Boyd’s Jig and Reel — Restaurant in Knoxville

When I came across this place I was so pumped to try it out, since I’m new to the area, love pubs, and have Scottish ancestry. The atmosphere is really cool with live music going on in the main hall, fun decor everywhere and in a fun part of town. We didn’t order food so I cant comment on that. We did order a Guinness, and sadly, this is where the trouble started. The long and short of it is, avoid this place if you want a pint of Guinness as well as dealing with rude staff. I’ve never called out staff on reviews before except one other time, but sadly I feel compelled to do so here because of the experience. I asked for a Guinness, when the bar woman presented a pint that was poured like any other beer. So I asked if she knew how to pour a pint the traditional way, since you encounter this issue in the US a lot. She responded with attitude saying she did, and came up with excuses as to why she didn’t this time. “there’s a rush, the game was on, I was trying to help others.” she then proceeded to pour the pint properly, into a standard beer glass. Handed it to me with an angry face and attitude when it was done. We understand Guinness takes a while. We don’t care, we can wait. But when you come at customers with attitude because they ask you to do something properly, you’re in the wrong. As simple as that. Don’t carry Guinness or products you’re not going to present properly. Her attitude totally ruined the experience because the rest of the night she was rude to us and treated us terribly. Not only was that initial experience bad, but when we came back later asking for another pint of Guinness (which was a mistake) she started pouring them correctly, left them to rest, and her barmaid friend came to help and she finished pouring the pints, but also incorrectly. We had had enough. The beer itself was bad as you’d expect. This place looks awesome. We really want to love this place and come back again, because it has everything we love in a pub/bar/restaurant, but we were truly turned off by this staff member so badly that we are going to have to wait a while if we ever come back. If the place does better when we come back, I’ll be happy to...

Late night date night dinner - Saturday, 9pm. This was our second time here, but first time coming for food (previous time to try a Scotch flight from the “Largest Scotch Selection in the World”). We loved it.

Being a Saturday on the heels of at home UT football game/win, downtown Knoxville was hoppin. To avoid the party crowds, we parked near the Depot and walked a few blocks. The front door was manned by a hefty bouncer checking IDs. Loving the college vibe.

Once inside, the feel of an authentic Scottish Pub overtook the chaos on the streets outside. The grand bar with countless bottles on display; the glossy wooden booths, the waitresses with Scottish plaid skirts and t-shirts reminding everyone, “I’m Scottish Not Irish”. We dined in the front room, but live music from the back room filled the air.

The ambiance was exactly what we wanted tonight.

We ordered Guinness. It wasn’t poured correctly for a Guinness, but being a Scottish, not Irish, bar, that common mistake gets a pass. Our server was a delight - all smiles, personable, hard working. Just plain sweet.

After much discussion over the menu, along with some guidance from our server, we settled on the Fish and Chips and the Shepherds Pie.

The fish was excellent. You taste good quality fish in each perfectly breaded and seasoned deep-fried bite. A squeeze of lemon, dash of malted vinegar and the homemade dill tartar sauce made it that pub food we were craving. The chips were… well they were chips. And we ate them all.

The shepherds pie, served in an individual skillet dish, was delicious. We added Tabasco to ours, but the flavor was on point. Dense and hearty.

To round out the night, we shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding. I may or may not have tried licking the dish clean. A day later, I still can’t get that dessert out of my head.

We loved our experience here and think you will...

I was down in Knoxville for a week of training. It was Friday night. The training was over. A co-worker and I wanted something to eat that wasn't from the hotel.

Being Friday night, every place we went to was full up with an hour or more wait. So we wandered further and further afield.

About a mile out from the hotel, we found this place with some empty tables. Had no idea what kind of place it was or what kind of food they served, but there was room at the inn and we were hungry.

We found a table and sat down. The waitress came over and asked if we wanted to see the Scotch tasting menu. She brought out a book the size of a wedding album that listed all their Scotches.

We were in heaven.

We ordered some beers and food. I got fish and chips and the piece of fish I got was bigger than my hand. My compatriots got some more traditional Scottish fare. Everything was excellent. .

We're all having a good time and then we notice that two fat, bearded guys in bib overalls get up on stage. They start making jokes and singing. Me and my co-worker are from New York, but we're very much enjoying the vibe.

A couple more beers and then I'm like, "We should have a Scotch tasting".

So we select a flight of five different Scotches and we take turns sipping. It was awesome.

Then I see they have Irish Coffee on the menu and so we all have one. These also were excellent.

We all had a great time. Service, food and drink were excellent. If you'r in Knoxville, you should...