Traditional British fare is served at the elegant Thistle & Brier | The Grub Scout
More than a dozen years ago, I reviewed a restaurant on Old Kingston Pike called the Grill at Highlands Row. I gave it favorable scores, so I was intrigued when I learned that a newer establishment, Thistle & Brier, was operating in that same location. I didn’t know if there was any ownership connection there, but that didn’t deter me and The Grub Spouse from stopping by for a midweek dinner last week.
The single, spacious dining room makes a good first impression with its abundance of knotty-pine paneling and elegant table settings. The young man who would be our server greeted us upon our entrance and escorted us to a four-top table, where we set about making final decisions about a menu we had already scoped out online.
Appetizers include pork belly, fried deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, steak crostini and squash blossoms. We skipped starters, feeling certain we would wind up doing dessert later. We also declined salads such as rose pecan chicken, smoked salmon and caprese.
The main dishes are divided into categories of pastas; non-beef proteins like seafood, pork and chicken; smoked meats and steaks; and signature entrees. Pasta meals included creamy pesto (with a choice of meat) and chicken piccata. Based on the barbecue smoker I spotted outside the restaurant, I surmised that their pulled pork and brisket entrees are prepared in that manner. The menu also offers ribeye, New York strip and filet steak options.
I passed on a salmon steak, scallops and grilled, honey-glazed porterhouse pork chops to try the stuffed pecan chicken breast ($25), which our server noted was a very popular item at Thistle & Brier. The breast is stuffed with both goat cheese and Gouda and encrusted with chopped pecans. That section of entrees comes with two sides, and I picked green beans almondine and a baked potato. Goat cheese mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley and a couple of different salads are among the other side choices.
The Spouse ordered from the list of signature entrees, which represents cuisine native to the British isles. There was corned beef and cabbage, bangers and mash, fish and chips, and lamb chops. The Spouse went with the shepherd’s pie ($21), which is technically a cottage pie since it’s made with ground beef instead of lamb. Sides are not included with items from this category.
We had arrived on the early side of the dinner hour, so the atmosphere was subdued. But we spent some of our wait time enjoying stunning videos of British countryside and seascapes displayed on a couple of wall-mounted screens.
Another staffer delivered our plates, and I immediately noticed that my baked potato had been plated with The Spouse’s meal. After the world’s shortest game of hot potato, I transferred the spud to my plate, and we commenced our meal.
I really liked the stuffed chicken. The breast-meat portion was substantial, and I loved the dovetailing of the two interior cheese flavors, especially the warm and gooey Gouda. I also sensed that the crust’s pecan pieces had been candied to some degree; they had a slightly sweet flavor. I was less impressed by the green beans almondine, which were less than warm and slightly undercooked, in my opinion.
The shepherd’s pie was great, from its mashed-potato top layer down through the various strata of vegetables and ground beef. It was a hearty and satisfying dish, perfect for this slightly nippy fall weather we’ve been experiencing.
The dessert lineup included pistachio cake, a flourless chocolate torte, a peaches and cream dumpling, and espresso crème brûlée. We ordered the coconut cream cake ($8.95). This two-layered treat was moist, sweet and, in an unusual twist, topped with caramel. While delicious, the slice was quite small. We each only got a few bites — not quite worthy of the $9 price point.
Otherwise, I was pleased with our experience at Thistle & Brier. What they do, they do fairly well, and if you’re a fan of old-school Anglo cuisine, this’ll definitely be worth a try.
Thistle & Brier
Food: 4.25
Service: 3.75
Atmosphere: 4.25
Overall: 4.25
Address: 4705 Old Kingston Pike
Phone: 865-240-4939
Full bar service
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
For authentic British flavors, steaks, seafoods and more, pay a visit to this fine Bearden-area eatery.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Thistle & Brier in Knoxville serves old-school British fare: review
