urban stack

may 28, 2012 tags: chattanooga by colleen matt and i drove from nashville to chattanooga with no real agenda. to be honest, the only reason we went was that i didn’t have enough hotel points for a third night in nashville, but i did have just enough for one night in chattanooga. i guess we’re cheap! our plan ended up working out well because chattanooga was pleasantly low key, which was just what we needed after ourtimein nashville . as a bonus, it seemed to have some pretty good dining options. we were lucky to arrive on a beautiful night, allowing us to do some wandering before deciding where to eat. we came across a nice looking burger place with an outdoor patio called urban stack . matt was drawn in by the homemade veggie burgers. for me, it was the pimento cheese. i need more pimento cheese in my life! matt ordered the vegan on shrooms burger, which was a homemade vegan mushroom patty with roasted red pepper, tomato, lettuce, and balsamic onions. he also asked for a fried egg o

nice surprise. after visiting the choochoo we started looking for urban stack on foot and we had no idea where it was we only knew that it was close according to the map on my phone (stupid) i ended up taking us in circles trying to find it only to become frustrated and finally asked someone where this place was. we had read great reviews. after we found it we instantly liked where we were at what a great space i wish knoxville had a restaurant that looked as good as this it reminds me of atlanta and detroit, the service was great mike i believe was really excited about the food and informative on the menu and how to choose what you want.

my date ordered the turkey burger and she raved about it but was only so so on the fries, i ordered the 4 cheese burger with the american kobe beef, and white cheddar cheese, the burger was great but the beef was overwhelmed by the amount of toppings and special mayonaise. and the potato salad.

the best thing of the night was the orange cream sicle shake wow that is the best shake i have had in sometimethough it was more like a smoothie.
overall i want to return just to try out the rest of the menu and i certainly will. the experience and food were great and exceded my expectation. i highly reccomend this place for anyone going through chattanooga.

good but not memorable

staying at the chattanooga choo choo and this is just around the corner. ordered the italian burger, ranchero burger and kids sliders. we got gooda cream corn, potato salad and mac and cheese for sides. we topped it off with a s’mores and mint chocolate shake. the italian burger has a interesting flavor and i wouldn’t mind trying it again. for a burger to impress me though it really has to stand out. while the toppings were unique the burger itself was pretty ordinary. the meat was over cooked (i asked for pink and it had none) and had very little flavor. the bun was not bad but average. my wife really liked the cream corn. i’m pretty picky about potato salad but i can’t say i liked it. the mac and cheese was fine but nothing to write home over. the shakes were good although the mint flavor was different than what i was expecting. the server was very nice and attentive. the bill before tip was $48.overall if i was staying at the same hotel later and just wanted to eat some place close i would consider coming back. i certainly wouldn’t plan my trip around going and would probably choose to try another place nexttimebecause a slightly above average burger really is a dime a dozen (except these are $8-$10 a piece)

had the gourmet bacon cheese burger with kobe beef and sweet potato fries. this was not the firsttimei'd eaten here but great thistimeas well. anyone in the chattanooga area wanting a great burger should try it. they also have an extensive bar menu! cheers!

good morning sunshine burger. never thought i would like a burger with an egg on it. i was wrong. i order this almost everytimei eat here.

great burgers and drinks. we ate here for the firsttimethe other night and loved it! great burgers and strong drinks...can't get any better than that!

follow up. i went to urban stack a few days ago and was very pleased with my visit. we were told it would be a 30-35 minute wait and it was actually about 15. it's always been a fun spot with a great atmosphere, but thistimei got something other than a burger. i ordered the dirty bird chicken sandwich. it was a delicious, huge piece of fried chicken topped with melted cheddar and served with a side of honey hot sauce. the chicken was fried to perfection and the honey hot sauce was outstanding. i am very pleased to have found something outside a burger at urban stack because it's a great place to visit and although i was disappointed in their burgers on my previous trips, now i'll have a reason to go back more often.


-----06 jun, 2013-----

great spot, better burgers exist. like i have said about the other spots the owners have, urban stack is a great atmosphere and concept, but the food is very average. the bun is actually the star of the show, one of the best i have ever had, but the meat and toppings lack flavor in a big way. like taco mamacita, there will be a wait no matter whattimeof day you go which is the theme of these owners restaurants. i won't say don't go to urban stack, but i would not expect a ton of flavor from your burger but it will look awesome and there is an impressive selection to choose from. go get the gouda burger at tremont tavern....now that's worth a wait!

ehh.. i've been to urban stack twice now, my visits several months apart. i love taco mama and have been pleasantly surprised with community pie, but the third of the monen's establishments just doesn't do it for me. there are good aspects, sure: the atmosphere is really neat (though loud), the management is obviously a part of the team effort (something i always appreciate), and the whiskey menu is impressive if that's your thing. for me, though, the burgers are just lacking. i've now tried the jive turkey and the mushroom melt - both were fine, neither impressive. oddly enough, as another reviewer commented, the sweet potato fries may be the best item on the menu. the firsttimei went, service was excellent. this last time, it was definitely lacking. i'm a server myself, so i'm both extremely observant and incredibly understanding of the many things that can go wrong on any given night. the restaurant was decently crowded when we were there, and i could see our server taking care of at least one other table. other servers were certainly pitching in with running food, etc. our server was nice enough, but.... awkward, for lack of a better term. he might have been new, or else really forgetful. i'm hoping he is just new. the beer i ordered was never brought, despite seeing him make multiple trips around our section. i finally had to discretely ask, as my food was delivered, if it was still on the way. he seemed completely clueless and had to make two more trips to ask both what it was and which size i wanted. *cringe*. i wasn't particularly annoyed that he forgot my beer (although i'm sure others would be), more so just felt really awkward about having to ask when he clearly forgot - despite writing it down. when our food arrived, it was 'auctioned off.' again, not a huge deal, but we were only a table of 5 and he personally delivered the food (with another runner). i would like to think he'd remember who had what. one entree was missing, was brought out about 2 minutes later by a manager, and was wrong. very wrong. burger-instead-of-lettuce-wrap-wrong. cringe again. all in all i enjoyed my experience because of my company, but my so-so burger and one pint of beer weren't worth the $16 i spent after tip. i don't think i'll be back.

nice place, fast pace, quality. first visit to the stack and i was very impressed with the warm welcome, quick seating (just in time, 10 minutes later and a small wait) and very friendly and capable server.
great choice of “themed” burgers, fantastic niedlov’s roll and fresh half cured pickles. i don’t eat burgers too often but this will be my fix when i do. nexttimeout, taco mama’s, i hear the quality is very good.

nice building, poor value. this was my thirdtimeto go, my first bringing my entire family -- hubby, and two kids under 12. i've decided, after this last visit, we won't be heading back to urban stack again. bottom line, we love the building and how it was refurbished, but service and value are insulting.
it started with a dud of a waitress. she was unfriendly and, is it possible, snooty? do they train them to be snooty? because as we were there, we noticed most of the staff was more interested in talking to each other than waiting tables. at one point, we had to wave our hands back and forth like an airline landing crew to get anyone's attention. and when one of them broke off from the pack they seemed irritated we would call them to a table that wasn't theirs.
but the worst part of the visit was the value (and it's really sad when your kids notice this without you discussing it). hubby ordered chili for $8 which came in a mortifyingly small bowl with no sides. i ordered a veggie burger made out of beans and sweet potatoes for $8 which came with no sides. (call me crazy, but it's made out of vegetables.. why was it sooooo expensive, even the same price as the real hamburgers) and with no sides? it was mooshy and served with "mango" mayo. i don't think a single mango touched that mayo.
my son ordered mack and cheese. it was watery and tasteless --- and he noticed. "mom, this doesn't taste so good. it taste like nothing."
so for $60 or more plus tip later, we left disappointed and sad.
i could be such a great place. we were looking for a dining experience, but got so so food, high prices, and poor service. i won't be able to drag my family back there.

i rank this #7 in chattanooga. i compliment the owner for the re-hab of that old building , it looks great, the decor and lighting are right on, servers are good too. this seems to be a mm theme, pretty the place up and get the hip young yuppies there and things will take care of themselves. i did not like the food at all, it was very bland, no seasoning at all ? ( it that wasn't like any benton bacon i have ever eaten either ) all 4 of us were excited about getting sometimeoff for lunch that day and wow we all wished we had gone to merv's for a burger instead. these concepts of his since sticky's all are good bars that also have food, and im sure his product mix is higher in the booze side here and at the taco mamacita place too. good neidlove's bun, great fresh cut fries cooked the way i like them blanched and then fired ... burger was small in size and didn't look good, it looked like a formed and frozen krabby patty about 4 to 5 ounces most;ly lean muscle and little fat i'm guessing a 75/25 blend . call me old fashioned, bit give me a 80/20 chuck blend, with fries and a drink for under $10 come on , does your clients really want a local cow that bad, and please hand patti your burgers and stop using that egg ring they look frozen not fresh. i can get a flavorful angus burger with the same niedlove's bun, same fries, with a drink @ farm to fork in ringgold,ga for under $9 it was over $15 here. wanna a great burger in chattanooga try these places you wont be sorry.

#1 kevin brown burgers
on mayhan gap road ooltewah ( the best by far ! )

#2 merv's - on mtn creek road foot of signal mtn.

#3 farm to fork - ringgold, ga near the cracker barrel

#4 mt. vernon - south broad street

#5 southern burger - food truck & warehouse row basement locations

#6 the blue plate - next to aquarium

#7 urban stack- cowart street

#8 nikki's - cherokee blvd

#9 north chatt cat -north shore

#10 tubby's - cherokee blvd


-----13 jun, 2011-----

nice place. great room, great food, great service, great price tag !

hip restaurant/ mediocre food. i have eaten at urban stack five times. the firsttimewas a few weeks after opening and the food was delicious. the service was slow, but the place was packed and the atmosphere was very festive. our party of 6 tried various burgers and sides and everyone was pleased.

over the past four times, the food has been hit or miss. i worked in the restaurant business for years and i get that there are off nights. but, as i said before the atmosphere is good and it is a cool restaurant to take out of town carnivores to for a meal. saturday was the lasttimei will go there however. we had a party of 8 at 7;30 and got right in. bonus. our server was pleasant in her greeting and kept our waters full, and our beers coming. we ordered potato skins and nachos. the potato skins were good, enough bbq sauce to make them tender the skins crunchy for texture. the nachos were incredibly salty. whatever they use to season them was literally dumped on them. they had very little meat and way, way too much salt/msg seasoning. our burgers came and were as we ordered them. however, they were so greasy that the buns were soggy. this was on all the burgers, including the two kids burgers. again, our fries were so incredibly salty that one person at our table joked that the cooks had a salt fetish.

salty foods equals more drinks, yes. but after our server filled our large waters for the 4thtimeand i was thirsty hours after leaving, i realized i was not happy with my meal. greasy burgers and overly salty food do not equal a memorable meal. which is too bad considering the atmosphere and the mission of the restaurant seem to be do one thing and do it well.
maybe they have gotten too popular?

thank you josh for the great service. this was our firsttimeand we will be back, this is going to be our number one burger joint.

overly priced, nothing amazing. unlike most people i know, and most who post here i am not a fan of urban stack. my friends and family love it so i've been a few times to give it another try, but eachtimei'm filled with the same disappointment. perhapns me being a picky eater adds to this, or it's beacuse i don't eat hamburgers (can't a girl get some chicken tenders??) since i don't eat red meat my options are limited. however, i will say that i appreciate that they offer organic chicken in place of all their burgers. unfortunately when i went they were out of chicken. i settled for a salad and it was to saw the least mediocre. there were only 2 salads to choose form and neither sounded fabulous. i did try some of my friends fries and they were good, especially when dipped in the bbq sauce. that was the highlight for me, the bbq sauce.

great atmosphere and great burgers. by far my favorite spot to eat in the urbanspoon top restaurants for chattanooga (i went to 3 on my visit:public house and terminal). i ordered a medium asian q, a gourmet wagyu burger with asian ginger bbq sauce and a slaw infused with wasabi. (wagyu is equivalent to kobe beef but can't be called kobe because it is raised outside the kobe region). i had a side of the tomato blueberry salad. refreshing but nexttimei'm getting the gouda corn. order that corn it is ridiculous. for me drinks are drinks to me. either good or bad. they are priced average and their listed cocktails are interesting. is at outside on the patio. cute and still private.