Shoney's - Rutledge Pike — Restaurant in Knoxville

-Update!

The windowsills and the bar lighting have been fixed! There’s even a fresh bartop! Someone was listening! The restroom is still very outdated but it was much cleaner this time. Food still great, service still great! Staffing was better and everything was clean and running smoothly.

Whoever holds the purse strings for maintenance/remodel funds appears to be listening and is clearly prioritizing items that have the most impact for the least cost. Whoever you are I appreciate your stewardship.

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Old review - Writing this with love. I’ve been a Shoneys fan my whole life. I’m glad to see some updates in the restaurant, but there are some major items that need to be addressed.. the window sill up front is swelling and coming apart from years of condensation coming off the vents. There are debris and dead flies in the crevices. Not a pretty sight to sit next to. Nothing some stained and sealed butcher block or other solid wood couldn’t fix. The bathrooms are waaay outdated, and need to be kept cleaner. I actively avoid using the restrooms at this restaurant.. also, some fresh LED bulbs in the light fixtures over the bar would be great. The flickering fluorescents take away from all the great work that has been done already to freshen up the ceiling!

Now on to the good. The staff were attentive and pleasant despite seeming to be understaffed. Everyone was busting it to make sure the guests and the bar were taken care of. Maddie seated and served me and did a great job. The bar itself and the tables were clean and fresh. The food was excellent as always, and I appreciate the seemingly expanded selection recently on the desert bar. The doughnut holes, fresh strawberries, and the little cake slices are all great, please keep them. Restaurant floor was a little dirty, likely because staff were hardly able to do the essential tasks and serve everyone during dinner rush.

In short, I hope some more money will be spent to finish the renovation of critical items, and I wish Shoneys on Rutledge all the best in finding good help during this shortage. Pay your employees a good living wage and keep the restaurant in good order. No need to replace old things if they’re in good working order, but nostalgia doesn’t cut it if something is broken and dirty. I don’t mind paying a bit more when I come if it means keeping Shoneys around for years to come. When I get the craving I typically don’t even care what it costs lol.. anything under $15 for dinner buffet would seem...

Tues June 4, 2024

I should have read my review because I would have NEVER have come here! But my husband wanted to come here since they had all day breakfast.

The only food that was good were the fried potatoes and biscuits. The rest tasted too weird. I could not even eat the brownies (as you can see from the photo I only ate half of one and couldn't finish it). The last time we came here they were so good I ate 3.

I am left with feeling nauseous and have upset stomach. I hope later I don't have to go throw up as I hate throwing up.

The waitress was ok, no problem with her. I wish the owner would read this but since they already answered the first time. And get this, I had left a 1 star and told them how bad it was and they thanked me and said they were glad I enjoyed it. Like what? Can they read or is it an automated answering machine?

I am never coming here again!

Fri Oct 13, 2023

Because we had to wait an hour for the tow truck we went into Shoneys. I had a Food bar and my husband had 1 bowl of soup. When he went to pay they charged him a Soup bar. $12.99 for 1 bowl of soup! What a bunch of funking thieves!

On the nice sife, our waiter Erik was a darling. He was so nice and attentive. The food I had was good. There were not a lot of people tonight.

Like I said, my husband only had 1 soup but they told him there was no a la carte here. So they charged him for the whole buffet. $12.99 for 1 bowl of soup? That's highway robbery!

Answer from owner

Response from the owner an hour ago Oct 19, 2023

Suzanne, we are glad to hear you received good service. We try to do well every day and we very carefully price our menu and Fresh Food Bar with value in mind for our guests. We're very sorry you don't see the value in our pricing. We will take your comments into consideration when we update our menus the next time. We look forward to serving you again.

11 months ago:

Unfortunately, the next day I had a long bout of diarrhea.

The coleslaw was off, it was too thick and tasted bad. I couldn't finish it. The potato salad and the macaroni salad was not fresh.

The waitress was attentive for the first 15-20 minutes but then she disappeared, no where to be found.

I came here last Sunday. The food was terrific! It was fresh and very good. Even the waitress...

The wife and I were doing our home improvement/gardening material run on memorial Day so we wanted to go have breakfast . We stopped at cracker barrel and it's you might suspect it was the one off merchants drive in Knoxville, it was very busy when I walked in the hostess informed me that it will be a 45 minute wait and would that be okay ,? Now my wife and I are foodies. We eat for entertainment. When we try a new place we will intentionally over order knowing full well that we cannot finish it just so we can sample many items.well it may be a flaw in my character, but I will never wait 45 minutes to eat anywhere .never have it will never happen the food cannot be that good. Now this is in no way a slur upon cracker barrel I'm happy for them that their business is good they serve good food cooked prepared served in a consistent manner but frankly it's nothing special and their sawmill variety of flourery , undercooked gravy frankly I detest. So we went on toward our destination which was in East Knoxville we wanted to stop in the home emporium Southern salvage and also Ollie's. We decided to go to shoney's at the intersection of the interstate in Rutledge Pike we are rutledge Pike turns into magnolia. What a great choice it was! In like many restaurants are in the same time, they were clearly understaffed but man they were hustling! The general manager was out front seeing people as a good restaurant manager should when they're busy we got a great waitress who is very attentive to our needs very quick courteous and professional! The food on the bar was very fresh and absolutely delicious. Now I like shoney's. One of my simple pleasures in life is to have breakfast there once a month. Always like the idea that you can get a salad and soup for breakfast. I lived in Southeast Asia for a long time most Southeast Asians eat a noodle soup or some type of soup dish for breakfast and I really enjoy eating that way. I really had a great experience here it felt good the restaurant was clean and the service was as good as can be expected under the circumstances do yourself a favor get over Rutledge Pike and easy shoney's...