We had the short rib which was tender and flavorful with a phenomenal mac & cheese and I am not even a mac & cheese fan. We also got the petite fillet, which was supposed to be 8 ounces and came out looking more like a mini slider sized burger. I am giving it three stars because of the size of the $36 petite fillet however, I did not say anything as I thought that was just normal for this restaurant being that this is my first time there until I saw the person next to me get theirs, and they actually did get eight ounces however at that point we were done with our meal. My son ate the filet in 5 bites not even joking and I gave him some of my meal due to the filet being soo small and him clearly still being hungry. And maybe you need to ask for bread as I saw other tables with bread when we were walking out, but we were never offered any. I also did feel that that dessert menu was lacking so we didn’t get anything because nothing seemed appealing on it which was unfortunate. This was our first time in Knoxville and the first restaurant we tried!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Petite Filet
Andy McCallum
Great experience and wonderful food! Staff were very helpful and friendly. Tuna pizza was amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Richard Kildow
Eaten dinner here quite a few times in the past but tonight’s wasn’t up to our last visits. Service was good as always, Austin took good care of us but the food ( fettuccine bolognese,swordfish) was just ok not great like in the past.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Gib Catron
We recently held a private function at the Oliver Royal. The best experience anyone could ever hope for. The helped plan the event and menu options. That was great but the staff on the event night knocked it out of the park. Great folks that made it a very special evening.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gordon H.
Excellent dinner. Austin was a great server! For our anniversary, we had the Salmon and the Lamb Chops. Both were well cooked and seasoned. Thank you for a great (first) experience at this restaurant!
Paul Cruze
For my 6th visit in a row I am finally writing a review.More details to come but take the hint from this pic, we are warming your macallan in the candles. Jesus H Christ ?♂️
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Gerard “Uncle Gerry” Rosso
This was a phenomenal place for our anniversary brunch. First of all the hotel is beautiful with a long history starting out as the Peter Kern Bakery then becoming a hotel during the World's Fair in the 80s.The establishment has a really sophisticated atmosphere and the service was fast and friendly with a casual flare.We started off brunch like you should, with two mimosas and a plate of pastries. The walnut scone was delicious if not a bit dry, but the fresh jam more than made up for it. My fiance had an omelet and I ordered the K-town hot chicken and grits.The eggs in her omelette were fluffy and it was huge. Topped with a homemade salsa verde and over stuffed with mushrooms, peppers and sharp cheddar. It also came with a side of tasty fresh fruit.The K-town hot chicken and grits were wonderful, it had a little bit of a bite without being too spicy, the chicken was fried perfectly with a cornflake crust. The stone ground grits were like nothing I've tasted before... Granted not being from the south I have not tried many types of grits but these were delicious. The gravy on top of the chicken was hardy and satisfying. Even the egg that adorned the top was cooked perfectly. If I had to say anything negative about my meal was it could have been plated better.I'm looking forward to trying their dinner one of these days.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Blake Carter
Phenomenal food and service! Will be going back.Good gluten free options for those as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Courtney G.
We made a reservation and ended up coming a little early and still had no problem getting a seat. The wait staff here was incredible and extremely efficient. I didn't really ever have to ask for anything. The monkey bread is covered with caramel and pecans. It's pretty sweet, but still enjoyable. I would recommend sharing it with three or four people. It was a lot for just two of us. The bacon was perfectly cooked. We were not a fan of the gravy on the biscuit. The gravy had a strange consistency and was pretty spicy. What I ate of the biscuit was kind of stale and crumbly. The strawberry French toast wasn't too sweet, but had a bit of an uneven cook on them. They were crispy on the edges and extremely soft in the middle. The restaurant itself was very laidback, but still had an edge of elegance. I think you could come here dresses up for church or in leggings after studying.
Jayne K.
Visited the Oliver last week on debut night for their new spring menu. Five stars for both of these dishes, incredibly delicious!
OMG! The lamb chops were out of this world!!! Good in general was amazing, but the lamb chops were the star! The server was so kind and helpful with recommendations. There is outside and inside seating. Both have a great vibe. Definitely go here!
Mark Kuchera
The Alaskan Halibut was fantastic!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
amber ferguson
We stopped in for drinks at the bar and they were great along with the service. We ordered scallops which we were told there would be three but the chef decided that two were big enough, they were RAW in the middle. Yuck! Our waitress took it off the bill, then we ordered the $48 Steak let me tell you this was the toughest piece of meat it was like jerky. We didn't want to complain again and just didn't eat it and paid our $150 bill..Then later that evening we checked into the Oliver Hotel where they told us we got a $25 credit for the restaurant it was 9:00 pm we said well we are still starving from not eating lets get a burger and take it to the room. We went it at 9:14 the restaurant closed at 9:30. Only for us to be told the Chef decided to close up early..sorry. There was another annoyed guest who felt the same at the bar as well. Let just say don't waste your money here on food....
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Pam B.
Highly recommend the spicy pasta, scallops and shrimp dish. North Carolina trout was fresh and prepared wonderfully with black rice and broccolini. CJ did a great job taking care of us. Hostess helped us get a table early, big thanks to all!
Titus Arthur
This is a pricey place, but the food is still good (not for the price, but still good); to me, it's the service that will bring us back. Kirstie was our phenominal waitress and she did an amazing job taking care of our group and keeping the table from being over crowded. The atmosphere, while dark, was still nice; it was a comfortable place to be in, though thei chairs feel rickety and unstable if I'm being honest.The kale ceasar was good; we also had their mussels, the beet salad, and some truffle fries to share. I don't know how to describe it, but everything had a hint of sweetness that was a big turn off for me. We ended the meal with the cinnamon roll cheesecake (to DIE for) and the caramel pecan upside-down cake (fine; very dry).I had the petite filet and subbed brussels in for their mashed potatoes (both of which also had the hint of sweetness mentioned above). I think the goal was complexity of flavor, the the balancing swayed into the sweet directions. That said, no plate was left uncleaned (because of the cost if I'm being honest), and other meals ordered by the group included the trout, mushroom ravioli, shortrib (only one left unfinished), and the salmon if I recall.Their margarita was phenominal, though the drink service is a bit slow; they also have great dessert wines to pick from (my husband and a friend did a ruby port). All that to say that the food is over-priced in my opinion, but the service is great. You leave happy overall.
We had the short rib which was tender and flavorful with a phenomenal mac & cheese and I am not even a mac & cheese fan. We also got the petite fillet, which was supposed to be 8 ounces and came out looking more like a mini slider sized burger. I am giving it three stars because of the size of the $36 petite fillet however, I did not say anything as I thought that was just normal for this restaurant being that this is my first time there until I saw the person next to me get theirs, and they actually did get eight ounces however at that point we were done with our meal. My son ate the filet in 5 bites not even joking and I gave him some of my meal due to the filet being soo small and him clearly still being hungry. And maybe you need to ask for bread as I saw other tables with bread when we were walking out, but we were never offered any. I also did feel that that dessert menu was lacking so we didn’t get anything because nothing seemed appealing on it which was unfortunate. This was our first time in Knoxville and the first restaurant we tried!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Petite Filet
Great experience and wonderful food! Staff were very helpful and friendly. Tuna pizza was amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eaten dinner here quite a few times in the past but tonight’s wasn’t up to our last visits. Service was good as always, Austin took good care of us but the food ( fettuccine bolognese,swordfish) was just ok not great like in the past.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
We recently held a private function at the Oliver Royal. The best experience anyone could ever hope for. The helped plan the event and menu options. That was great but the staff on the event night knocked it out of the park. Great folks that made it a very special evening.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent dinner. Austin was a great server! For our anniversary, we had the Salmon and the Lamb Chops. Both were well cooked and seasoned. Thank you for a great (first) experience at this restaurant!
For my 6th visit in a row I am finally writing a review.More details to come but take the hint from this pic, we are warming your macallan in the candles. Jesus H Christ ?♂️
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
This was a phenomenal place for our anniversary brunch. First of all the hotel is beautiful with a long history starting out as the Peter Kern Bakery then becoming a hotel during the World's Fair in the 80s.The establishment has a really sophisticated atmosphere and the service was fast and friendly with a casual flare.We started off brunch like you should, with two mimosas and a plate of pastries. The walnut scone was delicious if not a bit dry, but the fresh jam more than made up for it. My fiance had an omelet and I ordered the K-town hot chicken and grits.The eggs in her omelette were fluffy and it was huge. Topped with a homemade salsa verde and over stuffed with mushrooms, peppers and sharp cheddar. It also came with a side of tasty fresh fruit.The K-town hot chicken and grits were wonderful, it had a little bit of a bite without being too spicy, the chicken was fried perfectly with a cornflake crust. The stone ground grits were like nothing I've tasted before... Granted not being from the south I have not tried many types of grits but these were delicious. The gravy on top of the chicken was hardy and satisfying. Even the egg that adorned the top was cooked perfectly. If I had to say anything negative about my meal was it could have been plated better.I'm looking forward to trying their dinner one of these days.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Phenomenal food and service! Will be going back.Good gluten free options for those as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We made a reservation and ended up coming a little early and still had no problem getting a seat. The wait staff here was incredible and extremely efficient. I didn't really ever have to ask for anything. The monkey bread is covered with caramel and pecans. It's pretty sweet, but still enjoyable. I would recommend sharing it with three or four people. It was a lot for just two of us. The bacon was perfectly cooked. We were not a fan of the gravy on the biscuit. The gravy had a strange consistency and was pretty spicy. What I ate of the biscuit was kind of stale and crumbly. The strawberry French toast wasn't too sweet, but had a bit of an uneven cook on them. They were crispy on the edges and extremely soft in the middle. The restaurant itself was very laidback, but still had an edge of elegance. I think you could come here dresses up for church or in leggings after studying.
Visited the Oliver last week on debut night for their new spring menu. Five stars for both of these dishes, incredibly delicious!
Restaurantji Recommends
OMG! The lamb chops were out of this world!!! Good in general was amazing, but the lamb chops were the star! The server was so kind and helpful with recommendations. There is outside and inside seating. Both have a great vibe. Definitely go here!
The Alaskan Halibut was fantastic!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We stopped in for drinks at the bar and they were great along with the service. We ordered scallops which we were told there would be three but the chef decided that two were big enough, they were RAW in the middle. Yuck! Our waitress took it off the bill, then we ordered the $48 Steak let me tell you this was the toughest piece of meat it was like jerky. We didn't want to complain again and just didn't eat it and paid our $150 bill..Then later that evening we checked into the Oliver Hotel where they told us we got a $25 credit for the restaurant it was 9:00 pm we said well we are still starving from not eating lets get a burger and take it to the room. We went it at 9:14 the restaurant closed at 9:30. Only for us to be told the Chef decided to close up early..sorry. There was another annoyed guest who felt the same at the bar as well. Let just say don't waste your money here on food....
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Highly recommend the spicy pasta, scallops and shrimp dish. North Carolina trout was fresh and prepared wonderfully with black rice and broccolini. CJ did a great job taking care of us. Hostess helped us get a table early, big thanks to all!
This is a pricey place, but the food is still good (not for the price, but still good); to me, it's the service that will bring us back. Kirstie was our phenominal waitress and she did an amazing job taking care of our group and keeping the table from being over crowded. The atmosphere, while dark, was still nice; it was a comfortable place to be in, though thei chairs feel rickety and unstable if I'm being honest.The kale ceasar was good; we also had their mussels, the beet salad, and some truffle fries to share. I don't know how to describe it, but everything had a hint of sweetness that was a big turn off for me. We ended the meal with the cinnamon roll cheesecake (to DIE for) and the caramel pecan upside-down cake (fine; very dry).I had the petite filet and subbed brussels in for their mashed potatoes (both of which also had the hint of sweetness mentioned above). I think the goal was complexity of flavor, the the balancing swayed into the sweet directions. That said, no plate was left uncleaned (because of the cost if I'm being honest), and other meals ordered by the group included the trout, mushroom ravioli, shortrib (only one left unfinished), and the salmon if I recall.Their margarita was phenominal, though the drink service is a bit slow; they also have great dessert wines to pick from (my husband and a friend did a ruby port). All that to say that the food is over-priced in my opinion, but the service is great. You leave happy overall.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5