Spice Hut – Indian Cuisine in Lenoir City Tennessee

We love ethnic food…and there are limited opportunities for ethnic dining here in East Tennessee.  Recently we had heard about a new restaurant serving Indian cuisine that is located close to us in Lenoir City Tennessee. 

The reviews and comments that we read were very positive so off we went for a new dining experience.

Yes, the restaurant is located in an establishment named “Bimbo’s”.  And yes, it is located in a gas station and auto travel/convenience store.  I suspect that the owners bought the structure and they’re putting their own stamp on it.

The restaurant, named “Spice Hut” is located in one section of the building.  I noted that under Spice Hut the sign reads “Indian Flavors”.  The right side of the sign reads ‘Punjabi’ followed by ‘Dhaba’.  As I understand Punjabi Dhaba, it simply refers to cooking or cuisine from Northern India.

Punjabi people come from Northern India and a portion of Pakistan.  There are at least 150,000,000 million Punjabi peoples around the world.

The dining area of “Spice Hut” is casual but it does feature some Indian style décor.  The owners are young and language is no barrier for diners trying to understand the menu and their dining options.… They were very helpful indeed!

The restaurant portion of the building, Spice Hut, is separated from the auto travel/convenience store by a tall half wall.  We didn’t check to see if the far end of Bimbo’s still sells fireworks… 

Laurie likes to try special beverages.  In this case she tried the Mango Lassi ($5.99).  It is Spice Hut’s signature drink and it’s made with yogurt and Indian mango pulp with added bits of fruit and a rose syrup garnish.  It was quite sweet but Laurie did enjoy it.

I didn’t ask at the time but our server brought us this really thin seasoned crispy bread gratis.  I believe that this bread is called papadum.  It came with our meals much like tortilla chips do in a Mexican restaurant.  It was accompanied by an Indian onion dip.  I’m not into onions but I did like the different spices and used to make the papadum.

Laurie perused the menu and she decided on the Butter Chicken. ($14.99) It is traditionally known as ‘murgh makhani’ and this Indian dish is reputed to have come from Delhi.  It is a curry dish made from chicken with a spiced tomato and butter sauce.  Plenty of rice accompanied both of our meals

For those not familiar with Indian food, the cuisine, in this case curry, does feature a variety of spices.  There are hot/spicy curries and many more that aren’t hot/spicy.  In this case the spices were nicely ‘married’ but not ‘hot’.  Laurie and I both thought that the Butter Chicken was very good indeed!  She brought home some leftovers that I enjoyed the next day...

We also had an order of Garlic Naan to accompany our entrees.  In this case the fresh made naan was topped with garlic and butter. ($3.99) Note: We'd already eaten some of the naan before I took the photo.

The naan was a valuable addition to our meal as we used it to sop up the liquid in the curry…didn’t want to waste it!

I knew what I wanted to eat even before I looked at the menu.  This was my Lamb Vindaloo! ($17.99) Vindaloo can be made with a variety of meats…pork being the original from the former Portuguese Indian enclave of Goa.  Spice Hut offers both lamb and goat vindaloo but around the world chicken, beef, tofu or even seafood can be served with vindaloo sauce/curry. 

Key ingredients in vindaloo include vinegar, chili peppers, potatoes, a variety of spices, and the marinated meat of choice.  Vindaloo as I’ve experienced it here in the USA tends to be rather spicy/hot.  I like ‘heat’ but I was pleased to learn that spice levels are available for diners at Spice Hut.  The heat levels go from 1 to 10.  I opted for a 4.  It was spicy but the next time I’ll kick it up to a 5.  I didn't have any leftover lamb vindaloo...

We both agreed that this was easily the best Indian food that we’ve had since we left Chicago almost 15 years ago.  The owners/servers were great and everything was fresh.  We’ll be back, bringing friends the next time!

Spice Hut is located at 1204 US Hwy 321 in Lenoir City Tennessee.  It is right at the exit from I-75 at Hwy 321.  They are open from 11 AM until 10 PM 7 days a week.  The menu is extensive and it features a large vegetarian section.  To learn more go to Spice Hut- (spicehutind.com).

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave