Cardin’s Drive-In

This takes me back to when I was younger. Love the place and the food is great. Tables are set up outside but they will walk right up to your car and take your order.

Typical greasy spoon. Everything I have tried here over the years has been decent. Nothing spectacular. Everything is basically fried so not very healthy.
The burgers are probably the staple and they are reasonably priced. The fries and onion rings are great. I also won’t turn away the mushrooms.
I have only been here for lunch so I cannot say anything about the breakfasts.

Stopped in with my children after the Circle G Ranch. Good food, good prices, and good service. We sat there for a bit trying to decide and the servers were very courteous about it. Food was of good quality and simple but somehow very appealing. Prices were so good I let me children get ice cream as well. I’d go there again.

I have the hype for months about this place but can honestly say I was a little disappointed with it. The hamburgers were nothing special, in fact they are similar to a ballpark hamburger you would get at a high school football game. $ 3.00 was a ball park price as well. Very small and nothing special Service was good but again nothing spectacular. I give it 4 stars but barely

Take a step back in time and get a much better fast food meal than you would ever get at McDonalds (or even Five Guys). Show your kids what a real burger, fries and milkshake looks like.
Cardin’s has been around for over 55 years and is a genuine drive-​in style restaurant; something that that is unfortunately extremely difficult to find these days.
I had a chili dog, a cheeseburger and tater tots. All of them were great… just as I had hoped. My only gripe was the chili on the hot dog… it tasted great but had beans in it. I’m from NC and we don’t have beans in our hot dog chili. Chili as a meal, beans are fine. On a hot dog they just add too much weight and make things messier than they already are. That’s just me though… if you like beans in your chili, hey, live long and prosper, brother. They also serve crinkle fries (the supreme southern french fry) but I wanted tater tots that day. They were perfectly done… very crispy. There is so much more of this menu to explore and I’m sad that I only make it up to Knoxville for football games these days (by the way, they serve breakfast and their sausage biscuits are pretty solid).
TL; DR: Bottom line, these places have become a supreme rarity these days. It’s only through the continued patronage of folks like you and I that these great, one of a kind, locally-​owned restaurants will continue to thrive. Skip the chains and drive a few extra miles off the interstate to get a good meal at Cardin’s.

Such a great place! I’ve grown up with their peanut butter milkshakes! (I should disclose that I work there sometimes) But I loved it well before I was ever a curb girl!

What was once a landmark drive-​in has deteriorated into a demonstratively depressing dearth of decent delicacies. Deserted, derelict, and dismal, diners demonstrate dismay, deeming Cardin’s ‘damn disgusting!’ and ‘doody!’ Where to even begin? The atmosphere and façade are both sad and shabby. The consumers themselves could stand to be more attractive, and I fully blame the institution. You reap what you sow, and Cardin’s oats are like the long-​expired breakfast your grandmother gives you after you’ve gone home drunk and your whore of a stepmother kicks you out even though she’s just a pathetic gold digging pagan.
You know how eating outside often means bugs? Not so at Cardin’s drive in. Even bugs have high enough self esteem to fly further towards a dirty needle laden pizza inn dumpster. Unfortunately, there is still obnoxious buzzing about, increasing the difficulty of the challenge of choking down your tepid, grease-​laden garbage. By this of course I am referring to the pestilent grease-​mongers they have recruited into their establishment. How best to describe these… these hellions that walk amongst us, the pure, the innocent? Insubordinate? Churlish? Insubordinate and churlish, our garçon peddled to and fro between each table, with the grace and delicacy of a rabid skunk, wrought from under the weary and pavement-​worn Goodyears of a tired, single mother’s Pinto. Needless to say,

You could call it Cardin’s Dive-​In as well and still hit the mark. This place is a staple of East Knoxville, and is run by a gaggle of people both in front of and behind the glass that make you feel like part of the family. The food is all delicious, but nothing fancy. What you’re getting here is decent food that is nostalgic to a dining style that is all but forgotten. Pull up near the restaurant, and they’ll serve you in your car, or you can sit at any of the many picnic tables and stretch your legs a little bit! Try the shakes and malts, which seems to be their forte. I had a chocolate peanut butter malt, and it was delicious. I’ve also in past visits, had burgers and fries. While the food isn’t fresh, it’s good and fun. Great experience that I enjoy going to regularly.

I’ve never had a bad thing off the menu. My favorite is the cheeseburger with a side of fried mushrooms.

Extremely pleased. We were passing through traveling back to IL & needed a place to stop. The service was great & food was good & quick. I don’t typically stop at places like this but glad I did based on the Unilocal reviews. While here, there were several local people coming and going so that was a good sign as well.

This was a hit for the whole family! SO good! The service was fast and the waitress was very friendly and helpful. The Bacon Chessboard was delicious with a fresh bun. We are traveling through town and will most likely be back before we leave. This is a great inexpensive place to eat and it is SO yummy!

The pork BBQ sandwich with extra pickles and cole slaw is a must! Add some ½ and ½ ice tea and you’re set.

The folks here are always great! I’m not a huge fan of their onion rings (they seem sweet) everything else I’ve had AWESOME! Everyone raves about their shakes, seems peanut butter is a huge draw. The bacon cheeseburger keeps me coming back. Plus just going to this landmark makes me happy!

Authentic, quality drive-​in. We were a bit surprised to find it open at the end of December, but then again, we are from Ohio. The fish sandwich was excellent. We would also recommend the chuckwagon sandwich. We ordered a few side as well. The sides were fine and the sandwiches were filling, so we didn’t have room left to try and desserts.

Friendly people good food!!! Was the perfect lunch stop for our road trip to Gatlinburg.

This staple of Strawberry Plains gets the top rating for nostalgia, consistency, longevity and serving a fine product.
This establishment has been around far longer than I’ve been alive and has been providing the backdrop for dates, hanging out with friends or indulging in quiet moments with an ice cream for decades.
There aren’t many drive-​ins left, especially those that are locally owned, so I applaud the proprietors for keeping this important piece our community going.
Favorites include bacon chili cheeseburgers, chili dogs and krinkle cut fries. But when I crave something from Cardin’s, it’s always a milkshake. While all their shakes are delicious, the best is the real banana shake.
It’s worth going out of your way to visit this gem. There’s nothing like enjoying a burger, fries and a shake served from a metal tray hanging on your car window.

Great original drive-​in, showing its age in a good way. Slaw dogs and pimento cheese sandwiches on the menu — we ordered hamburgers and onion rings and they were lovely. Wish we’d been hungry enough for malts.

It’s almost impossible not to like this kind of place and I’ve dined in my car here about a half dozen times over the years.
Cardin’s gets 4 stars just because they’re still there and still getting it done the old fashioned way. Plus, the service is always fast and friendly. Hot freshly prepared food is just a bonus.

Definitely a local joint. We were traveling from MD– TX and saw this place on Unilocal (shocking for us AND the staff) and was pleasantly surprised. nothing fancy but as i’m so glad we went here rather any other generic chain.
TRY IT

Its a whole in the wall hamburger shack just off the highway BUT man are those burgers good.
Just take a seat, they will be right with you and get your order or stay in the car and they come and put the old fashioned window trays for you to enjoy your meal carside.
Dont look at it as a rundown place, Its worth the trip!