The pedestrian plaza off Gay Street that anchors the city's food scene, with the Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays and patios spilling onto the bricks.
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Order Whichever Appalachian-sourced wood-fired protein the kitchen is leading the night's menu.
J.C. Holdway on Union Avenue, Joseph Lenn's wood-fired Appalachian room since 2016 after his Blackberry Farm run, anchors Knoxville's chef-driven downtown.
Order A house burger with a bourbon flight off the 300-deep American whiskey list.
Stock and Barrel on Market Square, the burger and bourbon room running since 2013, sources beef from Mitchell Family Farms with a bar pouring more than 300.
Order A falafel sandwich with hummus and the daily Mediterranean salad sides.
Yassin's Falafel House at Marble City Food Hall, Yassin Terou's Syrian falafel and shawarma counter named Reader's Digest Nicest Place in America in 2018.
Order The Mahasti pizza with the sun-dried tomato pesto, or the veggie sandwich at lunch.
The Tomato Head on Market Square, Mahasti Vafaie's Persian-American pizza and sandwich counter since 1990, is downtown Knoxville's longest-running.
Order The fried chicken biscuit with sweet tea, or the Shoo Mercy double-biscuit plate.
Tupelo Honey on Market Square, the Asheville-born Southern kitchen at the plaza's north end, runs all-day brunch with biscuits, fried chicken and Shoo Mercy.
Order Maryland-style crab cakes with the daily fresh-fish preparation.
Chesapeake's Seafood House on Locust Street, part of the Copper Cellar Family Restaurants group, runs Maryland-style crab cakes and fresh fish.
Order Carne asada tacos with a classic margarita off the rocks list.
Soccer Taco on Market Square, the long-running Mexican counter on the plaza's south end, runs tacos and margaritas with World Cup broadcasts and weekend.
Order A rack of baby-back ribs with a Smoky Mountain Brewery pour and a river-side patio table.
Calhoun's on the River at Volunteer Landing, the Copper Cellar group's barbecue and burger room overlooking the Tennessee River, runs baby-back ribs.
Order The smashburger with whichever rotating cocktail the bar is featuring that night.
The Public House on West Magnolia, the no-TV no-live-music neighborhood bar, runs a serious cocktail program and Southern-inflected food menu.
On this list, shown aboveJ.C. HoldwayEmiliaChesapeake's Seafood House
Order A falafel sandwich with hummus and the daily Mediterranean salad sides.
Yassin's Falafel House at Marble City Food Hall, Yassin Terou's Syrian falafel and shawarma counter named Reader's Digest Nicest Place in America in 2018.
Order The fried chicken biscuit with sweet tea, or the Shoo Mercy double-biscuit plate.
Tupelo Honey on Market Square, the Asheville-born Southern kitchen at the plaza's north end, runs all-day brunch with biscuits, fried chicken and Shoo Mercy.
Try The Petro: chili over Fritos
Petro's Chili and Chips on Market Square, the chili-on-chips concept born at the 1982 World's Fair Knoxville, runs the original Petro signature bowl downtown.
Also on this listThe Tomato HeadStock and BarrelSoccer TacoCalhoun's on the River
Order Diner-counter coffee
Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop on Union Avenue, the downtown Knoxville diner since 1986, runs the breakfast counter that voted Best Breakfast in town.
Order House-baked focaccia
The Tomato Head on Market Square since 1990, Mahasti Vafaie's pizza counter and bakery, bakes its own bread, focaccia and pastries in-house alongside.
Emilia on Market Square, chef Matt Gallaher's Italian dining room since 2016, runs a deep Italian wine program with regional Emilia-Romagna focus.
The Public House on West Magnolia, the cocktail bar with no TVs or live music, runs a small natural-leaning wine list to complement its cocktail.
Drink 300-deep American whiskey list
Stock and Barrel on Market Square, the bourbon-and-burger room since 2013, carries a 300-deep American whiskey list with Pappy and Blanton's allocations.
Also on this listThe Public House
Try Falafel sandwich
Yassin's Falafel House at Marble City Food Hall, Yassin Terou's downtown Knoxville counter, runs falafel sandwiches and shawarma plates for the lunch crowd.
Try The Petro: chili over Fritos
Petro's Chili and Chips on Market Square, the chili-on-chips concept born at the 1982 World's Fair Knoxville, runs the original Petro signature bowl downtown.
Try Pizza by the slice
The Tomato Head pizza counter on Market Square since 1990, Mahasti Vafaie's longest-running downtown spot, sells pizza by the slice and happy-hour slices.
Try Rotating food-truck plates
Saturday food trucks at Market Square Farmers Market, the May-October rotating truck roster alongside vendor stalls, runs Saturday mornings on the plaza.
Market Square Farmers Market on the central downtown plaza, the 23-season Nourish Knoxville market with 140+ vendors, runs Wednesdays and Saturdays through.
Winter Farmers Market on Market Square, the cold-season Nourish Knoxville indoor market, runs Saturdays through November to March for produce.
Marble City Food Hall on West Depot Avenue, the downtown food-hall block now hosting Yassin's Falafel House during the Walnut Street rebuild.
Nourish Knoxville's indoor market program at the Knoxville Visitor Center runs the city's cold-weather market alongside summer's outdoor Market Square.
Knoxville Food Tours with Paula Johnson, the local tour operator since 2010, runs three-hour walking-and-tasting tours of Market Square and Gay Street.
Knox Brew Tours, the Knoxville guided craft-beer tour run by Zack and team, runs Old City and downtown brewery crawls with tastings and brewing-history.
Viator's Chef's Table Tour visits five downtown Knoxville restaurants where owners and chefs share behind-the-scenes restaurant history and signature dishes at each stop.
Secret Food Tours Knoxville runs a hidden-spot downtown walking tour featuring local Knoxville foods and Tennessee wines, with a small-group cap.
Ace Tours Knox runs Brew Tours through North and South Knox plus the Little-Known downtown speakeasy and cocktail-bar walking tour as an edutainment.
International Biscuit Festival on Market Square, the spring downtown Knoxville festival celebrating the Appalachian biscuit, anchors May's food calendar.
Big Ears Festival across downtown Knoxville, the spring music-arts-and-food festival drawing 35,000 attendees, runs 250+ performances and food at venues.
Rossini Festival on Market Square, Knoxville Opera's free Italian-themed street fair since 2002, runs across four stages with 75+ vendors.
Dogwood Arts Festival across Market Square and Krutch Park, the springtime arts festival celebrating East Tennessee dogwood bloom, runs food vendors.
Nourish Knoxville cooking workshops at Market Square Farmers Market, the seasonal classes for East Tennessee produce and pantry, run through the spring.
Yassin Terou's Syrian cooking demonstrations at events run by Yassin's Falafel House, the Reader's Digest Nicest Place in America 2018 honoree.
Try Falafel sandwich
Yassin's Falafel House at Marble City Food Hall, Yassin Terou's Syrian counter named Reader's Digest Nicest Place in America 2018, runs $7-10 falafel.
Try Pizza by the slice
The Tomato Head on Market Square since 1990 runs $4-7 happy-hour pizza slices Sunday through Thursday 16:00-18:00 at the downtown plaza counter.
Try Taco plate
Soccer Taco on Market Square's south end runs $10-15 taco plates with three tacos and rice, a Mexican counter staple on the downtown plaza any night.
Try House burger
Stock and Barrel on Market Square runs $13-16 weekday lunch burgers, the bourbon-and-burger counter's most-affordable window on the plaza Monday through.
Also on this listPete's Restaurant and Coffee ShopPetro's Chili and Chips
Order Fried chicken biscuit and Shoo Mercy plate
Tupelo Honey on Market Square, the Asheville-born Southern kitchen at the plaza's north end, runs weekend brunch with biscuits, fried chicken and Shoo Mercy.
Order Brunch pizza or veggie sandwich
The Tomato Head on Market Square since 1990 runs weekend brunch service 11:00-15:00 with brunch-specific pizzas and salads alongside the regular menu.
Order Brunch burger with a bourbon Bloody Mary
Stock and Barrel on Market Square runs weekend brunch with burgers, biscuits and bourbon Bloody Marys, drawing the post-Saturday-Farmers-Market crowd.
Also on this listPete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop
Try Burger and bourbon flight
Stock and Barrel on Market Square keeps the bourbon bar past kitchen close on weekends, the 300-deep American whiskey list running into the late night.
Try Tacos and margaritas
Soccer Taco on Market Square keeps the Mexican kitchen running to midnight Friday and Saturday, the long-running plaza counter for late-night carne asada.
Also on this listThe Public House
The Bijou Theatre on South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville books touring bands and comedy alongside Knoxville Symphony and Knoxville Jazz Orchestra series.
The Tennessee Theatre on South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville hosts touring concerts, comedy and its Broadway at the Tennessee season most weeks.
Five Thirty Lounge tops the Hyatt Place on Gay Street, a downtown Knoxville cocktail room behind 15ft glass with a fire pit and skyline views.
Radius Rooftop Lounge circles the 14th floor of the Embassy Suites on Gay Street, a 360-degree bourbon bar over downtown Knoxville's skyline.
Peter Kern Library is a speakeasy in the 1876 Kern bakery building on Union Avenue in downtown Knoxville, entered from The Oliver Hotel or a back-alley door.
Preservation Pub anchors Market Square in downtown Knoxville with live music, a rooftop patio and hours that run until 03:00 every night of the week.
