Willie’s Restaurant – 2014 Update

Laurie and I are lucky that Willie’s Restaurant is a little over an hour’s drive from our house… If it were close to us, our doctor would be screaming at us and we would be back up into the plus size clothing once again! 

Nevertheless, every once in a while we make the trip to Seymour Tennessee to indulge our appetite for Italian pasta dishes…

We usually take someone with us when we go over to Willie’s… This time we took our friends George and Lynn.  It had been a long time since we’d gone out to eat with them and although we usually accompany them to ‘fine dining’ establishments, this time it was off to experience some ‘fine’ Italian pasta dishes in a very casual setting…

Willie’s started out with a small restaurant in Seymour that served a variety of food…American basics, Italian pasta, pizza and even ice cream.  He was very successful at the original location so he’s moved to a much bigger location while remaining in Seymour. (He did open another location in Sevierville Tennessee but it’s now closed…)  

The expansive Seymour location is in a former BBQ restaurant…with the log walls providing an incongruous setting for Italian dining.  Willie himself was originally from Queens, a borough of New York City.  FYI…This is truly a family restaurant, no alcohol served or allowed…

I took this photo from Willie’s Restaurant website… This is Willie at work tossing pizza dough!

In our opinion, the key to Willie’s success has been consistently good food at very reasonable prices… It is our understanding that at one time he worked for the owner of Classico Italiano restaurant which is located in Loudon Tennessee.  If that’s true, the student’s offerings have definitely surpassed the teacher’s as regards quality…while maintaining significantly lower pricing.

At Willie’s old location in Seymour, a salad was included with your dinner but they were basic and they were brought to the table in a chilled bowl with your dressing on the side.  In his newer and larger location, dinner comes with an expanded salad bar…with the same pricing as before!

I always intend to stray from my favorite items on Willie’s menu…perhaps even stray from the many Italian pasta specialties.  However, we just don’t get over to Seymour enough and once again I went with my favorite…the Shrimp Fra-Diavlo (extra spicy). ($8.99 - with the salad bar!)

Lynn ordered the Chicken Scampi with Broccoli in a lemon butter sauce. ($8.99) She enjoyed her dinner, cleaning her plate down to the last bit of food.  Both George and Lynn thought that the pricing was very good, especially when one considers the quality and quantity delivered.  I didn’t take a photo of George’s meal because I’d taken one and posted it before…but now I can’t remember what he’d ordered…senior moment!

Laurie stunned me by trying something different…actually straying from her normal entrée…the Maine Lobster Ravioli ($10.99), which she loves!  This was a new item on the menu, Steak Fettuccini. ($10.99) While it wasn’t the most appealing dish to look at, Laurie said that it was very good and…yes, she would order it again!

One of these days, I will try something other than my favorite pasta entrees at Willie’s.  In all honesty it will probably be just a different pasta offering but why not!?  We haven’t found better pasta anywhere in the Knoxville metropolitan area…

Willie’s Restaurant in Seymour is located at 10321 Chapman Highway (US Hwy. 441).  Phone: 865-773-0170.  Website: http://www.willies-restaurant.com/.

That’s my Willie’s Restaurant update for 2014… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave