Chattanooga is a lively city within the beautiful state of Tennessee, known for its many exciting attractions and trendy eateries, as well as an absolutely stunning river.
While there are several places to choose to eat and drink in Chattanooga, it’s important to know which ones offer the best service, the most delicious eats, and the greatest atmosphere.
If you’re in the Chattanooga area and can’t decide on what to eat, no worries. We have created a list of 15 of the best restaurants in Chattanooga, TN for you to pick from and enjoy! Try any of these delicious fares:
Flying Squirrel
$$ | (423) 602-5980 | WEBSITE
Flying Squirrel is your go-to restaurant for southern cooking and craft beer selections. Large open windows and high-vaulted ceilings grace the ambiance of this restaurant, with a cozy outdoor patio and a truly uniquely structured building.
Inside, you’ll find menu items like pork shoulder sliders, blistered shishito peppers, and spicy Korean “candy” chicken. To drink, there’s a wide selection of cocktails from Bearded Iris Homestyle IPA to Squirrel’s Cup #2.
Not only is the regular menu throughout the week full of delectable items and fun times, but the brunch here is noted as some of the best around Chattanooga. Here, you’ll be graced with excellent service, impeccable food items, and a lively ambiance.
Public House Restaurant
$$ | (423) 266-3366 | WEBSITE
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Public House Restaurant is a cozy restaurant located directly next to a large building structure, with plenty of unique decor inside.
If you’re looking for some delectable bites to eat on a patio or inside of a hip-looking eatery, this is the spot for you.
Menu items here consist of red wine braised pot roast, creamy grits, gluten-free “yankee” cornbread, and quinoa salad. Drinks range from Wheatley vodka and yellow chartreuse to ace pumpkin cider and double IPAs.
Make room for dessert — as dessert items on the menu consist of chocolate chip cookie banana pudding and peanut butter pie.
This scratch kitchen will give you some heavenly bites within each minute you spend here, with friendly and attentive service to boot.
Scottie’s On The River
$$ | (423) 269-7487 | WEBSITE
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When nothing but the best views of the water will do, Scottie’s On The River will provide that for you. Especially romantic late at night, this restaurant is also an excellent choice for a date night or anniversary.
Enjoy crab stuffed mushrooms, seafood gumbo, pan-seared sea scallops, and a tuna melter. You can get a little bit of seafood and steak fare at this Chattanooga eatery.
Not only will you get incredible sunset views and tasty treats, but you’ll also experience some great and friendly service from the knowledgeable restaurant staff.
Lil Mama’s Chicago Style Hoagy
$ | (423) 206-4505 | WEBSITE
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This colorful restaurant is a rare gem in the heart of Chattanooga. You’ll feel as if you stepped into a 90s TV show when you visit Lil Mama’s Chicago Style Hoagy.
You’ll find items like the spicy mami- full of turkey, pepper jack, lettuce, tomato, onion, oregano, Swiss cheese, and cheddar cheese.
You’ll also get your fill of sides like fancy banana pudding and all that and a bag of chips. This hoagy restaurant is known for its delicious and filling sandwiches, with a truly attentive staff, and an unbelievably unique atmosphere.
Alleia
$$$ | (423) 305-6990 | WEBSITE
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This rustic Italian restaurant offers local ingredients that make up some truly inventive dishes.
The menu includes items like beef carpaccio with truffle and arugula, gnocchi with chicken sausage and mushroom, and bacon-wrapped quail breast.
Regional flavor ignites your taste buds as important Italian ingredients add even more to admire at this Italian favorite.
Alleia is not only full of great menu items, but also some unique decor throughout the restaurant. There are many candles scattered along this Italian eatery, as well as unique lighting.
Taqueria Jalisco Ania
$ | (423) 541-4410 | WEBSITE
Taqueria Jalisco Ania is an affordable, chic restaurant with flavorful Mexican bites in each mouthful.
Hawaiian tortes are full of ham, carnitas, and pineapple, while Mahi tacos come with corn tortillas, cabbage, Pico, tomatillo, rice, and beans.
You’ll find classic favorite cocktails here like margaritas and Palomas, but you’ll also find other tasty delights like La Riviera and La Romana.
A Mexican restaurant with modernized chicness and flavor, it’s no wonder why everyone raves about this Chattanooga restaurant.
Uncle Larry’s Restaurant
$ | (423) 757-5894| WEBSITE
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“Fish so good it will smack ya!” Uncle Larry’s Restaurant is a seafood restaurant you can go to to get some flavorful, fresh seafood without spending your whole wallet!
Sandwiches range from Tilapia sandwiches to pork chop sandwiches, and plates range from perch fish to catfish… and so much more.
Larry’s has three locations in Chattanooga, after Larry Torrence and his wife, Terilynn, opened up shop in 2013. The food comes out quick and hot, with excellent service to boot.
Reviews rave about this soul shop, everyone talking about how delicious each bite is, and they aren’t wrong.
Company Restaurant Chattanooga
$$ | (423) 551-9883 | WEBSITE
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Rotating bread pudding, turkey salad sandwich, and bacon-wrapped dates await at Company Restaurant in Chattanooga. This dim-lit, intimate restaurant is ideal for date nights or a friendly night out with coworkers or close friends.
Company Restaurant is a high-end cocktail bar, with cocktails like company corpse reviver, jack rose, flamed sazerac, and more! This restaurant will hold the attention of foodies and liquor connoisseurs alike.
Note that this is a speakeasy-themed bar, offering a completely different experience than the locally crowded bars that you’ll see around Chattanooga.
From top-notch bartenders to a unique atmosphere, Company Restaurant Chattanooga is an incredible choice when it comes to Chattanooga eateries.
State of Confusion
$$ | (423) 760-3473 | WEBSITE
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You’ll enter a State of Confusion when you start to think about why you’ve never visited this restaurant before. This brick building will quickly capture your heart as you look over the menu item to menu item.
Lomo saltado, pecan-crusted rainbow trout, and stuffed sweet potato will greet your tastebuds when you visit this eatery.
Not only will you experience some incredible flavors, but you’ll also fall in love with the incredible open-air dining, with lights scattered throughout.
For real fun, you can enjoy some flavorful bites and drinks in outdoor igloos while you soak up the Chattanooga sunshine.
Whitebird
$$ | (423) 269-8593 | WEBSITE
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A chic restaurant with truly innovative dishes, Whitebird is a stylish fine dining restaurant and brunch favorite.
Not only is this restaurant within walkable distance to many local attractions, but it also offers an incredible array of knowledgeable staff and friendly service.
Dinner items include dishes like cast iron beer cheese crab dip, creamed spinach and fried oysters, and smoked venison rack! Drinks range from spiced rum cocktails to red wines and white wine chardonnays.
This eatery is known for its outstanding cleanliness and organization. A definite must when it comes to the best Chattanooga restaurants.
Feed Table and Tavern
$$ | (423) 708-8500 | WEBSITE
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Feed on farm-fresh cuisine at Feed Table and Tavern in Chattanooga. Buffalo calamari awaits, along with jalapeno cheddar hushpuppies, cornmeal fried catfish, and short rib pot roast.
Rustic decor and lighting enhance the atmosphere of this cozy eatery, with outdoor patio dining as well as ample space for customers indoors.
This locally owned restaurant not only offers a great atmosphere and meals, but it also offers theme nights and special events. Feed Table & Tavern also has live music, trivia, bingo, and a game room for the children to run around in.
Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar
$$ | (423) 622-0122 | WEBSITE
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Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar offers seafood favorites like fresh shucked oysters and fried calamari with exceptional views of the water.
If you can’t get enough of the food here, there are weekday specials like Monday half-priced oysters and Wednesday catfish specials.
This boathouse eatery has plenty of room for the whole gang to come along and enjoy the open-aired dining area, as well as sunset views from inside or outside.
This is an award-winning cuisine, known for the best seafood and best place to take out-of-town guests, allowing tourists to truly take in the element and heart of Chattanooga.
Hennen’s
$$$ | (423) 634-5160 | WEBSITE
A seafood restaurant with incredible food, an extensive wine collection, and attentive service — Hennen’s is a trendy restaurant to put at the top of the list.
Eat your way through well-presented plates like honey mustard grilled beef short rib and truffle parmesan meatloaf, and then try a taste or two of the desserts they have to offer.
These mouthwatering dishes are only one feature of Hennen’s to be admired. The professional service will keep you coming back, along with the fairly dim-lit lighting and inviting ambiance.
Aretha Frankensteins
$ | (423) 265-7685 | WEBSITE
A Chattanooga staple, this funkily decorated restaurant is a truly unique and special spot and local favorite.
Everything is prepared to order in a small kitchen, full of incredibly unique flavors in dishes like the polish sandwich, beef burritos, and sodbuster omelettes.
Their fan-favorite dish, however, are their fluffy stack pancakes. Admire their wall-to-wall decor as you munch on brunch favorites at Aretha Frankensteins. You won’t regret a visit to this exceptional experience.
Basecamp Bar and Restaurant
$$ | (423) 803-5251 | WEBSITE
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Come for the absolutely incredible patio hangs, and stay for the inventive bites in each plated meal. Here, you’ll eat campfire wings, fire in the hole potato, and chorizo meatloaf.
We’re sure that you’ve never heard of menu items like these. Basecamp Bar and Restaurant is known for its unique choices in menu items, as well as its outstanding patio, craft brews, and wooden bar top.
Portions here will also fill you up in all of the best ways, with a staff full of knowledge to describe each dish in detail. This stop is also close to several Chattanooga shops if you’re in the mood to get some shopping done before or after you get your grub on.
Summary
When it comes to Chattanooga, there is never a lack of restaurants to eat at.
Whether it’s an affordable but delicious sandwich shop or it’s a fine dining steak establishment, or even a riverfront seafood restaurant, there is truly something special for every type of food lover.
If you’re looking for brunch favorites, live music, weekly specials, chicly decorated interiors, or creative flavors — any of these Chattanooga restaurants will do the trick. Never fear while you’re in town, you’re sure to get all of the good eatin’ that you can handle at these 15 top restaurants of the Chattanooga area.
Taylor lives in Atlanta, where she spends most of her time working in the food industry as a cook, bartender, and server. Today, she writes for Birch Restaurant as Taylor’s deeply passionate about food and wants to share it with you!
Why was St. John’s not included??
Excellent Restaurant
I would add Urban Stack, Food Works, Tony’s, Stir, and Main Street Meats to the list.
I agree with JB and Tom; however, I would also add Easy Bistro (same owner as Main Street Meats) to the top of the list! Just as St. John’s is excellent, Easy Bistro’s chef delivers culinary creations from the freshest local ingredients; and it never disappoints! I understand that this list needs to offer a variety of cuisines; but if the list is to be labeled “15 Best” or summarized as “15 top” restaurants, then it should not have omitted some of the VERY best that Chattanooga has to offer!