Pizza Palace

Amazing pizza and the most delicious onion rings I have ever eaten. The chef salad and Greek salad are both delicious and the blue cheese dressing is wonderful.

There are moments in your life when you want cloth napkins and craft cocktails, but when you get a hankering for some of the best damn greasy food in Knoxville heading to Pizza Palace is a solid option.
Their menu is pretty big, and I can only attest to a few things. But those few things, I know well. Spaghetti with pepperoni is my staple go-​to. The portion size is huge and the price is right! The sauce is made in house and the pepperoni drips with grease. (Yes, that’s a good thing!) I’m also a fan of their greek salads and their pizzas are cheesy, greasy masterpieces.
The service is quirky and what you would expect from the dive that is Pizza Palace. They cooks give you a hard time when they haven’t seen you in a while, but that’s just it. They remember you. Whether you’re eating in your car in the true drive-​in fashion, pulling up one of the few benches that they have in the window to eat, or your taking your order to-​go, remember it’s CASH ONLY!

Best pizza Ever!!! Great hospitality and fabulous dining experience. I’m so lucky to have stumbled upon this place.

Just… So good. Spaghetti and meat sauce is hand made and great. Pizza is fantastic. Onion rings are incredible. Something for everyone.

While visiting family over the Thanksgiving weekend I saw this place on the Food Network app and we decided to give it a try after a long day of black Friday shopping. The pizza was exceptionally good and reminded me of pizza from back home in NYC. The spaghetti was good and is quite a large portion. The onion rings are excellent. We had a large group and the only thing that left us a little disappointed was the steak sandwhich. It was just steak between 2 slices of square white bread with lettuce and tomato. I guess we just expected more out of a sandwich from a restaurant.
One thing to note is that it’s a drive-​in which isn’t a problem unless you want to sit down to eat. They have some very limited bar style seating inside along the window.

Pizza Palace is a Knoxville institution– I remember coming here when I was a kid before KJays games. Back then, the spaghetti with the melted cheese on top seemed like a dream.
My palate has changed dramatically, and while mounds of cheese still make me happy, I require a little more. I came here recently after moving back to Knoxville and found it less than thrilling. I still love the ambiance, but the food is pretty basic in my opinion. With a little more seasoning, the onion rings would be perfect. The pizza is alright, but not great. It is greasy and tastes pretty similar to frozen ones. On the plus side, the prices are cheap.
Overall, Pizza Palace has great kitsch, but there is better food to be had in Knoxville.

Ate here on our way home because it was on DDD. Husband had the spaghetti with meat sauce. It was basically chili on spaghetti. I was not impressed as this was the dish Guy ate while he was there. I had the greek salad and I must say it was very good. We also had the cheese pizza and it wasn’t bad. overall pretty good spot. The old school drive thru is pretty cool as well!

Overhyped. The only thing remarkable about this place is the fact that they offer pasta, pizza, and salads at a drive-​in. Most drive-​ins are just burgers. Other than that, the food is unremarkable. Pizza was bland. Greek salad also wasn’t anything special. In Knoxville, Sam & Andy’s Greek salad is way better.
Overall, I wouldn’t go back. It’s tough to eat this kind of food in your car and it isn’t that good.

After Guy Fierei of Tripple D vistied this place, my budyy and I went and pigged out. Today, 3 years later, we returned. Food: Excellent. However, the people who work there are rude and ignore you. A request for the men’s room got some guy from behind his grill to tell me it’s around the side of the building. Locked door. Server turns from a car, I ask if I need a key. She mumbles something about being busy. So I ask the guy who told me where the men’s room was if he could give me the key. He couldn’t be bothered. Then 5 minutes into waiting at the register to pay, I announced loudly, «Ladies, if you want us to pay, now is the time. Otherwise we are leaving.» Finally a server came to the register. Sorry to say, we won’t be returning. Unless there is a major attitude adjustment amongst the creeps who work there.

Stopped by on our way home. Saw them on TV Food Maps and decided to see how it was. The Greek Salad was very good love the anchovies which we had in the side and the dressing was perfect. The ingredients tasted so fresh loved it. Got a half order of onion rings which I thought were the best. The pizza was super cheesy and the sauce you could taste the tomatoes in it. Better than some pizza I have had in NYC. Now by far my favorite thing was the meat Ravioli. The meat sauce was so tasty and the meat ball was one of the best. Must stop by here when in Knoxville area!

Hands down, best pizza in Knoxville. Not even close. Unfortunately, the restaurant is located in a not-​so-​nice part of town. As a result, I’ve only gone for lunch. I consider myself a pizza connoisseur, having worked at several different pizza restaurants in my day. Pizza Palace makes everything fresh and you can tell when you taste it. The onion rings are pretty good too. Note: they have no tables in the restaurant; only a few seats along the window.

We stopped in here on a Sunday evening since we were on the hunt for some grub after we spent the day at the Knoxville Zoo.
We ordered a Medium Double Cheese Pizza, Fries and a Large Tea.
The Pizza had a really good crust and plenty of good quality cheese but the sauce was bland and pointless to even have on the pizza. The Fries SUCKED and were absolutely tasteless and soggy. The Tea was quite good and pleasantly sweet.
We went to this place on a whim but would maybe frequent it again if we were in the area to give it another shot.
«C» rating in my book.

Have your sober friend drive you and your drunk friends here! Not only is it throw-​back drive in fun but the food is hot and cheap! Chicken fingers a delicious and the pizza is cheesey. No a fan of the onion rings but the malts are goooood.
My companion insists that pure navolity warrants pizza palace a 4 stars

I might be biased based on my super close proximity, but it’s my hankering food now! I would miss this place if I left. It’s real. It’s honest. It’s that local joint that never really got into that «organic» movement but MAN, you just can’t give up going over and pigging out. It’s one of the best restaurants on Magnolia Ave currently. I’m sure some «artisan» little café is gonna move in next door sometime in the future, but you won’t be moving this place out!
I see a lot of bias in the other reviews, people complaining about the waitresses crazy long nails, the cash only aspect being shady, the unpleasant behavior of the staff. I laugh sometimes at privileged folk who have never lived in really urban settings. Then I wonder what impact this has on their rating of the food, especially under the fact that Pizza Palace IS a greasy drive in. And who tries to go in and sit at a drive in??? The locals on this side of town trust it like their Grandmas.
These onion rings are stellar. I smash mine into a solid strip and chow down in the car, leaving greasy finger smears all over the seat. Cornmeal breading, just like I do my own catfish. What an innovation. Crunchy to the max. They are also huge. I don’t know what sort of GMO onions they’re using, but: I. Do. Not. Care.
If I get a pizza, and gee, it’s not quite done in the middle, (they sure rushed that out to me fast by the way) I take it home and pop it in my own oven to finish it off. They sure did overload the 4 toppings I ordered, so I can see why it didn’t quite make it on the first pass through the oven. Thanks for not being skimpy on my feta, and major thanks for making a 4 topping large come in at under $ 20.
Sandwiches are my little surprise order here, I always like to test a different one out. My kid is being ridiculous, you also can’t pass up giving him the $ 2.25 grilled cheese. He doesn’t want anything, but give him one and suddenly he’s quite pleased with dinner. Win.

Best pizza and ravioli ever! Cash only but you owe it to yourself to come here! OMG! We will be back to this Triple D spot if ever in the area again! Hit the spot! Staff super friendly and accommodating

Great food (must try pizza and onion rings), old-​fashioned drive-​in parking experience, and friendly staff. This is a place everyone needs to try at least once.
The Pizza Palace in Knoxville was featured on the Food Network, but I didn’t know that when I visited the locally owned joint on a Friday night. It’s just like an old fashioned drive-​in dive: cars park along the outside next to menus, a lady takes your order through a speaker, and then you’re all set. It was a Friday night and every space was taken, so I wasn’t disappointed that it took 20 minutes to make my pizza. After all, any pizza made quicker than that won’t taste as good as this one did.
They have a huge menu with so many foods to choose from. Pizza, spaghetti, sandwiches, and of course the onion rings. That is probably the one food that all the locals love the most. I’ve heard of tales of locals giving up the naming rights to their first born for a bag of the onion rings.
If you aren’t much for the experience of sitting in your car eating pizza at night, you can always leave once you have received your food. You can also park in the front and walk inside to place your order. Either way the staff was very friendly, and if you walk inside the guys making the dough will put on a show! Hey… that rhymed.
TIP: Just get the onion rings. Whatever else you order, get some onion rings. Unless you’re allergic to onions.

First things first make sure you know where the closest atm is they are cash only. Yet they don’t let you know that fact until the end. So our pizza did get cold while we had to go to an atm. If that wasn’t so bad there were some rachet servers there. Their nails looked like they were as long as her fingers.
Still their food was alright. Not all the hype they make it to be and over priced. They don’t charge taxes so it was a little weird. All around not a good experience at all. Save money and go to little ceasars.

I was dubious about a drive-​in pizza place but had to try it due to positive reviews on another favorite site. I am so glad that I did! Their pizza is impressive, and I am picky when it comes to pizza. They make their own crust and it shows, it is tasty and not just a carrier for toppings. The sauce is also excellent. This is now one of my favorite places in Knoxville.

On the road heading north. We had seen this place on TV
So cool and what a mix of food.
Big locals place so it has to be good
Slow on food delivery but it is homemade so it’s worth the wait
OMG it is a an explosion in your mouth.
We had spaghetti and a chicken tender dinner.
Spaghetti sauce was very good. Sweet with just a little tang.
Chicken breading has a great flavor. Onion rings great.
I love the old school concept and the way they blended American classics with Italian and put it in a drive in with car hops.
I will be back!

I find the one problem with going to any place that was Food Network is one must temper your expectations. Often the place seems amazing and then reality is not the same. So I went to Pizza Palace with an open mind and just wanted to experience the food.
First surprise was the parking. This place is really set up for the drive in crowd… which seems odd to me as this is not the kind of food I want in my car. But there were many places with an ordering menu board next to them. I drove around the 4 – 5 spots directly in the front that I think most people were using for pick up orders. The server was quick to run out and ask if we wanted to order, and I told her we wanted to eat inside.
So inside. There are NO tables. I knew from the reviews it was limited. But NO tables. Just a couple counters looking out at the street with stools to sit on. Well, fine! We ordered at the counter and took a seat.
We ordered two drinks, an order of spaghetti. Onion rings. And a small pizza with some veggies on it (eating vegetarian). To my surprise, the first food item to come out was the pizza.
The pizza was VERY good. The crust was slightly thin… but not too much, with a nice crisp to it. A good taste. Good cheese on top and not too greasy. This was a real hit. I would have wanted red peppers to add to it… but I was too hungry to ask… I just started eating.
The onion rings arrived with small paper cups of ketchup. Nice touch to present the rings in a jiffy-​pop style serving castle. The rings were quite good. After reading the mixed reviews, I was a little worried. But they were actually quite tasty. The texture with the corn meal set them off. The only problem with them is the large portion and I could only eat about 5 of these bad boys and had to take the rest home. The one thing I really liked about the rings were they were piping hot, light, and not greasy.
Speaking of hot… the spaghetti came out. I was surprised to see two paper wrapped toasts served with it. A nice touch. The noodles were thick and well cooked and overall I liked the dish. I will admit, the meat sauce was indeed reminiscent of Chef Boy-​R-​Dee Ravioli. But I still liked it. Was it great? Nope. It was good though.
Two of us had enough food to take home for another meal and our total bill with drinks was $ 26. I think a very reasonable price. The server was hopping and working hard. The owner was friendly and asked us if we were happy and wished us a good afternoon.
So good place. Worth 4 stars.