Location: Johnson City
Top Restaurants in Johnson City
Top Things to do in Johnson City
Most Popular Restaurants in Johnson City
Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County. As of the 2010 census, the population of Johnson City was 63,152, and by 2015 the estimated population was 66,027, making it the ninth-largest city in the state.
Things to do in Johnson City
1. Main Street Pizza
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 462 reviews
Reviewed By lgp368 - Johnson City, Tennessee
Our party enjoyed the variety and quality of the breakfast choices. We were particularly pleased that there were some vegetarian options. We liked the other breakfast items more than the pizza which was a bit odd, but the pizzas with more standard toppings are probably better.
2. Pal's Sudden Service
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 192 reviews
Reviewed By Charles F - Knoxville, Tennessee
We love Pals. Every time we visit my wife’s family in upper East TN we visit Pal’s. We love their frenchie fries (seasoned fries) and teas. Their burgers are a reminder of old fashioned car hop burgers. Their burgers are a thinner burger, so if you like a thick burger, maybe try the chipped ham which is yummy. We’ve never been to a Pal’s that wasn’t fast. By the time you pay and drive to the pick-up window it’s ready regardless of how many cars are in front of you.
3. Freiberg's
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 409 reviews
Reviewed By 281andyr - Delaware
First time in Johnson City. Cool town and Freiberg's is a great place for dinner! Great German food. The real deal - we had Schnitzel and Bratwurst. Authentic saurkraut, red cabbage, potato salad and other German style sides, fresh bread with green onion infused butter! Perfect service, cozy space. Portions are generous, but we ate everything!
4. The Firehouse Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 511 reviews
Reviewed By W1882NUkevinc - Auburn, Alabama
Really cool restaurant built in an old firehouse. Fantastic barbecue and side dishes, great service, and a good price. My one and only complaint and the only reason I did not rate it as excellent is that they do not serve beer.
5. Cafe Lola
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 246 reviews
Reviewed By hcohn31 - Chattanooga, Tennessee
Once a year I join friends in Blowing Rock to a home owned by one of our group. Cafe Lola is a perfect half way stop. Excellent food with variety of choices. Lunch menu is extensive covering all needs. Locally owned...lunch was excellent...I am sure dinner is equally as good
6. Gourmet and Company
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 118 reviews
Reviewed By Andrew21159 - Tennessee
In a town with a lot of great options, Gourmet rises above the crowd with its fresh local ingredients, creativity, and friendly service. A recent favorite at Gourmet was a cornmeal dusted shrimp sandwich with local lettuce, tomatoes, house made bread-and-butter pickles, and pesto mayo. Another favorite from a past visit was a delicious osso bucco. Here's a tip: pay close attention to the appetizer selections and to the day's specials. There are often gems in there you might miss if you skip right to the main menu. Also, don't sleep on the burger...it's the best in town! Gourmet is a great place for a dinner date, a ladies lunch, to entertain clients over dinner, or have cocktails with friends.
7. Scratch Brick Oven Foodworks
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 229 reviews
Reviewed By Oriolezgurl - Waynesboro, Virginia
My daughter suggested that we try Scratch since she was new to the neighborhood and heard good things about it. We ordered two pizzas to go and I picked them up.
The pizzas were excellent! We ordered two—bother with gluten free crusts. One with a curry-base, cheese roasted red peppers and onion. The other had cheese, kalamata olives, spinach and onions. Scratch has a larger-than-expected list of toppings.
Service was friendly and our pizza was ready when expected. However. the restaurant is small and there are very few tables. I also found it difficult to find the entrance on a dark night, as the outside was not well-lighted. Parking was also a problem, as I drove around the restaurant to find there is no parking lot.
Scratch has great pizza and is worth the trip, but limited seating and parking could be an issue.
8. Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 311 reviews
Reviewed By Simon W - Nashville, Tennessee
Cheddar's is a typical American chain serving lots of 'favorities' with a typically oversized menu. The restaurant itself appeared to be fairly new and was clean. It reminded me a bit of Applebees in vibe, with a lot of autographed photos on the walls and other sporting references.
The food itself was ordinary and the server had our check on the table about halfway through us eating our entrees. We would enjoyed another drink, but we just decided to call it there.
There are a lot of options around here and I think you could do better at exploring those.
9. White Duck Tacos
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 142 reviews
Reviewed By Kathy M - State College, Pennsylvania, United States
We were taken to this restaurant and, honestly, had our doubts. Tacos with weird ingredients? But, these were the best. Really not Mexican at all. You order your tacos and then proceed to get craft beer -- either there or the larger selection in the adjoining bar. They will then bring your meal to you. My favorite taco was the Bangkok Shrimp, but the Beef Bulgogi was good, too. Also a favorite was the Lamb Gyro.
10. Cootie Brown's
Overall Ratings
4 based on 693 reviews
Reviewed By EaganCox - Tennessee
The two of us stopped in this past Friday for a late lunch, our first visit to Cootie Brown's in Johnson City, TN. I had perused their menu online at their website and I was looking forward to trying an Oven Baked Sandwich, specifically, the Eggplant Parmesan Sub. Our waitress was Katie (with a K) and she was the perfect got-to person to answer my concerns about this particular selection as Vegetarian (ovo-lacto) fare. Katie was knowledgeable (and unflappable) when I asked about the marinara sauce and pesto sauce as possibly being made with some sort of meat broth or meat ingredient. Most commonly I run into the situation that a marinara sauce has a chicken broth base. Katie offered to check with the kitchen to be certain, turns out these two sauces are not made with meat ingredients. However, that alone does not render the Eggplant Parmesan Sub as Vegetarian appropriate. This is when Katie stepped in and was looking out for me, by making me aware that the eggplant patties are fried in the same oil as meat and fish. She suggested to have the eggplant oven roasted as a suitable alternative! KUDOS to Katie, I would not have known this had she not offered this info. (Many restaurants do have a deep fryer that is designated as Vegetarian, no animal/seafood/poultry ingredients are ever fried in it, so, management at Cootie Brown's, please take this suggestion to heart!) My husband, who is not a Vegetarian, ordered the Southwest Chicken from the Grilled Chicken Dinners list. He loved this selection and said he would certainly order it again. We had hoped to share an order of their Maytag Bleu Cheese Spiral Chips, but could not since the chips are deep fried in a non-Vegetarian fryer used for frying meat products. We'll return to this Cootie Brown's. There are additional vegetarian-suitable dishes I would like to try and my husband would like to try different dinners, as well. I hope the next time we pop in, Katie with a K is there.
