Little Coyote

St. Elmo sits at the foot of Lookout Mountain, at the far end of Chattanooga's streetcar suburb, and Little Coyote is its barbecue restaurant — smoked meat and sides from the group behind Main Street Meats and Easy Bistro, with a MICHELIN Guide listing to its name. It opened in November 2023 and has been busy since.

The alcohol-free offer here is narrow and well chosen, which this directory rates more highly than a long list of poorly executed drinks. Barbecue asks for two things at the bar: something sour and cold to cut the fat, and something long and citric to drink across a whole meal. Little Coyote makes both without alcohol — a zero-proof margarita and a zero-proof paloma, built to order rather than poured from a sweet-and-sour mix. Anyone who has sat through a barbecue dinner with a glass of sweet tea will recognise how much difference that makes.

NOOGAtoday singled the restaurant out on exactly this basis in its guide to drinking without alcohol in Chattanooga, noting that there is more here than the smoked barbecue.

The grade of three rather than four is deliberate and reflects scale. Two well-made drinks are two well-made drinks; there is no printed zero-proof section and no non-alcoholic spirit programme behind it. What there is, is a kitchen and bar of genuine quality that has not treated the non-drinking diner as an afterthought — and in a destination restaurant, being able to order something good is often the whole requirement.

Hours run 4pm to 8:30pm Monday through Thursday, to 9pm on Friday, with weekend service starting at 11:30am. Worth booking; the room is small and St. Elmo fills up at weekends when the mountain is busy.