Riverside Dining In Chattanooga Tennessee

Bob and Nona, our close friends from Clearwater Florida, flew in and out of Chattanooga on Allegiant Airlines.  Their flight home after their visit to our home was scheduled for after dinner so it made sense for us to drive down to Chattanooga and find a place to eat that wasn’t far from the airport…

This is the Boathouse Rotisserie and Raw Bar in Chattanooga Tennessee.  I’d researched the area and checked out the restaurant choices.  I was looking for a place that had a good reputation, had a nice view and that served seafood too.

This is a view of the Boathouse Rotisserie from along the riverfront… It sits up nicely, high and dry and providing diners with a good view of the Tennessee River.

The Boathouse Rotisserie is a big restaurant…and popular too!  Note the big bar beyond the half wall.  This is what it looked like at about 5 PM when we sat down.  By 6 PM it was packed with hungry and thirsty patrons… An even bigger space was behind us.

Of course, we can’t forget the outdoor dining area.  This is just a partial view of the space.  Despite the fact that it isn’t my favorite type of dining venue, it’s obviously very popular with many customers…

This is the upriver view of the Tennessee River from the outside dining deck at the Boathouse Rotisserie. 

FYI, the Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River.  It is about 652 miles long, wandering from East Tennessee into Alabama, Mississippi, back into Tennessee and Kentucky.  The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River as many of the Cherokee lived along its banks.  The river’s current name is derived from the Cherokee village that was named ‘Tanasi’.  

Laurie and I started out with this Feta Cheese Dip with extra virgin olive oil, lemon and roasted garlic and served with a popular local sourdough bread from Niedlov’s Breadworks. ($7.00) It was loaded with flavor, with the combination of ingredients really delivering a terrific and distinctive taste treat.  The waitress brought some more bread so that Laurie and I could clean up this treat… 

Laurie loves clam chowder.  Both she and Nona ordered a bowl of Boathouse Rotisserie’s Fresh Clam Chowder – Made to Order as part of their dinner. ($12.00) I thought that it was quite pricy but it was a big bowl of chowder and both ladies gave this specialty two thumbs up!  Note the ‘in shell’ clams that come with and in the chowder…

For her entrée, Nona ordered the Fried Shrimp…6 extra-large shrimp with all the usual side accompaniments. ($22.00) She really enjoyed her shrimp dinner!

My better half ordered the Wood Grilled Red Fish Tacos with Mexican slaw, cilantro, chipotle sauce and lemon. ($15.00) She loved the tacos but the side of black beans and rice just wasn’t her thing.

What can I say!?  I decided to skip the seafood side of the menu, instead ordering the Wood Spit Roasted ½ Chicken with Margarita sauce and fire roasted salsa. ($13.00) The chicken was nicely seasoned and juicy and I liked the French fries too.  It was a lot of food for the money…

My buddy Bob skipped the seafood menu too.  Instead he ordered the “Texas Dip”, smoked brisket with Swiss cheese, onions and pan juice for dipping. ($14.00) He declared that his sandwich was a winner!

Since this is a seafood orientated restaurant, I should mention other options on the menu besides the shrimp and redfish items that we ordered.  Boathouse Rotisserie also offers items featuring trout, flounder, catfish, salmon, mussels, clams, oysters, crab, squid and calamari…

One final look at the Tennessee River from the riverbank in front of Boathouse Rotisserie and Raw Bar.  This restaurant is in a great setting about 5 or 6 minutes from downtown Chattanooga.  Laurie and I really liked this big casual restaurant and we will definitely return with family and friends.

Boathouse Rotisserie and Raw Bar is located at 1459 Riverside Drive in Chattanooga Tennessee.  Phone: 423-622-0122.  You can check out their website at https://boathousechattanooga.com/.

To Bob and Nona… Thanks for coming up here for a visit!  Bob and I had a great time talking about our many years in retailing and our common experiences at Venture Stores.  Nona was really happy to take a break from Clearwater and to spend time visiting with Laurie and myself and sightseeing in East Tennessee. 

That’s all for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by to see what’s been going on here in Paradise East!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave