High End Dining at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Knoxville, TN

Ever since it came in, there has been buzz about the high end dining at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Knoxville, TN. It's in the perfect spot for those who are coming in for UT football games. The location on the water makes it ideal for a romantic date.

Hubby and I made our reservations during the first annual Knoxville Restaurant Week. During this designated week restaurants come together to offer special menus and pricing of either $25 or $35 per person. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was set at the $35 mark. Their special menu is available online. A regular fixed menu shows similar dining options for about $39.

Along with the dining experience there is a charity benefit to restaurant week. Every dinner sold from the special menu includes a $5 donation to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Making reservations through OpenTable. The process was flawless. In just a few clicks a table was reserved and waiting. Nice.

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse has the little touches that you expect in a high end restaurant. The chair is pulled out for you, dark napkins can replace the white ones and the tables are elegantly set. Diners sitting by the windows get a grand view of the Tennessee River. The lobby area is expansive.

When we arrived, the hostess greeted us immediately and confirmed our 5:30 p.m. reservations. As we were seated, the host did a nice job of being intentional about using our names.

From our table, the view of the dining area of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was good but we could not really see the river. It seemed like a good spot for quiet conversation so we agreed to it.

Later, a loud bang and shaking wall let us know that we were seated wall sized wine cabinet. Every time the cabinet opened the door slammed and the wall shook. Had we not been almost finished with the starters I would have requested another table.

The starters were top notch. My Lobster Bisque at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Knoxville was had a deep rich flavor that did not overpower the lobster. Hubby's choice was the Steak House Salad. (Note: There is no steak. The name refers to the type of salad.) He said that it was "ok" and regretted not ordering the Lobster Bisque.

Our dirty plates were cleared right before the entrees arrived 45 minutes later. You could hear the meal as it was carried out to us. To keep food hot, all entrees at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Knoxville are served on plates that are heated to 500 degrees. The end result is positive. Our food did stay warm without drying out. The rest of the meal slid downhill.

I chose the 6 oz. Filet and Shrimp with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. The shrimp was decidedly overcooked but tasted as though it could have been caught the day before.

The filet was disappointing. The cool pink center was clearly not the requested medium well. Our server was gone before I could react. When I took the chance to speak up, the server acted as though taking it back was an inconvenience.

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was starting to get busy. I understood that but I also understood that he had three tables and s back-up server in training. Ultimately, the filet stayed put.

Hubby selected the 12 ounce New York Strip Steak with a side of green beans with garlic. According to him it almost melted in his mouth and was seasoned to perfection.

This was not the case with his side dish at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. He said that there was very little taste of green beans. Overwhelming the delicate taste of the green beans were cloves of garlic.

If you are double checking, yes, I did say that the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Knoxville serves green beans and garlic mashed potatoes. The other two choices were creamed spinach or sautéed mushrooms. Both of these feature prominently on the main menu.

Side dishes are served family style. Each of ours held roughly two servings. Just like at home, you pass the vegetable plates and dish it up to serve yourself.

Again, it took awhile to get the plates cleared. Our entrees were finished for some time and our iced tea glasses were sitting empty for most of that time. When the glasses were finally filled, it was another ten minutes before our entrée plates were cleared.

Our dessert at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Knoxville was cheesecake with a few fresh raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Next to it was a few pieces of almond chocolate bark. These flavors worked well together.

After our experiences, it's easy to see why the reviews are mixed for this location. The restaurant has a great location and the atmosphere that you expect in a special occasion eatery. In my opinion, it's a shame for the restaurant to have missed the mark.

Our cost for the high end dining at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was about $80 plus tip. Visit their website for location and hours of operation.