I came across Kianga's Kitchen while checking out Marble City Market. Disclaimer: I'm not vegan…read more In fact, the day before eating here, I consumed way too much meat at Brazerios Brazilian restaurant. Perhaps my mind works in unusual ways. But, I thought I needed a vegan day to balance it out! And I really love soul food (vegan and non-vegan). I'd eat it all the time if this was closer to home. I'd had Kianga's greens one other time before this visit. That's what sold me on coming back. Those greens are super good! Best item in my opinion. Had a nice spice and flavor. Sweet potatoes & plantains were solid too. Also, they had a "stew of the day" -- which, today, was a Tuscan recipe. Overall: Very good meal. I'll definitely be back -- either as my main meal or for a side or two. Highly recommended. Very nice owners too.

Amazing food from the African continent. Veggie like you have never tried it…read more Spent time in South Africa and these guys NAILED it.

Still great consistent service and tasty food. Truly an asset to Knoxville dining. We visited again…read moretoday and we have zero complaints. Since moving into the bigger location it's easier to be seated quickly. The dining room is welcoming, open and super clean. Everyone on staff is eager to help even if they are not your specific waitress. **Tip take home a jar of your favorite sauce. They sell them!

The service was so fast and kind! Waitress brought us a sampling of sauces since this was our first…read moretime. Everyone loved their food. Two of my kids got fried rice and both the lunch and dinner portions were generous. My son got the phoritto and really liked it. I loved my House salad with shrimp. The dressing was perfect. My husband had some other dish with pork belly and he also liked his dish. Mango sticky rice was perfect! We will be back.

Well, this was a fun surprise!…read more We were looking for a cool brunch place that we'd never tried before, and although it was outside of town, it was totally worth the Uber. It's ADORABLE. Love the decor and the pretty and interesting atmosphere. Lots of cute little things in this spot. Everything was delicious and the portions were impressive. I was really surprised by this one and highly recommend anyone coming here for a good bite. Server was super sweet and took great care of us; she helped me decide on my order because I was truly so stuck.

I really wanted to love this place. My husband and I were so excited to try it--the atmosphere…read morelooked great and we were expecting a fun brunch experience--but it ended up being one of the most disappointing dining experiences we've had. Right when we walked in, we were asked if we had a reservation. It was our first time, so we didn't realize one was needed. When I said no and asked if we should have had one, the host responded, "Oh, that would have helped." That alone felt a little off-putting. We even offered to come back another time, but she said they had a table available--just that it was reserved for 1:00 PM (it was 11:55). We asked if that meant we'd need to leave by then, and while they tried to reassure us, it definitely set the tone for a rushed experience. We had barely sat down when the waitress immediately asked if we were ready to order. Caught off guard, we asked for water and coffee first. As soon as those arrived, we quickly ordered beignets, chicken and waffles, and biscuits and gravy--trying to be mindful of their time constraint. Unfortunately, our food took over 35 minutes to come out... which didn't align at all with the expectation that we'd be out before 1:00. When it finally arrived, the food was underwhelming at best. The chicken was okay, but the waffles and biscuits and gravy were cold. And the service? Just as cold. Overall, the experience felt rushed, unwelcoming, and disappointing from start to finish. Needless to say, we won't be returning. I truly hope they reconsider how they treat guests--especially first-time visitors who come in excited to try their restaurant.

I had such a great experience at The Tomato Head, and a huge part of that was our waitress,…read moreMeredith. She knows the menu like the back of her hand--seriously, she's tried every combination imaginable and helped us decide between a couple options. Her recommendations were spot on. I ended up getting the Oh Boy half sandwich, and I love that you can order it as a half. I was torn between that and the Tuscan chicken, but I would order the Oh Boy again in a heartbeat. I also had the pasta salad with both ranch and tahini--such a great option because you always want to try more than one dressing! We tried the Southwest salad too, and it was perfect with the chipotle ranch. Another really cool thing is that you can buy their dressings or hummus to go, which I'll definitely be doing next time. I also had a mocktail that was super fresh and felt really clean--kind of like their version of a spicy margarita, and it was delicious. Overall, great food, great options, and amazing service. Next time I'm coming back for brunch (which is only on Saturdays and Sundays)!

We stopped by with a party of 8 before heading downtown. We split into an adult table of 4 and a…read morekid table of 4. The kids thought it was fun because they got to hang out with their friends. The food tasted better than last time this time. The air head is nice and puffy. Once you cut it open it shrinks, but the garlicky flavor is good. I got a calzone instead of pizza and I think I prefer it. They sat us quickly and the food was tasty so I'm increasing my original rating a few years ago of 3 stars to 4 stars now.

I feel in love with Korean food while serving there. For me, the first thing I look for are…read moreauthentic side dishes; kimchi, pickled veggies, turnips, etc. GoGi scores a 90 in that category. A score of 100 would have been warranted due to the small sizes of the side dishes. It's all you can eat for side dishes but after a while, you get tired of asking. Our server was rather new and that contributed to the deduction. My main dish was the beef bulgogi and scores 100. Cooked to perfection, a very ample portion and served hot. Never had bulgogi with slivered mushrooms but it worked amazingly well. Tasted a few other dishes and each was a standout, especially the chicken teriyaki.

KIMCHI JIGGAEEEEE!! Love this place. Good atmosphere, great food, and the perfect amount of spiceread more

This is a 5-star place, for what it is-- a simple diner with old-school comfort food and lots of…read moreamenities, all done just right. I had not been in DECADES -- but someone mentioned that they did a good chicken-fried steak, so I had to try. (I'm from Texas where CFS is part of the holy Trinity of Mexican, barbecue and CFS). Well, the CFS was pretty good, but I won't say great. Big, well-breaded, tasty and with good white gravy. But the sides were superb; I had fried green tomatoes and potato salad. I loved the chow-chow sauce combined with ranch dressing on the FGT, and the salad was very creamy and tasty. I'm not a potato salad snob; I've had it done many ways and I know some prefer one style over another....all I know is this went fast. Oh, by the way, it's a BIG meal. No person should eat all of that in one setting! I nearly forgot, I loved the cheese biscuit. It was very dense and so tasty. Hard to stop eating that before I packaged up about half my meal (and enjoyed very much the next day). Amenities-- they sell beer; even though I did not have that day, I know some meals I'd have loved to add a well-priced bottle. Service was great, friendly and responsive. I like the places that let me scan a QR code to pay and tip, and they had that. Also offered lots of desserets, both at the table and with a little bakery corner when you walk in/out, so you could pick up cookies, etc. At first I thought it was a bit pricey ($17 for most meat-and-two plates), but with the quality, worth it all. Oh, I even enjoyed the clientele...this is the kind of place full of older folks, one of whom had to comment on my food as she walked out, and then she stood and chatted with me a few minutes about how good it all was. Classic!

My friend and I eat here the other day and it was delicious. The food was fresh and the portions…read morewere large. The restaurant was very clean and the atmosphere was family friendly. The service was very friendly and prompt. I will definitely be eating here again.

Delicious fresh food. From the steak sandwich to the salads, there are options for the meat lovers…read moreto the vegetarian in your life. Lots of seating inside and out. It's always clean. The line moves quick even when it's long. You might have to wait a little for your food, but it will be worth it. They also cater.

Firstly the atmosphere is very warm, both inside and out regardless of how busy. The employees were…read moreall very polite and helpful with their menu. I recommend you give it a try, if nothing else just take a brownie and drink

I'd had this spot bookmarked for a long time as it was listed as the best place to get a tamale in…read moreall of TN by Yelp a few years ago. I found myself in Knoxville for work and the stars aligned; I managed to convince my coworkers to come have lunch here! We found parking in a large lot about two blocks away. It sadly wasn't free but we enjoyed walking around and looking in the shops. The inside of the restaurant was clean, cool, and cute. One wall contains lots of coolers/fridges where they store drink options (shout out to Wiseacre beer!) as well as lots of their tamales, which you can take home to prepare. Staff are happy to provide tips on how this can be done, as one of my coworkers took several tamales home (and her family was pleased with them too!). It seemed like only one person was working. He was extremelyyyy soft spoken and not super friendly, honestly, but our food came out in a timely manner and he wasn't rude or anything. Four of us, myself included, got the chicken tinga tamale, and one person got the classic tamale. I got mine as a meal, which came with rice, black beans, and curtido. I also nabbed a bottled tea. Personally, I didn't love the drink selection -- all a little too bougie/health food-y for me (I'm a simple girl who wants a simple Diet Pepsi or Coke or regular fresh brewed sweet tea) - but no big deal. Everything was quite good! I've been trying to decide if I like tamales or not and this place brought me to the conclusion that yes, I do - I just hadn't had one this good before! The corn was fluffy, the chicken was tender and well-seasoned and plentiful, and the salsa on top rounded it out well. The beans and rice were also very well seasoned and tasty accompaniments. I'd never had curtido (fermented cabbage) before, but I'd say it's a bit brighter than its Korean cousin, kimchi. I liked it but the portion was so large and the flavor so strong that I did ultimately tire of it after 4-5 bites. My coworker took the rest home! Overall, I get the hype around the tamales in particular. If you're craving one, definitely give this place a try!

First time here. I had white fish tamale with salsa, it was delicious. There was only one person…read moreworking, and service was slow or I was just impatient, hungry, couldn't wait to have the tamale! Place has cute hippie vibes. I dig it! I will definitely come back!

Delicious food. Friendly service. Prices aren't crazy. There is a big list of street tacos and…read morealso desserts. The big burrito was very big and yummy.

Food was authentic Mexican food & absolutely delicious! Owner checked on us & what a small world;…read moreshe lived in Gulf Breeze before moving to Knoxville. That is where we live. She knew & had worked at Rio Bravo in GB. The margaritas were fantastic! The owner made them special for us with no orange juice. In my opinion, margaritas should not have orange juice. They need lime!

great experience! My husband and i shared the mezze and the salmon - was enough to feed at least…read moreone more person! The Babaghanoush and pita are the best I've tasted. I appreciate that a lot is sourced locally and even the salmon was wild caught. Eating on the terrace was fun, but the inside is lovely as well.

A couple years ago we had KoPita on a food tour and really enjoyed it, so we decided to make a…read morereservation for Valentine's Day. When we made a reservation on the website there was no mention of a pre fixe menu. Not on the website, and not with the reservation. We went intending to get light appetizers, but when we arrived we were told that the only option was a 55 dollar per person menu. While we were annoyed by the bait and switch we decided to stay because there was no chance of getting a table anywhere else. I'll start by saying that I Know that Valentine's Day is historically very busy, but over half the tables in the restaurant were empty, and I've been in significantly busier environments where I still received a high level of service. In this instance, saying that we were dismissed by the staff was an understatement. My wife was sat while I was parking, and when I joined her I wasn't even acknowledged by the staff. We asked one question the server who was dropping off the food snapped at us and acted extremely irritated that we even addressed her while she dropped the food off. We asked for tea because we knew that was one of their specialties. The response that was snapped back was "no tea tonight, if you want drinks go pay at the bar, it's separate." The table beside us seemed to clearly be VIPs as the were in fact served several pots of tea. All in all the staff made us feel like we were an inconvenience and they didn't want us to be in the restaurant. The exception was a very nice server wearing a light colored dress, she was very kind, which only made everyone else's disdain all the more evident by contrast. The food itself was just ok. Course 1: salads, it had fruit and fresh vegetables. It was excellent. Course 2: zucchini and eggplant with beef. It was well cooked but the sauce was extremely bland. Course 3: chicken stuffed with liver. This was gross, not even edible. Course 4: leg of lamb with rice. Once again the meat was well prepared, but it here was almost no seasoning. The rice that came with it was undercooked and kinda tough. Course 5: It was listed as braised beef brisket, but it was just an unseasoned pot roast. I expected Mediterranean food to be presented with a significantly more interesting range of flavor profiles. Course 6: Baklava, really great! The layers were crisp and the flavor was smooth. All that to say, it wasn't anywhere near worth the cost, I went for a light dinner and only had the option of buying a heavy 6 course menu. Other tables were given service and we were treated as an annoyance. The location was very convenient, so they have that going for them... which is nice.