The Plaid Apron

Really good food and a cute little atmosphere! Kind of confusing with ordering and the coffee situation, but once you know what you are doing it is better. A little on the pricey side for what you get, and the clientele is a bit pretentious so just be forewarned.

I’d heard a lot of good things about this place and decided to stop in. Their menu was very limited and it was difficult to find something with my dietary restrictions. I asked if they could make a simple veggie omlette with a side of potatoes and they agreed. The food came out quickly, but as I started to eat I realized that to them a veggie omlette means a pile of collards wrapped in spongy egg and potatoes drenched in balsamic. As we had to pay (and tip!) beforehand I went in to get something edible. I was not happy paying $ 9 for that poor excuse for an omlette. The servers showed little interest in helping and made it out to be my fault for not telling her exactly what I wanted. When I finally walked her through how to put together a veggie omlette, I finally got something edible.
All in all it was frustrating and the food wasn’t good enough to justify the price. We will be sticking to our usual breakfast at First Watch.

It was a nice local joint that we ended up finding on here while driving through to Florida. We love visiting local businesses while traveling. The food here was VERY fresh. You could easily tell that their goal is to serve fresh, locally grown foods. We stopped for breakfast, and I had the eggs Benedict with a side of toast and boysenberry jam. The toast, you could tell, was homemade bread and in addition to the delicious jam, it was easily the best toast I had had. Also, perks to the chef who could properly prepare a poached egg My husband had the pancakes and they were DELICIOUS! The flavor was incredible! We will definitely remember this place when driving through Knoxville again.

This is my favorite breakfast place in Knoxville! The food is quality and they have a variety of both healthy and indulgent food choices. The weekends have a fuller more diverse menu but the weekdays still have their delicious staples. I always get the bottomless cup coffee as well, you have your pick from 3 or 4 different brews :) the sausage pancake and eggs Benedict are some of my go-too’s. Oh also lunch is amazing. SUMMARY: It’s a no fail people.

I actually really really like this place. You’ll smell like food when you get out because of their open kitchen, but everything was delicious and reasonably priced. They change up their menu so you know you get fresh, in-​season ingredients. The location is a bit weird, tho, kinda in the middle of a neighborhood, but other than that it was a pleasant experience.

Good, fresh food. Service can be a little slow but the food is worth it. I think the food here is among the best in Knoxville. They take high quality ingredients and turn simple dishes into pure deliciousness. I love their market salad, and their vegetable plate is actually tasty and not the usual sad affair you find at other places.
However, don’t forget that this is a casual place where you order your food at the counter. So don’t expect a full service restaurant experience. And because it can get crowded, you should try to avoid peak hours– your experience will be that much better.

We’re not very impressed. We unfortunately came during the kitchen switch over between breakfast and lunch. We were told we’d have to wait 15 to 20 minutes for our food. Since we had circled the parking lot a few times we decided to stay. You’re instructed to order first before finding a seat so don’t expect to get seated right away. During our ordering process we we’re informed of all the choices we wanted that weren’t available. Apparently the kitchen couldn’t even make toast. Once we ordered we got our own silverware and napkins (not normally a big deal) and noticed that you’ve got to bus your own table. This seemed a little pretentious to me since you are presented with a tip dialog when you pay… before you sit, with everything you’ve gathered yourself to wait… During our wait I noticed the counter staff chatting and laughing away amongst themselves for about 10 minutes. Not one of them cleaned any of the freshly vacated tables that new customers walked in and sat at. So again, what exactly is the tip for?
So that covers service, now to the food. When it did arrive, my wife’s grilled cheese was cold and honestly tasted like dirt. Not metaphorically, truly like dirt. My winter stew tasted like bland unseasoned tomatoes and beans.
Boring food, overpriced, too long of a wait. We’ll not eat here again.

Wow, what a Saturday brunch! I had the fish sandwich, yes the fish sandwich, and it was delicious. The wife and daughter both had the French toast and they both loved it, and neither could finish it. The cheese grits were to die for! This place is out of the way, super hipster, and super delish. It was worth the six hour drive just to eat here, and to visit the daughter.

Knoxville is almost halfway between Ohio and Georgia and I like to stop in the city at a new place for lunch whenever I can. I think I’ve found my new spot from now on. The drive in to find this place is through an amazing neighborhood with some houses that almost didn’t look real. Now onto the food… It was delicious! I tried the lamb sandwich that was suggested by the lady that helped me when I came in and oh man, was it good. That might be one of the best sandwiches I’ve had. The lamb was perfect. I got a side salad with it and it had some interesting ingredients in it (grapefruit is all that I can remember now) and the smoked herb dressing was unique and tasty. Maybe next time I will make it for their breakfast, because I saw that several of the items had goat cheese and I’m a huge fan. Like that they use local ingredients, as well. I will be back!

Kind of an upscale neighborhood casual sort of restaurant. I wasn’t thrilled with the lunch choices. Place has a pretentious attitude and the only fish was catfish, swamp fish, Sequoyah Hills, seriously? I ended up ordering the burger with the leftover thanksgiving potatoes. The heart attack burger was pretty good but what’s with the fried egg on the burger. How about just a cheeseburger using a quality cheese. What were those wild greens on my burger? Does the cook have a pet rabbit?
Wife ordered the lamb sandwich which she seemed to enjoy.
Better sides and a menu that is more appetizing would easily propel my rating to 4 stars.

Love local flavor!
We stopped here Saturday at noon and they were still serving brunch. I didn’t have much breakfast as we were in a hurry to get on the road for our trip to Knoxville. The breakfast items won over the sandwich items. I ordered a frittata with cheese and oyster mushrooms. It came with a side and I ordered sausage since they were out of potatoes. Everything was good.
The menus are on the counter by the register. You place your order at the register and then find a table. It was pretty crowded but they bus the tables quick enough that we didn’t have to wait long to have a seat. They bring your food to the table after it is freshly prepared. The food arrived quicker than I expected. This may become a permanent stop on our Knoxville trips.

This place made me feel like I was back home.
I just moved to Knoxville from Florida and was really missing that trendy, local, street café vibe! When I walked into the Plaid Apron, it was almost like I never left my little hip neighborhood by the beach.
The crowd was very diverse, the staff was super friendly, and the atmosphere overall just makes you wanna stay and hang out. Not to mention the food was delicious.
We went for breakfast and we’re pleased to find that they offered all the things you look for and expect in a breakfast spot with their own unique twist.
I loved it. I’ll definitely be back.

I rather enjoy these kind of places. Food with a little twist and an inviting atmosphere. Especially love the paintings… except that goat and its creepy little evil goat eyes…
Anyways, the food. Got to try the apple bacon pizza, the house burger, the farmer’s plate with chicken thigh and the mac n’ cheese. The pizza, burger (very good flavor, and you flavored the meat!!! thank you! I’ve been getting real tired of eating bland ground beef), and farmer’s plate (mixed roasted veggies) were all superb. It was indeed a pleasure to relax and enjoy.
The only negatives I’ve got are the mac n’ cheese was not very tasty.
Thanks for the meal and would highly recommend folks to visit in the future.

Breakfast at this place is where it’s at. The market veggie scramble with balsamic and goat cheese grits is fantastic.
Lunch and dinner are also excellent, but the star meal of the day is the first one.
Word of warning, though: everything is cooked to order and fresh (a good thing), but during busy meals — think Saturday AM breakfast — it can take awhile.

Phenomenal breakfast! Missed my flight and had three hours to burn so I came back into town for breakfast. What a pleasant surprise. The toast and veggies was so tasty I cannot rave about it enough.
Definite recommendation for fast, fresh, and great food.

This place has been so many things over the years (Fitzgerald’s Market, Sequoyah Grill, BlackBird Coffeehouse). This is located in the heart of Sequoyah Hills. Something about this place makes me feel so at home.
Coffee — it’s delicious and a must! I personally love the Cappuccino, but if ya just wanna a cup of coffee that’s just as delish!
Brunch — I’ve had some hit or miss brunch experiences here. Make sure you get here before 11:00 if you want to beat the crowd. The egg sandwich, french toast, and sides dishes (scrambled eggs, toast, potatoes) I’ve had were all very good. The bad begins with the omelette for me. I’ve had 2 incredibly overcooked omelettes. I could hold up my omelette and see thru the whole bottom half, which happened my most recent experience. People cook omelettes differently I get that. However when your omelette is done on a flat top and someone just lets it cook longer and longer, that is where the bubbles aka see-​thru holes come from. I took 2 bites and couldn’t take another bite. The first omelette I had here was similar but not as bad as the most recent time.
Lunch — I’ve been here several times and had the Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. The soup has usually has too much fennel. I love Grilled Cheeses but sometimes simple is better than trying to do too much to it. Some people may really enjoy it however when I want a grilled cheese, I want exactly what I’m saying nothing more in it.
Now these are some things I need to try because I’ve heard good things: frittata, market salad, chicken biscuit, chicken BLT.
Hopefully my experiences will get better. I love the atmosphere here. During off hours come down here and enjoy some coffee. If I was rating this place as a coffeehouse it would get a 4. Since it is also a restaurant and because of my omelettes being overcooked it gets a 3 for now. Cheers & Enjoy!

You get the southern club. Right now! I’m serious.
Inventive yet comfortable. A juicy chicken thigh, stewed collards, local bacon, cheese and put together on a ciabatta. All the flavors harmoniously sang on my palate. Salty and sweet, tangy and smokey, crunchy and juicy.
I got the macaroni and cheese as my side and it was good but probably too heavy for my already carbo loaded meal. I would recommend the green side salad with lemon parm dressing. It was light and refreshing and a perfect accompaniment to that amazing sandwich.

Fresh fruits and veggies in each dish proved too complex to my simple palette. I had the grilled cheese and although the onion jam was delightful the apples made a desired savory sandwich too sweet. Unlike me my, open paletted, friend found the unique pairings of ingredients enjoyable. He recommends the catfish sandwich.
Overall atmosphere is cafertieria chic and family friendly with kind southern staff in a quite area. Ideal for working.

Bacon and asparagus omelette with grits — I LOVED THEIR GRITS. I somehow got into grits being in the south. Is this a south thing like biscuits? Or maybe there was always something better to order or choose from as a side in NY. Well their grits. I can go on about them. It’s so creamy and the cheese taste is spot on. It’s not too strong where it feels like a bowl of cheese and it’s so creamy!!! I love creamy! Their bacon and asparagus omelette was a fail. I asked for the bacon on the side instead of in the omelette and they gave me bacon on the side but still added bacon in the omelette. On the bright side, they put a lot of bacon in the omelette so for those who are bacon lovers, this is a good dish.
Benedict with taters — taters are potatoes! I still don’t like potatoes. It’s seasoned and baked but I just don’t enjoy it after eating potatoes numerous times a day for 10 days at Poland. The benedict didn’t screamed out to me but that might be due to the fact that I was hooked on the grits. I love me some creamy cheese grits!

Oh, you plaid apron, you.
I’ve only been for brunch so far, but descriptors that come to mind: fresh, crisp, F-​to-​T, artisanal, simple, delicious, sunshiny. I like this place a lot. The food is deliciously simple and great, waitstaff are super friendly, and the place itself is great. It’s tucked into Sequoyah hills so you don’t see a ton of traffic. The restaurant itself is spacious too and there’s room between tables. I sincerely appreciate that. I do hate the long lines that get created with this setup, but what can you do. Well, if you’re asking, I’ll tell you what you CAN do —- know your order before you get to the counter. It really helps keep the process going smoothly. JUST saying.
Excellent place though. I can’t wait to return and sit in the perfect patio again.