Copper Cellar

The interior of the restaurant is very cool… Several levels of dining areas and lots of wood… Something you would expect to see in an English pub. Really enjoyed that. But the place has a fowl odor… Like old musty beer stained carpet… The hamburgers were mediocre, the fries were over salted… But for half off (non Game day SAT and WED) a great deal. The prime rib sandwich was a good size, but too was over salted. Philly cheesesteak was VERY good… ⁸⁄₁₀. I don’t think I would come again, since we pass through Knoxville only every so often.

We came here for the burger specials that they have on Wednesdays. It’s not at both locations, just the one on UT campus.
I’ve been here many times for this, and had every burger at least two or three times, because they are all great. Also, their happy hour for drafts starts at 4pm everyday, and they are delicious and pretty cheap.
I highly recommend coming here on Wednesday and getting a burger and a beer.

The food here is cheaper and as good as any of the calhouns locations, but I have experience with the staff and the management; and they are very unmotivated and not friendly.
They go through waiters and waitresses like tissue paper, which just goes to show how unenjoyable the work experience must be. And if they don’t have their hearts in it, the products won’t either.
That being said, food and drinks are good, and business is a-​booming. So it’s three stars for the Copper Cellar

This is the first bad review I’ve ever had to write for this place. Today we went for lunch (Burger day) at 1pm. After being seated in bar area, waiter came and took order. Water for drinks, two house salads and burgers. Asked for salads to come out before burgers. 10minutes later-​no water and no waiter to be found. He comes back and said that he asked someone else to bring our waters. Either way-​10minutes is too long to wait for drinks! Then we wait another 10min for our salads. And burgers come out about 5min after that. Never saw waiter until he refilled water and brought check. Food was great, service stunk! It want even as busy as normally. We sit at bar most times and have food out within 10−15minutes top!

Stopped in here on game day. Be prepared for a long wait on game days. No ones fault and the estimate was accurate. Staff was excellent. Food was pretty good. Our table had chicken fingers, steak sandwich, and a burger. The drinks were the big disappointment. They were average made, but came in super small cups. I have never been to a restaurant that served mixed drinks in such a small cup. And they were $ 6 each. Also another issue is the entire area around the restrooms smelled horrible. Needed more attention than it was getting.

Outstanding service and great food.
The crab bisque is my favorite, best I’ve had outside Maryland or Charleston.
This restaurant is part of a chain in knoxville, so the issue and several sides are consistent across Calhouns, the copper Cellar and Cheasapeakes. Mac & cheese with spinach and spicy cheese is unusual and just great, as is the other spinach side.
My ribeye was prepared perfectly MR. I prefer rare, but I never order rare on my first visit to a restaurant. I will order rare next time.
The Copper Cellar tops several other steak houses in Knoxville, at at more reasonable prices.

I always forget about this place when on the strip, it’s a bit hidden, but I’ve had nothing but pleasant experiences here. Usually hit the brunch on Sunday after church, but today I had an excellent blue cheese burger for lunch and it was huge! Honestly, one of the best burgers I’ve had in Knoxville. They run lunch specials and have burgers for five bucks on Wednesday. This is casual, but upscale casual, but not snooty or pretentious. Our server was very friendly and engaging, I hate robotic servers who only want to upsell you, they’re still allowed to act human here. This place is reasonably priced too, not a bad place to take visiting parents or friends. Nice that they have their own parking in the back, parking can be a real drag on the strip. This place just came back onto the radar after my visit today. I might have even been a bit stingy on the stars, might need to bump it up after another good experience.

So my group had was here for an end of conference meal and there were about 40 of us but we were stupid and had no reservation. Oh dear. Anyways, I walked in because I was walking by and found out that there was no reservation, and the manager John worked with me to make a very impromptu meal decision. They were accommodating to our group to all our needs.
I think the decision to have no alcohol/​have it paid for by the individuals not on the group ticket was not relayed properly so I had to deal with that but depends on your perspective — it could either be an unacceptable slip up or just a little slip up. A little bleh that I had to go up to the individual who ordered the drink and let him know, and then find the server to cancel the order but whatever, didn’t bother me that much.
The meal was good and their cobber (we were expecting to have apple but ended up having peach) is supremely good. Two scoops of ice cream. Literally nothing better to end the meal with. Well maybe a shot of brandy on that. MMMM!
For my meal I had the pork chop and it was fantastic.
Our ticket for about 45 people, having a soft drinks, starter salad, entrée, and dessert came up to about $ 1100.
If we had planned far ahead and booked the banquet room downstairs we would probably have been able to do a little better but it was great food, and we had a great time.
I wouldn’t hesitate to host something there again if I was at UT.

I would like to thank the staff of the Copper Cellar for being so nice and helpful, even when my group got boisterous after a few rounds.
I came twice in one week: once for a group dinner, and once with a group of friends. The group meal was quite nice. Not enough vegetarian options, but the staff were good about leaving off the meat from a salad to make it vegetarian. The wine selection was fine, and a decent set of bourbons. The fried mushrooms and the seafood salad are great. I had a bite of bleu cheese grits — totally awesome, as are the spicy Mac and cheese with spinach. Other than that, the menu doesn’t have a lot of personality.
When I went with a smaller group of friends, I was impressed that I could get a decent martini for $ 6. Seriously. And a lot of other mixed drink options for $ 5.
They have some nice menu items and the staff are great. I would definitely go back.

Boring Business Lunch. But that wasn’t Copper Cellar’s fault and has nothing to do with the 3 stars. Everything was just ok. Service, food (veggie burger and a salad), atmosphere, all of it. A-​OK. Not thrilled that you have to walk WAY downstairs to the rest rooms but that was my problem due to knee surgery. I dunno, I wouldn’t say «Let’s go to the Copper Cellar!» but wouldn’t veto the choice if it were made by others. Better places in Knoxville are around.

I have been to this Copper Cellar maybe 4 times since graduating from college almost 6 years ago. It was THE spot for cheap, good burgers on Wednesdays and I used to go all the time. After finding myself back there recently, I was surprised I didn’t remember the place is actually pretty good.
I’m writing this review specifically because I ordered the Kickback Burger. It’s a flavorful little number with pepper jack cheese, sauteed onions, and a surprising amount of fresh jalapenos. It was really good and still relatively cheap for a non discount night. They also had a pretty decent seasonal brew on draft. I now call myself impressed with Copper Cellar.
There is also an okay happy hour. From I believe 4 – 7, they have a spinach dip and wings special almost daily. They also rotate drink specials with «Ladies Night» margaritas and cocktail specials on Thursdays. I still don’t love this place, but now I have menu favorite I’m more than willing to order.

Two Words: Burger Day. Best Burgers I have had in Knoxville. I frequent the Cumberland Avenue location almost every Wednesday for this marvelous event.
The Kick Back Burger is a must if you like a little spice in your life. It comes with a pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, and a kick back sauce that I believe is a honey Dijon with a mild hint of cayenne pepper. Coupled with their french fries which has a delicious seasoning, their burgers simply can not be beat.
I also think that Copper Cellar totes one of the most generous and filling house salads in the area.
ALL the side items are delectable, my favorites being the spinach maria and Neva’s potatoes. The crab bisque rivals the best seafood restaurants in the area and is followed up extremely well with their Ale Steak for dinner.
The parking is not that bad if you don’t mind walking up and down a big hill in the back, and the environment is very inviting, warm, and cozy. They have a zillion TVs in the main dinning room so may not be the best environment if you have ADHD or are on a business meeting, but otherwise a great feel to the place.

Unassuming at first glance. The Copper Kettle wins you over surprisingly fast. It’s been around over forty years for a reason, right? The upstairs seems like a family friendly joint, it serves more casual fare life salads and sandwiches, but go beneath the surface to a vintage elegantly, dare I say hip place? The décor is dive bar meets rat pack era Italian joint, but the music has an urban Detroit circa 1962 sound. Motown all the way. Don’t know who the original owner is, but sure that person has some stories. The bartender is personable and disarmingly, a genuine human being. She is the one with the great musical taste.
The blue crab bisque is divine, silky, and meaty; served with a smidge of paprika. Steak was solid. Nova’s potatoes are heaven! They’re like a lightly cheesy casserole, absolutely perfect on a cold day.
Happy hour specials include $ 2 off domestics, wells, top shelf, and drafts. Plus shave a dollar off wines. And, might I add, they seem to have a decent offering of reds. Two tv’s unobtrusively tuned to the sports channel. A blooming writer could totally adopt this joint as a haunt. Copper lined bar is lit enough to read, write or study, without bothering the chill vibe. In L.A. this joint would be burly brother to Taylor’s, and possibly lousy with hipsters.
They owners also have a chain of 18 other restaurants including Calhoun‘s but this is their original baby, opened 40 years ago, by all accounts.

This is a campus CLASSIC. On Wednesdays and Sundays, head over for a $ 5 burger. Any other time, I recommend eating in the actual cellar downstairs, which has an altered menu. It has an almost retro 70’s vibe with all the wood paneling, club leather, and candlelight. I recommend sharing a bottle of wine… I mean, you ARE eating in the wine cellar. The appetizers are great – we adore the crab stuffed mushrooms.
You can’t lose with the entrees and sides. They’re all pretty classic and always well executed.
Copper Cellar can be romantic if you’re with a significant other, or it can serve as a great family dinner place when parents are in town. Overall, especially considering it is within walking distance to campus, it’s an excellent bet.

I have eaten here a few times. I think it gets better every time.
The crab soup is delicious there are sometimes small pieces of shell but that is OK.
The filet is just splendid.
Our server was extremely friendly.

I had eaten at this place before, but this is the first resteraunt I intended to review it afterwards and had a different mindset going in this time.
The servers were nice and not very pushy and didn’t annoy me. They made an accommodation for us when they at first sat my friend and myself at a very small table, but the quickly got us a booth when we asked for one.
The one part that irked us was the long wait for our food at around 25 – 30 minutes. I wouldn’t mind this if the resteraunt was full, however it did appear to be.
However, the wait was well worth it! I had the Ale Steak cooked medium with the mashed potatoes and French fries. The fries were crisp and well seasoned, the mashed potatoes the perfect consistency, and the steak was cooked to perfection. The steak was cooked medium as ordered and was very tender with very little fat.
I have had quite a few steaks, however this steak is definitely one of my favorites I’ve ever had.
I was very satisfied and I will eat there again :)

This is really two restaurants under one roof. The lower level, the «Cellar» is more upscale dining and the upper level is more of a burger joint for college students — kind of a unique set up. We ate at the bar in the upper level after a long day of working in the area.
A couple of items to note — it’s busy and you will most likely have to wait if you want a table. They also have their own micro brews which were very tasty — actually the reason we came was they were recommended. The burger selection is pretty good as well and they have one night where they are only $ 6 or something like that.
Since we ate at the bar the service was good and the bartended was really nice. The whole atmosphere had a lot of energy and the other people sitting at the bar were «chatty» and it made the whole experience fun.
I would definitely head back if in the area and try a few more of their beers and other items on the menu.

Great dining experience!
We have been to Calhoun’s in Gatlinburg so when we were in Knoxville and our son recommended this place it was a must. Both restaurants are owned by the same company. This is the kind of restaurant where you can dress up or go casual in your football gear. We had to wait a little but that’s because we couldn’t make a reservation as we weren’t sure what time we would arrive in
Knoxville. It was well worth the wait time though. The service was great!
I ordered the Ale steak which is something I had at Calhoun’s. It is a marinated sirloin steak and it was very good. It wasn’t quite as great as the one I had at Calhoun’s but I’m pretty sure the difference is Calhoun’s adds their Cherokee Red Ale to the marinade but it was a great close second. I will try something completely different here on my return visit maybe ask the waitress for suggestions.
The restrooms are downstairs and I’m glad they were. The bar downstairs is beautiful and worth checking out.

For my parent’s 40^th wedding anniversary, I wanted to take them out some place special to celebrate. They both wanted to go to Copper Cellar, the site of many special events in our family over the years. My parents even had an old 1970s Copper Cellar menu that we dragged out before the meal to review. 70 cent beers, frog legs, and a whole slew of other fun items filled the wooden menu. We decided to take it with us and return it to CC.
I made the reservation via phone about a week in advance and mentioned it was my parent’s anniversary and asked for a special table. When we walked in, we were greeted, and our special table was… the very first floor table as you walked in the door. I immediately asked us to move to a booth and was accommodated since the cellar dining room was mostly empty at 7:00pm on a Saturday night. We showed the old menu to our waitress and she said she would get a manager. Note: the manager never came. Boo.
Our waitress was spirited and young and very nice, but forgetful. We ordered appetizers and I ordered a glass of wine that was forgotten. I asked for a black napkin and never got one (maybe they don’t have, but if you say you will go find a napkin, at least to come back and say you didn’t find one is just fine). No bread was brought with our main course.
We ordered fried mushrooms and grilled shrimp. Both were really tasty and I really enjoyed the shrimp. I was sad to see my beloved crab claws of yesteryear absent from this menu.
I ordered a steak with sautéed spinach and blue cheese grits. My steak was fine, but it wasn’t great. The spinach was good, but oddly had cheese in it, which wasn’t too much and I could pick off (If I had wanted a cheesy spinach side, I would have gotten spinach maria). The blue cheese grits had perfect consistency and texture, and weren’t that blue cheesy.
The wine list was a let down — high prices for not very good wines.
We didn’t even stay for dessert.
The bummer is that we came to Copper Cellar because it was the site of many celebrations throughout my parents’ marriage. Unfortunately, there was no celebration of their anniversary whatsoever (which luckily, Chesapeake’s fixed the next day). It really bummed me out more than I can say. All I would have looked for was a piece of cheesecake with a candle. Instead, we simply paid and left.
With the forgetful service and the spendy prices, I don’t think I will be back to CC anytime soon, even though its a Knoxville institution I want to see survive and thrive.

This was recommended by the hotel staff as I checked in very late and the hotel restaurant has closed. There was even a coupon that the hotel staff hand delivered to me at the restaurant since I forgot to bring it, that’s another story…
I like my steak medium rare and it was done perfectly! The portion size of the side dishes were just right so I was able to enjoy a red ale with my meal without wanting to run to the restroom to regurgitate afterwards!
I don’t know why they didn’t get a solid 4-​stars, the service was excellent, the meal well prepared, and beer very tasty, I’d definitely visit again.