Your anniversary is approaching, and you want to make a reservation at a restaurant that will dazzle and delight your partner.
Maybe you prioritize the ambiance — drinks served ice-cold and the food that will be nothing short of a marvel at every bite. Or maybe it’s about a new experience, dinner and a show or dinner in a field.
Regardless of what you’re looking for, the Scenic City has options for you.
Tonight, we dine as kings
These are restaurants you are going to for an occasion. You are here for a good time, and you plan to pay accordingly.
St. John’s is elegance personified. The space itself feels like a fairy tale definitely took place there. Bridgeman’s Chophouse is found in The Read House hotel and allows you the white table cloth, steakhouse experience. Easy Bistro and Bar has the best seafood and oysters in the city, along with a beautiful bar to sip on ice-cold champagne with your love.
(READ MORE: Chef Daniel Lindley opens 2nd American Restaurant in Chattanooga)
Play it again, Sam
If live music is what you’re after, you can find it Fridays at Cesario’s Pizzeria. Order Chicago-style pizza covered in jammy figs, salty prosciutto and creamy goat cheese. The spacious patio is the perfect place to order a glass of wine and enjoy your date. Home Bar has live jazz music on Wednesdays and serves a mighty fine daiquiri along with Jamaican Jerk sliders.
Staff photo by Lyric Lewin / The patio of Cesario’s Pizzeria is seen on Aug. 26, 2025.
Travel without your passport
If you can’t actually take a trip this anniversary, you can at least eat like you’ve traveled somewhere exciting.
French chef Johann Tremor is leading the new French dinner program at Adelle’s. Tuesday through Friday, you can sit in the window-lit dining room and order rich caramelized onion soup, escargots served in a butter garlic sauce, steak-frites and more. Spice Trail has vibrant flavors from India, offering bejeweled aloo tuk and a tamarind campari negroni. Sit among the flickering candles at Alleia as the flavors of the ricotta bruschetta with truffle honey and tagliatelle transport you to Italy.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Alleia, seen Thursday, offers handcrafted Italian cuisine using local ingredients. The restaurant is at 25 E. Main St.
(READ MORE: Restaurant Scene: French bakery set to open in Chattanooga)
Southern Staples
2nd American serves upscale southern food, as does Whitebird. Both lean into locally-sourced, Appalachian-inspired dishes and have beautiful atmospheres and cocktails to boot. Happy Valley Farm is now hosting dinners outside in a sprawling green field with a rotating cast of fabulous chefs. You can learn on the website about the next dinners, Aug. 30 and Oct. 9. Nothing says “Happy anniversary” like dinner al fresco.
Staff photo by Abby White / The outside of 2nd American Restaurant is seen Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. Chef Daniel Lindley, a six-time James Beard Award nominee, has opened another restaurant in Chattanooga.
Contact restaurants reporter Lyric Lewin at llewin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6215.
Dining and Cooking