Louis' Restaurant & Drive-In — Restaurant in Knoxville

BEST spaghetti and meatballs anywhere! This place is a local staple for their spaghetti and meatballs, and has been around forever. I've been coming here since I was a kid, with my great-grandmother, have seen them renovate and move from two separate buildings, into one, and am in my 40's now, if that gives you an idea of how long they've been at it.

I don't think their menu has changed much at all, in all that time either. So, with that being said, the rest of the menu is severely dated. It's old school diner style dishes, with a few other Italian "classics" but, honestly, this isn't why I'd come here, nor could I recommend anything else on the menu here. It's basically all frozen, greasy, microwaved food that your grandma would go for, or that you could get at literally any other local diner or pub/bar type place. Nothing here is fresh, at all, meaning that it's all seemingly frozen, and is super bland in my opinion. The menu is straight out of 1950. So, for me, it's the classic spaghetti or nothing at all here, but I do think everyone should try the spaghetti at least once! It's that good! It's a greasy, somewhat spicy mess, with super thick noodles, and topped with old school style parmesan mini-cubes. The meatballs are probably frozen too, but do seem to be made in-house, with slight spice, green peppers, and they are huge. Two of them are enough for the entire plate of noodles. It's "classic" too, but in a good way, unlike the rest of the menu.

The house salad that you get with most dishes is as basic as it gets, with a couple grape tomatoes, one cucumber slice, and the rest being bland shredded iceberg lettuce. The bread is pretty good, if your dish of choice comes with it. It's like a hoagie roll drenched in garlic butter and pressed onto a flat grill. So, if you like that style of greasy, flat grill, 1950's style diner food, then the rest of the menu may be for you, otherwise, stick with spaghetti.

I'd honestly love to see the menu brought up to date, with fresh, real food but, I can't knock them for sticking to their roots. After all, it's apparently what made them, and while they're still around. I just imagine that their target clientele are aging out, with the dated menu, and bland frozen food. I think that new, fresh food offerings could attract a newer generation, and bring some healthier choices to their menu. You definitely don't eat here for your health, if you know what I mean.

All that said, their classic spaghetti and meatballs is the only thing that keeps me coming back! I just hope that they adapt the rest of their menu to a...

I come to Louis about once a year in the vain hope that it will get better but man, I'm disappointed every single time.

TL;DR: Nice staff, clean place, very bland food, and dreary atmosphere.

I understand wanting to offer traditional Italian food but it doesn't have to be this bland and flavourless. I was here on Thursday night and got the Fettuccine Alfredo. The pasta was fine but the sauce was like consuming slightly thickened butter. I guess they try to disguise the tasteless sauce with sprinkled cheese on top but it doesn't help and instead just adds an odd texture to the dish. I also tried a bite of the Lasagna but I feel judging a dish based on one bite was not fair so I won't do so.

I came back the next day because my dad wanted to try Louis. I had no plan to come back but that's just how the cards fell. I ordered a cheese pizza and it was an okay pizza. Not overwhelmed with sauce and the cheese tasted nice. That being said, it's pizza. I could make a similar tasting cheese pizza, if not better, at home without much effort.

The last thing I'd like to mention is the atmosphere. I will give it to them, the place is quite clean. The lighting is dim and dreary and does not compliment the food well. I'd like to be able to see what I'm eating and see my guests but I struggle to do that here. The furniture is old and rickety. The booths are absolutely awful. No cushioning and the wood at the front cut off the circulation to my legs, making my legs fall asleep.

I'd be surprised if this place stays open for another year. The only people who eat here often seem to be the elderly. I could get better tasting food from Fazoli's; a...

This is a hard one for me. I have been a fan of mo for 30 years. Although I have been gone from here a lot until retirement and had not eaten there in a long time took my grandson there yesterday and I told him this is going to be a great day in your life you get to eat at the original movies I ordered a meatball sandwich he or chicken strips I just found the sandwich not very good the meatballs tasted more like meatloaf and an Italian meatball the service was great the people are nice the facility is clean it's really nice atmosphere and maybe it was just a bad day or maybe it's just my personal preference I will try it again but I just was not impressed with the food yesterday neither was my grandson with his meal. As they almost professional foodie haha I enjoy restaurants I enjoy good meals I've eaten many different types of food all over the world. And restaurant experience is more than just good tasting food of course that is the most important element but also atmosphere ,service, menu options... many different things go to make the restaurant experience the great experience that we have come to expect in America. Movies has been a nostalgic staple eatery in Knoxville for many years creating many wonderful memories. Wedding parties birthday parties graduation celebrations many such events have been held at this awesome Knoxville eatery. Louis has been known for great food at great prices. And I have known it as such. So please don't take this review badly I'm going to try it again soon and I hope that my experience is...