Apple Cake Tea Room

When you want to go out to eat but avoid the noise and other commotion that is usually synonymous with restaurants in Turkey Creek, this is your oasis. The menu selections are light, but very tasty. I am a fan of the Quiche of the Day. The broccoli quiche has a lot of broccoli and is easily my favorite. Just be aware, to those with large appetites, that they only give you a slice. You also get a glazed fruit cup on the side which is super sweet, but if you consider it as your dessert, then it’s a little more tolerable.
If you are in the mood for fruit that is a little more authentic, you need to try the Fruit Salad. It’s literally a large plate overflowing with various fruit including a whole pineapple!
Many other menu items look interesting, but again, I would not recommend coming if you are starving. But if you want a delicious light lunch, this is your place.

I love it here. This place is special to my family, because my grandmother worked here 20 years ago. The owner brings out photos of my grandmother when we visit, which is much appreciated, because she has passed away. They are always so sweet to us.
The atmosphere is great here + so is the food. I crave the chicken salad from time to time, and the little muffins they bring you are delicious. Get the friendship tea, it is very tasty iced or hot.

I took my mom out for a special day here as she is obsessed with tea. The inside was so cute and cozy! It gets busy really quick and despite it being busy our service was amazing! We loved how our tea came with a little teapot. They always asked if we needed more hot water as well so I never had an empty teapot. Our food came within 5 minutes hot and oh so good! I highly recommend Apple cake tea! ⁵⁄₅ from both my mom and I!

Wasn’t impressed. The food was average, the service was as well. I’m not sure how they rank a 90% rating – I’d give it a 75.

I’m giving this place 4 stars after my first visit. It’s very much a lunch place for ladies and that’s fine. I was in the mood for the kind of lunch they offer. Tasty, fresh and not gigantic in portions. I had the dish that is in the upper left corner of the menu (for the life of me I can’t remember its cute name)…it’s a combo of their chicken salad, glazed fruit salad and their banana bread with cream cheese and strawberries. What a pleasant lunch. Just enough of everything so that you get a variety. The place was crowded with women and one teenage boy who should get a new video game or something for being so patient with the elderly ladies his mom obviously brought to lunch. The décor is the «let’s cram as many plaques, decorative pillows and plates as we can in here». Lots of cute sayings about aging as a female and jokes about men. You get the idea. I’d go here again if I ever had my mom with me in Knoxville. They don’t take AMEX, by the way.

I tell you what. This place is a charmer. I was treated to one of their delicious specialties. It was truly delicious and special. Spiced sweet tea, it was. Glazed fruit, it is. Chicken salad with a side of banana bread. That was heavenly. Bravo Beef Gravy with a stuffed potato is what it claims to be. I was going to get the apple cake but now I’m stuffed. Just go and do it. This place makes me feel like a lady.

Yummy lunches, cute atmosphere. Prices are a little high. The tea, chicken salad, muffins, and fruit salad are the best items. Definitely a Ladies Who Lunch place.

They had run out of my top two choices, quiche and gumbo, just as I arrived. They proved stingy on the initial (delicious) bread offering. The eventual beef and gravy, and spiced tea proved excellent, however. Patrons tended towards the older population, so don’t be in a rush. Recommended as a quaint and unique experience.

Best. Banana Bread. Ever.
This place is country, cozy, cute. I feel like it’s overlooked a lot too. If you’re a local, Apple Cake Tea Room deserves your business as least once.
As a child I remember passing through Knoxville on our way from Jersey to Nashville, and we must have stopped here 4 or 5 times over the years. When I moved to Knoxville in 2009, I couldn’t wait to go back!
The chicken salad wasn’t as delicious as I remembered, but the banana bread (which you can buy an entire loaf of and take home… and you should) is absolutely sensational! It’s moist, dense, and really flavorful. Last I checked it was $ 8.00/loaf.

My husband and I recently moved back to the Knoxville area from Georgia. We are both professionals while I am currently staying home with our two children (5 yrs and a baby). We went to eat at the Apple Cake Tea Room several times since we moved here and my in laws enjoyed going when they were in town. The first time we went we learned that they only had a hot dog and pbj of which my daughter eats neither so she sat patiently and waited for the grown ups to eat. We have no family here so we recently brought in something for my daughter to eat so that my husband and I could still come to eat at this restaurant. We had done this before as we called and they told us to bring her food with us and we would have to sit in a designated area. After lunch, the waitress informed us that the owner had charged us a fee for our child to eat the food we brought. I went to the owner and she proceeded to tell me how horrible the children make messes in her restaurant with the brought in food and I assumed that is why she charges a fee. She said I will remove the fee this time but you do not know how messy it gets with these children. The owner stated that many children bring in food and I sensed this was irritating to her. I suggested maybe she could expand her children’s menu. She stated she cannot please everyone and the fee was nominal. I will not return due to the principal of the matter and it is such a shame since our family enjoyed it previously. I do not feel like the owner or her front-​end staff really desires children in their establishment. The reason I state this is due to when we came in and politely stated our daughter brought food as to sit in the designated area, whispering started and I was told it was going to be quite a wait. This critique is for all of us who have children who like more of a choice than a hot dog and pbj and enjoy feeling welcome where we are spending our money.