Back Door Tavern

Thanks to Unilocal for helping me find this gem as we travel the country. We were chilling outside with our dogs enjoying a sample of some of their vast selection of beer, when the owners (?) came out with a huge bag of dog treats to give treats to our dogs. They even gave us a huge pile for later. We stayed for a second round and met some wonderful locals as they passed our table and struck up some conversation.

Small beer only bar with about 12 seats at the bar. Managed to score 3 together and we had a nice time on a Friday night. Seems like the kind if place you would go before you go out or to close down the night. A good Dive Bar for sure!
Service was good and bartender was attentive. We didn’t eat so cant comment on food if they even have any.
Crowd was a bug mix from college kids to older locals watching soccer. Good for conversation and just being out to chill.

There are down home, dive bars and then there are bars you should never enter if you value your life.
Thankfully, BDT aka Toddys is the former. A wonderful place to sit and hang with friends, Toddys is one of my favorite bars in Bearden. They have a wide selection of beers on bottles and a decent selection on tap.
Cash only, no liquor, be kind to your bartender! Love ya, toddy’s!

A friend of mine took 4 of us by BDT or «Toddy’s» last weekend for a few beers before a wedding we were involved with.
What an awesome nostalgic down to earth English type pub.
A couple attractive bar tenders that were customer oriented and friendly to everyone.
They seemed to know everyone that walked through the door. Eclectic group of people from older gentleman watching golf to college kids on bikes having beers.
No food except for a free hot dog, passed but decent draft selection and plenty of choices in the coolers.
This was a friendly bar that attracted a diverse clientele that was really laid back.
We sat in the courtyard where there is a couple of large tents and horseshoes.
This is not a meat market but had a lot of attractive (30 something) ladies having beers outside. Athens last of an era, huge sports bar I am told during FB, BB, Baseball and golf season. Very close to UT, Old Town and great restaurants.
Really cool, will go back

What an wonderfully kept secret on Kingston Pike. I didn’t know that dive bars like this existed in Bearden, but they do!
A cozy, divey interior and a large backyard with firepits set the tone for low key evenings or ones that get out of hand. The bartender has at least 50 different bottled beers from breweries all over the country, half a dozen beers on tap, and lots of mixers and solo cups. But if you want to drink hard liquor, bring it yourself and pay a couple dollars for a Coke and limes from behind the bar. I’m definitely adding this gem to my bar rotation next time I’m in Knoxville.

This is as down-​home, dive-​y as it gets. It seems obvious that you should not come looking for a fancy martini bar. No food, so eat before or after… just a good summer hang out for beer and horseshoes.

I was coming through knoxville on my way to the smokies and we decided to spend a few hours getting a drink/​eats before heading on. After the requisite research on the net and Unilocal (which apparently isn’t utilized in many towns in the south), we came up with this place as our destination. We read on another website that they had the best brats EVER, and it seemed pretty divey (always a plus), so we pulled in on a friday night hungry for beer, food, and a good time. The outside of the building advertised a polish sausage buffet, only adding to our excitement.
We went through the back door (of course), and sat down amongst a mostly middle-​aged male crowd at the bar. After ordering a beer, we asked about food and were disappointed to learn that the only food they had currently was some nuts, popcorn, or a hot dog. BOO!
After finishing our beers, we headed out to get food elsewhere. Despite it living up to its reputation as a serious dive bar, I would probably not come back here the next time I’m in Knoxville, at least until I’m older, and a man… and not hungry for sausages!

If you love dive bars, you’ll love the Back Door Tavern. This is the quintessential dive bar. The clientele is as diverse as the beer selection. Doctors, lawyers, construction workers, landscapers, businessmen, and college students frequent this melting pot of a bar.
The BDT has one of the best beer selections in Knoxville including about a dozen draft beers with specialty beers rotating on and off the tap lineup. The bar area includes a dumpy bar with lots of character including a large bar, tables, electronic darts, and a great jukebox. The Back Door Tavern also has a great outdoor area dirt/​mulch floor, picnic tables, benches, outdoor tunes, and much used horseshoe pit… with tournament every Wednesday night. The outdoor area is used 12 months a year and includes a couple of large tents when the sunshine turns to the liquid sort.
Food is limited to a hot dog/​sausage bar with great fixn’s…folks don’t frequent The Door for the food.
I travel and drink all over the country and The Back Door Tavern is on my top 5 list!

I lived in Knoxville for 5 years and this is my favorite bar. From celeb bartenders to UT Alumn you will find someone there worth talking to. TBDT is a local joint without a bunch of wild kegstanding underage kids. While there grab a free hotdog and a couple bags of popcorn and wash it down with a $ 1.50 Old Style on tap. Sit at the bar and look through the thousands of pictures all over the place.