I have been local to Oak Ridge for several months now and I have had the opportunity to try quite a few of the restaurants in town. I am a big proponent of supporting the local businesses in my community. I was not aware, though, I have a great restaurant right down the street in Jackson Square! I don't know how this place escaped me this long! We went on Friday evening and there was a short wait to be seated. The staff were friendly and the food smelled AMAZING! We were quickly seated in comfortable dining room. There was a live pianist playing in the corner. A lovely touch. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable about the offerings on the menu. I had the pot roast with augratin potatoes and my beloved had the pork tenderloin with grilled squash and pinto beans. Both entrees were delicious. I must say, I am a big fan of a delicious pork chop or tenderloin chop so I now have a new favorite. I am planning on working my way through the entire menu over the next few weeks, because I have a feeling everything they make is wonderful. I will let you know. I highly recommend Dean's and I would drive a good distance to come eat here...fortunately for me, they are right down the street. See you next week! read more

We went on a Monday. Got seated right away. The piano player was there tonight which was nice. The aromas in there were smoky and delicious. We had turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes with collard greens. Loved the turkey, stuffing and potatoes. The collards were good. Pies were amazing too! Loved the butterscotch and coconut cream pies! Will repeat! Allison was a great waitress. read more

Dean's Restaurant & Bakery - Butterscotch and coconut pie - Bakeries Near Me - Oak Ridge, Tennessee

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We had just taken a tour of an office building nearby and I asked the people working there for recommendations to grab lunch from a local establishment. After someone mentioned Dean's, everyone else nodded so this was the unanimous choice. We got two orders of pot roast. Mine was accompanied by collards and his sides were deviled eggs and mash potatoes. Absolutely no complaints. Food was fantastic. I do love Southern food! Since this was also a bakery, I had to try some of the desserts. At first I didn't know what apple fried pie was. Our server said it was just apple pie that is deep fried. I mean, is there anything bad that comes out of deep frying? The server did ask me if I wanted the pie warmed up and I said no. I suggest you say yes if asked. It really would have been much better warm but it certainly wasn't bad a little chilled. I loved the small bits of chopped apples. The pie was filled with so many applies and sprinkled with sugar. This was definitely a winner. Service: Extremely friendly. Tip: Bring cash or else pay the credit card fee. Parking: Plenty in the small shopping center. read more

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Solid Dinner. 4 main items, 7 sides, 2 desserts and 2 free roles/cornbread. Almost every item was flavorful and worth ordering again. Pork Loin - juicy Meatloaf - flavorful, prefer more of a tomato top, but still good. Turkey Club - perfect toasted sandwich, well stacked with ingredients. Large, made for two meals. Pot Roast - solid seasoning, gravy on point. Free bread - corn bread is unique. Crust, crumbly. Full of flavor. Yeast role has a nostalgic feel. Don't fill up on them :). Potatoes au gratin - yes. Great beans - Yes! Mash potatoes - yes Colored Greens - and entire reason to try this place! Corn pudding YES, sweet and almost custard texture. Corn stuffing - pass Gravy - it's a food group. We ended our meal with a fried apple pie, coconut cream pie, strawberry cake, and Chocolate layer cake. Pies were solid. Makes sense that the chocolate fried pie was out. Both cakes were moist, icing light and not too sweet. Have had better strawberry cake, but I'm not mad at it. Service was top notch. Hostess seemed to be on auto pilot. We showed up at the height of the lunch rush. Bit loud, very local and amazing time capsule interior. A must visit if you are anywhere in the area. read more

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Being from out of town, I "yelped" my way through some reviews before choosing Dean's for lunch. From being seated to paying my bill, the service was very good. I chose a meat + 2 ( salmon, squash & deviled eggs)-- the eggs were on the bland side, especially compared to the salmon & squash which had excellent flavor! Note: several meat choices were available, not always the case w/meat & sides. It's always a good sign when a place is busy on a Monday & while I don't know if I was the only one from elsewhere, I'm pretty sure the vast majority were locals. read more

Great food. I'm glad we have Dean's as a dining choice in Oak Ridge although I don't go often.

They get everything exactly right! Love this place! From fresh green beans to mile-high layer cakes, Dean's is just good, old-fashioned wonderful-ness. read more

Went about 20 minutes before closing , got take out , catfish and fries , roast beef and mash potatoes, & strawberry and wedding cake . Catfish was delicious the tartar sauce was even better , fries soggy warm , roast beef was chewy , dry , and warm , mash potatoes were ok . I personally expected more , my client referred me here since I'm traveling from Texas and bragged how good the food was . The cakes had a funny taste & were dry. I mean really love strawberry cake & was disappointed. The staff were nice , not hard to find the restaurant. I think I'll go in and sit in next time and have a different experience. read more

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Always a great place for lunch and great food and the service is always having someone greet you with a smile.

I had lunch here today. The food is pretty good but I've been here several times and nothing has ever stood out as exceptionally noteworthy to me. It's hard to categorize but I consider this place a borderline pricey meat and three with a hint of an attitude. read more

The food was delicious! We enjoyed pork roast that was tender and juicy. The sides were tasty. Service was great. Pricing is average. If you want down home, southern cooking, this is the place. They have daily specials. It isn't crowded. Family atmosphere. read more

Enjoyed their new breakfast today (only available on Saturdays). So yummy. I got the Skillet with cinnamon bun (subbed an extra meat in exchange for the included hashbrown casserole and cinnamon apples). Eggs cooked perfectly, fresh biscuit and homemade cinnamon bun. Highly recommend and hope they continue doing it each weekend. read more

Dean's Restaurant & Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Friendly atmosphere and really good food. Always call ahead or it might take a minute to get seated.

We are frequent customers of Dean's Restaurant. To sum it up: The food is tasty and fresh and they have a lot of good options plus daily specials. You have enough choices that you can eat healthy or splurge. If you were in the mood to splurge, they have a bakery, and they can order cakes and other items for special occasions for you. The restaurant itself is well lit, clean, and comfortable . The noise level is generally tolerable unless it's a high traffic time. The wait is excellent. They are good to help you with your order and make suggestions if you don't know what you might like. They are attentive to your table. And they are very gracious. R. Kyle, March 2025 read more

We were in Oak Ridge today at AMSE museum so we had to stop at Dean's. As always the staff is friendly and efficient. Our server, Brandi, was a delight. This our first visit that the turkey and stuffing with cranberry relish was not sold out. It was wonderful. Just like Thanksgiving. My wife had chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and collard greens. She thoroughly enjoyed them all. We have yet to try any of their deserts, as there is not room for them. We did walk through the bakery and they do look delicious. read more

Dean's Restaurant & Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Oak Ridge, Tennessee

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Its a weekday lunch time, We are seated in the table over by the back door on the right hand side of the podium that has the continuous draft of cold air from the kitchens. Our waitress takes the order. Then we wait. 27 minutes goes by and the food arrives. It's barely warm. My order is wrong and is missing a side dish. Eventually the waitress reappears and asks us if everything is OK. I explain otherwise. Next an unidentified woman shows up to ask us the same question, so I repeat my answer. Her reply is classic "I'll let the kitchen know". I am offered a dish to go, why, if its cold too then why bother? What doesn't help is that I watched the waitress chit chat with the others. No hustle & no sense of urgency. There is not enough staff to make it viable. Don't sit on the right hand side in neglected land. Get another table. read more

Food is outstanding!!! I couldn't' stop eating! Service was good too. I will be back for sure!

OK, I have to admit I was skeptical about this place, but the food and friendly service won me over. There's nothing fancy and it's not getting a Michelin Star anytime soon, but sometimes food that brings you back to your grandmother's kitchen hit the spot. And there's no booze here - so keep that in mind if you think you're getting a beer or wine with your meal. The interior is very basic and you'll find a mix of locals from grams/gramps to business lunch people here. The staff range in age as well, but all seemed to have a smile on their face and our waitress was great! Checked on us frequently, got our order correct, and even went to get some answers to things she wasn't sure about for us. As for the food - I had the grilled pork chops with grilled squash and broccoli rice casserole. Good golly my grams would have loved this! The meat was cooked perfectly with a wonderful wood fired grill flavor and great grill marks. It was so juicy too! And the BR casserole took me right back to family holiday meals back home - it was just as I always remembered it to be! My man got the roast beef with au gratin potatoes. It was also amazing!! *however it was not what he expected and then we went into a detailed discussion about east coast 'roast beef' vs southern 'roast beef' which was fun to learn about* I'll have to find out more if this place could possibly be a BYOB for the next time we are in town cause I'll mark it as a place to return! And I'll try to save room for their desserts, cause they looked legit! read more

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Not sure what has happened at Dean's but our meal was really bad. The Okra wasn't hot, or even warm so we sent it back....and the next batch was hot on the outside but ice cold inside! Got the walleye as my entre and it tasted like old catfish. They really need to change the oil when they've fried 1000 catfish meals in it. The rolls were also cold and the other sides were very sub par as well. It's been one of our favorite go to restaurants for years, but I don't think we'll be back anytime soon. read more

Where to begin! Everything we ordered was fantastic! I had the roast with deviled eggs and mac&cheese Hubby had the burger with scalloped potatoes and sweet potato casserole Daughter had grilled chicken and mashed potato. This food came out very quickly, everything tasted great. The grilled chicken was seasoned very good which is impressive because a lot of places miss seasoning chicken well. We all were so full but still ordered the cake to go. We got the chocolate, strawberry, and upside down cake. Holy smokes the chocolate cake was absolutely mouth watering! Will definitely go back. read more

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If you aren't a local to Oak Ridge. Definitely stop by here. This place is amazing. I got the Friday special COD with 2 sides. That was the most fresh and delicious food I have ever gotten. The COD was flavorful, crispy, and hot. The fries were seasoned perfectly. The corn was so delicious. Our waitress was very professional and kept up on refills. Definitely a nice place for a date or a nice sit down. Please leave a reaction if you saw this!!! read more

Dean's Restaurant & Bakery - Friday Special: COD with Fresh Cut Fries and grilled corn - Bakeries Near Me - Oak Ridge, Tennessee

The food is fantastic. The service from Charlotte was first rate. The turkey was tender and the portion was more than I eat for Thanksgiving. The pork loin was also tender. The potato salad is homemade and terrific. The bakery goods could easily add ten pounds to my waist. The Italian cream cake was good but the peanut butter brownie was better. PSA: if you have 5 or more in your group, your wait will be considerably longer. read more

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Oh, Dean. You get me and my carb-tastic ways. Cool local place with great service and AMAZING desserts. They get busy and close at 8 (and are closed on weekends!), so call or stop in early. Be sure to check out their social media to see what the specials are for both entrees and sides. We ordered chicken and dumplings special, pot roast, broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole, green beans, stuffing, au gratin potatoes, and corn. Peanut butter brownie, red velvet cake, and strawberry cake. They throw in complimentary rolls and corn bread. The atmosphere seemed nice for those dining in, but we were grabbing to-go. Service was friendly, and the food well-packaged and hot when we got home. Pretty reasonably priced for such large portions and I had enough leftovers for two more meals! Honestly, most of the food desperately needed salt and pepper. Once those were added, we enjoyed the meal much more. The au gratin potatoes tasted more like scalloped to me (no cheese flavor or texture). They were probably the best of my sides, but my husband loved his two casseroles and corn on the cob. They had much more flavor than my sides. I immediately regretted getting the green beans, which I thought would be fresh/sautéed. Nope. they seemed like mushy, canned variety that they put some spice on top of. The stuffing was fine, assuming you like cornbread stuffing with only the moist texture, no veggies or crisped edges. Stuffing is one of those nostalgic foods that everyone likes a different way, though, so no hate from my end. ;-) The shining stars of the meal (that will bring us back again and again) are the desserts. Totally worth the sugar high and few lbs we likely gained from consumption. The peanut butter brownie had chunks of Reese's cups on top and was so dang tasty and rich. Hubby though the red velvet cake was "okay," but to me, it was the somewhat muted chocolate flavor that red velvet is meant to be with the yummy cream cheese frosting that screamed "HEY! I am homemade!" The strawberry cake was my favorite. Perhaps my favorite cake ever. I may ask for a slice of that for my upcoming birthday. read more

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Wowza. I stayed in Knoxville the night before and by chance the clerk mentioned this place. And it just so happened we were going to Oak Ridge the next night. What an absolute treat. Excellent piece of salmon, and the squash was perfect. And let me just say the au gratin potatoes wa like the trifecta. The table was silent. The corn bread was excellent as well. I cannot say enough good about this place. The dessert menu has all your favorites. I was bummed they didn't have strawberry cake, but the Carmel Brownie didn't disappoint. Fast friendly service. read more

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Dinner great, you should bottle and sell raspberry horse radish sauce. Chicken fried chicken, grilled chicken the bomb, veggies all good, fantastic service. read more

A friend took me to lunch here. I ordered grilled salmon. It was amazing. Light flakey not too smokie! Just right!

My last visit to Dean's left me unimpressed, as the food was incredibly bland and the service was lacking, but I decided to give it another try. There was a 5-10 minute wait, which was no big deal and, once I was seated, my order (pork loin and fries) was taken quickly. Surprisingly, the meal came quicker than expected. The fries looked overcooked and the pork loin most certainly was. I had to force my fork into it and it was not easy to cut with the steak knife provided. Great grill marks, but they mean very little if the meat is dry. Since the majority of the patrons I saw were in their 80's, I can only assume this is to appease the old-fashioned notion that pork has to be cooked until it can be bounced off of the floor. Since the restaurant was packed, the noise level was pretty high. I did not have dessert because I didn't want to pay for another disappointment. This place seems to be loved by so many, but I just don't see why. May give it another try in a few months, we'll see. read more

Dean's Restaurant & Bakery - Looks can be deceiving. - Bakeries Near Me - Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Really tasty!!!!!!!! Yum mmmmmmmmm!!!!! Will go back soon Nice Atmosphere, fast service read more

Great place to eat. The food was very flavorful and the portions were plenty. The service was southern and so was the sweet tea!

Turkey & Dressing is really great. Servings are plentiful. Mashed potatoes are always good. The cranberry salad is really spot on!

Oh my goodness, Dean's is good! I'm the crazy person who orders Salmon in the middle of Tennessee. It was delicious! Cook perfectly, fresh and yummy. The fried corn was even better! The butter mixture on the fried corn! I wanted to drink it! Dean's is well known for their pot roast, as they should be! My mom, Aunt & family friend, all agreed it's the best they've ever had. That's saying something as all 3 are very well known for their Southern cooking. Service was amazing! read more

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Food, service, and ambiance all 10/10 stars I go every Friday because I love the Friday fried Cod special. The catfish is also good! I found out this used to be an old drug store and I suggested that may be why their food is so good, I keep coming back! (Just a joke lol) but in all seriousness, I 100% recommend Dean's restaurant for anyone in the area to try! read more

Dean's Restaurant & Bakery - Fresh Fried Cod w/ fries and squash - Bakeries Near Me - Oak Ridge, Tennessee

This place is one of my favorite locally owned restaurants! I am gluten-free, and they have a cornmeal crusted fried catfish that is gluten-free and out of this world! Their food is extremely good and they have a good many choices. Their desserts are always incredible! I would give them five stars if only they were open more frequently and opened past 8 PM. read more

The food and service at Dean's is great. They mean it when they say homestyle pot roast, meatloaf, etc. My only complaint-- and it is worth a 2 star deduction-- is the "chocolate pie." Any chocolate pie lover knows this is a niche obsession. You either love chocolate cream pie, french silk, are dedicated to an oreo crust or a pastry crust ... And the several times I've been here no one can answer questions about it and it's not on display. So what I end up with is chocolate pudding (yay!) in a pastry crust (yay!) with ... meringue??? Barf. No. What even is that? Give me whipped cream or just take this off the menu. read more

Good food, amazing service, great dessert. All this in historic jackson Square. We had pot roast and turkey with dressing and our favorote dish was the german chocolate cake. read more

Dean's Restaurant & Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Really nice family friendly establishment. Highly recommend! Con: do not serve alcohol, but it is byob read more

We went in for dessert but I was the only one who actually ordered a dessert. The chocolate pie was outstanding. Everyone else decided on the corn pudding and all raved about the consistency and taste. The service was very friendly and she had a great sense of humor. Loved everything about this restaurant!! read more

I am a big fan. Food is great, service is warm and friendly, plus you get your food really fast with bread rolls & corn muffins thrown in. The desserts look amazing, but I never seem to have enough room for a slice! read more

Had Saturday breakfast on a whim. Amazing food, priced well. Huge portions. Got us in quick and food came quick too. Great service. We will be back! read more

I need that broccoli casserole recipe! I've enjoyed everything that I have tried at Dean's. Portions are huge and the food is fresh. Desserts are homemade and great as well! read more