Calhoun's — Restaurant in Knoxville

We were in town and looking for BBQ. We came here specifically because of an article I read that mentioned this as the best BBQ in the area. The thing about articles---they contain subjective opinions just like reviews (so take this to heart or not, but we won't be back). Our visit started with poor customer service. The waitress either needs more training or should move on to a different profession. When the customer says "the lemonade doesn't contain any lemon" (perhaps it was mixed wrong???), the response maybe should be "I'm so sorry, can I remake it or get you something else? instead of arguing with the customer that the bartender mixes it and it's different all the time. My kids both ordered pink lemonade but all they got was sugar water. So she did not offer to replace it and the kids drank water. Anyway, the service was extremely poor, especially when we arrived at 5 pm and were the only ones in the dining area and her only table. Next, my margarita did not taste like it possessed any tequila, although I was charged for top shelf without telling me. Maybe they do add a shot but actually for the large glass they use they should consider two shots. Definitely not a $10 drink during happy hour no less. Third, the bread was so stale we couldn't eat it and the biscuits need a new recipe because all I tasted was salt. Fourth, the mashed potatoes tasted sour and unfortunately sent my nephew to the bathroom in a truck stop on the way home, which is not somewhere you want to spend any time. How do we know it was the mashed potatoes? He ate it first and refused to eat anything else. The pulled pork was grisly with little flavor. Finally, two stars only because two out of three of us had tender ribs. The coleslaw was good but the portion is very tiny and for the price of the meal, perhaps a tad more is warranted. I really wanted to like this place but unfortunately it wasn't...

The worst experience I’ve probably ever had at a restaurant. When we were first seated we had a waitress that got drinks switched around and we received drinks we didn’t order. No big deal, things happen. After the drinks were switched out, she was so offended that she made someone else wait our table and continued to give us dirty looks all night. It took us over 30 minutes to get burnt potato skins that were somehow ice cold. When I asked for at least warm ones, the manager, Alexis, came out and said she would personally take care of it but didn’t understand the food being burnt and cold. We barely got to eat the new appetizer (which was only slightly warmer) before our food came out. To our surprise, over half of the table’s food was cold and we had to eat in shifts. The manager revisited the table and told us she couldn’t imagine the food being cold because they weren’t busy and the kitchen was putting out quality items. It took again, almost 30 minutes for new hot food to come out. That’s after our waiter had to chase down the manager to find out where our new plates were. In between the food fiasco, we could barely hear each other in conversation due to hosts and other waitresses being on their hands and knees using a handheld vacuum to clean up after prior tables and almost being knocked out by the smell of the cleaner they were using on nearby tables. It wasn’t respectful to the guest and should’ve waited til closing. This used to be our favorite location but after this “going away” meal, it’s safe to say we’ll probably never be back. Disappointed to...

A vendor bought us Calhoun’s for lunch on Friday. She didn’t finish her meal and offered to let me try what she had ordered: Burnt Ends. They were so good that’s all I could think about. Went to get some at Calhoun’s on Bearden Hill the next day. Most of my order was ready when they said it would be except it was missing one item. They brought my incomplete order to my vehicle and I paid and gave them a 20% tip on a ToGo order. They told me it’d be 3-4 minutes on the missing item. After 7-8 minutes they told me it’s be 3-4 minutes again. After 7-8 minutes they told me it would be 3-4 minutes again. They repeated this over and over until I just gave up and left after approximately 35-40 minutes. I called to tell them I left and the person that answered didn’t apologize and really couldn’t have cared less. If they couldn’t provide the item (which they upsold and offered) they should’ve told me that so I wouldn’t waste all that time on a Saturday. I wouldn’t have been upset. I can’t judge the food quality because it was cold by the time I got home. I’m still going to go to Calhoun’s but I’ll try the one further out west next time. It was a mistake to pay and tip in advance and accept my incomplete order. That won’t happen again. When they split up that tip tonight I just wish they knew it...