Knoxville's food scene has grown considerably in the last decade and now extends well beyond the barbecue and Southern standards that once defined it. Market Square and the surrounding blocks have the highest concentration of good restaurants, and the Old City adds a handful more in the warehouse district to the east. The university neighbourhood along Cumberland Avenue has cheaper options aimed at students.
The best local cooking leans on East Tennessee staples: barbecue, catfish, cornbread, and pinto beans are all done well in the right places. But there is now a real range — proper farm-to-table, good Italian, a growing Korean community with its own restaurants, and some genuinely creative chefs working with local ingredients.