Bell Tower offers scrumptious variety of food

As I walked into Bell Tower Bistro and Patisserie for lunch, two buildings away from Planet Juice, I heard some jazzy music and the grill was humming. The girl at the register was smiling and customers were chatting happily with each other.

Open every day from 6:30 a.m to 9 p.m, Bell Tower provides customers with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Although Bell Tower has only been open for six weeks, the restaurant is already overflowing with customers during each meal.

As I waited for my chicken pesto panini, I went to get my cutlery and a glass of water, conveniently located on a table in the middle of the restaurant. I then returned to my table, decorated with a vase of flowers.

The appearance of the restaurant is inviting. The walls are covered in striped wall paper with some paintings. The ceiling is covered in black patterned tiles with glistening chandeliers and hanging fans.

After 15 minutes, the waitress came by and dropped off my panini. I bit into it and was pleasantly surprised. It was grilled to a nice brown and contained perfectly-melted gruyere cheese. The chicken had a nice savory taste, and unexpectedly, the dish came with two pieces of fruit. The portions were large and filling; it was worth every cent of the $7.50 that I paid.

After hearing that they make their pastries from scratch and bake them each morning at 4 a.m, I decided to get dessert. I bit into my white chocolate brownie, and it felt like I was in heaven.

The brownie was chewy and I savored every bite of it. Although I found the pricing a little expensive, the taste made up for it, along with the seven pieces of free samples that I took.

After I finished my lunch, I went and explored the surroundings of the restaurant. There is a patio with around 10 tables for those that would like to dine outside. As I continued to walk down the ramp, water is flowing out of a fountain. In the very back, there is a wine cellar, open every day from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., that offers wine tasting.

The food exceeded my expectations, and the environment made me feel at home. It’s perfect for a quick snack or for a meal. The best part of Bell Tower is that it’s located just down the street in downtown Saratoga.