Fiori Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in Knoxville

We’ve been to Fiori before for some cocktails and they were great both times along with tonight.

The atmosphere and the style of the of the interior of the restaurant are beautiful. It’s a very romantic atmosphere and a great place to take your significant other for a date night.

We went for dinner this time and were slightly disappointed. When you spend over $150.00 per person for dinner for two you have certain expectations. Most of the problems were with the kitchen and what seems to be a lack of attention to detail and supervision. We ordered the Osetra caviar (we’ve had caviar service at a couple other places around Knoxville and it was always served on ice) ours just came out with the jar on the plate and it didn’t have the shell spoon when it came out. If an unknowing customer were to order it and use their fork or knife they’d ruin the caviar. My wife ordered the melon caprese salad that was supposed to be dressed with a balsamic glaze. It came out with no balsamic glaze. We saw another come out the same way. Were they out of the balsamic glaze? Who knows… but it wasn’t prepared the way it was described in the menu. I ordered the fillet medallion medium rare with a lobster tail add on. The filet came out medium well and there was no clarified butter with the lobster tail. The edges of the steak were well done which made the steak tough. It took a long time for our dinner to get out to us after our salad course. It wasn’t like there was a large crowd when we went. Not sure what the long delay was caused by. People that ordered after us had their dinner come out before ours. We could tell something wasn’t right with the kitchen.

Even with the missteps the food was good but when you pay that much for dinner you expect the details in the kitchen to be on point. Our server was new and was attentive but we could tell she was new. That’s ok - everyone has to start somewhere. She was very pleasant and always had a smile on her face.

I have high hopes for Fiori. The menu, if executed properly, is fabulous. I’m going to chalk tonight up to it was just an off night. I’ll give them another try in the future to redeem themselves. Other reviews have them doing a much better job - hope it’s just an off night. Too many rookie mistakes from the kitchen tonight though. Like the Big Lebowski said “that’s a...

I've been wanting to try Fiori since I noticed it opened in one of my favorite sections of the old city. The ambience is fantastic here, everything LOOKS amazing. But LOOKS can be deceiving. Don't get me wrong because I do believe Fiori has the potential to be great, it's just not there yet.

We started things off with a round of cocktails, I let the server know I usually like an old fashioned & she let me know their version is called "Daddy Issues" & the better half had a "Down to Fiesta". The drinks came & LOOKED great; I closed my eyes took a sip & didn't really taste anything but water. The wife asked if my drink was watered down & I said it just taste like water. I tasted hers & it tasted like water with jalapeno in it LOL! Strike 1; to be honest I can get a real cocktail that I know I will enjoy right across the street. We ordered our food & then asked for some water after drinking or watery cocktails.

Our food came & it LOOKED amazing as you can tell from the pics. I had the Baked Lamb Lollipops & the wife had Oysters Rockefeller & Radicchio Grapefruit Arugula salad. The wife took one bite of the Oysters & asked if we could leave. Keep in mind we had just tried Brass Peral last weekend & regularly order oysters from Chesapeake's. I tasted here Oyster & there was really no flavor & said my lamb LOOKS good. I then tried the lamb & it just tasted like luke slightly warm meat with a dab of jelly & was also lacking any real flavor. I had ordered a glass of Pinot Noir with my lamb & it took forever to get it to me but the wine was good. The salad was also lacking. So that's strike 2 & 3 as neither one of liked the food. If we had, we would of ordered more because the plates were small.

So we walked out of Fiori hungry & sober on a Saturday night & went right to Jig & Reel for some real drinks & good food. My wife will never go back but I'd be open to try it again to see if they can improve the drink situation & get someone that can season the meat. I woodfire grilled 3 racks of lamb chops the next day for my family seasoned with mint & culinary rose & the wife joked that I should show Fiori how to make lamb chops.

This place is new & I hope they make the necessary adjustments needed to compete in a cut throat downtown restaurant environment because the atmosphere & location really are...

UPDATE: Owner states this is an extension of feedback however this is my first review.

If you’re looking for innovative dining in Knoxville… This must not be the place. First disappointment was booking reservations online with a note about being there for a special Occasion and that special occasion never being honored or acknowledged. The food was okay but nothing I would come back for. but the reason for the 1 star is that there were literally 3 tables when I was there, and the owners were camped out with all their staff at the front of the restaurant instead of talking to the tables and welcoming them in. If this was a 20 year dream of mine, I sure would thanking each person for trying my restaurant and building a rapport. I even watched a server who looked like she wasn’t wearing any pants her shorts were so short, eating a slice of cake while walking through the dining room. This was my first time in and I have family that have been lobster fishing off the coast of Maine for generations and was excited to find out about where the lobster was from. The server of course did not know and did not make an effort to find out. I said “well the owners have walked by several times so why can’t you ask him?” I have never been to an upscale dining experience where the brand is not open and straightforward about where they source their lobster especially someone sourcing their lobster from Maine, it should be a point of pride. I am an avid Bourbon and Old fashioned drinker, I have had all kinds of wood smoke, burnt fruit rinds etc. but the old fashioned they craft in house had an offensive burnt smell as if the bartender had burned his knuckle hair. This location needs to do some soul searching and find their niche because if Maine is it, then why the Italian name? The Filet was tiny and full of gristle and the lobster tail was over cooked and chewy. My husband and I are locals and enjoy eating out habitually and would have been back to support a local business if we felt like we were even appreciated. Would not...