Cocoa Moon Market Square

There are lots of options in Market Square, but in our party we had several dietary restrictions and a large (ish) group, so Cocoa Moon was the first place that seemed promising. We were headed to Stock and Barrel, but when we told them we had six people, they immediately said we should just go somewhere else because it would be at least an hour. We would have been fine waiting, but they were adamant that we should just go elsewhere. Weird. Maybe we should have worn skinny jeans and flannel, had more facial hair, and put our hair up into manbuns. But I digress.
Someone had told us good things about Cocoa Moon, so we went there and saw some things on the menu that looked interesting. We asked if they could get us in and they were immediately helpful and happy to have us there — with no wait.
The server was brand new, and apparently had been trained only in one side of the restaurant, and the restaurant apparently has two different menus. Or something like that. I didn’t really understand the difference, but it didn’t matter because they allowed us to order anything we wanted. We kept throwing them special requests and they reacted like the culinary version of pro tennis players; nothing caught them off guard. Plus they really understood the different concepts of dietary needs, knowing which things could be made vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-​free.
We ended up ordering a vegetarian version of the «Cuban plantains» as an appetizer. Holy crap. I still can’t believe how good they were! The owner, Javier, came out to check on us several times, and because our server was new and didn’t have the answers to a few of our questions, he gave us tremendous service, making sure everything was perfect, throwing in a free appetizer (and later, free dessert!). It was obvious he was personally interested in the quality of our experience. That was great! At one point the chef came out to make sure everything was good too, and the server, though new, was quite attentive but never intrusive.
I ended up getting the vegan salad, and I’m pretty sure they must have practiced some kind of dark alchemy to make the dressing. Phenomenal. I tried to describe it to my dinner mates, but everything I said sounded like a contradiction. I think it might be the first time I ate a dish that was actually indescribable — and thankfully in a good way! They all agreed it was some kind of delicious mystery.
Everyone else really enjoyed what they got too. One couple in our party split the volcano, and the presentation was fantastic, but one of the couple wanted salsa. Well, they didn’t just bring a little bowl of salsa. They brought an enormous bowl of fresh pico worthy of being its own appetizer. And it was really great salsa.
Oh, and we got to sit on the great patio listening to live music!
All in all, with the attentiveness, service, location, cleanliness, food, etc., we’re all fantastic. I’m so glad the other place couldn’t get us in!

Stopped there on a Saturday at lunch to eat with the family (2 younger kids in tow). Food was great but service was a little slow and the waitress liked to talk an abnormal amount while taking the order. Obviously not catered towards the family diner because of the lack luster kids menu and also taking a very long time to get the check at the end of the meal (like 10 minutes, which is an eternity with 2 antsy kids). Had the soup call Tom Kha which was surprisingly good and the southern barbecue, which was ok. Probably a great place for drinks but not for kids.

The Coco Moon restaurant on
Market Square is a fusion of Asian and Mexican food. There seemed to be mainly Asian dishes on the menu. And that’s what I was hungry for so that worked out well. We had the fried potstickers as well as Crab Rangoons and the chicken Pad Thai. The appetizers were good though they weren’t fabulous, and the pad Thai was also good but again nothing really special. The service was decent.

This place is awful. I ordered the 4 season dish that was supposed to have scallops, beef, chicken, and shrimp. There were no scallops in my dish and when I asked about there not being any, the waitress said the menu was outdated and didn’t include scallops anymore. She told me that they could bring me scallops, but I would be charged for them. I said no thanks. I am also saying no thanks forever to this sorry excuse of a restaurant.

We were hungry. The Dawgs had just lost a 21 point lead to lose the game. So, not happy either. The restaurant I wanted to eat at was an 1.5 hr wait. So, walk down the block a couple of feet and you find this «Asian/​Mexican Fusion» restaurant.
The first hint is all other restaurants have at least an hour wait after a game: we sat immediately. :/​The second hint: the menu has on it chili cheese fries, quesadillas and Pad Thai. All purportedly standard versions of their traditional forebears of culinary arts. :(
My first question to the waiter was something like this; «Your menu is kinda schizophrenic. What would you say your best dishes are? The Asian or Mexican?» His response leaned towards the Asian, so away we go into blahville. I had the Thai Curry Rice with beef, chicken and shrimp, some dumplings and sweet tea. My brother (who convinced me not to wait on good food) had the Pad Thai and Mongolian Beef combo with crispy Spring roll appetizer.
Suffice to say I was pleased with very little. I had actually wanted my dumplings steamed and they came fried. However, they were pretty tasty, not tough or chewy and were slightly still warm. These were the highlight. All the rest of the food was a consumptive waste of caloric intake. Be warned.
Lastly, «fusion» means combining elements from different cultures in order to arrive at a unique flavor profile, unexpected goodness from a collision of two worlds. This was so not that.

We should’ve known this place was going to miss when we opened the menu. Japanese food, Thai food, Mexican food, Caribbean food… I mean, jack of all trades but MASTER OF NONE.
We ordered the Arroz con Pollo — a dish I’m VERY familiar with — and the Pad Thai. Neither was very good. The pad thai was super sticky and suuuuper sweet and the arroz con pollo was… just… bad. Granted, arroz con pollo means «rice with chicken,» but it’s supposed to be made a certain way. This place just made some rice, made some dry chicken threw it on the plate and covered it with velveeta cheese. No bueno.
On top of that, the service was not good at all. Our table was dirty when we sat down. They gave us one menu to order from. Our drinks took forever. Our food took FOR-​EVERRR. Our check even took forever! Ugh… I don’t think I’d go back here.

Eh. Three stars is generous. Not bad. Not good. Bland food. Polite service. I won’t remember being here in about a week.

I love these folks! Always über friendly. You know you can take salsa classes! If you want to go let me know, I’m not going alone. The patio is always great for people watching. I love the orange chicken. Brown rice is always a plus. I’ve never had bad food, I should branch out and try some new stuff!

As a «foodie» I was looking for a decent recovery meal after completing the recent triathlon in Knoxville. After walking through and seeing the various choices, we decided to go with Cocoa Moon. Wow! What an awesome choice! As the outside patio was crowded, we opted to eat inside, where we found gorgeous décor, quite comfortable couch type seats, and a great music selection played at a level that was perfect! The selections on the menu made it quite difficult, as the mouth watering descriptions to hungry athletes post race made me face tough choices. We both went with stir fry type dishes and we’re both really glad we did, although I’m sure the quality of all the dishes would have been awesome as well. I have not had such perfectly cooked veggies in stir fry in a long time, as the just right crunch, but hot and extremely fresh tasting meal still makes my mouth water as I think about it. We both could easily tell that the ingredient quality was superior, and the perfection of the cooking enhanced the flavor a that exploded with each bite. Healthy, delicious and with service that was the perfect blend of attention and expert banter made this a choice that I’ll make on return trips to Knoxville. Being a food lover and excellent chef myself, I’d heartily recommend this fantastic blend of atmosphere, flavor and sounds. Eat first with your eyes, then ears, the taste… this place has it all!

We sat in wonderful sofa tables directly on the square. We enjoyed the Rangoon and avacado dip. Both were great. Service was good.

Stopped in for some dinner on a Friday night. Service was great. We both ordered Asian noodle dishes and they came out promptly. My pad thai was a bit soupy and sweeter than I would want it but otherwise was good. The chicken was tender. Singapore noodles were delicately flavored with curry. Portion sizes aren’t huge for the price, but we left full. Will probably return for late night Asian food.

Came here expecting «fusion,» came away with subpar Chinese food. Stay away from the general Tso’s chicken — very bland and the sauce tastes store bought. Same thing goes for the Mongolian Beef. This place doesn’t really seem to be a «fusion» of anything, except that their menu just offers different kinds of mexican, Chinese, and Thai food. For how expensive the meal was, it was overall a very disappointing experience.
Service was also poor. We got one drink. No refills. Even when she asked if we were ready for the check! Would not return, will not recommend to others. I’d recommend you try something else in the Market Sq. area.

Oops, how haven’t I reviewed this place yet. Owners are great, staff friendly, food comes out promptly, and has large selection. Being Cuban myself, I will say even saying Cuban fusion is a stretch. Don’t go if you are looking for Cuban food. But their fried rice is on point, as well as Thai iced tea. All the Asian fusion I’ve had has been good. Music is a bit too loud on a Friday night, but they’ll gladly turn it down if asked. My bro gets the volcano, that bad boy will feed two people, or give you a whole dinner with leftovers.
Enjoy.

Excellent. Ordered the «volcano». It was big enough for 2. It’s served in a large stone bowl that’s preheated. The sauce in the dish was boiling until I was finished with my meal!

More sophisticated than I would have expected in Knoxville, but this Cuban/​Asian fusion is entertaining, if not inspiring.
I went with the ribs (which were amazing) and some really good black beans and rice. What kept it from being 5 stars? My portions were a tiny bit small. Was hoping for a little more ribs but the few I had will bring me back.

Service was good, but the food was awful. Bang-​bang shrimp was shrimp from a box with a little sauce poured over it. General Tso chicken was horrible. If you are expecting anything close to real Asian food, you’d be better off going a couple of doors down to Subway and ordering the chicken teriyaki sub. Very disappointed.

The atmosphere is really great! But the food was awful. And after all there was a hair on the food. That really just did me in. I defiantly would not recommend the place nor would I come back.

Stopped by here after the restaurant I regionally intended to go to was over packed. This place is very modern and designed like a modern lounge, kinda dark and very blue. Staff was very welcoming and polite, explaining to me the the restaurant and what they specialize in.
The atmosphere is very chill and the staff joked around with one another which I like to see because happy employees tends to show good management.
Ordered the Bang Bang Shrimp as an appetizer. The bowl was pretty big for one person, I realized this too late as I finished the whole bowl. The shrimp were well cooked and the breading was still crispy with a sweat sauce.
As a main course. volcano (something…) which was essentially fajitas with the meat and peppers served in a piping hot stone bowl which was still steaming/​boiling when I got it. Very nice presentation and the beef shanks were delicious and tender.
Ending the night, the same waiter that greeted me at the door came back to ask what I thought, and talked about Chicago. (at this point it would be common to think that this guy was probably a manager or some other higher up, I don’t think he was considering how he carried him self, if he was he played it off very well.)
TL:DR Good food, good service. I’m not sure why the rating is so low.

Not sure about the other reviews. We had lunch here today. We both ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken and it was good — nothing life changing. Our wait was extraordibarily nice. It was a pleasant ecperience if you are looking for an asian mexican fusion place. Decent prices for the square.

The only reason I am giving this place 2 stars is because they have a great patio that is dog friendly and our avocado salad appetizer was AMAZE! Everything else was HORRIBLE!
When we arrived — what I am assuming was the manager — convinced us to stay. He really played up the variety of foods they offered. I have to eat Gluten Free and they assured me they could accommodate with plenty of options.
They didn’t help me look at menu, I had to pretty much guess and then when I ordered what I thought was safe or could be made safe — they told me I couldn’t have that and in fact I could «probably» order from the Mexican portion of the menu (they have Thai and Mexican), but that was really it.
I got steak nachos with brown rice instead of chips. It was less than blah. Steak tasted gross and it was soaked in cheese. So much that I didn’t even eat it.
My husband got orange ckn and it was horribly overlooked. Too bad we didn’t check the reviews out ahead of time because it looks as if others have had the EXACT same thing to say about that dish?
My niece got chili cheese fries and she said they were just «ok».
$ 50 bucks and a 20% tip (despite very mediocre service) later — we wished we would have gone anywhere else.
Don’t go unless you want an appetizer on a cool patio.