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    Carl's Drive In

    4.3 (53 reviews)
    Open 9:30 am - 9:30 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Carl's Drive In Photos

    Business Info

    CARL'S DRIVE IN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Carl's Drive-Inn - Loudon TN
    Richard S.

    We stopped at Carl's Drive-Inn last night for a late night snack after taking Bo Carey's History Tour, A Ghost Tour of Loudon. The food is excellent. We had the classic Cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake. That is hard to be for American Southern comfort food. It was delicious and Carl's is definitely a Loudon Favorite. The cost was very reasonable at about $15.00. I personally dip my fries in the chocolate milkshake, but they also provided ketchup. Our server was polite, and very attentive and sported the Loudon Redskins sweatshirt. Follow me on Yelp for more places to eat, and things to see and do in East Tennessee.

    Double Cheeseburger
    Bill W.

    Great little old school drive-in. I had the double cheeseburger and was not disappointed. It had a great flavor and was well worth the price. Be prepared as they only accept "Cash". Menu boasted of lots of old school items.

    cherry Dr Pepper
    Tom H.

    Good food , great time machine. Friendly service too!The kind of drive in we all remember.

    Tater tots and fries.

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    6 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    5 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Cash only and delicious! Tater tots and hot dogs tried and approved! Can't wait to try shakes and other foods! Thank you!!

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    1 year ago

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Great food, excellent service. Only downfall, was no credit card, cash only. Delicious BLT. Old s hook style.

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    3 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Good food. Wish the hot dogs were bigger. Fries were great. Friendly servers. Prices are okay.

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Best Burgers in Loudon County by far! This is a regular stop for me on my way home from work and I am never disappointed!

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    4 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Definitely a do again. Great burger and service was great too. Figured it was good based on how busy it was. Not disappointed.

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    5 years ago

    Best place to eat in Loudon by far. Great food great service at a great price. And it's a HomeTown run company it's not a chain restaurant.

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    9 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    7 years ago

    Get in your time machine and go to Carl's, it's the same as it ever was. Makes me member when I was young and there was no McDonalds.

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    7 years ago

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Carl's Drive In

    Review Highlights - Carl's Drive In

    I had a corn dog (a "dip dog"), fries, and (of course!) a hot fudge cake.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

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    The Local Bite

    The Local Bite

    4.2(43 reviews)
    2.9 mi

    We had lunch at the Local Bite and it was fabulous! Huge portions, we all had burgers, but eyed all…read morethe entrees other people were eating. Everything looked fantastic! The service was excellent, everyone was so nice! They had a lot of daily specials and the desserts looked great. We had the chocolate Grenache cheesecake that was to die for! You want regret going there!

    The price to quality ratio is just criminal. For a family of three I paid $75 after tax and tip and…read moreonly one meal was consumed. The sauce in their $16 fettuccine alfredo tasted like cream, flour, and giving up. The chicken in it (that cost $4 extra) tasted like it was made in a kitchen that outlawed all seasonings. For $20, I expect a dish that can't be replicated with water and a bottle of Elmers glue. I've had more flavorful alfredo sauce from an MRE. The $15 burger was slightly overcooked and a little dry. But the BBQ sauce helped cover the dryness and lack of seasoning. I've had better burgers for less, but I've also paid more for worse. Same goes for the $15 chicken sandwich we ordered except it's sauce didn't help much. Overall, the burger and sandwich were OK but overpriced (especially the chicken) for what we got. On a positive note, the service and atmosphere were good. However, I would highly recommend just about anywhere else in Loudon to eat. This place doesn't even serve the best burger on 72 between hwy 11 and I-75 (their only competition is Wendy's and McDonald's).

    Photos
    The Local Bite
    The Local Bite
    The Local Bite

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    Forever Fresco - Part of the vegan fajita

    Forever Fresco

    4.9(10 reviews)
    1.5 mi

    My sister & I meet for lunch, we both wanted Mexican food. I remember seeing this restaurant on…read moresocial media. We were very happy with this choice. The restaurant was very clean and gave off a great vibe. Our waitress was friendly and gave great suggestions. We order quesadillas. I got steak and sis got chicken. Very flavorful but needed more cheese. The guacamole was chunky with lots of flavor. Margaritas top notch. Will definitely be returning.

    This is a Mexican restaurant in what used to be Z Fish House in Loudon. The menu is what you'd…read moreexpect for a typical Mexican restaurant with a few nice extras (see the photos). The first two small baskets of chips are included and with the second basket they didn't bring or offer to refill the chunky salsa. Both were tasty. If you want more than that, there's a small fee. For drinks, I ordered the sangria fresco, which was fine, but I wouldn't order it again. Something in it gave me an immediate headache. No idea what that could have been. Another in our party ordered a margarita and that was really good- served in a mason jar on the rocks with a salted rim. Refreshing and tangy as you'd expect. Our meals: Fish tacos served with grilled tilapia - for a nice bonus they were served with avocado on top. He loved these. Fajita salad with chicken in a taco shell bowl. She said it was yummy and very filling. Veggie burrito made vegan by replacing the cheese sauce with a red sauce. The red sauce was basically a plain tomato sauce with a little seasoning - not great. The veggies in the burrito included an over abundance of sautéed spinach, a disappointing scant amount of barely there mushrooms, grilled onions and peppers, and weirdly raw broccoli florets. I love a bite of raw broccoli on a raw veggie platter, but inside a burrito was ... weird. It was difficult to cut and the texture didn't mesh with the rest of the burrito. It needed to be steamed longer or grilled / sautéed. The rice and refried beans were delicious! Probably the best beans I've had in recent memory- they have some texture to them, not soupy smooth like some places, and a fabulous smoky flavor. Get the beans. The place itself is set up the same way the former restaurant was, with the same nasty mold on the ceiling tiles (so gross). The building owner needs to hire a good roofing company. The people were friendly and service was good, but we were there mid afternoon on a Sunday and no one else was in the place. It looks like they do a trivia night and have other things happening.

    Photos
    Forever Fresco - Menu

    Menu

    Forever Fresco - Guacamole Large (8oz) delicious

    Guacamole Large (8oz) delicious

    Forever Fresco - Menu cover

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    Menu cover

    Donna's Diner - Eggs with country ham

    Donna's Diner

    4.8(16 reviews)
    4.7 mi

    "Don't Blink" you might miss this lil hole in the wall. Located in a tucked away neighborhood it…read morecould be seen as an abandoned building but with bunch of kept up cars all around it. Good sign so far with the cars slipped into the parking lot. Walked in immediately greeted by the waitress. First question asked if we had been there before.....a preamble to let us know it was "Cash only". Typical breakfast fare with home style fixings. Bacon & eggs were cooked perfectly... eggs runny and over easy and bacon crispy. I had the home style potatoes with onions and peppers. They were delicious. Second return trip, I had the double cheeseburger with hand formed patties. Way too much burger due to the 2 large patties but was tasty and well seasoned. Waitress suggested desert and I opted for a dollop of banana pudding with vanilla wafers. Oh boy what a treat of creamy gooey goodness. The waitress informed us that "Donna" does the cooking and she has daily specials. Got the feeling this is a local's place by them calling each other by name but no the less everyone was friendly and staff was welcoming. Bottom line this is a down home cooked meal like you would get at Grandma's house. Highly recommend Donna's.

    Read the reviews thought I would visit. Very off the beaten path but worth trying to find. The…read moredaily special was roast beef sandwich with gravy, very delicious. Was served very quickly and hot. The building is setup on a corner lot might Miss it very unassuming building . It must be a local favorite most customers were called my name extra friendly waitress. And prices were a real treat. Bring cash but do check it out

    Photos
    Donna's Diner - Smelled like you were eating in a crawl space. Momma always said you can't just eat any old bodies chicken and dumplings.

    Smelled like you were eating in a crawl space. Momma always said you can't just eat any old bodies chicken and dumplings.

    Donna's Diner - Double Cheeseburger

    Double Cheeseburger

    Donna's Diner - Potato Salad

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    Potato Salad

    Carl's Drive In - tradamerican - Updated May 2026

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