Knoxville restaurants with Asian flair: Chinese, Japanese, Korean and more

Knoxville Japanese restaurants, Ichiban Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar, Mikata Japanese Grill & Sushi, Nama Sushi Bar, Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse, Knoxville Laotian and Vietnamese restaurants, Bida Saigon, Sticky Rice Café, Knoxville Chinese restaurants, Asia Kitchen, Golden Garden Chinese Restaurant, Szechuan Garden Chinese Restaurant, Knoxville Thai restaurants, Chaiyo’s Thai & Sushi, Fai Thai Kitchen, Thai Time , Tuk Tuk Thai Fusion, Knoxville Indian restaurants, Aroma Indian Kitchen, Ooh Lala Indian Kitchen, Sitar Indian Cuisine, Knoxville Korean restaurants, Gogi Korean Kitchen, KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot , Q Korean Steakhouse, Asian fusion restaurants in Knoxville, Angry Dumplings Tea, Stir Fry Cafe

Cuisine from Asia is some of the most popular and complex food in the world. Knoxville restaurants are ready to match your cravings.

Here, in no particular order, are a few favorite Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese restaurants. Use it as a reference if you're looking for a specific dish or want to mix it up.

“Our braised beef noodle soup takes 3½ hours. We thought it would last, but we ran out," said Angry Dumplings’ owner Jason Chau, of their Father’s Day soft opening. South Knoxville, June 20, 2023.

With countless restaurants in the region, here are a few selections of each type to try.

Knoxville Japanese restaurants

Ichiban Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar

Ichiban Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar is known for its sushi and soup selections. Diners boast about the amazing atmosphere along with the convenience of takeout. This is a great location for visit if you are driving on Clinton Highway.

6737 Clinton Highway, Knoxville
865-947-8888

Mikata Japanese Grill & Sushi

Mikata Japanese Grill & Sushi serves the favorites you crave: tuna rolls, miso soup, hibachi, bubble tea and more. It's a small restaurant near Hardin Valley Road.

10918 Spring Bluff Way, Knoxville
865-670-3883

Nama Sushi Bar

Nama Sushi Bar is an award-winning sushi and Japanese restaurant with three locations in Knoxville - Bearden, Cedar Bluff and downtown. Insiders know about its Monday and Thursday half-price specials. Small plates and Asian fusion dishes are also on the menu.

Bearden: 5130 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, 865-588-9811
Cedar Bluff: 260 N. Peters Road, Knoxville, 865-500-6262
Downtown: 506 S. Gay St., Knoxville, 865-633-8539

Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse

Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse in Knoxville is great way to experience Japanese hibachi grilled food. "Hi" is a Japanese word for fire and "bachi" means bowl. From watching your food be prepared in front of you and fellow diners to enjoying the sushi bar, Wasabi is a communal experience.

226 Lovell Road, Knoxville, 865-675-0201
118 Major Reynolds Place, Knoxville, 865-584-4898

Knoxville Laotian and Vietnamese restaurants

Bida Saigon

Bida Saigon is authentic Vietnamese cuisine on Kingston Pike. Its menu consists of a variety of noodles, rolls and pho, a soup dish with broth, rice noodles, meat and herbs.

8078 Kingston Pike, Suite 165167, Knoxville
865-694-5999

Pho 99

Pho 99 is a small business that prides itself on serving traditional cooking and is an excellent place to try pho for the first time.

9117 Executive Park Drive, Knoxville
865-357-2099

Sticky Rice Café

Sticky Rice Café is a family restaurant that highlights several generations of Lao recipes passed down. Focusing on simple foods, Sticky Rice Cafe offers a great variety of meats, soups, sides, desserts and, of course, sticky rice. It just moved into a bigger space, which shows its popularity.

100 Jack Dance St., Knoxville
865-249-6273

Knoxville Chinese restaurants

Asia Kitchen

Asia Kitchen is highly praised by customers for its fresh food focusing on Pan Asian and Chinese cuisines. Some web reviewers say the sometimes brusque service can add to its authenticity. The spicy hot and sour soup is perfect for anyone with a cold, and they recommend trying their highest-rated dish: Kung Pao chicken.

8511 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
865-670-9858

Golden Garden Chinese Restaurant

Golden Garden Chinese Restaurant on Western Avenue has highly rated stir-fried noodles and amazing soups that make this family-owned restaurant a must-try.

5737 Western Ave., Knoxville
865-588-5517

Szechuan Garden Chinese Restaurant

Szechuan Garden Chinese Restaurant also scores high in South Knoxville. Customers say the food is amazing with great service from the staff. It's a small family restaurant on Chapman Highway, and some say their hot and sour soup is the best in Knoxville.

4211 Chapman Highway, Knoxville
865-579-0889

Knoxville Thai restaurants

Chaiyo’s Thai & Sushi

Chaiyo’s Thai & Sushi near the University of Tennessee has the best pad thai in Knoxville, according to Thrillist.com. Don't think it's just for students. This is an excellent restaurants for dishes with customizable spice ranges.

601 James Agee St., Knoxville,
865-249-8081

Fai Thai Kitchen

Fai Thai Kitchen offers authentic cuisine on Kingston Pike and is known for its friendly service (with a robot server!) and tasty dishes. Their curry dishes and tom yum soup stand out, and you have to end with mango sticky rice.

4451 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
865-396-6466

Spice

Another Thai and sushi combo restaurant, Spice serves traditional noodles, stir-fries and curries and more indulgent recipes like crispy duck and soft-shell crab.

6213 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
865-312-5001

Thai Time

The owners of Thai Time have recovered from adversity after a car smashed into their kitchen in 2024. The community rallied to support them and their delicious, authentic dishes. Look for Asian favorites, curry, khao man gai soup, pad kee mao and other adventurous items. drinks like Thair pink milk and Thai coffee round it out.

6200 Chapman Highway, Knoxville,
865-253-7185

Tuk Tuk Thai Fusion

9253 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
865-247-6878

Knoxville Indian restaurants

Aroma Indian Kitchen

138 N Cedar Bluff Road, Knoxville
865-474-9847

Ooh Lala Indian Kitchen

2201 Kerns Rising Way, Unit 126, Knoxville

Sitar Indian Cuisine

Sitar Indian Cuisine is ranked number one for on threebestrated.com for the best Indian restaurant in Knoxville. Their mission is to deliver the best-tasting food and to satisfy every customer that walks through the doors. It's a Bearden classic.

6004 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
865-588-1828

Knoxville Korean restaurants

Gogi Korean Kitchen

Gogi Korean Kitchen offers a diverse selection of Korean meals. Customers describe the seafood as amazing and the location on Middlebrook Pike as convenient. Ranked highly on Yelp, this restaurant is good for newbies and experienced foodies.

3725 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville
865-281-5797

K Pocha

K Pocha is a newer Korean snack bar. Customers like the feel of a nice night out with an excellent vibe. Many say the fries are extra special.

7315 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
865-584-0047

KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot

This restaurant offers a cook-your-own-meal experience with hot pots burners and barbecues built into the table. KPOT is a fun communal experience with a dizzying number of choices.

11316 Parkside Drive, Knoxville
865-288-6888

Q Korean Steakhouse

Q Korean Steakhouse is all about the atmosphere. Meals are prepared right in front of customers for a real Korean BBQ experience. Customers say the food is addicting and the K-Pop adds to the fun.

8851 Town and Country Circle, Knoxville
865-474-1486

Asian fusion restaurants in Knoxville

Angry Dumplings Tea

Angry Dumplings Tea has all different types of tea and is known for its dumplings. But the owners serve up a few other great options, too, in South Knox. The menu offers a half-dozen each of fruit teas and milk-based teas, the latter of which include a house boba and a matcha variety (oat, coconut, Lactaid and soy are offered as milk alternatives). The menu might be small, but the flavor is huge.

1119 Sevier Ave., Knoxville
760-899-4121

OTSU

Handmade dumplings and cocktails in an elegant setting. What else do you need to convince you? OTSU, a fusion restaurant in the Old City, has bao buns, korno grill dishes, eggrolls, soups and rotating specials plus a lively bar.

235 W. Depot Ave., Knoxville
865-545-4625

Stir Fry Cafe

Stir Fry Cafe is a pan Asian restaurant off Kingston Pike that has been around for years and offers a variety of different types of Asian foods. One longtime customer recommends his favorite Thai red curry, taking advantage of the half-price sushi on Mondays, and the great outdoor patio seating.