Mt. Vernon Restaurant

Hate to take away a star from a long time favorite, but in the last year or so it has slipped. The food prep is no longer consistent. The new chicken salad is a big disappointment. Wait staff is still friendly and accommodating.

Stopped here while on a short vacation.
Can’t wait to go back. Only complaint would be drink prices. ($ 3.50 with one only one refill). Bride got chicken livers and I got fried chicken. She got the spinach casserole as a side and actually wiped the bowl clean. The best compliment I give is, «Can we come here tomorrow?»

Our food was satisfactory. It was not outstanding but had good flavor. My girlfriend a and had fried chicken which he says d was prepared well. his mashed potatoes were tasty but the macaroni and cheese was bland. My trout almandine had good flavor with vegetables that were plentiful and tasty. The squash casserole was just okay with not much flavor. Our server, Meredith, was very friendly and ad attentive as she could be considering how busy she was. The restaurant was clean. We were seated promptly and our food arrived in a timely manner. We had a good meal for a fair price — nothing fancy.

Our hotel recommended this restaurant with a card for free fried green tomatoes. We asked for them to be fried very crisp. They were wonderful. My husband had the 2 piece fried chicken special (a wing and a «DD» breast). They were fried nice and crispy. I had the panko crusted salmon cakes which were great. The portions are LARGE, so we took nearly half of each meal out with us. We would recommend that you try it.

Great high class American classics, a little pricey but the atmosphere is nice and the bartender was liberal with the booze!

Visiting Chattanooga for a conference and decided to come here based on some reviews. It has a nice quiet atmosphere. Seemed more like an older generation place but I didn’t feel out of place.
Our waitress was Star and she did a good job taking care of us
The main reason I am giving it two stars is for the food. We ordered the fried green tomatoes which were good but could have been fried more for my preference. I ordered the chicken livers. The consistency was fine but all I really tasted was the batter. They were soggy on my plate as well. Not extremely appetizing. I didn’t finish my plate. My wife ordered the crab cakes. She said they had no flavor at all and came served on top of some kind of white sauce that also had no flavor. She did enjoy the chicken corn chowder though it didn’t seem the chicken was fresh.
Overall not a place we will return to in the future when we come back.

Oh my word! This place was recommended to us by a guy at Ruby Falls, thank you mr photographer!
I had 2 pieces of fried chicken, spinach casserole, sweet potatoe casserole; my BF had Filet, EVERYTHING WAS VERY GOOD! NOW FOR DESERT the amaretto cream pie! WHAT !!! STOP! THIS WAS SINFUL I TELL YOU!
I should have taken a picture, but I was hungry! Sorry, try it for yourself, you will not be disappointed!
Oh and the service was great thank you Courtney :)

On our recent trip to Florida we stayed the night in Chattanooga. We mentioned to the attendant at the front desk of our hotel we were looking for good, down-​home, Southern cook’n. The immediate response was an emphatic: «Mt. Vernon!». So we gave it a shot. When we walked into the restaurant, my wife was concerned we were under-​dressed for this elegant restaurant (white table clothes, etc). The hostess said we were fine; and sure enough, there were many patrons in jeans and similar attire.
Since we were looking for Southern cooking, I decided to go all in. We started with an order of fried-​green tomatoes. They were excellent. For my main plate I ordered chicken livers, with squash casserole, and greens for my two sides.
I don’t recall ever eating chicken livers other than my mom’s. I recall never enjoying my mom’s. I don’t know why I ordered chicken livers, but I’m glad I did. THEY WERE DELICIOUS! The waiter said the secret is sauteeing rather than frying the livers… who knows. But I know I enjoyed them immensly. My greens were spot on, and I couldn’t get enough of the squash casserole. My wife and two children all enjoyed their meals as well.
For dessert, we tried their flagship Amaretto Pie, and it lived up to the hype. We also tried the amazing cherry cobler.
Service was attentive, and the friendliest I’ve encountered anywhere. If you are ever in Chattanooga, I highly recommend stopping in here.

Casually elegant with Southern charming décor. Good food. Home style veggie sides and portions right sized. Flavor as expected, but not extraordinary. Manage your expectations and you will enjoy this place.

I’m giving this two stars because my dining mates thought the food was good. If your idea of comfort food means everything has cream, butter or cheese slathered all over then you’re fine. But ask for something dairy free and get treated like a criminal. I’ve never had any restaurant be so rude about food allergies. I’m embarrassed that we even left a tip for the service.

Great Southern cooking — fried green tomatoes, roast pork and cornbread stuffing, turnip greens. The kale and Brussels sprout said was outstanding as was the Amaretto pie. Service was friendly and attentive. We were back on the road to Atlanta quickly.

Great southern cooking. It’s worth the trip. We stopped here on out way from FL to IL. The pecan encrusted grouper was out of this world. The fact that they’re legally obliged to card you is a plus!

Just had dinner here. Started with pimento cheese with toast. .my husband had the Morro can meat balls with linguine and I had the blackened shrimp with cheese grits with ham bits. Both entrees were great. Finally homemade pecan pie. What a wonderful experience. .it’s on our list to go back.

Ate at Mount Vernon on a business trip. This intimate, elegant restaurant had a very cozy feel to it. Located near the bottom of the mountain that winds up to Rock City, The restaurant accommodated myself and around 30 colleagues as a walk-​in party. I ordered the pecan-​crusted trout with a side of mac & cheese and sweet potato casserole. It was absolutely delicious Southern comfort food with good portions. I also ordered the chocolate mousse pie for dessert; though that was quite good, I couldn’t tell if it or the other desserts my friends got were made in house, as they didn’t have a homemade taste to them.

Fair warning, I drafted this review two years ago but neglected to post it. So I can’t attest to whether this review is an accurate assessment of this restaurant’s current state.
Some debate between my hubby and I as to whether this should be 4 stars or 3 stars. Since I’m the one taking the time to write this review, I win and give it 4 solid stars.
We exited the highway which was stop and go and happened to drive by this place. A quick check of the place on Unilocal (thanks Unilocalers!) helped us decide to try it out. I had the seasoned grilled chicken. It had a great char on it, which I like, and the seasoning was delicious. My husband had them put together a combination of salads, which I thought was very accommodating of them, and then wanted to give them just 3 stars because it wasn’t the greatest grilled chicken salad. I’m not sure it’s fair to rate a place on such a specialized dish. Also, imo, it’s grilled chicken with lettuce — what’s exciting about that?
The sides were all good, the service was nice, and the homemade coconut cream pie — oh my!!!
I would definitely go back if I was in the area.

Stopped by here on our way back to Atlanta. To start with our server, Matthew, was phenomenal! He was super polite, accommodating and respectful. He was the definition of a «southern gentlemen»
The food was delicious. We had a group of 8 people and everyone was very satisfied. The only complaint we have is that they ran out of a couple of the options we wanted. Even then, Matthew and the rest of the employees were awesome about giving us other options!

Just realized that somehow I never end reviewed this place. It is a great spot if your heading toward Lookout Mt. The outside looks older and dated from many years ago but do not let that fool you into thinking its run-​down in any way.
The inside is nothing but pure southern charm. Reminds me of some places in Charleston SC. Beautifully decorated inside. Very clean and larger than it looks. They have a larger rooms for groups or parties and will arrange tables anyway you like. They were setting one up while I was here today and people to my right were going over plans for their family gathering this weekend. Very pleasant people to deal with from what I saw.
I had the sliced turkey and dressing and it was great. Mashed potatoes. The slaw was not my favorite but so hard to find the match to my moms. If you have family visiting, parents… This is a great place for them to get a southern warm feel and great food

I LOVE Mt Vernon! It’s simple and sophisticated southern cuisine. It’s the type of southern restaurant I imagined a southern restaurant to be. This is a Chattanooga staple, having been around since 1955.
They don’t have an extensive menu, which is good. They stick to a few things and make them well. The fried chicken is very good, and when they have the mac & cheese, make sure you get that. It’s some of the best in town. They always have specials too, to introduce new dishes.
But the cherry on top of the whole thing is the desserts, specifically, the Amaretto Pie. So creamy and silky and almondy. It is delish! I can’t even bring myself to try any of their other desserts. I may have to go one day and just do desserts.
Went the other night to meet up with some friends, and I was a bit early. Our server, George, asked me if I wanted anything to drink. I was in the mood for a cocktail but wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted. George said he could make me anything and would I be interested in something he concocted? Sure, I said. I like vodka so he was going to make something with that. He brought me over a pretty colored drink and it was delish! «What is it» I asked? George chuckled and said that it was a play on a Sex on the Beach, Sex on Mt Vernon. LOL. Whatever it was it was yummy.
Go for the desserts, go for the food and go for the great service.

Wow! I don’t know where to start? We were given dirty plates
Which did not sit well with us at all. The horrible fried chicken dinner with excessive grease, no taste or 45 minute wait for half of a fried chicken. We were told the chicken would take 15 mins, then given dry cornbread for the long wait. The waitress stated that once we received the chicken dinner it would be well worth the wait (note now waiting 30 minutes)! The manager (we guess) came by and asked if everything was alright? Not once looking at us face to face. When we were about to say something he walked off without our reply. The chicken finally arrived (45 minutes later) with an old generation 1949 taste. Everything was completely bland and the diet coke was flat! My wife ordered the shrimp and uncooked grits! It had so many lumps (quarter and dime sized lumps) that it was not edible. She asked for a salad with lite ranch dressing and was told with sarcasm «that we don’t have many things here in this part of Tennessee»? The waitress then picked up the plate of lumpy uncooked grits and seemed offended that this meal was not eaten! She asked if my wife would like a fresh plate… are you serious lady?
The only thing that saved us from walking out was this same waitress who made excuse after excuse for the kitchen! Poor waitress i can only imagine the customers who knew and been served this food!
I could tell she knew everyone that came in. Many others ordered the chicken but got their plates faster. I hope their food was cooked better than ours. My kids had hamburgers with no offer for ketchup, mustard, or mayo. My son requested lettuce and tomatoes but she said that would be an extra cost as these items did not come with the burger on the menu. My kids did not eat all of their food saying it to was tasteless. Finally it was time to go, I had requested change from the waitress for a twenty dollar bill after receiving our check. My intention was to give her a tip. Do you know she stood their like guard waiting to see what we would tip! I have never been so embarrassed like this or had such a terrible meal like this in all my life. Don’t know what food these others have been eating but its not this place. Many of these people must be local because the waitress called them by name and they seemed to be visiting/​revisiting locals from neighboring states. It was also very stuffy there as most people looked wealthy, but wealth does not always have to be well dressed. Some of the low key Versace, Sean John, Gucci, Neiman Marcus and Prada shoppers stop through to and have to be treated the same! We have Gold and Platinum records in our family. So you must be careful who you treat differently because looks, nationality, color, or traditions of men can be deceiving! Absolute 0 star! But had to give a star to post my comments. Emeril or Gordon Ramsey HELP!!! This is «Kitchen Nightmares» at best!

Ever heard that ol’ Southern expression, «full as a bloody tic»?? Well, that was me last night, but in a gluttonously delicious way.
A trip down memory lane among the greatest I’ve probably ever had.
When I was little, we lived in Chattanooga for a few years and this was our weekly luncheon spot after Sunday church. Last night, after getting my things into my new apt, Mom and I headed down Broad towards Lookout Mtn to go to BiLo (a girl’s gotta eat at home sometimes, right?) and realized what we were passing by: an iconic dining figure of our early family life.
How could we not have dinner there?
I don’t think one single thing has changed in 30 some years. Even with I’m sure new paint and touch ups, this place is exactly, wonderfully the same as in the 80s. I walked in and instantly was five years old and every memory of being here flooded back.
The food is the same, yet modernized. To wit, they still have dishes like the glorious fried chicken plate (either two or three pieces, and choice of two sides) and the beef tips (in gravy over wild rice with one side). .. but they’ve worked in totally modern choices like the truly delicious kale (yes this Chattanooga old school classic has kale on the menu!!) and shredded cabbage salad with dried cranberries in a light vinaigrette-​y dressing (half or whole sizes) and a Reuben using local Niedlov’s bread.
We took a few minutes to peruse and discuss the menu — between hunger and nostalgia it was tough to choose! — and settled on that salad to start, as well as a classic, the homemade pimento cheese (sooo good) with golden toasted bread triangles and fresh pickles. Mom then had the almond crusted Haddock, and got the mac and cheese and the collard greens. I finally settled on the ribeye (10 oz) with mac and cheese and fried green tomatoes. She loved everything about her entrée (the haddock is one of their long time menu standards), and we both agreed the baked, slightly crusty mac was really good. My steak was a perfectly cooked, juicy med rare; an interesting choice because I rarely order this cut of beef, but sometimes a girl just needs a hearty bone in kind of thing! My fried green tomatoes were good, though I think it’s still a bit early for tomato season as they were a little unripe, but the breading was light and perfect.
Though we really didn’t have room for dessert, we were on a roll and went for the standard bearer dessert on the menu, the Amaretto pie. Katie bar the door, y’all, that pie is enough to make you slap yo’ mama! As Mom said after she took the first bite, «sweetie, you better dig in or you won’t get any!» There wasn’t a crumb left after we were done — think almond macaroon bliss in pie form. I really could write another paragraph about its virtues, but will just say — GET IT.
Our server Brian was nice and knowledgeable and patient with our nostalgic comments. Oh, and he let us know that now the same menu is available lunch and dinner, and this is a good place for celebrations like the older gentleman’s birthday last night, thanks to their separate private dining room.
The décor is soothing and welcoming, like a Southern county club dining room or an older relative’s still-​well-​maintained home.
I am getting verklempt. I will just say in closing — if you are in town, please stop on in, and if you live here and have guests wanting a taste of Chattanooga, go and thoroughly enjoy yourselves.