Restaurants in Maryville

Using locally sourced meats, produce, and baked goods, the chefs at 11 Cafe cultivate a selection of artisanal drinks, desserts, and Mediterranean fare that is a testament to Knoxville’s culinary chops. The café’s baristas combine The Golden Roast coffee beans with milk from the nearby Cruze Farm on a menu of lattes and espressos that beg in sweet, overcaffeinated voices to be paired with treats from local sweetshops such as Sugar Buzz Bakers, The South's Finest Chocolate Factory, Magpies Cakes, and Hot Bagel Co. The café’s bar houses a large selection of beers on draft and in bottles ready to overflow mugs as guests munch on Mediterranean favorites such as shawarma sandwiches, cheese boards, and excerpts of Plato’s Republic written on a pita.

Since 1974, the kitchen crew at Pizza Cottage has measured out precise amounts of tomatoes, garlic, vegetables, and seasonings to create its signature sauce. Cooks layer the family-created original blend over servings of pasta and baked lasagna, and between sheets of cheese and dough on a variety of signature pizzas. More than 15 topping options adorn pizzas, which come in sizes suitable for individuals, families, and families of giants.

Some of the tasty pizzas, calzones, and strombolis at Roman’s Pizza share a surprising secret: they’re free of gluten. A separate gluten-free menu sets even sensitive tummies to rumbling for pizza, pasta, and calzones made from the chef's special gluten-free dough, which is tastier than traditional dough whose gluten has been dipped in invisible ink. The standard menu spotlights a range of authentic Italian fare, including Sicilian-style pizzas and hearty lasagna.

At AJ's Diner & Catering, signature twists give an updated appeal to American favorites. To add zest to the Benton's bacon BLT, for example, the cooks smear it with housemade pimiento cheese as sharp as a block of cheese whittled into a knife. The simple quality of their ingredients also plays an important role: free-range chicken breasts go into a curried chicken salad with cashews, and for the tuna-salad sandwich, chefs smoke ahi tuna that's never from a can.

The steady hands of experienced chefs drizzle rich sauces across glistening cuts of fish at Koko Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar, where sushi displays meet succulent cuts of seafood, steak, and poultry. Each dish’s precise presentation, from fillets flanked by vibrant carrots and greens to salmon- and eel-stuffed maki wrapped around slivers of avocado and cucumber, underscores the eatery’s use of fresh, colorful ingredients and its kitchen cabinets filled with T-squares. Framed by leafy plants, a saffron-hued color scheme, and glowing amber ceiling fixtures, guests can sit near the open kitchen or gather at the sushi bar to watch the delicate construction of their chilled rice rolls.

Under Azul Tequila Mexican Grill's bright pink sign, chefs whip up simultaneously exotic and comfortingly familiar Mexican specialties. Sizzling chicken, steak, and shrimp make mouths water in the form of fajitas, and plates of pollo fundido aim to slap satisfied smiles on patrons’ faces. Margaritas moisten mouths, allowing guests too cool off and decompress after a particularly stressful day at the office, or day of being accidentally locked in the office.