Every
so often, Laurie and I go for a local upscale dining experience. So, back in January with our friends Lynn and
George, we decided to try a popular steak and seafood restaurant in
Knoxville. I’d checked it out on Trip Advisor
and the results were very promising!
Connors
Steak and Seafood is located in the Turkey Creek Shopping Area in west
Knoxville. This restaurant opened in 2004. There are now 2 other locations, one in
Huntsville Alabama and another in Fort Myers Florida.
Connors
Steak and Seafood restaurants are part of the Connor Concepts Group. This company also operates The Chop House…with
12 locations in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio.
This
restaurant was busy! We’ve been by it
many times and it always seems to draw a crowd.
The interior is warm and welcoming…and it looks like an upscale
steakhouse/seafood dining establishment should look.
Laurie
ordered a dirty martini with extra olives and the waitress loaded it up with
olives! ($9.50) Lynn ordered a mixed drink as well…but when she tasted it, it
wasn’t right so she sent it back and ordered a glass of wine instead.
Warm bread
was automatically delivered to our table.
It was OK…but nothing special.
Lynn
ordered a half dozen oysters on the half shell and she said that they were
pretty good… (Market Price)
Laurie
and I ordered the Calamari as our appetizer. ($11.00) The portion was large and
the calamari was very tender. We gave
this offering 2 thumbs up!
Laurie
had a Caesar Salad as a side to her entrée. ($4.00 with dinner) It was quite
good…and there was plenty of anchovy flavor to spike up the salad.
Both
Lynn and I ordered the 12 oz. Ribeye Steak. ($25.00) Entrees are served with
soup or a salad plus a baked potato or a choice of sides. The menu states that the steaks are “well-marbled”
and “heavily aged”.
Neither
of our medium rare steaks was very good… They were tough and loaded with
gristle. Chewy steaks just don’t do it
for us. It was quite disappointing.
Laurie
and George both ordered the Applewood Smoked Duck Breast thinly sliced with dark
cherry demi-glace, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. ($22.00) What can I
say…? Neither of them liked the duck and
they’ve both eaten duck many times in restaurants across the country. The slabs of duck were tough, (overcooked?),
and only the demi-glace made them somewhat eatable. Laurie didn’t finish hers and she gave me a
taste. Yikes!
Before
I wrote this posting, I went back and checked Connors reviews on Trip Advisor. I was stunned to see that Connors Steak and
Seafood is ranked as the #1 restaurant in Knoxville! They had 286 Excellent/Very Good vs. 17
Average and only 7 Poor or Terrible Reviews… Sorry, but I will have a hard time
even giving Connors an average review!
We had a very disappointing dining experience.
Connors
Steak and Seafood Restaurant is located at 10915 Turkey Drive in Knoxville
Tennessee. Phone: 865-966-0933. Website: http://www.connorsrestaurant.com/#_=_.
Just
click on any of the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks
for stopping by for a visit!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
This just supports my believe that most folks don't know what good food is anymore perhaps because their comparison point is fast food. i go out very rarely because I am so often disappointed and hate to pay high prices for mediocre food. Sorry it was a disappointing experience for you guys.
ReplyDeleteNever been there ---and will probably NEVER go... We are not 'into' upscale much---although, I'm sure it's nice to do on special occasions. We once went to a RuthsChris Steakhouse (Nashville) ---and it was VERY VERY expensive and not all THAT good. We have never been back...
ReplyDeleteI wonder about some of the online sites (like Trip Advisor) being 'honest'.... I have heard that many of those sites DO get money from restaurants/hotels, etc. to advertise 'positively' for them....??????
Hugs,
Betsy
I have to say that calamari is calling to me. I have always had a weakness for fried calamari! The oyster looks good too. I am sorry to hear the steak was no good...especially with a place that holds such a good rating.
ReplyDeleteWhat a disappointing experience. We've gotten set in our ways and eat out only occasionally. I'm in accord with Larry. Food at home is soooo much better than most places to eat out that we're very picky when we chose places to eat out. We have our favorites and mostly stick to them. I will add that (for me anyway) that's a lot of food. I would have been happy with a glass of wine & an appetizer. Also I didn't know there was one in Fort Myers. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteSam
I love Connors and go often. I've never had a bad experience with the food although I have gotten bad service at the bar once. I'm disappointed to hear your food was bad. I've only had the prime rib and not steaks. The pork belly appetizer is amazing and so is the shrimp cocktail. I enjoy reading your blog. Take care.
ReplyDelete