Soul Food Restaurants in Knoxville, TN

“When I saw this place was open I was definitely excited because we don’t have 1 single restaurant around here that is like this. I waited a bit until they got up a running and ordered catfish and smothered chicken. The food was AMAZING! Being a fan of fried fish, catfish isn’t on the top of my list because of the “gamey” taste but there was none of that! I even ate it without tartar sauce (which was a first( because it just didn’t need it. They have different hours so it was a while before I could try it again. The second time I didn’t know what to expect because their popularity had grown (catering for UT and such) so I braced myself for the possibility that the quality might be different, boy was I wrong! The chef’s food was just as delicious and consistent as the first time we had it. My kids (who are picky) loved it, especially the cornbread. My son said “I don’t like cornbread!” I told him to try theirs and I hadn’t even had it yet, but the sheer look and smell told me it was amazing and it was. My most recent visit the chef had me try his green and cabbage. I DO NOT like cabbage but I tried it based on his other food alone, and it blew me away. I left my plate of salmon, greens and Mac and cheese in the kitchen and to my disappointment SOMEONE ate ALL of it, but I was ok with it. 😂 I told the owner as much as I didn’t want to make this review because I wanted to be selfish and make sure our area can enjoy his food without it being sold out, I also feel it would be a crime not to tell Knoxville about how AMAZING this place is. Do yourself a favor and check them out. They also have a food truck that will be down by the Henley street bridge for those in that area. Ola’s is definitely what South Knox needed and the food is like a warm comfy blanket! 5 star ALL day long! ❤️🙏🏾“

“Turkey ribs and the pork ribs are phenomenal. The baked beans, Mac and cheese and the fried cabbage are must haves!“

“This is simply the best restaurant in Knoxville. Not only is the food absolutely delicious, the servings are large and the food is hot or cold, depending on what it is. The wonderful slaw is always chilled. In addition, the servers are friendly and efficient, although possibly overworked. What a great experience!“

“Chef Mo provided us great food at our recent conference.“

“Big Fatty's provided our food for our cocktail hour for our July 2025 wedding! The biggest thing that we heard from guests was how AMAZING the food was at our cocktail hour! Everyone raved about how great everything was. I would highly recommend Big Fatty's!!“