Uncle Larry’s Restaurant

I just got smacked!

Let me just say I love fried catfish… At times I’ll be on the road traveling and get a crazy craving for it. I’ll look for local restaurants that specialize in fried catfish and often times I’ve been very disappointed. Well.. when I heard about Uncle Larry’s Restaurant in Chattanooga TN I knew I had to give them a try.

The first thing I noticed once I stepped into Uncle Larry’s was how friendly the staff were. They welcomed me in and showed me to an open table. I certainly didn’t get the typical restaurant vibe… I got a vibe that was more along the lines of stepping into a friend’s house to have lunch. Very warm and welcoming. A great change of pace for sure.

Their menu contained a few various types of fish but I knew what I wanted before I even got here. Fried Catfish.

Uncle Larry’s has gotten some notoriety and you can clearly see that by the US Map they have mounted on the wall. Each pin locates a place where their visitors have came from in order to break bread at Uncle Larry’s Restaurant. You can see they’re not just a local favorite anymore… their reach is well beyond these city limits.

I ordered the 2 piece Fried Catfish which came with 2 sides. I chose French Fries and Fried Okra. Fried Hushpuppies rounded out the Fried Lunch Quadfecta! There are no fancy plates or silverware here, everything is disposable stryofoam products so it’s obvious they let their food do the talking, not their presentation.

The fried catfish I must say is some of the best tasting catfish I’ve had, they must have put some sort of fairy dust into their home made hushpuppies and okra since they were equally as addicting! I’m glad I found out about Uncle Larry’s and got a chance to stop in and have lunch.

After a few bites of my fish my lovely waitress stopped by not only to check up on me but to share a method that she enjoys with her fish. She explains to pour some plain yellow mustard onto my plate and mix it equally with some Tabasco sauce. Then dip my fish in that. Wow. Game Changer! The already great tasting fish now has a nice added kick to it! I’m not even a hot sauce kinda guy but this little mixture was perfect. I’ll be mimicking this little sauce concoction often.

Uncle Larry’s Restaurant is located on MLK Blvd in the heart of Chattanooga, TN. What better way to also pay homage to Martin Luther King Jr. than to have a 25ft tall mural painted of the man himself. Very inspiring. I love street art in general so this mural immediately caught my attention when I first drove by.

My entire experience here was very pleasant. The waitstaff was very friendly and made me feel right at home. The food was second to none and the homemade hushpuppies were delicious. I could have ate a whole plate of those by themselves!