Harvest — Restaurant in Knoxville

I have said so many times that there are no places left in Knoxville to have a great drink or dinner. Harvest is amazing. I had mentioned that my wife and I were celebrating a special occasion. The staff at Harvest went well out of their way to make our occasion special. From the warmest greeting at the door from the hostess, Glo, who sat us in a less busy part of the floor at a beautifully decorated table, to our extremely knowledgeable and friendly waiter, Ryan, we felt cared for through the entire experience. When my wife couldn’t easily select a wine from Harvest’s extensive list, the manager, Peter, came over and made the process a breeze, even sending over a half glass of Sauvignon blanc for each of us as a recommendation. It had that grapefruit sweet tart smack in the finish that you expect from a Marlborough Sav Blanc. I had the Lillet Spritzer from the drink list. It’s a must try. Crisp, refreshing, and slightly sweet. We decided to split several things from the food menu to satisfy our foodie curiosities. We started with the suggestion of the fresh oysters on the half shell. They were buttery with a hint of brine. Everything an oyster should be. Next was my favorite. Don’t mess around. Get the pork belly as an appetizer. Smoked to perfection, tender, and meaty not fatty. The outside was crisp and the inside soft. Everything a properly cooked pork belly should be. It was served over a wilted salad that was also to die for. My wife and I fought over this dish. You had to get it or it was gone. We then shared a beet salad. My wife is Mexican and beets are new to her. After eating that salad, they’re her new favorite vegetable. The arugula was tossed in a light coating of stone ground honey mustard with the red beets and goat cheese, plated over several slices of roasted golden beet. It was sweet, but not overpowering, and peppery. The flavors were perfectly balanced. Everything a salad should be. Next was the cheese plate. This was the point when we were getting full. The cheese plate was good. We finished with the chicken confit. Some people are against meat slow cooked in fat because they think it will taste greasy. The chicken confit at Harvest was extremely tender and juicy, not greasy, with crispy skin and an amazing flavor. It was served over an orzo salad that had a light acidity that paired perfectly with the chicken. We argued over the dessert. We wanted to try all of the dessert options. The manager informed us that they employ a pastry chef specifically to make these confections. I couldn’t resist the Key Lime Pie, and my wife wasn’t coming off of anymore than a bite to try her Basque Cheesecake. Both were incredible. I was a restaurant manager for 13 years, and am disappointed in most of my dining experiences, but Harvest is no disappointment. My wife has said many times that this is the richest and most delicious meal that we have had in a long time. Our experience was beyond incredible. I’m so grateful. My wife and I will definitely...

Update from Nov. 5, 2022 Since that first time, we’ve been there multiple times and the food is wonderful. They also try their best; after my previous review they offered us a $100 gift card to make up for some of the shortcomings. Impeccable customer service! They still have work to do in certain areas; the quality of the produce (beef) could be better, espresso could arrive hot not lukewarm, but overall this is the most consistent place in Knoxville for a nice date. I’d recommend it to anyone to try.

Interesting place that tries very hard but has a few shortcomings. First of all, the drinks are strong and very generous in quantity; well done! Carpaccio was fresh and really well seasoned with truffle oils and capers; it’s probably the best carpaccio I’ve had in a year or so. The roast chicken was great (East Tennessee definitely knows how to do that!) but the side risotto could be served warmer and have less sour flavor and more seasoning (salt!). However, the tables are way too close to one another and people bump their chairs a lot (cheap logistics!). The beet salad, though interesting, was under seasoned and needed a pop: blue or feta cheese and a bit of balsamic vinegar would have made a huge difference. I’m discovering that Americans usually don’t know how to season beets. My husband’s filet mignon was expensive ($62!) and poorly executed: too dry, under seasoned (again, more salt please!), and the skin burnt. The purée was dry and under seasoned too; I make better one at home. Desserts were good but not amazing; I was expecting way more because they have a pastry chef. Both cheese cake and key lime pie should be more moist to my taste. I like that they have espresso but it was served lukewarm and in a kind of a dirty cup with a candy that got stuck to the cup every time I had a sip of coffee. I wish we were compensated in some way by the shortcomings that we voiced (limited space between the tables and the dry steak) but the check arrived at close to $200 with nothing detracted. A truly fine dining and customer-oriented place would have made some kind of arrangement for that. I do look forward to coming back again and maybe trying their home made pasta, which seems to be their pride. No more steak in this place though, and do have to admit that I haven’t had a good steak in...

To start I really wanted to LOVE this place but there wasn’t a outstanding “wow” factor about it. It was honestly just okay. We dined in as a group of five, all first timers! At first the menu looked pretty promising! We started out by ordering drinks. The guys ordered beers and I ordered the red sangria which was pretty tasty and boozy, no complaints there. We then moved on to appetizers, we ordered the lobster quesadilla and raw oysters. I was most excited about the lobster quesadilla but wasn’t extremely impressed after tasting it, the cheese wasn’t melted all the way, and I personally believe it could’ve used a little bit more flavor. On to the entrees.. with five of us we got a wide variety of things. I ordered the Ribeye with potato purée, as for the table the pasta special, shrimp and grits, chicken and prime rib were also ordered. My ribeye was cooked to perfection temperature wise just again lacked flavor, and I just was not a fan of the potato purée at all, it tasted like instant mash potatoes. For a $35 entree I felt a bit unsatisfied with the meal and after leaving opted for some small bites at the next place. The rest of the table seemed to think their meals were just “okay” as well, my fiancé who ordered the prime rib explained that the prime rib completely lacked flavor as well as the noodles that were described as Mac and cheese. On a positive note the actual space is great and so was the service, everyone was extremely friendly, helpful, and attentive. I am willing to give it another try...