Give the Bearden Hill Fieldhouse six!

The Fieldhouse (6600 Kingston Pike) is a new sports bar in the heart of Bearden. Open daily from 11 A.M. until 3 A.M., the beer list is long and legit (over 160 choices) and everything we ordered was in stock. Brought to Knoxville by the owners of Half Barrel, it has this industrial, loft-like feel with a million TVs lining the walls (giving it a cool spaceship effect), plush booths, large tables, high tops, pool tables and video games.

• Bonus: Our server mentioned they’re in the process of building an outdoor patio.
• Bonus #2: The whole place is non-smoking, so no regrets the next morning when you catch a whiff of your ashtray-laced-clothes (how did we put up with this throughout college?).

A group of us went to check it out the day after they opened. The menu was moderately priced with a lot of options (pizza, burgers, friend pickles, sandwiches, salmon, salads, etc). The staff were incredibly friendly and laidback, but there were way too many of them standing around. Seriously, the wait staff to patron ratio was 7:1. Maybe they were all there to train, but it was odd. Especially since it took forever for our food and drinks to be delivered. And the food was… OK. One friend wanted the fried Cornish Hen, but they were out (reminder: this was the second day they were open). My other friend was served a measly three asparagus spears as his side item (they brought him more after he asked). And my Cajun chicken sandwich was sans Cajun seasoning. Oh, and the TV was soooooo loud – we could barely hear ourselves talk.

Now it’s hard to judge a restaurant right after it opens. I remember my dad predicting that Aubrey’s wouldn’t last six months after we had a horrible experience at their grand opening (the first location in Farragut), but they continue to grow and be one of the best/my favorite restaurants in Knoxville (coincidentally my parents became good friends with the owner and I even worked there throughout high school).

And I wanted to give them another chance before I wrote this article. So I went back last week and sat at the same table and ordered the same meal – and MAN what a difference! The staff were still incredibly friendly and laid back, but this time the service was much faster. The Cajun chicken sandwich had the proper amount of seasoning, and everyone’s side orders were the right portion. The only downside was that the sound was still way too loud.

Bottom Line? The Fieldhouse is a great new addition to the neighborhood, and here’s for hoping they last in Knoxville as long as Aubrey’s!

Feel free to visit them online at their official website, or on Facebook, FourSquare, Urban Spoon and Yelp. Also check out this cool video from Knoxville.com.