The promise of a plate loaded with fried catfish, a steaming baked potato, crunchy hushpuppies, and a mess of coleslaw drew me out of the city last Friday to Riverside Catfish House on Highway 41.
The restaurant is far enough along the rolling hills of Lookout Valley that I was able to leave Chattanooga behind, but not so far I became “hangry” on the way. Still, as my two dinner companions and I drew up alongside the unassuming one-story structure, which hugs the highway and is easy to miss, my appetite was growing.
You want to go to Riverside Catfish hungry. To eat there after having a late lunch would not do. When you walk through the front door, you want to be so hungry, you could eat it.
I should set the scene before describing the food. The modest, down-to-earth nature of the outside of the restaurant continues on the inside, which is surprisingly large. A small section of booths just inside the door leads to a sprawling dining area with enough tables to host several large parties, or a lot of smaller ones, like mine. While we were there, a battalion of state troopers walked in and sat down together at a couple of tables, and they barely filled their corner of the room.
Yet Riverside Catfish has an intimate, mom-and pop feel. Plenty of fishing-themed décor is tastefully dispersed throughout the restaurant, and there’s a spot on one of the walls where they appeared to have run out of paint and catfish-themed wallpaper border.
The pièce de résistance, however (if you’ll allow me to use a French term to describe a restaurant that’s about as southern as one can be), is the newly built on deck, which offers even more seating and a sprawling view of the Tennessee River. It’s a gorgeous vista, the kind that can set you at ease and hold you still so you can soak it in.
My party of three took a seat next to the window beside the deck, which gave us a view of the tree-covered hills beyond the river and the blue sky above them. Our server was quick to attend to us, and gave us a friendly hello along with menus featuring a drawing of a plump catfish and the phrase. “We’re Glad You’re Here!”
After opening the menu, I was glad I was there, too. I’d come for the catfish, but even though I knew where the evening was going, I pretended to weigh my options. After all, from appetizers, to salads, to dinners, to sandwiches (and kids meals, for those of you who have tiny humans to feed), there was a lot to consider.
Frog legs top the list of appetizers, and are followed by fried cheese, fried pickles, and fried mushrooms. If you want to avoid the word “fried,” you can order chicken wings or a shrimp cocktail.
Moving on to dinner, a variety of catfish combos take up five slots. From all-you-can-eat catfish strips and fingerlings to a fish bite basket, there’s something for every appetite. Chicken, shrimp, and hamburger steak are available as well, as are baked or grilled salmon, tilapia, and shrimp. All dinners are served with French fries or a baked potato, homemade coleslaw, and homemade hushpuppies. Although I’ve pared the menu down to a single paragraph, it does seem as though there’s something to appeal to nearly everyone.
If you have room after eating the main course, you can order homemade coconut cake or homemade buttermilk pie for dessert.
I skipped dessert and went straight to the main course – a catfish filet and jumbo shrimp combo. As I wrote earlier, Riverside Catfish House did not disappoint.
First, I loved the presentation. When you’re hungry, you don’t want to see a piece of meat, a few veggies, maybe another side, and a sprig of parsley placed neatly on a small plate. No, you want a thick oval ceramic plate piled high with food. The chef had placed a large, curly catfish filet on top of my shrimp. Next to those, a baked potato still wrapped in foil to keep it warm and allow you to put your toppings on fresh. (Thoughtful details like this elevate a restaurant from ordinary to a cut above the rest.) I was given not one, or two, but three golf ball-sized hushpuppies and a bowl of slaw (in a bowl to keep its juices from making the fish soggy – another smart detail). I didn’t have to ask for sour cream, cocktail sauce, or even extra butter, because all of those were tucked into the few empty spots on my plate.
As for how the food tasted, while I’d rather not be the author of a new cliché – Riverside Catfish House did not disappoint. The catfish was wonderful; the coating was light and perfectly seasoned and fried, and the meat was delicious. Also, the baked potato was as soft and light on the inside as I was hoping it would be (few things at a restaurant are more disappointing than a hard baked potato), and tasted wonderful once I’d slathered it with sour cream and butter.
My dinner companions were impressed as well, with one repeatedly praising the catfish and another complimenting the French fries she’d ordered instead of a baked potato.
It goes without saying (but I’m going to say it anyway) that Riverside Catfish House is worth the drive. The food is worth it, the scenery is worth it, and the homespun southern charm of the entire experience is worth it. Just make sure you have an early lunch. You’ll want to be hungry.
To see more photos, pick up a copy of this week's Hamilton County Herald.