Tony's Pasta Shop & Trattoria--Chattanooga

What a beautiful day for a drive to Chattanooga!  The trip from Knoxville to the beautiful city is about 90 minutes down I-75 and generally, the traffic is good during the week.  Weekends can be a little treacherous with all the endless construction going on.   

We arrived about 1PM in the Bluff View Art District located near the river downtown.   Many art shops and galleries present a lovely selection of art, jewelry and crafts from very reasonable to the very high end.  

We decided upon Tony's Pasta Shop & Trattoria for lunch.  Upon arriving, we had to choose between the indoor dining and the outdoor patio that looked very attractive.  The drawback...a little too windy and the temps were cool, although the sun was shining.  We choose to dine inside and was quickly seated at a patio side window to enjoy the sun and outdoor scenery.  Upon first observation, I found the table suitable, but the window sill next to our table obviously had not been cleaned in a while.   It was dirty.  After looking about the restaurant, I found the floors also dirty.  They need to spend a little more attention to general cleanliness of their property.  

Our Server, Mary was quick to advise us of the great choices available.   She was very knowledgeable about all items and advised what appetizers and entrees she preferred and customers have recommended.  Mary quickly returned to our table with the bread plate that was beautiful.  We immediately began the enjoyment experience.  

We choose the Eggplant Parmesan and  Grilled Flank Steak Salad.  Both were excellent...the Parm served on a very hot platter and the Flank Steak served on a nice chilled platter.  

Eggplant Parmesan

Grilled Flank Steak Salad

My Grilled Flank Steak Salad was served with cold beef.   There was nothing wrong with it...full of flavor but most salads of this type are served with freshly grilled steak.  I enjoyed it...it was perfectly grilled..but still was cold.   Just a warning.  

After receiving our modest check...we left the restaurant and began to scour the Bluff View complex.   Nice shops and then we stumbled upon the Bluff View Bakery on the lower level.   It was a genuine surprise to discover the Bluff View Bakery provides baked good for the restaurants on the premise.    I just had to go into the shop and buy some of the German Rye bread to take home. 

This loaf was a hearty, heavy loaf as I expected.   I would return in a heartbeat to get more of this wonderful product.  


If you get a chance...head to Chattanooga and spend a few days exploring all they have to offer including the Chattanooga Aquarium.