Icon Ultra Lounge

Now this is the trick, the high end continental food is very good, but the best deal and the greatest burger in Knoxville is over at the bar area. They have a pork /​beef combination hamburger, medium rare that is the top of the heap. I never eat a whole burger, I always split it with my wife, but on this night, I ate a whole the burger. The fries were great but the burger and drinks were great and the price is better than I expected, a little higher due to the great view and wild bathrooms. I wish I had found out about their burger at the bar much earlier while I was in Knoxville, it is WORTH THE TRIP. Time your trip to be there around sundown, that is the nicest time. Chef Bruce, is an excellent chef and the secret is the burger on at the bar is THE best in town!

I have been to a couple of parties here. The view is completely inimitable. It would be a perfect spot for a wedding or an anniversary. Definitely it is one of the must see spots in Knoxville, as a Knoxville Attraction.
Do not miss the Simpsons mention of this venue!

Icon is a place that has changed staff, managers, and cuisine multiple times. It seems I go and by the time I head back the whole place has changed. My most recent visit left me hopeful this place will have a nice future. In all fairness, Icon’s restaurant manager left a previous restaurant I adored and I really believe he will really impact this place. That is what makes this review a 4 instead of a 3.
I went to Icon to watch a UT football game that was sold out. There were several seats, but the manager informed me they were packed before the game and already had full reservations starting in about 1.5 hours. That was a shock because I’ve rarely known this place to be sold out. Anyway, I watched the game with friends and took advantage of the happy hour drinks. I also ordered the mushroom veggie melt. The sandwich was huge and surprisingly juicy to be vegetarian. It had boursin cheese, tomato and spinach. The spinach added a bit of bitterness, but a quick addition of dijon mustard completely opened up the flavors. For dessert I got the peach cobbler topped with cinnamon ice-​cream and whipped cream. I could have used a bit more cobbler crust, but it was a definitely a nice dessert. Albeit, at 8 bucks a bit more expensive than I would have liked.
For the first time in years, I look forward to heading back to Icon. I think it has some promise, so maybe this time the crowd and management team will stick.

The view was great! I ordered the fried chicken with green beans and creamed corn with a sweet syrup dipping sauce. The chicken was very tasty, however I did not understand the concept of the dipping/​drizzling sauce since the chicken was full of flavor all by itself. The chicken had a good crunchy crust on the outside and flavorful meat inside. The chicken was a good choice among many good choices.

Dined here a couple of nights ago. best food I’ve had in ages.. Presentation and taste was really thoughtful. Will return for sure. it was a bit pricey for our budget but is quality all the way.

All the potential in the world but drastically falling short of anything to write home about. OK drink prices, food looks good I guess but this place is outdated and cheap looking. I wonks love to see this place as something special because the theme is great and the view rocks. Check her out if you must, enjoy the view, beer was flat, speciality cocktail wasn’t good.

Everything we had was amazing, but the duck was especially good. The daily soup and specials are also a good bet.

Just took a chance with the kids and sat for cocktails. Had the appetizer — crispy chicken livers. So yummy and the kids had the potato chips — everything was exceptional! The chef even offered us complementary desert banana pudding to die for! Would recommend highly!

The Sunsphere has been many things in its life. The fourth floor of it is currently Icon Ultra Lounge, which we’d been meaning to make it to for quite some time. At long last, we finally made it, and it was pretty great.
I can see being there during typical happy hour when the sun is still up and you can see the surrounding area. The view would be pretty stunning. As the sun goes down, the neon lighting that surrounds the lounge area intensifies to the point where it’s a little tough to see what’s going on outside from the reflection glare on the windows. Nonetheless, it’s a really chill environment and we enjoyed ourselves.
The food and mixed drinks all looked delicious, which is no surprise considering their chef is Bruce, formerly of Rouxbarb, which was a really top notch place to eat. We had already eaten for the evening, but had the specialty strawberry rhubarb cobbler and a couple of mojitos. Both were above expectation, and we left VERY happy.
Downside? The music was chill and innocuously out of the way when we got there, but it turned REALLY terrible as our visit progressed, and ultimately was the reason we left. My other beef is that the neon lighting, while cool looking, really impeded any view you might want to have.
In short, go for the food and the drinks. The atmosphere was cool, but brace yourself for when the music quits being musical. Also, maybe I’m just old.

Unprofessional, rude staff. We were constantly waiting, whether is be our drinks, appetizers, or meals. I was brought the completely wrong meal and our waitress insisted I would like it and left the table. I ended up asking for a burger instead and was charged for both in the end. I would suggest trying somewhere on market square, only a few minutes away like tupelo honey.

Went tonight for my birthday as a surprise from my husband. It was beyond what I expected! The food was amazing! You get so much that you could almost share it or have a second meal for later. The food was perfectly seasoned. We ordered drinks and they were perfect and not watered down. We went prior to the sun going down (6 ish) so the view was magnificent. The atmosphere is very romantic with candles lite. The seating is very cozy and comfy. They also had soft music playing. The other reviews are older and I am pretty sure they had different owners then. They have atop chef of Knoxville in their kitchen. The staff was nicely dressed up. I highly recommend going! No doubt we will return! :)

One of the best meals I have had… Ever! The Shrimp and Grits is ridiculous.
Bruce Bogartz has a true gift. This is more than Rhubarb’s in the Sky… It’s a awesome food experience with great service and a view. Highly recommended!!!

The food was excellent! However, the atmosphere was very unpleasant. The blue lights put us on edge and we couldn’t see out of the windows as you should be able to when dining in the sun sphere. The waitress was weird and the interiors were very 80s bar-​vibe. I really really wish they’d change these things because the food is so good and I don’t want to lose a good downtown restaurant due to these problems.

Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuce is back!!!
All previous reviews for this place are pretty dated. Here’s my take: To start, for fans of the sorely missed Rouxbarb, Bruce Bogartz is since dec 2014 the chef. The food is phenomenal. The menu offers a lot and still prbly most dynamic and creative in Knoxville. So go for the food. 5 stars
As to setting, fun location finally motivated us to go to the sun sphere after being in the city for 7+ yrs. but lose a star because of the lighting: Fix. This. Now. It’s horrible. Maybe install a dimmer and keep the light on instead of flicking them on and off. It is borderline seizure-​inducing.
But seriously, great food. Just fix the lights.

Bruce Bogartz is now the chef. Hooray! He has been there about three weeks so ignore earlier reviews of food. Our party of five had gumbo (excellent), Bruce’s signature chicken livers (not quite up to the best he has ever done but still vey good) and good salads to start. This was followed by quail (good), mahi mahi (excellent), trout (excellent with just the right amount of tarragon), crawfish and grits (good). We shared a pumpkin bread pudding topped by ice cream and caramel for dessert. It was
clearly a case of having saved best for last. I have rated the dishes by very high standards. In comparison to most other food in the area all dishes were excellent plus.
The setting is interesting. I have always distrusted restaurants in places like the sun sphere because the view often substitutes for quality of food. But so far at least Bruce’s food is the star. The seating is comfortable but the lighting a bit distracting, probably better suited for bar atmosphere. Maybe that can be changed as time goes on
George (who was at Rouxbarb before it closed) was our waiter and was excellent.
Parking requires a little thought but can be found not very far away and this minor problem should not stand in the way of welcoming Bruce’s great dishes back to Knoxville

The food is amazing, cocktails are delicious and the staff is crazy nice and polite. I absolutely love this restaurant and highly recommend it!

We only had drinks here, but with a view like this, they were the best drinks ever!

Great location high above downtown Knoxville! New menu and management team up there and atmosphere is fantastic. Beer was cold, music fun, low lit dining with 80’s feel to it. Order was not as stated on menu but they did take care of 50% of my meal for mistake. Dessert was delicious. I would have to say to give the new management a fair shake with this place and decide for yourselves once they have time to adjust to new menu.

Was walking around New Years, decided that Market Square was just too crowded, so decided to see if the Sunsphere was open to get a good view of the city. Went in to find that there was a bar having a New Years party and decided to stay around for it. The drinks were all pretty good, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had 312 on tap. Prices were pretty decent, a night of drinking for two adults came out to around $ 56. Overall, it was a great New Years.
We went back a couple of days later because my girlfriend had left her sweater there, and the place was completely deserted except for the staff, which is a shame as it’s a really cool place with a great view and an icon of the city. I think if the parking situation were better and more party type events were thrown, this could be a great bar. Until then, I say only go for the special events.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. A friend and I decided to meet for dinner there. The view is amazing. That’s the only good thing about the place.
We called to make a reservation but none was needed. There was only one other person besides us in the place. The staff seemed not to know anything about the food and couldn’t answer basic questions about the restaurant. The guy I talked to on the phone sounded shocked that anyone would want to come there and as well as by the fact they served food. This should have been the red flag.
We got there and the staff were just sitting around. No one got up to seat us so we just sat ourselves at the bar. It easily took the bartender 8 – 10 minutes to take our drink order (sweet tea and water). Both the water and the sweet tea had a funky taste to them. Like they were old and in unwashed glasses.
In the time it took to get our drinks and place an appetizer order, the bartender had mixed a drink for the other customer using his bare unwashed hands. As in he used his fingers to mix the drink and then gave her straws that he touched all over. Another staff member came to talk to him and get a cutting board. She rubbed the cutting board all over his back and then proceeded to cut limes on the board. Another server dropped utensils on the floor (which was visibly dirty) and still place them on a table.
We figured that if the front of house was this bad who knows how bad the kitchen was. We canceled our order and paid for our drinks. The bartender at least asked what was wrong and we told him the drinks tasted funny (he then drank out of each glass) and we mentioned the unhygienic conditions and acted like we were crazy.
We left as quickly as possible. It’s so sad that this place is such a dump when it’s in such an amazing location.