There are some fun restaurants and bars in downtown Chattanooga to explore. My recommendations include:
Easy Bistro & Bar: At 203 Broad St., Easy Bistro & Bar, is a French bistro and raw bar that opened in 2005 and is located in a renovated bottling plant. Chef Erik Niel received a James Beard Nomination in 2017 for Best Chef Southwest. He and his wife also own Main Street Meats. They also established the Scenic City Supper Club to bring in guest chefs for special events four times annually. I enjoyed my dinner with local friends. I loved my watermelon gazpacho with shrimp and the salmon entree with white asparagus, fennel, peaches and blackberries.
Puckett’s Grocery: Puckett’s is located across from the Tennessee Aquarium at 2 West Aquarium Way. A Tennessee institution, it is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is one of five locations across Tennessee including Franklin and Nashville. I really enjoyed the brisket sandwich for lunch topped off with coleslaw. The meat is slow cooked over cherry wood and was excellent. Live music is featured regularly, so check out their website for details. They have a large lunch and dinner menu featuring other Southern specialties.
Frothy Monkey: Located at 1400 Market St., this is an eclectic coffee shop featuring coffee as well as food. They have locations in Nashville, Franklin and Chattanooga. In addition to coffee drinks, they offer breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner items daily. They also offer craft beer, wine and cocktails. They are located in the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel building.
Chattanooga Whiskey: Make sure to stop in at this local distillery at 1439 Market St. Opened in 2015, they were the first to make legal distilled whiskey in Chattanooga in over 100 years. Tours are available and can be booked online. Make sure to try their 1816 Reserve rye bourbon and their 1816 Cask Blend Chattanooga Whiskey. Both have won several awards.
Next door is The Hot Chocolatier, at 1437 Market Street, featuring a huge selection of chocolates, coffee and hot chocolate drinks.
The Flying Squirrel Bar come highly recommended by the staff at the Tennessee Stillhouse Distillery, for its cocktails. They also have a dinner and weekend brunch menu. I will definitely try it on my next trip. Its glass and wood design has received great press. 55 Johnson St.
Warehouse Row: Warehouse Row is located in an historic building from 1904 at 1110 Market St. You will find a number of retail stores including Anthropologie and J. Crew andfive restaurants including Tupelo Honey Cafe, which is a part of a popular group of restaurants, including one in Knoxville.
Also in Warehouse Row is Two Ten Jack a Japanese ramen and izakaya house.
I recently read about St. John’s Restaurant and its James Beard nominated chef. David Lindley. I hope to try it on my next visit. It gets very good reviews. 1278 Market St. He also has Alleia for Italian specialties and the more casual St. John’s Meeting Place.
Other restaurants getting good reviews include Bluegrass Grill for breakfast and lunch at 55 E. Main St. Uncle Larry’s is known for its fried catfish and other seafood items at 736 E M L King Blvd. The Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar at 1459 Riverside Dr. is a favorite of many locals for oysters on the Tennessee River.