Calhoun’s

Honestly, the food is okay, perfectly serviceable. You get alot of it too. My dining partner and I come here mostly on Sunday mornings. They hand squeeze their orange juice for their Mimosa’s and screwdrivers. I can tell you, it makes a world of difference. Seriously, the freshest, best tasting Mimosa’s in Knoxville.

Meat was dry. Had good smoked flavor. Service was slow tomatoey but got better through the meal. Decent atmosphere.

My friend ordered catering for a large event and made sure to covered the veggie heads like me! I had the:
— Veggie lasagna — looks can be deceiving. It seemed dry and bland but it was packed with mixed veggies and cheese. There wasn’t much tomato sauce but the filling was more than enough
— Creamed Corn — this was the first time I had creamed corn. I didn’t even know it was a thing. I just knew I enjoyed it a lot. I packed some left overs and added it to my daily oatmeal and wow. This made my oatmeal taste amazing. It was so creamy and ahh Loved it.
— Corn bread — ehh. They lacked in this department.
— Baked cinnamon sugar apples — sort of addicting. I had no self control with these.
Overall, way better food than I anticipated.

Kind of like Chili’s crashed into a Houstons. Nice atmosphere on the river, but I wouldn’t come here for the food. I found it to be overpriced and the portions smaller than expected. It’s an experience to be tried, especially on a game weekend, but it’s checked off my culinary list, permanently.

As a Knoxville staple, I think I just expected more from Calhoun’s.
Obviously the location is wonderful, and really a seat on the deck or by the window makes the whole experience worthwhile.
But if we’re being honest, this place is just another bbq spot in the south.
The spinach side dish WAS pretty darn good though, I’ll give them that!

Not impressed food was just ok the menus werent anything special I wouldnt stand in line to eat here. Chicken sandwich was good.

Food: exactly what I wanted from a Knoxville restaurant. Had the pulled pork covered nachos. Delicious. Covered in cheese, jalapeños, beans and bbq sauce. Then had the pulled pork sandwich. Both were awesome, but it’s worth noting that the sandwich did not come with sauce on it… and I love sauce so I had to add quite a bit and of course I also piled on the coleslaw. Wouldn’t even need to look at the menu next time. I’d get them both again.
Service: on point. I sat at the bar and was hosted by Nina the bartender. I was pretty much the only person there, but she was very attentive. Polite and knew the food and beers well.
Atmosphere: lots of wood, open, on the water, apparently game days are crazy here, micro brew, cool place, can work for families or just going out with friends

Great restaurant on the water… had the mixed BBQ plate which included pulled pork, chicken tenders and ribs. All were very good. Baked beans were to die for and spicy. Loved them. Free bread to kick things off. Great place.

Amazing water front view. Waiter seemed to not care about my partner and I after serving our food. She also had no idea what beers they had even though they brew their own beer. Pulled pork was great after a canoe ride up the river.

I was visiting Knoxville on a business trip for the first time. My team who live in the area wanted to take me to experience some real, down home southern food. As a foodie, I was game. I do love some bbq, fried okra and Mac n cheese. But next time I might remember to take them up on the offer for dinner. Not lunch where I have to actually function for the rest of the day. You come to this place and a nap is pretty much required afterward. And probably some alka-​seltzer. Or in my case — hot tea. A remedy I grew up with in a Japanese-​Hawaiian culture to «help the grease go down.»
Anyway, it all depends on what you value in a restaraunt. For me, this wasn’t my thing. Let me explain:
The portions are MONSTROUS! Like Man v. Food sized. Not my thing.
The idea seems to be to just add meat, cheese and grease. While that may sound heavenly, when this is taken to an extreme, it’s just kinda ehhh.
Example: I ordered a salad and asked to add a touch of brisket on top (as you can add the different meats as an option to salads).
I received about a ½ lb of brisket in a bowl. Confused, I searched for my salad and dug under the layers of meat. What I discovered next was a thick sheet of shredded cheddar cheese. I dug under that rigorously with my fork and found a bit of shredded lettuce and handful of tomatoes.
And that was their definition of a salad.
So just not my thing. And working the rest of the day with that in your stomach. I downed 3 large green teas from Starbucks before I felt a little better.

There’s a reason this is a favorite hang out of the Vol Navy. You get all the Calhouns goodness but sitting on the TN river. With the general lack of waterfront places in Knoxville this one stands above the rest. You really can’t go wrong with much on the menu. Yeah the BBQ may not have the smokiness of a smaller rib shack or something. But it does deliver on taste. Or maybe it’s just looking at the river while you eat that makes everything taste better. Whatever it is, this place is a Knoxville institution and worth the trip.

I enjoy Calhoun’s for lunch or for a meal on the patio. I have never had a good experience with the food at dinner time. We would be seated at the inside addition patio about 90% of the time and it’s either ridiculously hot or cold. I used to exclusively get the BBQ plate because how could that be anything but right? The food was always mediocre and I am not in love with the BBQ sauce. I’m sorry to say that there is better BBQ in Knoxville.
With that said… The day I went for lunch was a game changer! A friend told me about the Smokehouse salad and I absolutely love it. Their salads are consistently great, there are tons of toppings and grilled meats. The smokehouse has country ham, bacon, and chicken and it’s super filling and tasty. I also like those little rolls with garlic crumbs at the beginning of the meal.
This is a Knoxville institution and it seems to be a crowd pleaser for people from out of town or business meals.

Great food. The beans are ridiculous! Get them! Stephanie was our waitress and she was phenomenal! The view is amazing and there’s a few spots to park your boat as well. I highly recommend this establishment. You won’t be disappointed!

I’m a fan of the Calhoun’s brand of restaurants in general (Copper Cellar, Chesapeake’s, Smoky Mtn Brewery). This is one of the better Calhoun’s locations, in my opinion. I will couch that on that premise that — it’s usually pretty great if you sit outside or in the bar area tables/​booths. Part of this is because you can bypass the awkwardly-​outfitted hostess area and the usually-​awkward hostess staff.
Outside, the menu is limited which is honestly a real bummer if you’re craving a particular menu item, but it’s lovely for a drink.
From the full menu, my favorites are the BBQ Chicken Salad (i think it’s exclusive to this location), the loaded potato soup, boneless wings in Thunder Road sauce, and any of the veggie sides. They always have a specials menu, and I appreciate that their salmon is always WILD CAUGHT and not Atlantic. Cheesecake specials are usually stupid-​good as well. The mixers in the drinks are all fresh-​squeezed juice so mimosas, screwdrivers, and the like are extra-​tasty. Bön Appetit!

Calhoun’s is somewhat of a local institution.
They’re famous for their ribs, their service, and their locations.
With great locations throughout the Knoxville area, Calhoun’s has several great locations on the river. Each one has local flavor and a great atmosphere.
There’s lots of good food to be had, but I’ve never thought the ribs to be one of those.
They’re not bad, but not really that good.
Much of the menu covers the entire gambit of options, from salad, to fish, to burgers, to anything else, but there are several things that are really quite good.
First, the bread they bring out is awesome. It’s always warm and moist, which is a huge plus.
The sweet tea is mighty tasty, but you probably assumed that already.
The fried green tomatoes are awesome, some of the best around.
While actually an appetizer, the BBQ potato skins make for an amazing meal. Just the right amount of meat, sauce, and cheese, you’ll end up sharing these bad boys or taking them home for a second meal.

Let’s be honest. I’d like to bathe in their beer cheese. Order the pretzel vs the chips. I like the Cherokee Red Ale the best. The salads are great while you stare at your friends huge rack of ribs. I’ve heard they have the best «naked» wings around! Of course they told me that after I ordered… Blurgh! The location downtown is a fave because of the patio!

So I received a Copper Card as a gift and said to myself, I will be eating racks and rack and racks of ribs. To my surprise, this did not happen as I drank and drank and became full over liquids. Normally, one would be full with the bread and butter at the beginning of the meal. How embarrassing. Here are few notes:
cornbread muffin with a slab of butter= delicious!
naked hot and spicy wings = double delicious!
smoked turkey salad = lack of citrus in the dressing
corn pudding = omgomgomg most amazing thing ever
rack of ribs = smokey, flavorful, and everything I had imagined
beer = gotta love their wheat

Let me start this by saying their cheaper menu items such as the fries, burgers and chicken fingers were great. However the pricer items are disgusting. We got the prime rib sandwiches and they were the worst prime rib we have ever eaten in our lives. After pulling all of the fat off I had less edible meat than fat on my plate. It was dry, not cooked properly and flavorless.
The potatoes were nothing special either. Everyone’s bread (hamburger and prime rib sandwiches) were wet. I am not sure if this is an issue with moisture on plates or what. I let the waitress know we were not happy but a manager never addressed anything other than «did you get some dry bread?». I requested no horseradish sauce with my dinner and extra butter/​sour cream with my potato. So guess what I put on my potato and ate a mouth full of? yea… At that point, I was past the point of complaining for 20mins and just wanted to leave. We were traveling and I did not have another hour to sit there waiting for new food.
Now my kids… they throughly enjoyed their meals. I guess if you eat here you should buy the cheap food and avoid the steaks and ribs. (as we were told to do so by other guests). We were not going to even try the ribs because we are from memphis and well, let’s face it, they would never match up. The sauce they have is VERY sweet and not that great in my opinion either. I did note diners around us griping about how tough their ribs were and complaining about the BBQ.
The front door staff was ignorant and caused us to wait much longer than needed to be sat. Our server was very bubbly and good overall. We did have many other people bringing us our food and helping her for whatever reason. But when she was at the table she was very good.
The view is really great and I would say this places only truly good point.
We will not return. ever. They got the only $ 100 I will ever drop there. I don’t get all the hype on this place unless people don’t see past the view and some adequate burgers and great chicken tenders and fries.
Also notable is that they had smart car charger ports in the parking lot.

We relate the Calhoun’s experience to the game of telephone. Likely because Calhoun’s sponsors Tennessee events, someone believed this place was the best BBQ ever, rather than realizing it’s simply great marketing. They told one person how good the food is, who told another and now every out-​of-​towner believes Calhoun’s is the best BBQ in Knoxville, which isn’t the case.
What can be hyped here is the gameday atmosphere and view of the Tennessee River. The BBQ is average, at best and if it’s average, it’s overpriced. You’re paying for location and the amount of advertising put into getting you here. I’m not basher, just a realist and have tried to bring multiple groups of people to this location, all of which wonder why anyone would return, which is odd because their Turkey Hill location has wonderful food, yet this particular spot has always underachieved when it comes to producing BBQ that makes people crave a return.
Oddly enough, we ordered the same food here as we did at Turkey Hill on back to back days and even though it’s the same chain, they tasted nothing alike. The Hickory Smoked Prime Rib was meager and my friend who will even eat prime rib at a truck stop didn’t finish his here. My smoked chicken was flavorless, compared to an awesome meal a day prior at a location a few miles away. Strange, yes. Even the bread here was average and we fought over who got what piece at the other location a day prior.
If you don’t mind average food, come here, because the view rocks. Otherwise, go to the Turkey Hill location (the Gatlinburg one under achieves, too). This is tourist BBQ, not true Tennessee smoked meat.

Okay I will give this place 2 stars
1 star for the food and 1 star because the location is on the Tennesse river and it’s a great view for dining.
Also keep in mind that I am being very picky because I am rating the great «Southern BBQ» which southerners are very picky about.
Got recommended this place by someone in the Crowne Plaza Hotel– I’m never trusting him or anyone in Crowne Plaza again. Haha.
We both ordered the Calhoun’s trio, but you can’t make any substitutes, which was kind of annoying. Also it cost nearly $ 16, and the portion size was TINY! The bread that came with the meal was really good, and I got baked apples and the creamed spinach on the side, enjoyed them both a lot.
The meat was the flunk. Chicken was kind of measly looking, the pork was dry, and the baby back ribs were nothing special. Meh. I’m not a fan.
Just really commercialized BBQ, nothing special at all, go somewhere else.