nick and j's cafe

this is the best locally owned cafe in west knox. the food is great and the service is brimming with southern hospitality. marleen keeps my coffee topped off and thestaffgoes to extra measures to prepare my meal with my request in mind. you will never bd disappointed!!

do not pass this one by. i have lived in a lot of cities and have been to a lot of restaurants. this is one of the few that i can say is consistently fantastic. i have frequented this restaurant quite a bit since my move to knoxville.staffis very friendly & always attentive. super clean (and i am a stickler about that). now to the food...if you want a fantastic omelet...try the nick & j's omelet but bring your appetite. huge portions & freshly made with always fresh ingredients. if you love gravy & biscuits then get them there. they are just like my grandmother used to make and that is saying a lot. chicken salad is always fresh & very tasty. just the right amount of spices. blt..shredded lettuce (definitely my choice instead of big pieces), fresh tomatoes & crispy bacon. my husband raves about the steak & cheese pocket. he loves every omelet that he has tasted. love having the choice of coke or pepsi which isn't offered in a lot of places. you will not go wrong if you stop for breakfast or lunch. these people work their butts off to make good food.

best cafe' in town. i eat lunch at nick & j's often. the atmosphere is great, thestafffriendly and the food is awesome! best burgers in town, salads are made with fresh veggies, the dinner plates are amazing. if you haven't experienced nick & j's you should.

in my pursuit of the best burger in knoxville i've had back to back wins! in recent years several folks had raved about nick & j's cafe but i just recently made my way there with a friend and it was beyond the hype. in a renovated "waffle king" the clean, engaging environment and friendlystaffmake an immediate impact. i ordered the "nick & j's way" burger. the fresh, hand-patted savory beef was topped with two cheeses, grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, perfectly cooked bacon and all the normal condiments! my mouth watered before, during and after each bite. i've dubbed it the "miracle burger". the fries were what you hope fries will be like every time you get them. top that all off with an ice cold #pepsi and there will be numerous return trips.

finally got back to nick and j's recently, so i thought i'd go ahead and add my review.  a friend and i sat at the counter and tried the reuben and gyros, both of which we thought were pretty darn good.  friend got fries, so i tried the onion rings.  we both agreed the onion rings were top notch and will definitely order them again.  we also tried some extra side items, and agreed that bacon was also worthy of special mention.  the diner-type choices were exactly what we were looking for that day and it was great fun to sit at the counter and watch thestaffput together the food that we and others ordered.  i've always been happy at nick and j's and this visit held true.  i dropped my rating a smidge because we took a couple desserts home, and they turned out to be not as good as the main fare, but it's a place worth going to more than once.

re:  mr bill, my husband and i frequently dine at nick & j's cafe.  we are not related to anyone associated with the restaurant.  the food is always good and they consistently receive high restaurant health scores.   i highly recommend this restaurant to friends and family.  we were excited about the new menu and dined there today july 27, 2015.  i had the chicken tenders which were crispy on the outside and lightly seasoned, but moist and tender on the inside.   for a slight up charge, i had the fried mushrooms instead of french fries.  my husband enjoyed the philly cheese steak and fried okra, relishing every bite.  we will be going back tomorrow to try out the chicken fried steak.    this is a family owned and operated restaurant and the owners andstaffare very friendly and efficient.  very popular with the locals so if you plan to dine during peak dining hours, you may have to wait for a table, but it will be worth the wait.  we are retired so we go in for late breakfast or early or late lunch depending on what we have going on.   if you haven't tried nick & j's restaurant, i highly recommend it.  don't pay attention to naysayers.

best breakfast in town. their reuben is out of this world! there is no substitution in knoxville. the banana pudding is always great and thestaffis awesome. always feel at home and leave in a better mood. favorite cafe in knoxville.

chicken salad sandwich. nick and j's makes a wonderful chicken salad sandwich if you are wanting a lighter lunch. it is very tasty. we always enjoy the friendly staff. the owners always greet us personally and make us feel at home. they consistently score in the upper 90's with the health department - last one being a 98. highly recommend this little gem to everyone.


-----30 jan, 2015-----

i love this restaurant! today, i tried the pastrami and swiss cheese on rye bread and it was amazing! other favorites of mine are chicken salad, blt, and of course their hamburgers which are made fresh and not frozen. breakfast is always good as well. they make the best biscuits in knoxville. also home made.


-----01 sep, 2014-----

great food great people. always look forward to eating at nick and j's whether it's breakfast or lunch. the food is very good and reasonably priced. i really like the blt's which actually have large portions of bacon. the fried okra is particularly good and cooked nice and crisp. all time favorite is the big fluffy biscuits at breakfast. generous portions and very reasonable prices.


-----10 dec, 2011-----

breakfast with santa. was enjoying an overnight visit with our grandsons, when i received a notice on facebook that santa would be at nick & j's for breakfast saturday morning. we had plans to have breakfast there anyway and were looking forward to our visit. however, the interaction with santa was priceless. we all had a wonderful time. what a treat!


-----09 jul, 2011-----

corned beef and cabbage. home cooking at it's best. one of my favorite is the corned beef and cabbage dinner with corn bread. plus i don't have to spend hours cooking it at home.


-----09 jul, 2011-----

omg have recently been ording the blt at nick and j's. it is sooooo yummy. they are not stingy with the bacon either. i especially enjoy their blt when i haven't eaten breakfast and am not in a mood for a large lunch.


-----28 may, 2011-----

best burgers in knoxville. you won't find a better hamburger anywhere in knoxville. it is always a pleasure to stop by for lunch or breakfast. thestaffis always friendly and it is always clean.


-----27 feb, 2011-----

aaaaaaa+. my husband and i love eating at nick & j's we have been there for breakfast and lunch many times. plus we have had the entire family there for breakfast. nick & j's has cracker barrel and i-hop beat hands down for breakfast. their lunches are also awesome. the owners and employees are very friendly and make all who enter feel welcome. my favorites are the rueben, fried okra, corned beef & cabbage and gravey biscuits - i have never seen biscuits like the ones at nick & j's.

jen loves some nick & j's!!!. nick & j's has to be the best diner in knoxville!! amazing burgers, fries, turkey bacon club....yum!!!! awesome service!!! owners are amazing,staffis amazing!!!! highly recommend eating breakfast &/or lunch at nick & j's!!!!

friendly, clean, delicious. we were traveling through knoxville and i looked up nearby diners. this local place came up with good ratings. when we walked in, one of the waitresses was cleaning the light fixtures over empty tables and another was using furniture polish to clean the booths. we arrived with a few minutes left in the breakfast hours and ordered off the breakfast menu with no problems. while we waited, they were getting ready for the lunch menu and were preparing homemade muffins and rolls. during downtime, thestaffcleaned up and swept the floors. the food was delicious and fresh. my pancakes were light and fluffy while the hub's biscuits were flaky and moist. my ham was a bit salty but still really good. our drinks were refilled quickly. thestaffwas very friendly and all had smiles. i would definitely recommend this diner for anyone wanting a clean place with good food.

the best!. i work right near this cafe and i love it!! they have the best burgers in town! huge and so good!! but i would say my favorite thing they serve is the chicken salad sandwich! i get that and a side of coleslaw and it is by far the best i chicken salad and the best coleslaw ever! even better than my families recipe! nick and j's is homemade and awesome!!! and the service is awesome! they have an amazingstaffthey are so friendly and welcoming! i recommend if you have not been there go now!!!! =)

best diner in knoxville! great food and thestaffis awesome! everytime i get something different and it's all good!

love this local place!. i love to support local establishments and enjoy coming to nick and j's cafe...i'm usually a lunch diner but came in this morning for breakfast. it was awesome and wonderful. i love the atmosphere and all thestaffare great and always make sure the experience is a good one. i love the humor and playful joking as much as the interaction between those behind the counter. definitely a great place to dine in and hang out!!

the food is amazing and thestaffwas just as awesome. we came in just before close (oops! we didn't know) and they insisted that we stay and they serve us. all the food was so wonderful! we will definitely become regular customers!

best breakfast in town


-----19 jul, 2014-----

just left breakfast there...awesome as usual. can't beat this place!they should be on diners, drive-in & dives.


-----27 jun, 2014-----

thanks. just left nick & js. just wanted to say thank you to thestaff& the owner for accommodating our breakfast group even though we didn't call ahead they were outstanding in taking care of us being a large group and considering they were packed for breakfast. outstanding job to nick& js!