Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop is a cafe budget eat in Downtown, Knoxville.
Pete's Coffee Shop on Union Avenue, the downtown diner since 1986, runs $8-12 breakfast platters voted Best Breakfast in Knoxville seven years running.
Editorially verified June 5, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: Closes 14:00 daily; the under-$10 breakfast plate is the workhorse.
Address: 540 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
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: Falafel sandwich
Tip: Falafel sandwich runs under $10; add a side of hummus and pita for under $14.
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: Falafel sandwich
Tip: Falafel sandwich runs under $10; add a side of hummus and pita for under $14.
Buddy's Bar-B-Q on Kingston Pike, the original flagship since 1972, runs a $9-13 pulled pork plate with two sides as Knoxville's most reliable East TN BBQ.
Try: Pulled pork plate with two sides
Tip: The pulled pork plate with cole slaw and beans clocks under $13; counter ordering moves fast.
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: Pizza by the slice
Tip: Happy hour slices Sun-Thu 16:00-18:00; the rest of the day pizza-by-the-slice runs $6-7.
Litton's Market on Essary Drive in Fountain City since 1946 runs $8-13 burgers, the family-run counter that pairs the famous burger with award-winning.
Try: Thunder Road burger
Tip: Closed Sundays; weekday lunch is the easiest budget window Cash is faster than card.
Sunspot on Cumberland Avenue near UT runs $10-15 lunch plates from the Southwestern and Caribbean menu the multicultural counter has run on the Strip since.
Try: Sweet potato burrito
Tip: Weekday lunch under $15; UT football Saturdays push the prices and wait times up.
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: Taco plate
Tip: Three-taco plate stays under $15; late-night kitchen runs Friday and Saturday.
