Kefi

Sensational! The food is wonderful.
We split a couple of small plates to start.
Then got separate entrees (would possibly share next time).
Specifically the chicken and short rib, which were bursting with flavor and cooked perfectly.
Then got the most wonderful (and giant) homemade baklava with pistachio ice cream.
Great atmosphere too.
We are excited to return.

Great drinks! Well, some drinks are good.
The margarita is good, and Pandora's box is fine; they have a watermelon drink with tequila (I forget the name) and it was not so great.
Before I get to the bad, I must include that our server, Caroline, was PERFECTION.
The staff here is incredible and takes the time to support one another, which was good to see. Now the bad: the food should be better given the prices charged.
For the sharables, the falafel was bland, and also not quite as crispy as I normally expect falafel to be; they sacrificed sufficient sauce for presentation, which ultimately highlighted how awfully dry and bland it was.
The meatballs were okay, but suffered similar issues to the falafel.
The octopus was liked by those who had it, and the mussels were fine. For the mains: the Branzino is not something I'd recommend.
The skin away from the edges is slimy and needs removed, which at the price charged, is work I don't think should be needed; a sharper knife may have hid the poor quality of cooking, but the butter knife provided couldn't cut cleanily in two different wasys: 1) it struggled to get through the dry surface of the fish to begin with, then 2) the slimy skin just got dragged by the knife along the pull.
The sauce was great at least, which in part, saved the dry fish.
The shortrib was better, but the polenta it's served on was bland.
A ribeye was ordered by a third dinner mate who didn't make it through more than half of it, which seems review enough in itself. These prices are too high for what I feel are mediocre dishes.
I'm glad they look nice, but I can get the pictures of your food online for free; I want them to taste like it was worth the trip downtown to eat AND worth the price that Kefi is charging for them.
Downtown Knoxville has tastier, more affordable places to eat in spades.

Extremely impressed! Absolutely everything was top notch.
The service was excellent and every dish was cooked/seasoned to perfection.
We loved the lobster pasta, and the cocktail flight tray was on point.
10/10