The current location, Downtown Dive, opened to fulfill barbecue cravings in downtown Knoxville in 2015. Located at 410 W. Jackson Ave., Downtown Dive was borne from a love of classic American dive bars and barbecue joints and carries on the tradition of Sweet P’s Southern heritage.
In the spring of 2021, the first full-service Sweet P’s concept, Uptown Corner, will open in Fountain City. Featuring table service and a bar, we look forward to serving our customers at 3029 Tazewell Pike and joining the Fountain City community.
When you walk in you get in line, it's cafeteria style. When they are out of something you can't preorder for the next batch you have to wait for more and get back in line. I had the pork, cole slaw, greens, and Mac and cheese. The pork had tons of flavor, I tried the non-spicy sauce they had and added the slaw to my pork and it was so good. The Mac and cheese is not on my diet (keto) but it looked too good not to try... definitely worth it, super cheesy. The greens I was interested in trying because it had so much in it... carrots, celery and black eyed peas... definitely good enough to be its own meal . I finished up with the ches pie... super chocolatey and almost has a grit to it from all the sugar, I loved it.
I plan on being my family soon. read less
I definitely recommend stopping by if you're in town. read less
They let me know right away any menu items that I had food allergies with - which was AWESOME. I've had several encounters recently where this was not the case even after asking for confirmation.
The guy ended up giving us a full rack because he thought we'd love them. These were hands down the BEST ribs I've ever had. I wasn't sure what I'd think of the dry rub style but we tore them up. The collards were fantastic. They were cooked up with some apple cider vinegar, black eyed peas, carrots, and celery. Again - some of the best I've ever had. The mac & cheese was good and the chess pie was like a brownie in a pie crust. I loved it.
We wish this place was closer because we'd come here all the time. We will definitely be returning. read less
Everything on the menu looked amazing so I struck up conversation with a really nice guy working behind the bar who walked us through the menu and let us know what their stand out items were.
We ordered the Sweet P's Sampler with a pork bbq sandwich, beef brisket, and 3 sides. Typically the sampler also comes with 1/4 rack of ribs but because it was UT gameday, they had sold out of them quickly but offered us wings instead. For the sides we got coleslaw, pinto beans, and mac n cheese.
The sandwich was AMAZING as we added coleslaw and loads of sauce to the mix. The brisket was phenomenal and I could have eaten another half pound of it to myself. The pinto beans were the best ive ever had and the mac n cheese could not go without note as it was unique and tasty in each bite. The crowning jewel for the both of us was the wings. I dont know what they put in that sauce but our eyes lit up the second we took a bite and felt that crispy juicy crunch. We were literally fighting over the last wing.
We ended the meal with a bacon chocolate chip cookie and it was the finishing touch to an amazing meal. The sampler was the perfect amount of food for two people and we are already looking at our schedules to figure out when we can go back (important to note that they are closed on Mondays). Thanks Sweet Ps for an amazing meal! read less
It's... read moreDive is a good word to describe this place but it's the kinda dive you'll actually want to eat at!
It's a cafeteria style restaurant with a small bar. When you walk in you give your order directly to the cooks.
Just get the Ribs! read less