Riverside Catfish is an essential summer experience

Riverside crew on the restaurant's patio. (Photo by Mark Gilliland)

The breeze off of the water is just part of what makes Riverside Catfish House an essential summer experience. Tucked among the velvety green mountains along a winding Tennessee back road, the red-roofed restaurant is not just picturesque; it is one-of-a-kind in its authentic Southern seafood recipes.

Specializing, of course, in catfish, Riverside serves the ray-finned fish three delicious ways: fried fillets, hand-breaded fish bites and bone-in fingerlings. The menu also boasts recipes such as shrimp and salmon prepared with blackened, lemon pepper or Old Bay seasoning, as well as frog legs, burgers and more. And as a bona fide Southern restaurant, Riverside’s menu naturally includes a number of scratch-made desserts.

Year round, the menu features coconut cake and buttermilk pie. Every spring and summer, Riverside adds to the lineup its strawberry pie — another essential summer experience, and one that pairs nicely with waterfront dining.

Last summer, Riverside completed construction on its stilted back deck, tucked among the mountains and overlooking the river. The cool breeze that wafts across it is as satisfying as a hot plate of catfish, and as fresh as Riverside’s homemade desserts.