Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee has a wide range of delicious eateries like Tupelo Honey Cafe. We found this place during our first visit to the Market Square, which was easy walking distance from our hotel. Since the mid-1800’s, this neighborhood has been filled with businesses that attract workers and visitors alike. These days it is a vibrant destination district filled with fun shops, outdoor art, and interesting restaurants. Southern style exudes from these spaces, that are frequented by residents and tourists daily.
Our First Taste of Knoxville
Our visit to Knoxville was short, but we filled it with lots of sites. Having read a lot about the Market Square, we were eager to check it out. We arrived at mid-morning, and made a stop at a local attraction. With this visit completed, we were ready for lunch and a taste of the Tupelo Honey Cafe menu. Even though the place was busy, we still got seated immediately. The crowd was a mixture of business people and leisure guests, chatting over plates of southern cuisine.
Our First Bite of Tupelo Honey Cafe
After greeting us with some waters, our server went over the lunch menu with us. We placed our orders and he returned in a couple of minutes with a plate of Tupelo Honey Cafe’s southern style biscuits. These fluffy masterpieces were accompanied by some of their homemade jam, which complemented the biscuits perfectly. While we could have just dined on these airy delights alone, we knew our main dishes would be coming soon.
Trio of Tastes
Most of us have been to a restaurant that offers a two part mixer lunch option. Usually it is half a sandwich, paired with a small salad or soup. At Tupelo Honey Cafe, they take this a step farther and add an additional side item with your order. This allows customers to have a nice selection of flavors on one plate. Crystal chose the Spicy Avocado & Egg sandwich, Spinach Salad, and French Fries. The sandwich is a tangy and spicy combination of flavors that put a fun spin on an egg salad sandwich. Her salad had the addition of crunchy pecans, fresh blackberries, and tangy goat cheese.
Flavors Galore
My lunch choice was just as spectacular in the flavors department. This trio included their Slow-Roasted Pork Grilled Sandwich. It was so tender and the meat accented the melted cheese. Definitely an idea I wanted to try to replicate at home. A Wedge Salad added the greenery to my plate, but kept the flavor coming with their buttermilk dressing and plentiful bacon pieces. Tupelo Honey Cafe hit it out of the park with their Creamy Tomato Soup. Topped with some fresh basil, this savory addition didn’t last long. This was the most inventive combination of grilled cheese and tomato soup I have ever sampled, and I have tested many.
A Taste of Southern Style
As we dined, we continued to comment on the fantastic flavors we were sampling. By the end of our meals, our hungers were completely vanquished. After a little more conversation with our server, we thanked him for his attentiveness and bid our goodbyes. We stepped back out into the warm Knoxville fall day for more exploring. It only took a few minutes to walk around Market Square, and see the other restaurants we had on our itinerary. We couldn’t wait to test some more of the southern style cuisine. Have you ever dined at Tupelo Honey Cafe? We’d love to hear your experience in the comment section below. Bon Appetit!
We ate at the original tupelo Honey, in downtown Asheville, several years ago. Since then, we have eaten at several more of their locations. Now, there is a location in Sandy Springs – an Atlanta suburb – near where we live.
We were with our daughter in Knoxville five years ago, while she was teaching in Mexico. She was with a group of her students at a competition on the University of Tennessee campus. We had a little private time with her and explored Market Square. While there, we noticed Tupelo Honey and decided to have lunch there. It was wonderful, as has been our experience at each location we have visited. The warm biscuits and homemade jam are a wonderful introduction to Tupelo Honey. We also needed to save room for the food we had ordered.
It was quite a delight to discover this southern comfort food restaurant. Thanks for sharing your memories of the restaurant.