Upon arrival, the indoor seating, though only about half full, was extremely noisy. So, we chose to be seated outdoors even though it was quite humid. However, even the outdoor seating turned out to be quite loud. The service was awful from beginning to end. Our waitress said she had been there for over a year but was unable to bring our drinks out until we had already finished our appetizers. The entrees were then rushed out before we finished our cocktails, and we had to remind the waitress to bring our wine half way through the meal. Worst of all, there were never any explanations or apologies offered for this bad service. The food was mediocre at best. The smoked trout appetizer was okay, but My husband's trout entree was over cooked, and my vegetarian entree was barely edible with portobello mushroom pieces that were hard as rocks! The Embassy Suites is a nice hotel in Knoxville, but this restaurant definitely needs major work!!!
CodyB
Everything was just ok. Not bad, but ok. Best part was the chicken wings app. Shrimp and grits tasted classic, but not memorable. Steak was perfectly cooked to med rare, but chewy. Macaroni was very bland. No problem recommending, but I'd recommend other places before. You can do better for the money.
Vacation30786502575
Great food service was good. It’s nice that it’s inside the hotel. Their menu is small but very good. The only con I have is that the acoustics in the place was bad I couldn’t hear across my table because of obnoxious laughter on one side of the restaurant
TaylorP
We were in town for the night and visited Knox Mason as they could accommodate our group of 8 and the menu looked good. We started with the deviled eggs, which were great. Unfortunately both steaks were undercooked, most of our food came out cold, and the fried chicken sandwich was still partially raw. Service and drinks were ok. Overall a disappointing experience.
steves
Looking for a restaurant in Knoxville that had southern inspired cuisine and discovered Knox Mason thru Open Table. Luckily, they had a reservation for two available at a reasonable time on a Saturday evening, so Iade a reservation. Our experience was wonderful. Great and unique cocktails, delicious appetizers, I recommend the pimento cheese and deviled eggs!! The main course selection was modest but included chicken, pork, fish, beef and vegetarian. The grilled pork shoulder steak was devine and their daily special, a corn meal breaded, deep fried pork chop was excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed the food, drinks and service at the restaurant that's in the Embassy Suites on Gay Street.
TerriL
Our waitress was nice. She did forget our appetizers, but got them out quickly when it was mentioned. All of the food was excellent!! We had the catfish sandwiches, pork and chicken. We also loved the deviled eggs and pimento cheese. Hate that they're closing soon.
MichaelD
The food was great the service was good. It's nice that it is in the hotel. The cons I have is the acoustics was rough I couldn't barely have a conversation at the table.
Good was absolutely fantastic. Liked somethings better than others but everything we tried was good. John was the best waiter to have, so kind and funny. If you don't get the shrimp and grits, you'll regret it.
DaleP
I have been several times when I am attending an event downtown. The food and service have always been excellent. I was there 3 weeks ago on a busy Friday night. The service and food were excellent. On Friday, June 3, the waitress kept apologizing for the delay in our food. It took an hour after the order was placed. The table next to us had almost as long of a wait for two salads. The owner was present and working the dining area but he never once came over to apologize to anyone that had to wait or offer any discount. I felt sorry for the waitress. They should have closed because they did not have the necessary staff in the kitchen or in the dining area to handle the Friday night crowd. It is obvious they are closing.
Suzanne
We loved our 2+ hours on the balcony overlooking Knoxville's main street! The kitchen was very slow, but our waitress was kind and did the best she could. They gave us a free dessert for the long wait. I would definitely recommend Knox masons balcony! The food was five stars. We will go again!
There was something amiss from the start. Limited waitstaff, and a rather empty restaurant. We later learned the restaurant is closing in a month. This became obvious in the course of our meal. Portions were small. Elements were not available. Food was poorly plated and generally tasteless. Example was the 2 orders of pork chops which looked like a serving of 1 cut in half. We left most of the food on our plate and made an exit
Food was subpar as the chicken did not taste good (not much flavor) and the burger buns were way too hard. The beer bread and pimento cheese was a pretty good appetizer. Not a broad enough menu for us to find the right things to order. Too bad the options available just didn't taste great.
PaulA
The food was horrible. Nothing good. All just blah to include their ‘market price' meat which was a very bland NY Strip. Ordered a rare plus and it came out like a piece of leather. Sent it back. Second was medium and the taste was literally as bad as it look, a piece of leather. Their chicken was horrible. They claimed southern fried and it tasted like a rotisserie chicken with breading. Their pimento cheese (which is hard to screw up) was comical. Zero flaming and you could tell the ingredients were the cheapest available. If you sit outside be prepared for very loud bikers and trucks. Bottom line, absolute fail.
Juan S.
Literally the worst downtown Knoxville has to offer. Don't get me wrong though, waitress was awesome. Drinks were good though overpriced (6.50 for a 10 oz pour). The food. Omg. I went with the 'market priced' steak. Disaster. First off, they only serve the NY Strip, so be it, just call it that vs some mystical piece of meat from a badass cattle ranch in TN. Second, asked for rare plus. Came out like a piece of leather. Waitress was super awesome. Sent it back. Round 2. Even worse, somewhat rare but cold and the awesome 'buttery' stuff was hard as a rock. The BEST part. I was handed a bowl of mashed potatoes. They were from a box. When I sent the first order back, I was handed the same 'bowl' back 5 minutes later. Same bowl. Same lukewarm mashed potatoes. Disaster and horrible. Wife had a 'smash burger' that Id rate a solid 2 of 10. Kids got the fried chicken. They should never serve chicken there. Was like rotisserie chicken, already cooked, breaded and fried. Horrible. So the conclusion, it's a crap restaurant connected to a hotel. Their food is overpriced and it's literally a joke. Do Not Recommend. Ever.
I don't even know where to begin. I rarely experience such perfection! The space, the staff, the food, the ambiance, the drinks, EVERYTHING was absolutely PERFECT!! Thank you, Knox Mason, for giving my husband and I the most perfect date night! We will be back FREQUENTLY!
Upon arrival, the indoor seating, though only about half full, was extremely noisy. So, we chose to be seated outdoors even though it was quite humid. However, even the outdoor seating turned out to be quite loud. The service was awful from beginning to end. Our waitress said she had been there for over a year but was unable to bring our drinks out until we had already finished our appetizers. The entrees were then rushed out before we finished our cocktails, and we had to remind the waitress to bring our wine half way through the meal. Worst of all, there were never any explanations or apologies offered for this bad service. The food was mediocre at best. The smoked trout appetizer was okay, but My husband's trout entree was over cooked, and my vegetarian entree was barely edible with portobello mushroom pieces that were hard as rocks! The Embassy Suites is a nice hotel in Knoxville, but this restaurant definitely needs major work!!!
Everything was just ok. Not bad, but ok. Best part was the chicken wings app. Shrimp and grits tasted classic, but not memorable. Steak was perfectly cooked to med rare, but chewy. Macaroni was very bland. No problem recommending, but I'd recommend other places before. You can do better for the money.
Great food service was good. It’s nice that it’s inside the hotel. Their menu is small but very good. The only con I have is that the acoustics in the place was bad I couldn’t hear across my table because of obnoxious laughter on one side of the restaurant
We were in town for the night and visited Knox Mason as they could accommodate our group of 8 and the menu looked good. We started with the deviled eggs, which were great. Unfortunately both steaks were undercooked, most of our food came out cold, and the fried chicken sandwich was still partially raw. Service and drinks were ok. Overall a disappointing experience.
Looking for a restaurant in Knoxville that had southern inspired cuisine and discovered Knox Mason thru Open Table. Luckily, they had a reservation for two available at a reasonable time on a Saturday evening, so Iade a reservation. Our experience was wonderful. Great and unique cocktails, delicious appetizers, I recommend the pimento cheese and deviled eggs!! The main course selection was modest but included chicken, pork, fish, beef and vegetarian. The grilled pork shoulder steak was devine and their daily special, a corn meal breaded, deep fried pork chop was excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed the food, drinks and service at the restaurant that's in the Embassy Suites on Gay Street.
Our waitress was nice. She did forget our appetizers, but got them out quickly when it was mentioned. All of the food was excellent!! We had the catfish sandwiches, pork and chicken. We also loved the deviled eggs and pimento cheese. Hate that they're closing soon.
The food was great the service was good. It's nice that it is in the hotel. The cons I have is the acoustics was rough I couldn't barely have a conversation at the table.
Good was absolutely fantastic. Liked somethings better than others but everything we tried was good. John was the best waiter to have, so kind and funny. If you don't get the shrimp and grits, you'll regret it.
I have been several times when I am attending an event downtown. The food and service have always been excellent. I was there 3 weeks ago on a busy Friday night. The service and food were excellent. On Friday, June 3, the waitress kept apologizing for the delay in our food. It took an hour after the order was placed. The table next to us had almost as long of a wait for two salads. The owner was present and working the dining area but he never once came over to apologize to anyone that had to wait or offer any discount. I felt sorry for the waitress. They should have closed because they did not have the necessary staff in the kitchen or in the dining area to handle the Friday night crowd. It is obvious they are closing.
We loved our 2+ hours on the balcony overlooking Knoxville's main street! The kitchen was very slow, but our waitress was kind and did the best she could. They gave us a free dessert for the long wait. I would definitely recommend Knox masons balcony! The food was five stars. We will go again!
Restaurantji Recommends
There was something amiss from the start. Limited waitstaff, and a rather empty restaurant. We later learned the restaurant is closing in a month. This became obvious in the course of our meal. Portions were small. Elements were not available. Food was poorly plated and generally tasteless. Example was the 2 orders of pork chops which looked like a serving of 1 cut in half. We left most of the food on our plate and made an exit
Food was subpar as the chicken did not taste good (not much flavor) and the burger buns were way too hard. The beer bread and pimento cheese was a pretty good appetizer. Not a broad enough menu for us to find the right things to order. Too bad the options available just didn't taste great.
The food was horrible. Nothing good. All just blah to include their ‘market price' meat which was a very bland NY Strip. Ordered a rare plus and it came out like a piece of leather. Sent it back. Second was medium and the taste was literally as bad as it look, a piece of leather. Their chicken was horrible. They claimed southern fried and it tasted like a rotisserie chicken with breading. Their pimento cheese (which is hard to screw up) was comical. Zero flaming and you could tell the ingredients were the cheapest available. If you sit outside be prepared for very loud bikers and trucks. Bottom line, absolute fail.
Literally the worst downtown Knoxville has to offer. Don't get me wrong though, waitress was awesome. Drinks were good though overpriced (6.50 for a 10 oz pour). The food. Omg. I went with the 'market priced' steak. Disaster. First off, they only serve the NY Strip, so be it, just call it that vs some mystical piece of meat from a badass cattle ranch in TN. Second, asked for rare plus. Came out like a piece of leather. Waitress was super awesome. Sent it back. Round 2. Even worse, somewhat rare but cold and the awesome 'buttery' stuff was hard as a rock. The BEST part. I was handed a bowl of mashed potatoes. They were from a box. When I sent the first order back, I was handed the same 'bowl' back 5 minutes later. Same bowl. Same lukewarm mashed potatoes. Disaster and horrible. Wife had a 'smash burger' that Id rate a solid 2 of 10. Kids got the fried chicken. They should never serve chicken there. Was like rotisserie chicken, already cooked, breaded and fried. Horrible. So the conclusion, it's a crap restaurant connected to a hotel. Their food is overpriced and it's literally a joke. Do Not Recommend. Ever.
I don't even know where to begin. I rarely experience such perfection! The space, the staff, the food, the ambiance, the drinks, EVERYTHING was absolutely PERFECT!! Thank you, Knox Mason, for giving my husband and I the most perfect date night! We will be back FREQUENTLY!