Restaurants in Farragut

A huge statue of Buddha watches over the dining room at Surin of Thailand, although his peaceful gaze is subverted by complex curries, spicy stir-fried noodle dishes, and flavorful barbecue-chicken entrees a day in the making. Half chickens are marinated in Thai barbecue sauce overnight before being slowly roasted and grilled, then they’re plated with scoops of shrimp fried rice and reminders to chew each bite thoroughly, not matter who’s threatening to steal the flavorful dark meat.

Surin measures its dishes' spiciness on a three-pepper scale, where one is "spicy" and three is "Thai hot." Though most dishes fall between nonspicy and hot, a few earn their trio of peppers, including a medley of mussels, scallops, and shrimp with spicy basil sauce.

Another Buddha—actually, just a head—guards the sushi bar, where nigiri, sashimi, and creative maki rolls are born. Under the two Buddhas' protection, diners settle into leather seats or tuck into booths backed by ferns and foliage. Outside the stone-walled eatery, a patio seasons dishes with sunlight and refreshing breezes.

Inside La Parilla, bright sunflower-colored walls stretch from the rustic tiled floor to the lofty ceiling and overlook a spread of hearty Mexican dishes and fruity, top-shelf margaritas. In this light and airy eatery, chefs spin out all the south-of-the-border favorites, from cacophonously sizzling fajitas and fish tacos to seven types of enchiladas teeming with liberally spiced meat and floods of melted cheese. At the full bar, mixologists update the classic margarita with mango and strawberry flavors, imbuing drinks with a tropical essence usually achieved only by puréeing a box of miniature umbrellas.

Peruvian-born chef Pilar Albernas and her family opened Ají Peruvian Restaurant in 2011, naming the eatery after the Peruvian word for "pepper." True to their name, Ají imports many varieties of peppers to flavor its authentic cuisine. Maize tamales steamed in banana leaves, Peruvian rotisserie chicken, and Andean corn salad with fresh cheese and an herb dressing are among the kitchen's specialties. Many dishes can be made vegetarian or vegan, and at the end of meals, diners can sweeten palates with desserts such as picarones—Peruvian donuts made with Andean squash and sweet potato.

The bakers at Kitts Café fill their glass display case with house-made cakes, pies, and cobblers as cooks sizzle up platefuls of Kitts Café's homestyle diner fare. The kitchen staff fires up the griddle at 7 a.m. each morning, sizzling up fresh-cooked eggs and breakfast sandwiches before forging classic burgers and frito chili pie for lunch. To protect taste buds from fits of ennui, the café team whips up a rotating lineup of daily specials that changes each week.

A Knoxville business since 1993, Kitts Café keeps strong ties to the community with Kitts Market, a monthly event that transforms the restaurant into a trendy boutique with the work of local artists and crafters. The market's lineup of handmade gifts includes seasonal decor and enough children's clothing to dress an entire village in Loompaland.

Nori Modern Noodle & Sushi's culinary innovators have scoured the eateries of Japan, Vietnam, and France to compile a menu of fresh fusion fare. In a lounge atmosphere, the restaurant pours out sake cocktails to accompany seared noodle entrees with made-from-scratch pasta and sushi or rice-paper rolls, including offerings that adhere to vegetarian diets. An outdoor patio welcomes diners on warmer days, and late-night sushi specials tantalize taste buds until 2 a.m., an hour that's well past the bedtime of most pumpkin carriages.

At Big Daddy's Pizzeria, a 550-degree wood-fired brick oven bakes handcrafted dough, house-made sauces, and fresh ingredients into specialty pizzas. The Pigeon Forge eatery is the newest of five restaurants owned by the Johnson family—a local family that has nourished Sevier County with fresh cuisine for the past 20 years. Chefs cover 10- and 12-inch thin crusts with their traditional palomino sauce—a fusion of homespun alfredo and marinara—before tossing the pies with gourmet soy-cheese, gorgonzola, prime-rib, or pine-nut toppings. The Johnsons' house-made focaccia cushions wood-fired sandwiches, and glasses brim with draft beers and wine. In the spacious dining room, a pastoral countryside mural and framed artwork beam down upon cushy red booths and white-clothed tables, while a wooden awning and brick walls surround an outdoor patio. At the Pigeon Forge location, a brand-new arcade entertains guests with video games, providing a welcome diversion from thinking about how their stomachs are as happy as a dentist swimming through the Colgate factory's toothpaste river.