25 Best Southern Restaurants in Knoxville

“my boyfriend and i came here for the first time tonight and it was so wonderful. everything was incredibly delicious, probably the best food i’ve had in knox yet, and our server, katie, took SUCH great care of us! we will absolutely be back, many many more times“

“My husband and I visited this restaurant for our anniversary, and it was truly unforgettable! The food was absolutely phenomenal, every dish was bursting with flavor and beautifully presented. The service was just as impressive; the staff made us feel welcomed, celebrated, and well cared for the entire evening.

We're already talking about coming back again soon! Highly recommend to anyone looking for an amazing dining experience!“

“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!“

“My husband and I love Gus's fried chicken. We recommend Gus's to our friends and they always thank us. Heavyn and Grace are two of our servers we enjoy getting to know. They have the most gracious staff. Thank you!“

“Absolutely delicious! We didn’t have one thing we didn’t thoroughly enjoy. I will be dreaming about those Brussel sprouts for days! Very very delicious food, the atmosphere is very inviting and cozy. Big plus that it was an LGBT friendly environment! ❤️“

“Great atmosphere and delicious food!!“

“Hands down my favorite chicken place EVER. I dream about the tomato pie on a regular basis. Always great service and great beer selection.“

“Always great and consistent“

“Cafe 4 is a reliable place to bring family and friends. The food is consistently high quality and the service is always great. It's a noisy dining room so not as suitable for a romantic meal but for a business dinner, it can also work.“

“Great food, service, and a happy clean atmosphere!“

“There's are very few places to eat home cooked meals an friendly people an great service“

“Today was my first visit & now I'm a fan! Food was fresh and delicious. Our server was great. If you haven't had this place, run..go today!“

“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! ❤️🙏🏾“

“We ate here twice while we were in town, and we loved it! The servers, Amber and Daniel, were fantastic-nice, attentive and great personalities. We will definitely be back there!“

“Great atmosphere great service“

“Love this place. Come here often and the waitstaff and bartenders are efficient and personable. Bailey and Kailey are amazing and I will be bringing clients by just for the attentive service. Kitchen seemed a little backed up so food took awhile. However my drink never got below a quarter full“

“I typically love Maple Street. Something has changed over the past yr and my order tastes different. Now I know Cracker Barrell took over the chain but not sure if that is the source or not. Still a solid place for breakfast and I will definitely be back.“

“Our waitress was very nice. Our order was 💯. Prices are reasonable and food quantity and quality is top notch! So delicious 😋“

“We ate at the Cheddars on Clinton Hwy in Knoxville and man it was soooo good. My son and I had the sirloin and they were cooked to perfection! There was a slight timing mishap with a soup and salad but they made it right on the spot and I am glad that I did not get that salad earlier because I would not have been able to enjoy every bite of that steak. The green beans? Oh my gosh soooo good. Next time I will forget about the salad and get the two sides. I didn't catch our server's name but she was great! Shout out to server: hey girl tell us your name! you don't have to say I am _____ and I will be your server. But maybe, and my name is _____ if you need to get my attention. That is what I used to do. And you were great! Thank you Cheddars!!! Oh and Kyle Busch is my driver!!“

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

“Excellent food & amazingly friendly staff“

“Service 10/10Drinks 10/10Food 9 /10Really enjoyed the Monkey Finger and Johnny Appleseed drinks. The 8:55 PM ritual was fun and the free sample was tasty. Burger and chicken sandwich were great and the side salads were well worth the upcharge. Waitress was attentive and friendly. worth the visit.“

“This restaurant is the bomb diggity! The first thing I noticed was not the menu but how clean the restaurant is kept and a 100 Health Score. I have had every variety of chicken salad here and my nephew who is with me loves the place also. I eat here at least twice weekly. The employees here are very friendly and go out of their way to be helpful. If you like Chicken Salad this is the place you’ll love to come to.“

“Ok, so I eat at Buddy's BBQ all the time. So today I go to the Bearden location for an early lunch. Get my food and drink and go to a table by the windows. As I am sitting there eating, small black ants are crawling everywhere, along the windows sills and even on my table while I was trying to eat. I killed about 3 . I did notice ants were on other tables along the windows. Plus the windows sills were dirty and nasty. Number 2, the TV was on and extremely loud....and what was on ? Sports!!!! Men yacking back and forth as fast as they could talk. Not everyone enjoys listening and watching sports in every restaurant in town!!!!!“