Mind boggling that the worst meal I can ever remember having at a restaurant was also the most expensive one. Don’t let the cool building fool you. The food tasted awful, wasn’t even warm and it seemed like an impossible task for them to even give you a soda with any carbonation. Total disappointment.
MsLoveTravel
We enjoyed the atmosphere of the historic architecture and celebrated our anniversary with a champagne greeting at the door and a card from the staff! We thoroughly enjoyed this night of dinning adventure (see photos) and fine cuisine full of flavor. Very on point and professional. Thank you staff! We will be back!
Shanegos
The tomahawk steak was amazing. Rattlesnake appetizer was delicious as well. Great servers and staff, very attentive.
Tripplanninmama
Both families are from out of state and we always ate here on every trip when visiting our daughters at UTK. We were SO disappointed with almost every aspect of our meal starting with my drink. I had the Bees on Thyme which was too sour to drink, my husbands had the The Willie which is his go to drink which he liked. The lobster hush puppies were ok and undercooked. My pork chop dish was huge but over-cooked and dry. Everyone else at the table got their signature beef tenderloin. One had to go back to the kitchen because it was still mooing. Both families were celebrating our daughter's birthdays and we were given churros (which they talked about getting the whole way to the restaurant) with a sparkler which was great BUT they were raw, dough was oozing out (we told our server) and they still charged us for them! Unbelievable. The check total was $700 for the 6 of us. It sucks because we all really loved this place but I guess it's going downhill quick. We won't ever be going back.
janiel946
My husband took me here for Valentine’s dinner. The young waiter, John was excellent. He brought out a spectacular drink called “The Willie” and it was quiet a display with embers around the drink and smoke coming out of the high ball glass. It was very strong, so he offered to get me a different drink. I asked him if the bartender could take the existing drink and tweak it into something good. He brought it back and it was great. I had the elk loin dinner for dinner and it was delicious and artfully displayed. My husband had the bison steak and it was delicious as well. It was an overall wonderful evening spent at Lonesome Dove.
richardwB3615ES
I have visited Lonesome Dove several times and the food and service was good. This visit, although the service and ambiance was great, I was disappointed. The overall quality and taste fall short of the cost. I ordered Elk loin which was around $65 and came out barely warm. Family of four was over $500. I don’t mind spending if the dining experience matches the cost.
211laurieg
Much more than you'd expect from a Knoxville restaurant. The food was delicious! The service was top notch! Even the kitchen staff went above and beyond. Definitely going back often!
Marcos Luna
SIX DOLLARS for a single small donut! Donuts were not fresh and were dry. I feel like I got schemed. Don’t get bamboozled by the nice staff
L3801PXdavew
I have been a regular at Lonesome Dove. Last night they knocked it out of the park starting with the most personable and respectful ex-Marine bartender named Will. He really is a great kid and a great bartender, very nice young man. I had 9 business associates there for dinner from out of town. Miss Jessica, a.k.a."JJ" was the best ever waitress. She did a fantastic job, very friendly, very professional, she represented Mr. Love the owner and the Lonesome Dove restaurant as well as could be done. The way this group served us, was off the chart. And it made me look like a hero to have chosen this for our meeting. If you have not been to Lonesome Dove, it is the best in Knoxville, they will not disappoint, especially if you get served by Jessica and Will!! I highly recommend!
Kirk Tarulis
Staff was really nice and it is a pretty cool idea, but tbh, the donuts just wernt that good if you compare it to other donut shops.
First time going last night.. 3rd couple in line. Got the Buffalo Chicken and Cannoli. Maybe I’m wrong and it was intended to be this way but the Buffalo Chicken the whole thing cold especially the scoop of chicken and blue cheese on top. The cannoli was better but still not a huge fan. We kinda forced ourselves to eat about half of each before tossing. Cool ideas but execution is lacking. Maybe we’ll try again some time..
Jamie R
Great looking place. The crab cakes had no crab and no flavor. The Chesapeake would be upset. The buffalo steak was good and juicy;however, the Branzinni was awful and no flavor. Definitely don’t order drinks. Very weak pore. Try another place the chef needs lessons
clarkmicah
There were 6 in our group and 2 were celebrating birthdays. I took in a small cake for each birthday and they charged a cake fee of $5 per person. The server did a great job and the food was fantastic. I think if you have chosen to celebrate your special occasion at a restaurant, you should to be able to bring in a cake that makes that celebration that much more special. In my opinion it should be an honor to be chosen to celebrate there, and I felt very insulted at the $30 fee, particularly since we shared the cake with the staff. I will not be going back for any other special occasions.
G3550MUandrear
Another fantastic experience. We found this little gem last year while traveling to Knoxville for a basketball tournament. Our second visit did not disappoint. Elk sliders, crab cakes, rabbit rattlesnake sausage, buffalo ribeye, handcut tenderloin….none of it disappoints. Worth the drive just for the food. Service is too notch, of course.
suey993
This was a much anticipated birthday dinner which fell short in several respects.Service was slow,lighting was so dark in the area of the restaurant we were in that when the main course came it was almost impossible to see the what was on the plate.The starter portions were unusual and the fish option was so small it appeared to be a joke.The main course was so salty that it became unpleasant to continue eating.The cost of the meal for 4 people was well north of $400.00.As we left there were no staff to thank us for our expensive visit. This restaurant appears to be trading on its reputation, not on its current menu offerings or prices AVOID.
Mind boggling that the worst meal I can ever remember having at a restaurant was also the most expensive one. Don’t let the cool building fool you. The food tasted awful, wasn’t even warm and it seemed like an impossible task for them to even give you a soda with any carbonation. Total disappointment.
We enjoyed the atmosphere of the historic architecture and celebrated our anniversary with a champagne greeting at the door and a card from the staff! We thoroughly enjoyed this night of dinning adventure (see photos) and fine cuisine full of flavor. Very on point and professional. Thank you staff! We will be back!
The tomahawk steak was amazing. Rattlesnake appetizer was delicious as well. Great servers and staff, very attentive.
Both families are from out of state and we always ate here on every trip when visiting our daughters at UTK. We were SO disappointed with almost every aspect of our meal starting with my drink. I had the Bees on Thyme which was too sour to drink, my husbands had the The Willie which is his go to drink which he liked. The lobster hush puppies were ok and undercooked. My pork chop dish was huge but over-cooked and dry. Everyone else at the table got their signature beef tenderloin. One had to go back to the kitchen because it was still mooing. Both families were celebrating our daughter's birthdays and we were given churros (which they talked about getting the whole way to the restaurant) with a sparkler which was great BUT they were raw, dough was oozing out (we told our server) and they still charged us for them! Unbelievable. The check total was $700 for the 6 of us. It sucks because we all really loved this place but I guess it's going downhill quick. We won't ever be going back.
My husband took me here for Valentine’s dinner. The young waiter, John was excellent. He brought out a spectacular drink called “The Willie” and it was quiet a display with embers around the drink and smoke coming out of the high ball glass. It was very strong, so he offered to get me a different drink. I asked him if the bartender could take the existing drink and tweak it into something good. He brought it back and it was great. I had the elk loin dinner for dinner and it was delicious and artfully displayed. My husband had the bison steak and it was delicious as well. It was an overall wonderful evening spent at Lonesome Dove.
I have visited Lonesome Dove several times and the food and service was good. This visit, although the service and ambiance was great, I was disappointed. The overall quality and taste fall short of the cost. I ordered Elk loin which was around $65 and came out barely warm. Family of four was over $500. I don’t mind spending if the dining experience matches the cost.
Much more than you'd expect from a Knoxville restaurant. The food was delicious! The service was top notch! Even the kitchen staff went above and beyond. Definitely going back often!
SIX DOLLARS for a single small donut! Donuts were not fresh and were dry. I feel like I got schemed. Don’t get bamboozled by the nice staff
I have been a regular at Lonesome Dove. Last night they knocked it out of the park starting with the most personable and respectful ex-Marine bartender named Will. He really is a great kid and a great bartender, very nice young man. I had 9 business associates there for dinner from out of town. Miss Jessica, a.k.a."JJ" was the best ever waitress. She did a fantastic job, very friendly, very professional, she represented Mr. Love the owner and the Lonesome Dove restaurant as well as could be done. The way this group served us, was off the chart. And it made me look like a hero to have chosen this for our meeting. If you have not been to Lonesome Dove, it is the best in Knoxville, they will not disappoint, especially if you get served by Jessica and Will!! I highly recommend!
Staff was really nice and it is a pretty cool idea, but tbh, the donuts just wernt that good if you compare it to other donut shops.
Restaurantji Recommends
First time going last night.. 3rd couple in line. Got the Buffalo Chicken and Cannoli. Maybe I’m wrong and it was intended to be this way but the Buffalo Chicken the whole thing cold especially the scoop of chicken and blue cheese on top. The cannoli was better but still not a huge fan. We kinda forced ourselves to eat about half of each before tossing. Cool ideas but execution is lacking. Maybe we’ll try again some time..
Great looking place. The crab cakes had no crab and no flavor. The Chesapeake would be upset. The buffalo steak was good and juicy;however, the Branzinni was awful and no flavor. Definitely don’t order drinks. Very weak pore. Try another place the chef needs lessons
There were 6 in our group and 2 were celebrating birthdays. I took in a small cake for each birthday and they charged a cake fee of $5 per person. The server did a great job and the food was fantastic. I think if you have chosen to celebrate your special occasion at a restaurant, you should to be able to bring in a cake that makes that celebration that much more special. In my opinion it should be an honor to be chosen to celebrate there, and I felt very insulted at the $30 fee, particularly since we shared the cake with the staff. I will not be going back for any other special occasions.
Another fantastic experience. We found this little gem last year while traveling to Knoxville for a basketball tournament. Our second visit did not disappoint. Elk sliders, crab cakes, rabbit rattlesnake sausage, buffalo ribeye, handcut tenderloin….none of it disappoints. Worth the drive just for the food. Service is too notch, of course.
This was a much anticipated birthday dinner which fell short in several respects.Service was slow,lighting was so dark in the area of the restaurant we were in that when the main course came it was almost impossible to see the what was on the plate.The starter portions were unusual and the fish option was so small it appeared to be a joke.The main course was so salty that it became unpleasant to continue eating.The cost of the meal for 4 people was well north of $400.00.As we left there were no staff to thank us for our expensive visit. This restaurant appears to be trading on its reputation, not on its current menu offerings or prices AVOID.