Lookout Winery & Venue — Attraction in Tennessee

This place was not what I expected. I am not a huge wine drinker. And neither is my son, but we decided to try it because he likes to taste.

It was pretty good actually. Pizza was good,, not exceptional. Everything went well, but they seem to just be getting off the ground. It has so much potential but I really came away unimpressed. All we got to see was the patio. But the chairs were uncomfortable, we didn't even have tablecloths and the bottled wine was screw top. The views were great, parking was a bit crazy, and when we pulled in we thought we were at the wrong place. There was alot of concrete and gravel (understandable on a hill side) but it was more industrial than winery or a refined dining experience. I would have liked to experienced something more Tennessee based, as wineries are usually based locally. Witj grapes they grow. Everything was imported (flour, cheese, tomatoes, grapes) and really didn't leave much of an impression. The patio didn't even have a sign pointing to the "see 3 states" so all we saw was a mountain and river. There was not any greenery or coziness to the patio and we hiked up gravel hillside get to the entrance.

For the cost, I really did expect more. Almost like they couldn't decide to be a pizzeria or a winery. Most of the wines listed, had suggested pairings, but nothing available to pair them with except pizza. I would have really loved a tapas type wine flight where a seafood suggested wine, was served with salmon on a cracker. I don't even recall any appetizers.

Huge variety of wines made on site, all from imported ingredients, but nothing that complimented the flavor of the wines.

At over $22 a bottle, I would think at least a corkscrew top. I would go back, albeit in a few years, and would love to see how they have built on what they have going.

My hope for them is that the owners can get to a point where they aren't having to work as the waiters, and chefs and can be owners. I'm so excited for them to be doing it, and making it work. The wine was good, but we bought 2 bottles, more in support of what they were working on, rather than buying 2 bottles of wine we just could not go home without.

EDITED: Not a fake review, I updated the pictures to remove faces. Im not sure what the purpose of me writing a fake review would be. How that would benefit me? It's unfortunate that the owners choose to attack me personally for an honest review, which is truly just my impression, instead of accepting that their establishment just may not be for everyone. Unfortunately that does happen occasionally in the life of a business owner. Again, not really sure how me ever building a building or owning a business is relevant to my taste buds. I wish them the best of luck in the future because I really did like what they are building, and its apparent they have put a lot of hard work and time into it. Based on the owners response, and what seems to be a growing trend against the other reviewers, I have downgraded my 3 stars to a 1. Even when reviewers give praise and suggestions, they get attacked and called liars or...

We really wanted to like this place. I’ll start with the positives. Great view. Good but not great service.

We arrived and walked inside. We were told there was no indoor seating. We went back out and sat at a plastic fold up table.

A while later someone came by to offer us water. We weren’t told there was no running water, so bottled is the only option, besides wine. I’m not sure how they wash dishes, but anyway…

The wine. Apparently it’s a dry county, and so you can only buy it by the bottle. They had flights available, but it was $7 for literally 6 communion size cups. We just bought a bottle. Not sure you could even taste anything in a communion cup. I’m not a wine connoisseur, but my wife drinks it from time to time and told me it wasn’t very good. I tried it, and stuck with water. There weren’t many options for wines, and all were very dry, according to staff. No beer option. I understand it is a winery, so maybe offer more wine choices.

We were told we could take our half empty bottle home, but we didn’t want it. I’m not sure if that’s legal or not anyway, being an open container in a car and all.

The pizza was just okay. Costco pizza is way better. Little Caesars would also be an upgrade. It was soggy on the bottom. They don’t offer Parmesan cheese because it’s a “fancy place” and they are “authentic Italian.” Why are we eating on paper plates then?

The topping options were turkey pepperoni, sausage, shrimp, or prosciutto, mushrooms, peppers, olives. You can pick 3 of those things, max.

Anyway, we got one bottle of wine I wouldn’t have paid $5 for and one pizza. The bill was $60.

We almost went for my wife’s birthday, but are so glad we didn’t go for a special occasion. If someone told me I could go here again for free, I would decline.

Either drastically cut prices and offer beer, wings, etc, or really spruce the place up and make it actually “fancy” like they seem to think it currently is.

I’m not sure how they are in business, or how the reviews are this good. Everyone we’ve spoken to about this place seems to have a horror story. One of our friends said the owner cussed her out because he wanted them to move their vehicle to a different parking spot.

Anyway, if you are in the area, go to McDonalds.

Edit in response to owner: The price of the water was $1.65 each, per your menu. I’m not sure why there is such hostility from ownership towards critical reviews. Have you heard of “constructive criticism?” It means you can take negative comments and use them to better your business. There isn’t some grand conspiracy to slander your restaurant. It just isn’t good. Could it be good? Absolutely. But with your current attitude, I doubt it will. It’s a shame, because I think you could have something fantastic. Authentic Italian cuisine with a gorgeous view? Sign me up. Unfortunately the wine isn’t good, and the pizza is mediocre at best, and the idea of it being high class authentic Italian dining doesn’t mix with the current atmosphere of folding tables, plastic cutlery and...

This was our first visit. We were happy that they could accommodate a large party on a holiday weekend but that quickly wore off once we arrived. The grounds don’t resemble a winery at all. This is a very casual place with very modest and outdated decor. It’s “folding tables, plastic dinnerware, and serving bottled water without a glass” casual. And the best part, the view, was obscured by thick plastic weatherproofing that you couldn’t really see through. The pizza did look good and children said it was good but the adults had steak and lobster which was just okay and frankly overpriced for the level of preparation. We expressed interest in several wines including the reisling but the waitress warned that it was not a favorite of customers and suggested we try some samples first.. We attempted to order a flight to have the opportunity to sample the wine but were told that only thimble sized samples were available for $7. Every wine we tried had a high ethanol aftertaste. I’ve never experienced anything like it and it was hard to tell them apart. Honestly we tried 7-9 different ones and didn’t find a single one anyone really wanted to drink. We wanted a drink with dinner so we settled for 2 bottles and bought one bottle of red and one of white but did not order seconds. Our waitress was knowledgeable about the wines but it took about 20 minutes to get our first bottle and they forgot the wine glasses. I’m sure a lot of locals are happy to grab pizza here but it is not a fine dining establishment by any stretch of the imagination. The stars are for 1. The view before we got inside and 2. The reservation with such short notice...but now we know why. We will not return unless a lot of changes are made. Waitress with dreads was a delight for having to peddle such horrible wine

Edit after owner response: I am so saddened you did not introduce yourself as the owner when you spoke with part of our party. Had we known, we would have happily discussed the wine. We were under the impression that the gentleman outside was merely in charge of the pizza and food which was as we said, good, not great. We would never share how bad the wine was with someone we did not think was responsible for serving it. It is clear from other reviews that you do not value customer feedback. And of course this is an opinion, that sir is exactly what a review is. If your reisling and pizza were as popular as you claim then I would suggest you start spending that money on actual chairs, non-folding tables, cutlery that isn't plastic and a renovation to your decor....