Sunspot — Restaurant in Knoxville

First off, this review does not reflect the server that I had. She was great, and I tipped her.

There was a homeless woman named Ms. Carol who was incredibly hungry that approached my friend and I. Being the good people that we are, we bought her a burger so that she could have something to eat. She told us all about how she’s had strokes and cancer and that she was a talented pianist. She’s lived a hard life, and we felt like we’ve known her all our life. My friend asked her to stay inside so that she could warm up and wait for her food.

My friend comes back to our table on the patio, and I start observing some of the workers starting to get shifty and tense in their body language. I didn’t hear the interaction inside, but I saw some tense body language and three workers (including a manager looking individual) approach Ms. Carol. We got up from our semi-decent meal to check on Ms. Carol to ensure everything was okay because it looked like they had upset her. The manager then said that Ms. Carol had come to SunSpot a bunch of times in the past, which was a complete lie. Ms. Carol has only been at SunSpot two times (including this time), and she was mocked and laughed at the last time. Do you all realize how humiliating that is for someone who is struggling?

So we then had a conversation with Ms. Carol to comfort her, and I bought her an Uber so that she had a safe way to get back to the local shelter. While we were waiting for the Uber to arrive, we received dodgy and judgmental looks from the staff, and they refused to walk over towards the host stand. I’ve never in my life seen this kind of treatment towards another human being before in my life.

After the treatment my new friend received, I wrote on my receipt “Please be nicer to homeless people. Love thy neighbor.” And I saw the workers laugh and shrug it off like they did nothing wrong.

This was my first experience eating at SunSpot, and it will be my last, which I’m sure the workers are happy about. The way the manager was patiently waiting at the door so that he could let us out.

You’re racist, ableist, and you discriminate others that have less privilege than you. You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.

Again, my server was great, but the rest of the team on staff needs some...

We had a wonderful meal! I ordered the BLGT, (Bacon, Lettuce, Green Tomato) sandwich on a gluten free bun (they offer all their sandwiches on gluten free buns) and since the green tomato would've been fried in a tempura batter, on top of the traditional cornmeal breading, I was able to substitute just a regular tomato. It was so delicious!!! I had the spiced sweet potato waffle fries with honey mustard dipping sauce (seriously not your typical honey mustard) and I'll just tell you, they were made for each other. I love the fries plain though! Such a great flavor all by themselves! My husband ordered the Diablo Waffle and he loved it! He doesn't like jalapeños so he picked them off (he didn't see them in the description), but he still enjoyed the heat of the dish. Not too hot, but great combination of flavors! Our waitress, Melissa, was a jewel! She dealt with my gluten-free questions about the tomato, and was just sweet and pleasant the entire time. Food wait time wasn't long at all. The ambient temperature was pleasant (I'm super cold natured). The bathroom left a little to be desired though. It's awkward getting in because the sink is so big, and it could've used some attention, but it wasn't horrid. The worst point is the parking situation! The parking is in the back, mostly, with a few (4-6) spaces on the side. The back parking is on the hill behind the restaurant, but being on Cumberland Ave, there just isn't much they can do about it. The newly added parking garage down the street could be helpful, but I don't know for sure. The pricing is comparable to places like O'Charley's and Applebee's. Overall, we were impressed, and it's difficult to impress me. We'll...

This place has been a favourite of mine since before I was widowed. Both my late and current husbands have enjoyed the quality of their products using animal products and meat, while I enjoyed their vegetarian fare, and now enjoy their expanded Vegan options.

The only issues with this place are that parking is usually a bit of a pain, as we usually end up having to park way around back, and walk around the building to the entrance, and their prices have gone up, such that it has become a very rare treat. Their prices are about 30% more than what they should be for what you get, although one can't. complain about portion size. Their drink prices are outrageous, which is why their half-priced wine Wednesdays are so popular with the college girls.

I suggest having a couple shots of booze in your car when you get there, before going in, and then stick with water.

The waitstaff has, for a couple decades or so now, always been courteous and knowledgeable about their menu. They work hard, so please, tip them accordingly.

Update May '25. The grain bowl quality has gone down in the last couple times I have been. The pickled carrots are now giant, raw sticks, and the grains are all served cold, rather than two of them served hot, with the third being a cool couscous salad. They are also no longer using the wide-brimmed bowl, so it's crowded into one that barely holds it, making it hard to mix parts and eat them as intended. The flavours are fine, but the only hot part was the tofu, which got cold quickly, atop refrigerated, pre-cooked grains. It...