Dino's Restaurant — Restaurant in Elizabethton

Two weeks ago a good friend of mine invited me to go with him to do some shopping for reloading supplies and offered to buy me a nice supper, since I had helped him and his wife get moved into their new home. When we got hungry and decided to go eat he suggested Dino's. Being from Watauga county and visiting Elizabethton often since I was a kid I was surprised I had never eaten a Dino's especially with him telling me how good it was. We made our way over to Dino's and checked out a few of the cars in downtown for the cruise in. As we walked into Dino's it was very busy but we were greeted kindly anyway. We found a booth and took our seats, as I looked around seeing local school team memorabilia on the walls as well as things about the Andy Griffith Show and The King Richard Petty. So far I liked the atmosphere on the joint and the food that I could smell smelled good. After reading another review here about someone having a sick and terrible experience I was still a bit skeptical. As we looked over the menu all the choices sounded so good that we were having trouble on deciding exactly what to get. We both ordered sweet tea to drink and when it came it was refreshing and sweeet, just like it should be. When we ordered our food I couldn't decide on just one thing so I ordered the Italian sampler with Manicotti, Fettuccine Alfredo, and Lasagna. When they brought it out all I could think was oh boy I sure hope I can eat all this. It came with delicious Garlic Texas Toast. All three of the pasta dishes were good. The Manicotti reminded me a lot of my own mothers recipe. The Lasagna was different than I've had before, but good and yummy different. The Fettuccine Alfredo was absolutely delicious, it was creamy but not runny and had the right amount of garlic, if it isn't the best I've ever had it's darn close. The service throughout the meal was good and all of the wait staff was very friendly. The food was above and beyond my expectations. The only complaint I can make is it was so good I couldn't stop eating until it was all gone and felt like I was gonna have to roll my way back to the car. If you are looking for a local place thats locally owned and has been around for decades for good reason, look no further. I will definitely...

Stopped in yesterday. It was our first and last trip there due to witnessing unclean and unsanitary conditions of the restaurant. Your food was good but restaurant needs thorough cleaning and updating. Hubby said the men's bathroom was awful and he told me if he had of went in there before we ordered our food, we would've left.The kitchen area is visible from seating area and men's bathroom is in same area. He saw and could smell lots of mildew, sink full of dirty dish water full of dirty dishes, torn booth cushions, splattered dried food on walls, ceiling tiles filthy and needing replaced before they fall on customer's head, no gloves were worn by food preparers I was wondering if health dept has ever done an inspection, if they do,what grade was given. Didn't see it posted anywhere. My advice is to clean up this place before someone gets very sick. Put some money back into your place with professional grade kitchen updates, like stainless steel sinks, counters, freezers, etc and get a professional grade dishwasher to sanitize the dishware your food was pretty good, and some customers do not care about the cleanliness but most do., and you might get returning customers if things are remedied to a...

A HORRIBLE AND SICK EXPERIENCE: I was excited about ordering the lasagna on October 24, 2012 as I was visiting the town with my wife and baby daughter. Dino's looked quaint and special so as an Italian-American, former White House Chef and current Executive Chef I had no problem noticing the sign on the wall that says, "first Lasagna ever served in Eastern Tennessee."

I became so violently sick after eating at Dino's I resolved to call them and the Department of Health on October 25. I have not been this sick after immediately eating at a restaurant ever. Additionally, the lasagna seemed fake to me and I did not like their gravy (also called red sauce) at all. The lasagna did not resemble any lasagna baked in the oven - that I have ever had.

Additionally, using Texas toast to make garlic bread is not up to par for any true Italian Chef. As a Chef who lived in Tennessee and loves the state, I am embarrassed and recommend they be inspected with biologic samples taken of foods for laboratory examination.

The service was very friendly and wonderful. All of the ladies were very nice and the town is cute as a button, especially the covered bridge, wonderful antique stores and...