Harvey’s Pirate Drive-In

Small dive. The burgers were delicious, hand patted and fresh meat. The onion rings were not the greatest but average. The service was exceptional!!!

It’s great to see old faces and old family friends and the food is good come and see the past of the city and live for the day

We were shopping at Lodge cast iron and discovered ourselves hungry. We were skeptical at the front door and thought about the dairy freeze across the way. A kind voice said «just go on in and find an empty table.» Being from out of town and not knowing better, that was what we did. While reading our menu, the kindest person from the other end of our table suggested the fried chicken. Then hers came. Traditional southern fare and damn good. Very friendly atmosphere. We sat at the locals table not knowing better and they welcomed us right in. Food was perfect diner food, not greasy, just delicious. Coconut cake was outstanding and Wanda suggested chocolate pie too, also outstanding. Only wish we could fly in for lunch once a month. Thank you for our best meal in 10 days of travel. Don’t let the décor fool you! Find a table, sit down, and enjoy. You wont be sorry.

From the outside, this little diner probably isn’t a place we would have given a second glance. However, after reading the reviews, we sought it out. They have a meat and three special for $ 7.00 but the meat special was meatloaf and we just weren’t in the mood for meatloaf. The veggies sounded good though. We opted for a cheeseburger with home fries and a hot ham and cheese sandwich with crinkle cut fries. The cheeseburger was hand patted and extremely juicy. The ham and cheese could have used a thicker slice of ham but it was tasty all the same. They were both topped with a fresh, out of the garden tomato. Both fries were crispy on the outside. Also, if you don’t like your tea so sweet that you can stand up your straw in it, make sure you order it half & half. If you overlook the Tennessee pictures on the wall and the electrical tape around the wall unit, it is an overall pleasant dining experience and the wait staff is extremely friendly and down to earth.

The greeting when we walked in was amazing. I thought the guy was playing around, but he really just talked that fast in a thick accent. It only got better when the waiter started talking. He sounds like Herbert from Family Guy. The entertainment value alone was worth going in. The food pushed it over the top. I got the prime rib sandwich. The meet was delicious and overflowing the bun. I was told they grow their own tomatoes outside the restaurant.
I followed the other reviews and topped it off with the coconut cake. If you don’t have this while you are there, YOU ARE WRONG! It was so light and delicious. The piece they gave me was huge! If I’m around, I’m down… to go back.

Researched a place to eat between the Tennessee Railroad Museum (just outside of Chattanooga) and Nashville… and while this place really isn’t in the middle, once I read the reviews about coconut cake, Harvey’s Pirate Restaurant won … I LOVE coconut cake and my son loves pirates. The staff working there actually are the same family that’s owned the place for 40 years. And, it’s not actually named for the PIttsburgh Pirates — it’s named for the local football — The Pirates (who are legendary apparently.) On Friday nights, if the Pirates win, they eat free. Cute.
The food — greasy spoon diner food 100%. Although it’s fresh — very fresh… they grow tomatoes in front of the restaurant. The burgers were definitely hand-​formed burgers… not frozen patties from a food distributor. My husband had a burger and chili — he said the chili was «eh» but that the burger was amazing. I had the fried shrimp platter and it was good — surprisingly good, but a tad too greasy… I have to admit I was expecting worse.
And — the moment you’ve been waiting for — THE CAKE. Oh my, the cake. Please, in the name of all that is good, eat a piece of the coconut cake. It seriously rivals my favorite coconut cake from House Without A Key in Honolulu, HI. Not kidding — I don’t kid about coconut cake. In fact, I think this is my new favorite coconut cake.
Heads up — it’s a serious dive, hole in the wall kind of place. so if fly strips with dead flies on it gross you out — get a slice of cake «to go» — just don’t let it gross you out enough to not get cake.
I really want to give it four stars… and probably on a relative-​to-​south-​pittsburg-​star-​scale it should get five… and if I was JUST reviewing the cake it would totally get five. Alas, the uncleanliness factor and «eh-​chili» bring it down to three.
Go Pirates!

A pirate restaurant in Tennessee? We had to stop despite having just finished dinner at the restaurant around the corner. Alas the restaurant was named more for the Pittsburgh Pirates and not of the seafaring variety. There were only a couple of men in the restaurant when we arrived and neither were eating; one was playing sudoku and one was watching Nascar. The sweet old gentleman behind the counter had a voice like Herbert from Family Guy. That was a bit disconcerting. Since we had just finished dinner we decided to order dessert. A slice of coconut cake to go. After having a nice conversation with the soft spoken guy we left with a large slice of fantastic homemade coconut cake.
Go there, get the cake, and try not to giggle when dude behind the counter speaks to you:)