Chesapeake's Downtown
As part of the Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants, Chesapeake’s Downtown offers fresh seafood that’s sourced daily, local, handcrafted microbrews, an extensive wine list and prime-graded beef. Chesapeake’s Downtown is known for live Maine lobster, Maryland Crab cakes, a variety of fresh fish, and assorted oyster selection.
Chesapeake’s Downtown features a Sunday brunch and happy hour in the bar/lounge. Full menus — including gluten free options are available and can be enjoyed on our patio. Free onsite parking.
Whether you come for the food, the drinks, or the atmosphere, you’re in for an unforgettable experience at Chesapeake’s Downtown.
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
- Limited number of seated diners
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Diners must wear masks unless eating or drinking
The raw Oysters from the James River were to die for! Soo fresh & tasty they did not even need any additives. Their smoked salmon from the cold platter was also AMAZING, so tender & perfect on the bread given with them. Would absolutely recommend to anyone who loves seafood!
Two thumbs up and five stars.
Chesapeake's Downtown is my go to place for taking my wife out for an authentic seafood restaurant experience. My wife had the broiled seafood platter which she said was excellent. Personally I don't eat any seafood or fish so I opted for the rib eye steak which was outstanding. Our waiter Mike was appropriately attentive and helpful.
We will be back.
Wonderful seafood and service. Great atmosphere. Loved it.
We made the reservation with a focus on the quality of the meal but our waiter made the experience a remarkable one. Thanks Angie C!!!
Great service!
Food was great as always. Our server was wonderful and attentive. Love the downtown location!
Great waiter, the food was just ok. Shrimp was chewy and overcooked, flavor was good. The ambiance felt old and cheap versus what I though the location would be. Not a high class place in my opinion.
Took my wife for a night out. The atmosphere was awesome. Food was good, my wife was a little disappointed in the calamari, too much breading. Drinks were great. Main course of haddock should be tried! Loved the snickers cheesecake. We will be back.
I got the broiled seafood platter and my husband got the lobster tails. All fantastic!
Everything was perfect!
We always dine at Chesapeake's on special occasions. Great restaurant for birthdays, anniversaries, out of town guests, etc.
We usually go all out and have at least a $200.00 evening, but choosing our meal can also make it affordable when we have a hankering for good seafood.
Thank you so much for a lovely 15th anniversary dinner.
Sincerely,
Judy Myers
Perfect food and atmosphere
Everything was great!!! Got the appetizer sampler. It was a lot of food(all wonderful) also tried Sole, filet steak and lobster all cooked to perfection. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our meal was great and Shannon was wonderfully attentive and gracious! It was an awesome experience thank you!
Sharee was our server and couldn’t have been nicer! Overall great experience, will definitely be back as the food was good too.
My fiancé and I went to Chesapeake's Downtown for a date night. Our service was excellent. We ordered some of the specials and absolutely devoured our food! My haddock was perfectly flaky and my fiancé's salmon was wonderfully complimented by an herb butter sauce. I highly recommend the crab bisque and the gumbo as well.
The food and service was great! Loved the atmosphere.
Everything was great and the service was outstanding. My son does not get good seafood very often and he really enjoyed it.
First time since restaurants have opened back up due to COVID, we've had a wonderful dining experience. our server Mike, was exceptional. In fact, he made the whole experience top shelf! The crabmeat stuffed mushrooms were excellent as were the oysters on the half shell. We both ordered filets cooked to perfection.
Nice seafood selection prepared well. Chicken and steak also on the menu for land lovers
Our waiter Ben was very friendly and personable! My boyfriend and I went here to celebrate our 1 year anniversary, and really enjoyed ourselves - not to mention the food was incredible!
Ben is a fantastic server!
The food was excellent aside from one portion of cod that my girlfriend got with her seafood platter. It was very bland. Everything else tasted great - my third time at this chain and definitely one of my favorite restaurants. We will be back!
Server was very attentive yet not over so. Food was cooked perfectly,
Great seafood in a comfortable environment. Some may say the decor is dated...but I appreciate going to a place that is familiar and not needing to "upgrade" to the latest trend. The emphasis is on the food...which is as it should be.
If you eat here you MUST have the crab bisque soup!!! Ours had huge chunks of crab and the broth was silky and wonderful. I highly recommending that you overlook the outdated decor on the wall. Go there for the Food!!
Great food and atmosphere. Maybe our server was having a tough evening. This will not prevent us from returning. Scallops are wonderful!
We were almost chocking on our food the waiter rushed us through everything. The appetizers were just about taken away before we were finished because the entrees were ready. He did a lot of suggestive selling showing us other patrons’ meals as he walked by our table to serve them. He was showing us their desserts too while we were still eating our meal. When we turned down dessert (meal not even done) he was ready with the bill and corked the wine we were still drinking. The food was good, we think. We really weren’t given the time to enjoy it despite absolutely no one waiting for a table.
Great place for a trip thru Knoxville........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
We have been here multiple times and have gotten oysters before. In the past on the menu the listed price was for a full dozen. This time we went off the listed price but it was actually for HALF a dozen. Not a dozen. Nowhere was this stated. They’ve changed the menu format it appears. And unlike every other restaurant when they list the price of oysters they sneakily list what appears to be a dozen oysters as only half a dozen. Most expensive oysters we have ever eaten! And they aren’t even very good. What a disappointment. The menu format is very deceiving. If we knew how much a dozen would cost we wouldn’t have ordered them. Posting this so no one else makes this costly mistake. Very disappointed. Menu is deceptive. The food isn’t very good either. Not a whole lot of flavor, especially the broiled platter. We are always disappointed after we eat here, but being one of the only seafood restaurants in the area we keep coming back. Never again. Mediocre at best and super expensive. There are much better restaurants in the area if you are going to spend this kind of money.
Such a fantastic place for seafood! The lobster was perfect. Bacon wrapped scallops are a must!
Crab bisque was just ok. Seafood gumbo for 2 at our table. Way overfilled with okra, light on seafood
Stacy was amazing and food was some of the best seafood we have had this far from the ocean
I highly recommend Chesapeake's. This was a fantastic meal. The service was sift and attentive. The drinks were good. Everything about this experience was pleasant.
Such a reliable spot. Food and service were outstanding. Reasonably priced wine list too!
Anniversary
Cheesy decor and mediocre food.
Great service! Our waiter was so kind, and had great recommendations.
We had the best service. Thank you Cherie for taking such good care of us. The food was amazing and we will definitely come back.
Raw oysters were great. Crab bisque was good, blue crab cocktail was great, crab cakes were great. Fried seafood platter was OK. French fries were limp and greasy. Shrimp and fish were OK. Scollops were great. Bottom line, their fried foods were not the best while the other foods were quite nice.
FAQs
Chesapeake's Downtown offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (865) 673-3433.
Chesapeake's Downtown is rated 4.7 stars by 400 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.