Clinch River Brewing — Restaurant in Norris

Review for those who need gluten free . . .

Good: -Items that can be made GF are indicated on the menu -Careful about not serving GF ingredients cooked on a contaminated fryer -Staff was knowledgeable and double-checked on GF items -One cider on tap and 3 bottled to choose from if you want a drink -Burger I had was quite good (but see below)

Neutral: $1 upcharge for a GF bun (common practice), I ordered w/o a bun so can't comment on quality of that.

Unfortunately: -Very few items can be made GF, even if the listed ingredients on the menu are GF, due to the shared fryer. -- Heads up: Shrimp and grits are Cajun style with a roux (I assume - was told they can't be GF) not Carolina style which is typically GF, so again, don't go based on just the listed ingredients on the menu!

-Burger "comes with sides" but the only GF item you can get as the side is a bag of potato chips. (This despite fries, grits, brussel sprouts on menu -- all should be GF, but are cooked on shared equipment, so not an option). You're paying the same price as for the homemade food, but you get the bag of chips.

-I asked if I could get a side salad instead for my side (there is a dinner salad on the menu) or just some extra lettuce since, gosh for a $15 burger I kinda wanted real food not a bag of chips, and was informed this was impossible, the lettuce could not be given out to just anybody, it was strictly for the people buying the whole dinner salad.

Insane.

Anyway, summary: Good food if you can get it. Great location for a walk after along the river.

Atmosphere is fine if you like noisy brewery with trivia night quiz, definitely not a quiet "enjoy the nature" place, but...

This little gem is tucked away bear the Norris Dam however it's a great place to come and relax, get some great local beer and unwind. The food is delicious and they are proud of their resident chef. We came after camping on some land from a friend's place in Tazewell, TN. The staff was friendly. I feel for their one server they had, who had to come from the 2nd floor (no elevator) for each order but he was happy and perky for each customer! The food- low country boiler was great. The cheese grits on point without a whole lot of extra grease. The shrimp, they do not skimp on! Delish and plentiful. The trout dip is The.best.trout.dip.ever! It's lump trout meat, and perfectly seasoned. This place doesn't hold back on the amount of sesame water crackers. The Beer- delish! I'm inspired by them being the only brewery in Anderson county. The beer is delish, I tried both IPAs and recommend both. We bought a growler as it was the only souvenir that contained the city of Norris in it, and we are Norris folk, so we wanted to bring back a memontum. The staff was apologetic and said they were still learning since they are a fairly new business. I applaud them for their tenacity as well as their food and beer. Both contain great flavors that speak volume in itself. The atmosphere is relaxing and calming. I highly recommend this place and will be coming back. I mentioned to a staff member of our camping trip and he mentioned an event of some sort in August. This contains tubing around the inch River, food, camping and beer! We plan on coming back...

I’ve decided to completely rewrite this review to be sure I am being clear. My family has come here for years. It’s been our go to. We usually come mid afternoon because we have kids. Our last visit was no exception. We were two tables away from the disco light on the floor and our girls wanted to go dance in front of the light. This area is not a highly trafficked area and it especially was not at the time we were there. Out of the darkness and suddenly, came Shelby, the manager. She immediately starting actually yelling at me to get my kids. I want the business owner to know that we had no idea we were upsetting anyone by letting them dance five feet away from us and we had our eyes closely on them the entire time. We are happy to oblige. But the aggression that came out of the blue from the staff was completely uncalled for. We have been patient with several instances we have seen here and are generally polite and considerate. We are used to brewery atmospheres being open to families and relaxed about kids. We were caught off guard and would never mean to impose or be a bother. We obviously willl not be back, simply becaUs of how aggressive the initial conversation was. No one should be talked to like that unless they are being rude themself. Thank you for the clarity on the atmosphere you are trying to create. Best!

PS. Our children never were near the stairs,we were never offered high chairs and we don’t use a stroller. Sorry, that was another family that your staff...