Back for Tennessee Homecoming Week 2023? Try these 21 Knoxville restaurants

This week, thousands of alumni of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville will come back to Rocky Top for a week of spirited Homecoming events culminating in the annual parade on Nov. 3, led by grand marshal Al Wilson, and the home football game against UConn on Nov. 4.

Tickets are purchased, the events are planned and the orange outfits are selected, but where are alumni and their families going to eat, especially when Knoxville has seen so many restaurants open and close since their time in college?

Knoxville's culinary scene has expanded and diversified, offering returning Vols foods of every kind from nearly every corner of the world, served in both new and familiar places.

Since Neyland Stadium is the beating heart of Homecoming Week, restaurants are listed in order from closest to furthest away from the stadium.

Here are 21 suggestions Knoxville restaurants to try if you're in town for Tennessee Homecoming 2023.

The Tomato Head

• 12 Market Square

• 7240 Kingston Pike #172

This Knoxville classic works with a laundry list of local partners to deliver on its offbeat slogan: “Food Gotta Cook! Don’t Come Out of a Can.” At its two locations, it offers patio seating for people watching, cocktail sipping and pizza eating. Its menu, friendly to a range of dietary restrictions, also includes sandwiches and salads.

Babalu

• 412 S. Gay St.

The Latin-inspired menu and cozy but crafted interior of Babalu capture “the spirit of downtown and the energy of Knoxville itself,” according to the restaurant’s website. Located in the historic J.C. Penney building, it serves small savory tapas plates and other Latin dishes such as birria pork tacos and paella. Those looking for a nice drink with their meal can peruse a lengthy cocktail and wine list.

More: Enjoy 52 restaurants and bars in Knoxville with heated outdoor seating as fall arrives!

Balter Beerworks

• 100 Broadway SW

This brewpub is named for a verb, which means “to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill but with enjoyment.” It’s perhaps a less fitting name for a restaurant that began over garage-made beer but has grown into a scratch-made, full menu of favorites with a cool and casual Old City patio. You can order fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits or the Balter Burger to accompany a lager or IPA brewed on-site.

Downtown Grill and Brewery

• 424 S. Gay St.

Located in the historic Woodruff’s building, this brewery takes both its beer and its bourbon seriously. It was the first restaurant in the state to become a Certified Bourbon Establishment, a designation from the Kentucky Distiller’s Association. There are around a dozen certified “Bourbon Stewards” on staff to guide your selection. Its wide-ranging menu features pasta, seafood, sandwiches and pizza.

KoPita Authentic Mediterranean

• 507 S. Gay St.

KoPita has separate menus for meat-eaters and vegans and offers an experience of Mediterranean food you can’t find anywhere else in Knoxville, with ingredients from countries like Israel and Morocco. Overlooking Gay Street from the second story of the downtown Embassy Suites, you can play it safe with a falafel pita or shawarma or order the mezze and have the chefs prepare a range of savory salads and dips.

Chivo Taqueria

• 314 S. Gay St.

Chivo Taqueria makes a point to be trendy and is known for its tacos with names like “Tators Gonna Tate,” “#steaknews” and “Clusterduck.” If you aren’t feeling tacos, this Gay Street mainstay also has burritos, quesadillas and tortas, which can be enjoyed alongside one of many tequilas in its large selection.

Suttree's High Gravity Tavern

• 409 S. Gay St.

Named for the title character of a Cormac McCarthy novel, this bar has 32 rotating taps and a wide selection of bottles and cans, ensuring there’s a beer for every kind of person. Suttree’s has become known for its sandwiches, quesadillas and ramen menu, with seafood, pork, beef and vegetarian options. The adjoining Harrogate’s Lounge offers craft beer in an arcade atmosphere, if you need a break to play.

Sweet P's Barbeque and Downtown Dive

• 410 W. Jackson Ave.

• 3029 Tazewell Pike, Fountain City

Beloved by Knoxvillians for almost two decades, Sweet P’s began as a catering company and opened a restaurant in 2009 to feed popular demand. Featured on Travel Channel’s “Man v. Food,” the Food Network and CNN, Sweet P’s can satisfy your BBQ craving at either its Downtown Dive or Uptown Corner locations.

Soul Good

• 1518 University Ave.

This Black-owned restaurant in Mechanicsville, a historic neighborhood home to Knoxville College, exists to serve both soul food and its community. It was founded by Andrew Osakue, a pastor born in New Orleans, and his wife, Ashley. UT students might already be familiar with Soul Good’s food truck that stops on campus to serve chicken thighs and wings, Cajun-style fish sandwiches and the signature Soul Melt.

Fin-Two Japanese Ale House

• 122 S. Central Ave.

This izakaya-style tavern brings the sights, smells and spirits of Japan to Knoxville with a range of sakes and Japanese whiskeys to accompany ramen and sushi. A happy hour menu, available for dine-in 3-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, features $1 nigiri sushi, $1-2 off select alcohol and a selection of small plates and yakitori, or Japanese skewers.

Kaizen

• 127 S. Central St.

Kaizen is modeled after the izakaya, a cozy Japanese pub serving small plates, but it breaks with tradition in some Asian fusion dishes. If your family loves East Asian food, you can satisfy cravings with steamed buns, fried rice, noodles and soups in this Old City destination.

Good Golly Tamale

• 112 S. Central St.

Good Golly Tamale focuses on perfecting the art of the tamale, the Mesoamerican classic with filled corn dough steamed in a corn husk. It features four “always tamales”: classic with beef and potato, chicken tinga, vegetarian queso poblano and a vegan tamale with blue corn and sweet potato. The menu also has rotating seasonal tamales, like chorizo, pulled pork and butternut squash. Don’t forget your side of Spanish rice and your banana pudding for dessert.

Kefi

• 120 E. Jackson Ave.

Kefi is a Greek restaurant that serves “food for the gods” in a cozy, low-lit Old City space. It has Greek foods you’ll recognize, like marinated olives, grape leaves, spanakopita and baklava, and some entrees you might not, like kokonisto, a beef stew served with feta polenta. It’s a great spot if you’re willing to pay higher prices for foods cooked with passion.

Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria

• 200 E. Jackson Ave.

Barley’s is an Old City staple with 96 beers on draft, a cozy hardwood interior and a wide-ranging menu with build-your-own calzones and pizzas, fish and chips, salads, sandwiches and a kids’ menu. If you have a picky eater or a wide range of tastes in your group, Barley’s is likely to be a great fit. It also features outdoor patio seating and arcade games on the second floor.

Schulz Bräu Brewing Company

• 126 Bernard Ave.

As its name may suggest, Schulz Bräu is a destination for German brews and bites and became Knoxville’s first Biergarten in 2016. It was named the third-best brewery in the nation in the U.S. Open Beer Championship and landed in the top four favorite breweries for locals in a Knox News brewery bracket. Come here to get schnitzel, bratwurst and leberkäse!

Ale' Rae's GastroPub

• 937 N. Broadway

Originally a favorite local food truck, Ale’ Rae’s is now located in the historic Fourth & Gill neighborhood, making it an ideal destination for anyone hoping to see some of Knoxville’s most storied homes on a post-dinner walk. Its gastropub menu (like a pub but more artisanal) features a bacon bourbon meatloaf, sweet cream pineapple curry shrimp and grilled mahi tuna.

Landing House

• 1147 Sevier Ave.

The name of this Asian fusion restaurant, inspired by Chinese and Cambodian cuisine, is literal: it’s in a house on a river landing in South Knoxville. You may feel like you’re having a home-cooked meal sitting in your living room, but with dishes like chili crisp noodles, kuy teav and tom yum pork rinds, Landing House is a memorable restaurant experience.

Hard Knox Pizza

• 2300 N. Central St.

• 4437 Kingston Pike

• 10847 Hardin Valley Road

Sometimes, you can’t beat a classic pizza. Hard Knox puts a more American twist on the classic Italian Neapolitan pizza with its Neo-Neapolitan pizzas, with mozzarella, tomato sauce and a crunchy exterior. It also offers white sauce pizzas and a range of toppings, from genoa salami to pistachios. It may not be basketball season just yet, but you can order coach Rick Barnes’ favorite pizza, the Barnstormer, with pepperoni and banana peppers.

SoKno Taco Cantina

• 3701 Sevierville Pike

One of only a few South Knoxville restaurants on this list, SoKno (pronounced “so-no”) serves up any classic Tex-Mex dish you could ask for, from nachos to quesadillas to tacos and burritos. From 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, you can also take advantage of happy hour, when all alcohol is 50 cents-$1 off.

Gosh Ethiopian Restaurant

• 3609 Sutherland Ave

This family-owned restaurant serves all its dishes with the Ethiopian staple injera, a flat bread used to scoop up flavorful slow-cooked meat and vegetable stews. Its name comes from the Ethiopian word for “bravo!,” which you might say if you visit. The menu is great for people who eat meat, people who don’t and anyone looking to expand their culinary repertoire.

Sticky Rice Cafe

• 120 Jack Dance St.

Venture into West Knoxville, and you’ll find this local favorite Laotian restaurant. Sticky Rice offers fresh spring rolls, pho, stir fry and laab, a chopped meat salad served in lettuce wraps, as well as several flavors of boba tea.

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Best Knoxville restaurants to visit for UTK homecoming 2023