Great old fashioned drive in like we ate at when we traveled in the 60’s. Great food and service. World famous onion rings.
Nikki’s has been in this same spot for years with the same small menu but everything they do is amazing!! The burgers, the onion rings the shrimp!! OMG you must go here for lunch!!
This is an unassuming diner, nothing more and nothing less. Hamburger steak with fries- good homemade fries is my go to meal here. Bring cash because they don't take cards, but there's an ATM on the premises. It's not a purveyor of gourmet locally sourced organic shade grown small batch non-gmo crap and it doesn't pretend to be. I'm fine with that.
GREAT PLACE ! I had the shrimp plate which came with a side salad and fries. The 6 shrimp were so big I could not finish them. Hubs had the catfish and the fish was good. Wait staff was excellent very nice and attentive. The only draw back is they do not accept credit cards. You have to take cash or you can use the ATM in the restaurant.
Recommended by locals, great little diner! Everything is breaded & fried, but my gluten-free wife enjoyed a hamburger steak, salad, & baked potato just fine! Nice view of Chattanooga from up here too!
This is one of those quirky local diners that deserves a spot on the food network. Not that the cuisine is that memorable - it's just one of those iconic neighborhood dives (sorry Nikki's!) that we love. Great fried chicken & burgers. Always crowded.
Jessicajessicajessica
+4.5
Thumbs up, hands down!. This is one little restaurant that's got its act together...and it ought to, with over seventy years of experience. There is literally NOTHING on the menu that isn't good...my favorites include the cheeseburger, the hot dog, the chicken livers (I prefer them without bacon), and, oh, the onion rings--fabulous, and unlike practically any others anywhere. And Larry Gatlin was right when he said this was the place he had to stop every time he was in Chattanooga for the shrimp--they are indeed excellent, along with everything else.
Took my wife and two kids here for dinner. They are not lying about the size of the shrimp. They are huge. The servers are very sweet and helpful. I got the Seafood Platter and was very happy with it. Our total bill was less than $30, so it is nice to have a good, reasonably priced place close to home.
We stumbled upon Nikki's drive inn on accident and glad we did. Located a few minutes away from the crowded downtown scene this restaurant is a hidden gem for dining in Chattanooga. Talking with the employees they make everything from scratch and I could tell. The cheeseburger was mouth watering, the onion rings are a must have. The table next to us order jumbo shrimp and next time I'm in town I'm ordering those! They are the largest shrimp I've ever seen. The food was delicious, the wait staff was great, and the owner was gracious.
My man and our two toddlers ate here this weekend. We really enjoyed it. The onion rings were really good, and none of us even likes onions. We also had catfish, which was pretty darn good too. The waitress informed us that it isn't really catfish, but an ocean fish, and that's why it's so clean tasting. The kids enjoyed eating outside and ate a whole cheeseburger and half a grilled cheese between them. The prices were very reasonable and it was very casual. We get nervous about taking our kids to restaurants sometimes, but we felt really welcome here. We will be back!
The food was good, but its kind of hard to get a table. Everything was in a Styrofoam box and the salad that came with my shrimp was just iceberg lettuce with honey mustard on it. Our waiter was very friendly, but I probably won't go back unless its for a burger, which I heard a pretty good.
William Thomas Ramey
+4.5
A Chattanooga Landmark. I first ate at Nikki's with my mom, dad and sister when I was in elementary school. I have since eaten there many times in the past years and am almost 50. If you are looking for frills, upscale decor or a super-polite wait staff, you're in the wrong place. Nikki's is exactly as it was when I first visited, and I suspect as it was when it first opened. Even now visiting is something of a time warp. They still have the mini-jukeboxes at each booth and still serve Coke in glass bottles. They also don't do plastic. If you aren't a local and wasn't aware there is an ATM at the back, but really that's only used by the noobs and tourists.
The burgers are just as they were in 1975 when I first had one with my dad, meaning they are flavorful and a bit greasy with plenty of toppings. The onion rings are the real deal. The true treat is the fried seafood. The owners have done everything possible to continue serving the same huge, flavorful butterflied shrimp they served 60 years ago. You must have them, and to finish them solo you must be hungry!
This is a true hole-in-the-wall landmark that only exists in Chattanooga. I hope it remains a touchstone to the past for my children, grandchildren, and all those future generations who want to dine and enjoy the same space their family has enjoyed for decades!
Awesome place!. My wife and went here on our weekend trip to Chattanooga from Nashville. It is a great landmark, a step back in time and the onion rings ARE all they're cracked up to be. Delicious. I suggest the Gulf Shrimp, big and hearty. Yumm! We will be going back next time we're in the area. Wait staff was super sweet too.
Revisit from 20 years ago!. My grandmother use to bring me here so of course, when I got a job on this side of town, I had to stop in. It was just as good as I remember! A greasy little place with fantastic burgers at great prices! The service was good and just how I remembered! Will visit again!
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Support Local, Bring Cash. I've been wanting to try Nikki's for awhile now for mainly 2 reasons: 1. I support local establishments and 2. All the rave over the onion rings and fried shrimp. Finally had it in my budget to go and had to try, of course, the onion rings and fried shrimp. Everything was hand-battered which I appreciated and it certainly met my expectations, which were for a southern locals joint. Friendly and helpful waitstaff. The 1/2 dozen shrimp plate and an added side of onion rings is enough for 2 to split. The only thing I was not impressed with were the hush puppies. They tasted over-fried and over-breaded so that was a disappointment. They only except cash so be sure to bring that. They do have an ATM in back though if you need it, which we did. I have mixed feelings about the cash only aspect. Part of me appreciates the old time feeling of that but part of me doesn't like the inconvenience. Perhaps a sign posted somewhere on the door would be helpful. There may have been one and I just missed it though. Overall, good experience and would recommend it.
Diner, Drive-in, and Dive. Nikki's is a little piece of heaven, pure americana, and bonafide southern fried. I lived in Chattanooga for many years and see a city transformed, but fortunately Nikki's is still the same. It's so consistently great. The fried shrimp is a must here, gulf coast gold. I don't know how they do it but its pure magic. Pair it with a loaded baked or fries, salad or slaw, you can't miss. Chattanooga is lucky to have Nikki's and I'm fortunate to dine-in whenever I visit.
Connie Arnold Worley
+4.5
Nikki's is REALLY good. OK, everyone, Nikki's is about the onion rings and the fried shrimp...everything else is frozen and the salad is 'boring', BUT if you love shrimp, you'll love Nikki's, and if onion rings are your thing, then go to Nikki's simply for the Shrimp and Onion Rings. (and the hush puppies aren't bad either) You know how you go to other restaurants and there may be only two items on the menu? Same with Nikki's. Enjoy!
World-Class Onion Rings!. Must-eat menu items include the sensational butterflied shrimp (though pricey), excellent fried chicken, and world-class onion rings. I've never been a fan of onion rings, but these are spectacular, and I can't visit Nikki's without ordering them.
The homemade cocktail sauce is quite good, but the Kraft tartar sauce packets are offensive, considering the cost of the shrimp.
You'll enjoy the authentic retro decor, as Nikki's remains virtually unchanged since it's inception in 1941.
The onion rings are worth it!. I've been several times. You always have to wait, the service can be slow, but the onion rings, shrimp, and chicken salad sandwiches are amazing!!! Cash only though!
The best shrimp & onion rings in town. Period. The shrimp are huge & are very good. If you go @ night ESP on the weekends expect a wait. They have outside seating in the summer & a great view of the city. It can be a little pricy but it's we worth it. Some times the service is sometimes less than adequate but it's worth putting up with, just have patience. They don't take cards so bring pleanty of cash.
Nikki's. What awesome onion rings. OMG - yum. It's all good.
Nikki's Drive Inn has been serving great food in Chattanooga since 1941. It has been featured in Fodor's Travel Guide and has been profiled in USA Today and Southern Living. Nikki's started on Seventh Street and later moved to Cherokee Boulevard after Nikki's husband lost the restaurant in a gambling bet. When you walk in Nikki's, you can just picture what it would have been like to eat here during the '40s and '50s. In fact, when my grandparents were dating, they spent many dates dining at Nikki's. We decided to go early since Nikki's has limited seating and it is always busy. We got there at 11:40 am and it was already packed for lunch. We got the last booth and all of the counter seating was full. We
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