Sidetrack Restaurant — Restaurant in Chattanooga

First time to this place, and I would definitely go back!

The location of this place is unassuming, yet when you walk into the restaurant it has an inviting and bustling atmosphere.

I would recommend making reservations like we did, we went in on a Sunday evening it was quite busy. The couple in front of us was welcomed with a 15 to 20 minute wait time before they could get a table since they had not made reservations.

Let’s get straight to the food. We ordered the whipped feta with honey and homemade pita and the truffle fried mushrooms with horseradish.

I loved the fresh warm pita, it was dusted with zaatar and some delicious olive oil in the plate that the fresh bread began soaking up. Yum! The whipped feta is just what it sounds like - you get the familiar salty tang of the feta, which is balanced out with a shallow puddle of honey in the center of the plate. As someone who grew up on pita, olive oil, feta and zaatar, we really enjoyed this.

The truffle fried mushrooms were nice, and I enjoyed them. The horseradish dip is a must in my opinion as it adds more flavor. I’m glad that we tried it, but I’m more likely to re-order the whipped feta then I would re-order the fried mushrooms.

Now onto the main course. We ordered the gnocchi and the red curry half chicken. This is how I would describe both of the dishes. They were good and had some great flavors, but I wasn’t wowed as much as I was expecting to be. I would rate the gnocchi a 7 out of 10 and I would rate the red curry half chicken as a 7.5 out of 10.

I loved the flavors of the red curry chicken, but the chicken portion was a little smaller than I had anticipated, and the chicken was a little too dry. The red curry sauce was excellent, it was the chicken part that I was not as impressed with. And yes, it is a half chicken but a small half.

The gnocchi was also good, it is the only main course that was vegetarian. However, there will be several appetizers and sides that would be suitable for a vegetarian. I would describe the gnocchi as having a delicate texture combined with bold flavors. However! I found it to be lacking something in order to take it to the next level. I’m not quite sure what was missing, perhaps a delicate herb or even a sharp cheese to add an additional layer of flavor. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good enough that I would recommend it, but it’s not great enough where I would say you MUST go there and try this. However, like I said before it is the only vegetarian option when it comes to main courses that this restaurant offers.

Onto the sides! We ordered the garlic mashed potatoes, wood-fired roasted carrots, and Fingerling Sweet Potatoes with dukkah.

Very happy with all three sides, just wish they gave us a larger portion of the mashed potatoes, and that it was warmer. However, the flavors were excellent!

I found the sweet potatoes to be delicious with fun flavors. I have an adventurous palette, so I enjoyed the brown butter and the dukkah that the sweet potatoes were topped with. And I thought the roasted carrots were good as well. My favorite flavor was the garlic mashed potatoes, but my overall favorite was the sweet potatoes.

I will say, some of the pictures that are part of the Google review make the sides appear significantly larger than they are in real life. There was a slight disappointment when our sides came to the table and we saw just how small the sweet potatoes were, as well as how small of a portion of mashed potatoes they give you. I am glad we ordered appetizers as well as sides, we did not leave feeling hungry!

My overall impression was that this is a great dining option, and I am SO happy there is a restaurant that offers diverse flavors in the area. I will definitely be going back and will try other items on the menu, and I would recommend you try...

I recently visited Sidetrack. I was a regular for a long time. Whenever my daughter and I wanted a nice weekend dinner or family wanted to have a get together or met a friend for brunch we went to Sidetrack. I shout them out on social media anytime someone asks for a local spot. I havent been in a few months for several reasons, mostly time and budget. But, my daughter and I decided to have a nice Saturday out and came to dine. Im not sure what changed, but either management changed or ownership or new chef...I ordered the Ceasar salad. I'm not sure what the old price was, but I know for sure that it wasn't twelve dollars. I feel like I remember it being about half that price and absolutely delicious. I was delivered a larger size ceasar than before. But, instead of the nice bib or butter lettuce it was shredded lettuce. NO croutons, not one and the delicious dressing they used to toss it in- gone. It was a thin, tasteless ranch like dressing with three slimey looking slivers of anchovies laid on top. Super gross looking, like snails. I know the anchovies used to be in the dressing. You could taste the saltiness and it was amazing. But WHY lay 3 long shiney snail like fish on top of a watery, tasteless salad like that unless you just hate people? Had to send that back. Fine- all good, but I order the red curry chicken and when I asked for extra sauce so my daughter could dip her fried chicken in it, I was told that was $4 extra....for a little ramekin of extra sauce? The wine menu also hanged a 3 or 4 oz pour of cheap wine is $12. I wasn't happy. Service wasn't up to usual standards either. We had to ask multiple times for drink refils, lemons, etc. AND a guy came by to clear the table.which was great, but he took the fries we were waiting on a box for. Props to the server on that, he did go get us a fresh order of fries. He was super nice, just not on top of it. Honestly I think that was management. He had a big section and was bussing almost all of his own tables til the fry stealing guy at the end. Will spend my money somewhere else for a while. Pretty disappointing. All the local spots I used to be die hard about are just meh now. Idk if its the economy or too many ppl moving here, but its sad. I know everyone is raising prices, but double price salads? 20% more for wine? I buy it at the store myself. I can see the prices aren't up much lately? Really hate it. This place used to be...

You should probably dress nice when you go here, but we never do and we are never judged. we get off of work, my husband in construction and we come straight here most times . When you walk into this establishment the hosts greets you with a warm genuine smile. Asked if a high top was ok and it was more than ok ,seats very comfortable,even though we were close to the kitchen it was great watching the staff and kitchen preparing food drinks and watching how efficiently the restaurant ran with each of their roles. Staring into the hot oven was mesmerizing watching the food spin around. I ordered a coffee and it was the pressed kind we make when we camp . Soooo good ,brought with raw cane sugar and crème presented beautifully. Then the food! Ala carte is their style. How do you choose!? Well, we are sucker for the fried mushrooms and had to get those for starters they are NOT just bar style button fried mushrooms .. They are the best mushroom quality panko fried with amazing horseradish dip I could drink that stuff . We normally stick to our favorites verde chicken but the menu changed a lot since we visited last and none of our family ever got anything bad so we ventured and I got swordfish and mashed potatoes paired with red wine and my husband fried chicken that tastes like a hug! And Whole roasted okra fries with beers and server never left him asking for more. Wish I caught her name. She was delightful. The older gentleman that brought out the food said the swordfish was his favorite I was glad to hear I’d never had swordfish that I can recall and when I put in my mouth it was bussin with so many flavors cooked to perfection capers a yellow lemon sauce with onions peppers and I ate every bite. Husband had leftover chicken bc it seemed like the whole bird which is great and fries left over perfect portion for his lunch next day . Unfortunately we didn’t make it to dessert. On our way out we were wished a farewell and more smiles. From the beginning to the end this place has never disappointed. bill was over $100 but that’s typical we did order alcohol. Parking was plenty and bathrooms clean as well. Handicap accessible in every way....