Welcome

Since 1971, The Orangery in Knoxville has offered a truly unique nice and fine dining experience featuring classic French & International cuisine presented with elegance and flair reminiscent of the Old World.   Whether seated in our main dining room, or in one of the other 7 separate dining areas of the restaurant, our guests experience an ambiance like nowhere else.

Please explore our Lunch & Dinner Menu, our Dessert Menu, and our extensive Wine List.   Just click the links above to discover all of our fine food & beverage offerings that await you for your dining pleasure.   Then, consider using our OpenTable Online Reservation system to claim your table at The Orangery.  

Private Parties
We WELCOME Private Parties! Celebrate Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings, Company Parties, Retirement Parties, Reunions, Graduations, Fund Raising Events and Other Special Occasions in style by allowing us to handle the details. Call (865)588-2964 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (865)588-2964      end_of_the_skype_highlighting to set your date!

Chef John
With a cooking style that is based upon Fine Classical French Technique intertwined with a Southern regional flair and fusion cookery, Chef John looks to breathe new life into the rich and colorful history that has graced The Orangery Restaurant for so many years. Click the image above to find out more about Chef John.

Chef John Bryant attended Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, SC, earning 2 degrees in a three year span.

He has spent time in numerous kitchens on both the East Coast and the West Coast. He has worked with some truly talented chefs, most notably James Burns (of J. Bistro and James Burns Catering in Mt. Pleasant, SC), and Chefs Eric Howren and Mark Estes.

Chef John, his wife Christian, and his daughter Larkin are so pleased to have made Knoxville their home.

History
In May 2009, then-owner Karen Kendrick compared The Orangery Restaurant to a Broadway show, stating “we’ve had a great run, it’s time to let someone else do their dream. My dream is finished here.” And at the beginning of summer, just like they say on Broadway, The Orangery "went dark”. But now, the iconic Knoxville restaurant has re-opened with the same great atmosphere and elegant meals. Knoxvillians once again enjoy the great cuisine and charm under the management of local businessman David Kiger and Executive Chef John Bryant.

The history of The Orangery is one of both, great success and near devastation. It’s existence reads like a history book. Named after Marie Antoinette’s greenhouse at Versailles, The Orangery remained a staple in the Knoxville fine dining market for its first 38 years under the ownership of three generations of the Kendrick family (Kristopher, daughter Karen and grandson Stuart). When it first opened in 1971, the restaurant was filled with furnishings and antique architectural details that the family rescued from structures in Knoxville, New York, Paris and numerous other cities around the world. But in 1984, tragedy struck and a fire burned the entire structure to the ground, causing all of the art pieces and antiques to be lost.

Undaunted by this disaster, Kristopher Kendrick vowed to build Karen a new restaurant and did just that. Eighteen months later, The New Orangery opened and served its first guest at its current location in Bearden. The restaurant today, just like upon re-opening in 1986, flaunts a Steinway piano in the lobby, a massive spiral staircase rescued from a pre-Civil war mansion, marble from Park Junior High School, paneling from the boardroom of United American Bank, courtyard bricks from a building on Broadway once used for horse auctions and gates from the old Fulton Mansion that once stood where Westcliff Condominiums on Lyons View Pike are now located.

“It’s more than just a meal, there’s a history lesson in every room,” said executive chef Bryant. “That’s one thing that excites me about coming to The Orangery. I want to continue the legacy by providing great meals and memories to our guests—it’s all about the experience.” For the past four decades, The Orangery has played host to lavish wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, holiday parties, and other events too numerous to mention. The restaurant boasts several dining rooms on the main floor, all decorated in regency style while the Phoenix ballroom at the top of the spiral staircase can accommodate up to 300 people for larger gatherings.

“When you came to The Orangery, you left with a memory,” says new owner David Kiger. “Whether it was a meal for 2 or two hundred, the mission was always to provide the most memorable food in an intimate, unforgettable atmosphere.” And, that’s just what Kiger and Bryant plan to continue at The Orangery.

Kiger has also reunited Kathleen Anderson with The Orangery. Kathleen was a tremendous part of The Orangery for 25 years and has returned to help restore The Orangery to what it once was. Jane Kendrick has also returned to The Orangery to help continue the traditions of elegant dining. Jane has been a long time devotee to what The Orangery stands for.

The menu has been updated with a fusion of classical French cuisine and traditional southern accents. Guests will be awed by menu items such as lobster and mushroom crepes, slow-braised lamb shank, double cut kurabota pork chop with gouda cheese stuffing, several fish and beef entrees and the daily specials that Chef Bryant creates in The Orangery kitchen. “Many of our guests will recognize some of their old favorites on the menu. We’ve just given them our own finesse,” says Kiger. “It’s the same great book, just a new chapter.”