Number Ten — Restaurant in Chattanooga

Overall a very disappointing, poor experience. Since it’s a restaurant, I’ll start with the food, which overall, was the most disappointing aspect. We ordered the bone marrow appetizer and were surprised to see the accompanying bacon jam and mustard not on the side but smeared all over the marrow. Having had bone marrow in France and white tablecloth steakhouses multiple times, I’m unsure why anyone would want an accompaniment like that to begin with but for the chef to smear it all over and essentially ruin it was odd in my opinion - the richness and quality of the marrow should speak for itself.

Next, we attempted to order the Porterhouse, which is on the menu at 28 ounces, and split amongst two of us. After asking if the chef could cut it off the bone and slice it for the table, the waitress noted the Porterhouse was listed under the single person steak offerings and she would get “yelled at” if she asked to have it carved, instead saying the Tomahawk (40 oz) was the menu item for two people. Surprised by the “yelled at” comment, we noted the Porterhouse was a steak in most restaurants for two given the two steaks and that 28 oz was more than enough and if necessary, we could order a smaller steak or item if we were still hungry, only for her to say “well OK but they won’t be happy”. Unfortunately we relented and took the Tomahawk to avoid her being yelled at (still unsure who this yeller was because there appeared to be no manager - more below). While the Tomahawk arrived perfectly medium rare, the steak was bland/tasteless, chewy and overall not very good. While four sauces were served with the steak, I’m a firm believer if I’m paying for good meat, it should speak for itself and in this case, it clearly didn’t. While the restaurant doesn’t claim to serve Prime or even Choice beef, the price point is at that range and this clearly was nowhere near that, which is disappointing for what is essentially a steakhouse.

Now the service. Apart from the questionable “yelled at” claim, while the restaurant was not near capacity, maybe 7-8 tables seated, there was only one waitress with drinks being brought out by the bartender, leading to limited service. Never once in our approximately 90 minutes there did the manager stop by to say hello or ask how everything was (again it was what appeared to be a light evening) nor did we ever see anyone that appeared to be a manager, which is odd at a restaurant in which we are paying $60-100 a person at.

To top off the evening, as she was cleaning the table, the waitress dropped the unused steak sauce on the pants of one in our party and simply said “oh sorry let me go get some club soda”. Never once did a manager come out to apologize nor did she say “a drink or dessert is on me”, nothing. Again, disappointing in what is essentially trying to be upscale dining.

In regards to the upscale dining aspect (by no means is this close to fine dining), a table was sat with two men, one in shorts and one in a baseball/trucker hat. While trivial, it’s not what I would expect, especially when there was bar seating.

Bottom line, there are better...

I’ve tried the majority of “steakhouses” in Chattanooga from the Read House to the Roadhouse. At last, I’ve found THE restaurant for a great steak! The location is tucked away but Google got me there. Made a reservation for one (Thursday) for 7 pm and showed up right on time. Great table next to the window. Liza (server) gave me a few minutes to look at the menu before coming over. The Hemingway daiquiri was spot on - not too sweet, right size, perfectly chilled.

Ordered the pork belly, which was heavenly. Crisp bite, supported with a freshly made mild mustard sauce and raspberry coulis under the pieces. Ate one piece and with the crunch, creaminess of the fat and lovely taste of the pork - my tastebuds were fully immersed. One piece was all I could manage because the beautiful ribeye and perfectly prepared Brussel Sprouts (flash fried, served with balsamic and Parmesan) were on their way.

The first bite of the ribeye was perfect - seared, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, great grill/smoke flavor - oh my! The bites that followed mirrored the first. I cannot eat a 14 oz ribeye in one sitting, so Liza wrapped it up for me to bring home with my pork belly…..Yeah!!!

Since this was my first time at Ten (10), dessert was a must. I’m gluten-sensitive, so ordered the flourless chocolate cake and crossed my fingers. Typically, this dessert is a dense, fudgy, over-the-top (and often inedible) chocolate brick. The chef at 10 has transformed this dessert into an incredible statement piece for the end of a great meal - not too sweet chocolate mousse on a layer of flourless, flavor-filled chocolate yumminess accompanied by sliced fresh strawberries and Chantilly cream. My photos don’t capture the terrific flavors and textures sufficiently for this dessert.

If you’ve gotten to this point, here’s a summary - Chattanooga finally finally has a steakhouse that we can be proud of (and come back to often)! Ten gets 10+++...

Oh how I love good food and this place has it. We actually we able to get seats with no reservation but I wouldn’t recommend it. We were met by a hostess. In my opinion the hostess should be instructed to dress nicer. She was dressed for like a hamburger joint. She is the first representative of your entire experience. I think they r trying to be a higher end restaurant. The first 8 seconds are the Most important. The front entrance is — a blank canvass that is blank. That the first thing u see. R they going for a hamburger joint or high end!? I’m confused! We began with drinks. I’m not a drinker but my husband enjoyed his. Now the waitress?? She was horrible. I’m so So so sorry to say that but if u don’t wave her down u won’t get food. And I mean for every single thing—like Putting in ur order. The appetizer was a Meatball with sauce and it was super yummy. Perfect everything. We passed on the salad. I saw some go by. They looked very simple. DH got steak/ribeye/ 14 oz. Mashed Potatoes and Mushrooms. He said it’s the Best steak he has had in Chattanooga!! We live and eat downtown. We r Foodies—-for him to say that is HuGe!! I had the Shrimp Pasta and it was luscious, huge serving and lots of fat, fresh shrimp cookedTo Perfection. So good. Sadly they have no bread service. Need a bread service. Bottom Line. The exterior —- the first thing u see needs a lot of help. It should be inviting, some music, something. This staff could really hurt you. Hostess dressing like she’s going gardening and really really bad waitress are the second and third things u meet so at this Point we r concerned 😧 BUT!!!! Food is spot on and amazing. We have made reservations for Next Friday 😊😊. If your looking for a really great meal at fair prices do not Pass this Place up!!! The Chef here is putting out something...