Nikki’s Drive Inn

This is good old fashion dinner food, most everything is cooked on a grill or fried. I came here because of the reviews and because every time I drove by this little place always seemed to be busy.
They are a cash only place, no cards but have an atm in the building so it is not really a must have cash on hand. The prices are on the cheap side when compared to other prices around town. And the portions are on the bigger side.
My husband had the catfish, which he described as good but a little on the bland side. I had the rubin with a lettuce salad. The rubin was great, it reminded me of this little specialty deli back home that me and my mother seek off to as a treat once in awhile.
The lettuce salad is just that. Lettuce with nothing but salad dressing on it. I think the dressing was on the heavy side but I do not use salad dressing like most peopke and prefer at home dry spices on my salad to tripacial dressings.
Wish I had tried the onion rings but that does give me a reason to come back.

Love this spot but I’m giving it Two stars just to the fact they do not take debit or credit cards. They do have an ATM but the fee is 3 dollars. The food has not changed since I was a little boy and the best onion rings

Oh, Nikki, you’re so fine…
After driving by this place umpteen times, I finally visited for lunch yesterday. Nikki’s may not have changed a whit (well, it’s no longer a drive in and the porch was added from the original building) but it rocks. And from what I’ve heard, it has for 50 or so years.
This is old school, y’all. Classic diner, great service, super fast meal delivery and an awesomely simple menu. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that has three columns by each item: starting price, tax, final price. Not sure why but that just tickles me.
You should try those onion rings that you smell immediately when you walk through the door. I don’t even like onion rings but Mom does, so I tried them — they are thin, very lightly battered, flavorful — and they come in a tower of 12. Cool.
The reuben is reportedly absolutely delicious (Mom raved) and I loved the fried chicken sandwich (I added bacon and cheese to the standard lettuce and tomato). The tomato was a surprisingly large, thick and fresh slice. Note that all sandwiches come standard with mayo so adjust accordingly if you do not like. The fries are awesome and obviously homemade.
I am so bringing Dad next time. If I loved Nikki’s, he will be in food heaven.

Fast service. Great fried shrimp and onion rings. Shrimp are huge and perfectly cooked. Best fried shrimp in this area IMO. I had the grouper plate once and it was good too. Good fried oysters. Skip the salad. Regular order of onion rings enough for 2 people to share with dinner. Place always looks and feels clean. Price wise, a ½ dozen shrimp dinner, a 1 dozen shrimp dinner, an order of onion rings 1 ice tea and 1 water was $ 48.

Nikki’s is a staple to Chattanooga. I don’t get to go very often, but every time I do, I am happy with the food and service. It’s a first come first serve place and seating is kind of limited so you may have to wait a little, especially in the winter when the patio isn’t an option. It’s the epitome of what a drive in should be! I definitely recommend the shrimp (they’re huge and delicious) and the onion rings!

Recommended to us as THE place to get great shrimp in Chattanooga. We felt the shrimp was good (they are large and butterflied before being battered and fried). The onion rings were equally good.
I would go back for the shrimp (it’s fried… greasy…but that’s what it’s supposed to be!) and rings but the service was lacking. I think the guy at the counter was the only one engaged in the business. The wait staff (two or three ladies we saw) all appeared, by their expressions and demeanor, to have rather been somewhere else. They didn’t provide even the average amount of service expected.
We ate outside so I can’t report on the inside. I did notice several people waiting for a table so it does fill up quick at times.
Improve your wait staff and I could recommend this to others. Until then… I simply can’t. I’ll give it a go again in a few months or so and see if we simply hit it on a bad day.

Classic diner feel. Terrific fried shrimp! The onion rings are delicious and HUGE. Burgers are also very good and the Rueben is a crowd pleaser.

Driving by Nikki’s just gave me the feeling that there was something good inside. My gut was right and therefore happy! Stopped in with some coworkers while in town for a couple of days. We got there early so grabbing a table was not a problem, but the place does fill up quickly. I had the chili cheese burger with a side of onion rings. The burger was good and the onion rings were out of this world good! I did not see one bad looking meal come out of the kitchen.
Yes it’s a diner with diner type food. But that’s why you go to places like this. They aren’t going to be serving Nuevo American Casual Cuisine here anytime soon and personally I wouldn’t expect it in the North Chattanooga area.
What you get here is good food and good service served in a piece of local history. The place is CASH ONLY with an ATM available. I am looking forward to my next visit to Chattanooga to try some of the other menus items.

I ordered the grouper plate .The fish was tasty and the salad dressing was good it was Italian. There was a little hiccup with my onion rings and the manager offered me a free homemade cookie or some desert at check out that i didn’t take. I was so pleased with my waitress that i didn’t take anything. If your ever in Chattanooga give this little place a try you will fall in love with little restaurant that gets what service is all about. I love this place

Nikki’s is a Chattanooga institution.
Hands down they have the best onion rings in town.
Famous for their burgers, shrimp, and other «greasy spoon» foods they do it and do it quickly.
I’ve always gotten great service and never had an order wrong.
Not fancy, not classy, just eat, enjoy, and go.
If you like a good old fashioned burger you owe it to yourself to go.

Love me some Nikki’s…we always eat there when visiting chattanooga… servers have always been friendly and the food has always been great…

I used to go to this place with my Dad when he was alive all the time while in High School. Hamburger steak. Bottled coca cola. Fried Shrimp. Cheeseburgers. Couldn’t go wrong with this place back in the day. It’s closed usually when I’m in town these days, but I hope to go back again soon.

I felt like a cow in a herd of cattle; move here, fed me, get the hell out. The food was edible but I will not be going back. It wasn’t even a good greasy spoon restaurant. Warning they do not accept cards either. I would just go down the street to Waffle House instead.

Ok… Nikki’s Drive Inn has been in the area FOREVER… People talk about it with fond memories and 1970s high school nostalgia. They are known for their onion rings and shrimp. My former coworker took me here after hearing that I’d never eaten there although I live a couple of miles away. I’ve gotta say, Nikki’s is a little pricey for what you get. I wanted to try their shrimp and onion rings, but you cant order the meal and substitute fries for onion rings, so you have to order the shrimp by the piece and onion rings on the side. Yes I said shrimp per piece… which gets pricey. When the order arrived, the shrimp were butterflied… and really nothing spectacular. I do know they were fresh and hand battered… but they were pretty small and flavorless for the price you pay for each. The onion rings… they are decent enough… hand battered… and with a little salt… and lots of ketchup…“a-ok”…although VERY greasy… I am talking a grease film on the roof of your mouth kind of greasy. The service leaves a lot to be desired, very curt, but they are pretty busy. It is also cash only and they have an ATM in there in case you were not prepared for that. One thing is… they do not want you lingering. The place is small and people waiting will stare you down until you are finished so they can grab the table (seat yourself). It is a bit off putting. I don’t feel the need to return… typical drive in/​diner type of food… and over priced for a piece of «north chatt nostalgia»

Typical diner food, breaded fish and hamburger patties you could pick up in the grocery freezer section along with the limp crinkle-​cut fries. Lots of grease. Served with a slice of white bread? No thanks.

I found this place totally by accident, and given my liking for greasy spoons, I’m glad I did. Its a notch above the usual greasy. I plan on eating here again, when I’m in the area.
They have a small outdoor eating area now — probably won’t in winter, though. Decent sweet tea, and well above average french fries.

Nikki’s has been on the TV Show «Tennessee Crossroads «on public television. I have enjoyed eating the Huge Gulf Shrimp (They are Huge), The Onion Rings are what I always get when I am there… Just thinking about Nikki’s, I think I will go eat lunch there this week. They have great Hamburgers & Cheeseburgers, French Fries are homemade also… They still have bottled Coke Cola.

If you haven’t eaten at Nikki’s you are missing out! This great old traditional American diner has been in operation since the early 1940’s, according to the guy running the cash register when I was there.
Nikki’s looks like a typical eatery that you might find along Route 66 back in the mid 60’s, complete with the Neon lights outside. It’s a small place, head there early if you go on a Friday or Saturday. Even on weeknights, expect to wait for a table or a spot at the counter.
The restaurant probably hasn’t changed much from the 1960’s, it’s a small, unassuming place on the side of the mountain. From the parking lot, you’ve got a great view of downtown Chattanooga.
Nikki’s is famous for their shrimp and onion rings. I got a half-​dozen shrimp platter, and these suckers were huge and delicious! The platter also comes with their homemade fries, which were good, but I kept eyeing the onion rings that the person next to me had. I really wish I had known ahead of time to get the onion rings!
This place is always very busy, so don’t expect a lot of «face-​time» with your server. That being said, the servers are on top of their game, bringing drink refills as you need them.
Don’t forget to bring cash with you! They don’t take anything else. I will definitely head to Nikki’s again sometime!