Oliver Royale — Restaurant in Knoxville

We live downtown and go out all the time. We have joked about Oliver Royale in the past because the few times we have tried to eat there, even if there were multiple empty tables outside, we were told quite smugly (by what we have also joked are the most unfriendly host and hostesses in the East Tennessee Valley) there was a one or more hour wait time and we should make a reservation. Albeit, I fully recommend setting a reservation for weekend brunch anywhere in downtown if you want to be seated in under an hour; on that same note, most of the best brunch places downtown don’t accept reservations but are well worth the wait: OliBae, The French Market, Ruby Sunshine. TBH one of the best breakfasts downtown can be had at Matt Robb’s, even if the line is out the door, or Potchke, though technically it is in the Old City.

So, today, we finally ate brunch at Oliver Royale and, boy, were we shocked and disappointed. Billed as an “exemplary dining experience” we were completely underwhelmed right away as we watched the bartender make our mimosa with prosecco and grocery store juice. The wait time to even get brewed coffee was surprising, but our rule is to never be in a rush for brunch. When delivered, the coffee was exellent, so we remained hopeful the food would be worth the extended wait time. The first food item to arrive was the shareable coffee cake – after approximately 30 minutes from when we placed the order. As seen in the photo, the cake we received was not fully cooked with half the cake still in cake-batter form. In fairness to the server, who was not responsible for making the food, we did not send it back. However, later as we went to pay, the server noted that the cake taken off our bill. We were thankful but also curious if that was an indication this was not the first time it happened. We waited an hour for eggs benedict and steak and eggs. The food was fine. The hollandaise sauce on the eggs benedict was perfect, even if the dish was served closer to room temperature than fresh from the prep area. The steak and eggs were mediocre and also seemed as though the dish had been sitting for a bit before it was delivered. Also, the toast was served dry and there was no butter or jam served alongside it.

All in all, Oliver Royale did not live up to our expectations. The point of posting a negative review is two-fold: first, I am proud to live in downtown Knoxville and if you are visiting this area and want an exceptional dining experience, I want to provide the most helpful and honest recommendation. In this case, if you want to go somewhere and reserve a table, I have personally had a better brunch experience reserving a table at Tupelo Honey than Oliver Royale, though I maintain the best brunch spots in downtown don’t take reservations (my faves are listed above). The second reason I post this review is to let the owners/managers/chefs know that quality needs to improve. There is a lot of competition, and yet an establishment like Oliver Royale, which has had a great reputation for a long time, will not maintain that status for very long if the quality declines. I want restaurants in downtown to succeed not fail. I sincerely hope this review is helpful for both of these reasons. Finally, unless specifically called out, a negative review is never intended to reflect the wait staff or servers, only the management or quality...

Came here because the burger place a few doors down had a 2 hour wait. Oliver Royale was able to seat us right away. I hate to give bad reviews but in this case I felt I had to. First thing I noticed was the noise level. Twice as loud inside as it was outside and there was a rock concert going on 100 feet away! We opted to eat outside, despite the "old guy music" that I was the only one enjoying. Four of us came here on a "double date". We ordered drinks (pathetic beer menu....One IPA on the list and in a can no less) and appetizers. Theirs was a scallop dish that they raved about. I didn't try it, but they said it was awesome. OURS was a Thai chicken dish. It came out looking very fancy with the tiny portions on a big plate and the sauce drizzled and dotted just right. Tasted bland and..... canned chicken? I think so...It was basically chicken salad on cabbage that you can eat in 2 bites. Didn't complain though....Then our entrees came out. I was really in the mood for a "good" burger so I ordered the only one they had--artisan cheese and tomato/mango chutney. I ordered it "medium" with the chutney on the side. Tiny little thing came out really thick in the middle and thin on the sides and didn't even come close to fitting the bun. Also it was cooked well done...I'm talking crunchy and burnt on the outside, not a hint of pink in the middle. The cheese was pretty much melted off and that's it....no other condiments or garnishes...just meat, a tiny bit of cheese and a bun, oh, and this special "ham" which I took off because it was basically hard meaty bacon. That went back to the kitchen. While I was waiting I tried my wife's salmon, which was also a very small portion but looked "pretty". Bland as can be! She didn't complain so I thought she was enjoying it until later when she told me it wasn't very good. My buddy said his steak was awful, although he didn't complain to the waitress, he made faces with every bite. Half hour later they brought me out another burger. Still shriveled up and crunchy/burnt on the outside with just a hint of pink in the middle. Still not what I would consider "medium". The ham was even more cooked this time and was seriously hard and crunchy. I had enough....been munching on fries (which were not bad) so I was not hungry anymore and had heartburn at this point. Took one bite to see if it tasted better than it looked. Nope...I told them I didn't want it. The waitress and manager were both very nice, apologetic, and comp'd us a slice of cheesecake which was just ok. Had to mess that up with all kinds of apple and caramel sauce....there really was nothing on the menu that was simple and good. This is a perfect example of a "chef" that tries too hard. There needs to be some simple dishes on the menu that his people know how to cook because they surely didn't know how to prepare what we ordered! My friend's wife said her food was good (some sort of mussel dish) but she and my wife had stomach aches for the rest of the night and gastrointestinal problems the next day. I give them 2 stars only because of the nice attitudes. If they were even a bit rude, I would have sent it all back and paid nothing. Instead I paid $65 for french fries, a beer, and a...

My wife and I are traveling through Tennessee, seeking good eats and good drinks. We were very excited to see the reviews about Oliver Royale. But at the end of the dinner, we left extremely disappointed.

Let’s start with the positives. The ambience/atmosphere of the restaurant has a great mix of being modern and elegant. The staff was also very friendly and welcoming. Despite us showing up at the end of the evening on a Sunday, we still felt like honored guests.

Ok, now to why this was one of the worst dinners we’ve ever had. If we’re going to pay over $150 for a meal, it had better be superb from start to finish. This wasn’t.

Three scallops were served for an appetizer, and one of them definitely turned bad. We had to spit it out because we were afraid of getting sick. So we had to order something else. The shrimp and grits were great, though. Excellent texture and flavors.

All of that aside, our main course was an absolute travesty: The Royale Ramen. This was presented to us to be one of the most popular dishes on the menu. So much so, that it’s one of the items that they keep throughout the year because otherwise, it’s a season menu.

My wife and I LOVE ramen, and have eaten our fair share of it in some of the best ramen houses in New York City and Seoul. So we were eager to give this a try.

This was the saltiest ramen in the world; it was borderline unpalatable. It completely overwhelmed the dish and could barely taste anything else. It literally tasted like the broth was 100% soy sauce and nothing else. In fact, my wife even tried adding two cups of water to dilute it, but it barely helped.

Additionally, instead of ramen noodles, we were told that they serve it with spaghetti noodles. What?! But wait, it gets worse. Then our waiter said that they only had one more serving left of spaghetti noodles, and asked if I would mind having my ramen replaced with fettuccini. Being assured that it wouldn’t affect the quality or experience of the dish, I agreed.

When we got the dish, it looked beautiful. But its redeeming qualities ended there. As mentioned before, the broth was intolerably salty. The kimchi was bland. How do you have overly salty broth AND bland kimchi!? It was baffling. The crispy pork belly was fine, but we honestly couldn’t appreciate it because of it being drowned in the broth.

And I can’t even begin to talk about the noodles. First of all, I’m not an expert on noodles, but surely there’s got to be a difference between ramen noodles and spaghetti, right? It just didn’t work texture or flavor-wise. And forget about the fettuccini working; it didn’t.

Maybe we got a bad batch? Maybe it was because it was the end of the night on a Sunday? Maybe this maybe that. It shouldn’t matter. This was an awful meal.

To redeem our dinner, my wife and I literally drove straight to a Kroger, got our favorite instant ramen for $3, took it back to our hotel, and had an infinitely better experience for a fraction of what we paid just minutes before.

Bottom line, if you’re a customer and you decide to go here, don’t get the ramen. I hope others have a better...