Chesapeake's Restaurant Review | Knoxville, TN

Each holiday season, Matt's employer sponsors a family dinner of our choosing.  It's great fun picking a place to go each year, and this time we chose Chesapeake's, as we were feeling some seafood.  Knowing we'd be taking the kids with us this year, we needed to pick a place that was appropriate for the whole family.  Chesapeake's has a great kid menu and was listed as Kid Friendly on Yelp, so we hoped it'd be a good decision.

INFORMATION ABOUT CHESAPEAKE'S

Two Locations:
Downtown - 600 Union Ave. Knoxville, TN 37902 - (865) 673-3433
West - 9630 Parkside Dr. Knoxville, TN 37922 - (865) 851-9088  <-- this is the one we visited

Website: https://chesapeakes.com

Offers fresh seafood flown in daily, local handcrafted microbrews, and USDA choice and prime-graded beef.  There is a happy hour in the bar and lounge and they offer a Sunday brunch.  Gluten free menu available.

The West location of Chesapeake's is a conversion of an old warehouse with a cool, industrial vibe.  Modern decor washed with blue lights creates a trendy, yet comfortable atmosphere.

Jasper loved all of the nautical decor and I think he asked me 100 questions about the things he was seeing.  He is the most inquisitive little soul.

Reading the menu to him so he can make his own dinner choices.

This little cutie pie loves coloring.  I still can barely get Jasper to draw and color, but Shelby lives for it.

She's showing signs of being a lefty just like her Mama!

The bread basket was brought out soon after we placed our orders.  There was a nice selection of croissants, a raisin bran muffin, a cornbread muffin, and a yeast roll.

I started with a house salad that included spring mix with cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumbers, bacon crumbles, red onion slivers, crumbled cheese, croutons, and basil vinaigrette.  The veggies were crisp and ripe and that dressing was perfect.

Matt began with a wedge salad topped with blue cheese dressing, bacon crumbles, and cherry tomatoes, which he said was all enjoyable.

The kids menu at Chesapeake's includes favorites such as cheeseburgers, grilled cheese, grilled chicken sandwiches, and chicken strips.  They also serve fried or grilled shrimp, or fried fish.  Jasper chose a cheeseburger with fries for his meal, of course!

Shelby is our cheese-fanatic, so of course she wanted a grilled cheese sandwich!  With plenty of ketchup, of course.  The kids meals were extremely generous in portion size and we were able to take half of each meal home with us for the next day.

I wanted to try several different things, so I chose the Broiled Seafood Platter.  It contained cod, shrimp, scallops, and crab cakes served on a bed of rice.  I chose braised spinach for my one side.  Everything was completely fantastic and cooked to perfection.  The fish was flaky and tender, the scallops had just kissed the heat and were made of buttery wonderfulness.  Chesapeake's is known for their crab cakes, and those were perfect!  The braised spinach, usually a dish I enjoy, wasn't my favorite here.  The texture was a bit softer than I like.

Matt ordered the Fresh Maryland Crab Cakes served with cole slaw, and he chose Baked Spinach Maria for his side.   He said the Spinach Maria was so good it even competed with the crab cakes, which were stupendous all by themselves.  It was such a good dinner.

Since it was a special night, we had to sample a couple of desserts.  For the kids, we got a slice of chocolate pie.  It was a very reasonably-sized slice of pie and our kiddos made quick work of it.  Call me crazy, but I am not a fan of chocolate pies.  I can't even put my finger on why, I've just never enjoyed them much.

Matt and I wanted something a little more adult-friendly, so we ordered the Slower Delaware Pie - coffee ice cream and Kahlua liqueur, a chocolate cookie crust, candied pecans, hot fudge drizzle, and chantilly cream.  It was an amazing end to our meal.  I love lighter desserts that don't thunk into your stomach like a brick after you've already eaten your entree, and this was a perfect choice.  So smooth, so creamy, so satisfying!

She says chocolate like "chokkit" and I hope that never changes.

Meanwhile, Jasper pronounces it like "choc-witt".

Chesapeake's was a perfect choice for our annual dinner.  Kid-friendly, delicious food, prompt service, and it's not very far from our house.  What more could we ask for?