Seafood$$$southsideMon-Thu 11:00-24:00; Fri 11:00-01:00; Sat 10:00-01:00; Sun 10:00-24:00; brunch Sat-Sun 10:00-14:30
STIR pairs a cold seafood bar with cocktails over hand-carved 300-pound ice blocks at the Chattanooga Choo Choo complex on Market Street in Chattanooga.
Signature: Oysters, Craft cocktails
Order: Oysters from the cold bar with a barrel-aged cocktail.
Tip: Weekend brunch runs 10:00 to 14:30. The bar stays open to midnight nightly and to 01:00 Friday and Saturday, rare for a Chattanooga seafood room.
Southern$$north-shoreWed-Sat 11:00-21:00; Sun brunch 11:00-15:00; closed Mon-Tue
Old Man Rivers Table & Tavern cooks Southern food with no deep fryer in a century-old North Shore house in Chattanooga, opened by Alexander Rivers II in 2023.
Signature: Seasonal Southern plates, Old Fashioned
Order: The seasonal vegetable plates alongside an Old Fashioned.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Sunday is brunch only from 11:00 to 15:00; happy hour bridges lunch and dinner on other days.
Italian$$bluff-viewSun-Thu 11:00-21:00; Fri-Sat 11:00-22:00
Tony's Pasta Shop & Trattoria hand-cuts pasta in the Victorian carriage house of the Bluff View Art District, a Chattanooga family staple above the river.
Signature: Meatballs, Meat Lasagna
Order: Meatballs from a Sicilian family recipe over fresh-cut pasta.
Tip: Gluten-safe pasta and pizza are on the regular menu. Queue early for a terrace table overlooking the Tennessee River.
Italian$$north-shoreMon-Sat 17:00-21:00; closed Sunday
Il Primo runs a neighbourhood Italian dining room on Hixson Pike in North Shore Chattanooga, plating simple pastas, chicken piccata and well-made cocktails.
Signature: Chicken piccata, House pastas
Order: Chicken piccata with a negroni from the bar.
Tip: Dinner only, Monday to Saturday from 17:00; the Ooltewah sibling in Cambridge Square keeps the same menu closer to the suburbs.
Latin American$$southsideMon-Thu 11:00-24:00; Fri 11:00-01:00; Sat 10:00-01:00; Sun 10:00-24:00; brunch Sat-Sun 10:00-14:30
State of Confusion grills Latin-leaning plates on a covered patio at 301 E Main Street in Chattanooga's Southside, with weekend brunch and late hours.
Signature: Wood-grilled mains, Weekend brunch
Order: Anything off the wood grill, with a mezcal cocktail.
Tip: The patio is the room to sit in. Brunch runs 10:00 to 14:30 both weekend days and the kitchen serves past most Southside closes.
Pizzeria$$north-shoreSun-Thu 11:00-21:00; Fri-Sat 11:00-22:00
Fiamma Pizza Company fires Neapolitan-style pies in a wood oven on North Market Street in Chattanooga, trained under pizzaiolo Roberto Caporuscio.
Signature: Salsiccia Pepe Pizza, Wood-fired pies
Order: The Salsiccia Pepe pizza, blistered from the wood oven.
Tip: North Shore's most serious pizza crust; go at 11:00 opening or after 20:00 to skip the family rush on weekends.