolls in the bakery because they are addictive. And their apple pie is great. read more

Fried chicken big and not very tasty. Salad was drowned in ranch. Old and kinda gross. Won't be back.

This place is great. Reminded me of Piccadilly's. Had the roast beef, macaroni and cheese with fried okra...yum.

This place is the comfort food of last resort. I once told my friend about coming here for some holiday Thanksgiving or Christmas I can't remember which and she laughed because she thought I was just joking and had told the best joke ever, but it really did happen. They served a hulking amount of food made from recipes straight out of the early part of the last century. It wasn't the best but, it wasn't bad either. I love this place because it is so representative of this part of Houston. I gave it three stars for atmosphere and because it is huge inside and used to be kind of stylish, I haven't been in for awhile. Keep the Dinner Bell alive, but it's best to get here exactly at lunch or dinner time while the food is still really fresh. read more

This was the nearest place within walking distance from where we were staying for the week (March 30 to April 3). The breakfasts were really good, as were their assortment of cookies. The staff was very friendly to us too. We only wished we discovered this place sooner during our visit. read more

I went there last week with my boys. We had fried eggplant, fried okra, meatloaf, fried chicken, beef stew, chicken pot pie and peach cobbler. Everything is made from scratch and it shows. As good as their meats and vegetables are, their baked goods are even better. This was my father's favorite restaurant. He started eating there in the early 60's. read more

I love this place for a fast workweek lunch. Their prices are decent, the food is always well seasoned, and the staff is always friendly...what more can you ask for? I always the pan fried cod, sides of green beans and spinach as well as a jalapeno corn bread. Their fried shrimp are excellent as is their chicken fried steak. Their baked items are really good too. We simply can't leave without buy a few chewy chocolate angel cookies. All in all, the food is consistent and is what I expect for a classic southern cafeteria that hasn't changed much since I was a little kid, and that is comforting! read more