Carl's is easy to find as there is a large, slightly faded, sign out front. The parking stalls are parallel to the road and there is a wide paved area between the restaurant and the road, so it is easy to pull into the stall. There are also stalls on the back side of the building. There is one ordering sign between each pair of stalls, so you make sure you are on the correct side if you do not have passenger. The menu is pretty extensive. There are several burger options along with hot dogs and chicken sandwiches. The prices are very good, especially for the baskets which include fries. Oh, and they only take cash so make sure you stop at the ATM before you drop by. When you are ready to order, push the green button. The server answered immediately and read back out order afterwards. Our food came out in about ten minutes. It was served in a bag with lots of ketchup packets as well as some salt packets. There was only one carhop and she was quite busy but greeted us with a smile and made sure we had all we needed. Unfortunately, both burgers were average at best. The double cheeseburger had two thin meat patties which had little to no taste. The veggies were fresh and crisp and the bun was fresh and soft, but the meat simply did not add anything to the sandwich. The Carl's Fat burger was no different. The meat patty was thicker but really did not have much taste. The curly fries and regular fries were pretty good. Both were hot, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. While they were certainly busy and seem to have a large local following, the burgers were a disappointment. This would be a place to stop for fries, and the milkshakes sounded delicious. read more

Carl's Drive In - Carl's fat burger - American Near Me - Loudon, Tennessee

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The food is AMAZING and the service is incredible!! I love drive Ins and this is one of the best I've ever been to. I highly recommend!! BTW the hot fudge cake is to die for!! read more

Food was great convenient drive-in old Timey with a modern twist if you ever are passing by it's worth stopping to have a meal staff was very friendly. Food was hot and fresh will eat there again. read more

Cash only and delicious! Tater tots and hot dogs tried and approved! Can't wait to try shakes and other foods! Thank you!!

Service was quick and friendly. Food was average. Fries and tots were good- hot and crispy. But the corn dogs were average and the burger was just bad. Would do in a jam but would not go out of my way to go back. read more

We stopped at Carl's Drive-Inn last night for a late night snack after taking Bo Carey's History Tour, A Ghost Tour of Loudon. The food is excellent. We had the classic Cheeseburger, fries, and a milkshake. That is hard to be for American Southern comfort food. It was delicious and Carl's is definitely a Loudon Favorite. The cost was very reasonable at about $15.00. I personally dip my fries in the chocolate milkshake, but they also provided ketchup. Our server was polite, and very attentive and sported the Loudon Redskins sweatshirt. Follow me on Yelp for more places to eat, and things to see and do in East Tennessee. read more

Carl's Drive In - Carl's Drive-Inn - Loudon TN - American Near Me - Loudon, Tennessee

Great little old school drive-in. I had the double cheeseburger and was not disappointed. It had a great flavor and was well worth the price. Be prepared as they only accept "Cash". Menu boasted of lots of old school items. read more

Carl's Drive In - Double Cheeseburger - American Near Me - Loudon, Tennessee

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Great food, excellent service. Only downfall, was no credit card, cash only. Delicious BLT. Old s hook style.

Good food , great time machine. Friendly service too!The kind of drive in we all remember. read more

Carl's Drive In - cherry Dr Pepper - American Near Me - Loudon, Tennessee

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Old fashion hamburger stand. Yummy food Good service. Reasonable priced The only issue I have is it's cash only. read more

Apparently you need to place your order ahead of time and then pick it up because we ordered and waited over 30 minutes for our food! All the while watching other cars receive orders that had been sitting only a few minutes. Good food and great prices, but highly recommend calling in your order for pickup. read more

Have had a few friends tell me I should visit Carls. One star down for cash only. Come on really in todays age? Not the best greeting on the speaker. I know we are all short handed but being surly to your customers isn't any way to get them to come back. Since it came recommended by friends I guess I had expectations or something because I was disappointed with the food. Kind of bland on the taste scale. It does still give you that old restaurant feel! Go for nostalgia and maybe you will see it as a better experience. read more

We really love their shakes. The burger is ok but not the greatest. This place is a true old fashioned drive in. Love the nostalgia and vibes from Carl's. We eat here several times a year and will continue. read more

The visit was worth it without the delicious food simply because of the feels you get at this retro spot, but so much more worth it because the food is delicious. IMPORTANT NOTE: BRING CASH- they DO NOT have a credit card machine. The cheeseburger, bacon and egg sandwich, and dipdogs were delicious. If we would have had enough cash, we would have also gotten a milkshake, as we heard other people ordering them, but the "cash only" thing came as a surprise to us when they brought out our food, so we barely came up with the total. read more

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Good food. Wish the hot dogs were bigger. Fries were great. Friendly servers. Prices are okay.

Big fat carls burger is the best ! The meat is hand patted and fresh Love the chocolate shakes and hot fudge cake is a must read more

So friendly and kind! Wish they offered to pay with card since hardly anyone, including myself, carries cash anymore but other than that, food is great, fresh, yummy, and the staff is amazing! read more

Great community atmosphere. Hamburgers, dip dogs and chicken nuggets always good fast food. Love their shakes and Sundaes! Friendly carhops! read more

Best Burgers in Loudon County by far! This is a regular stop for me on my way home from work and I am never disappointed!

We love our Carl's! It was the first place we ate when we moved into town and continue to go back time after time. Their hot fudge sundaes are awesome and their dip dogs are great too. My grand children always loved to eat there on the weekends they came to visit. Its just an old fashioned burger place and you can't go wrong by trying Carl's! read more

Have lived in the USA for 15 years and this is Probably my first visit to a proper authentic Drive in style diner Sonic is not a drive in compared to this place. Carl's drive in looks like something I would expect To have seen in an old movie from the 40-50's The burgers are great the fries are good to. The menu is huge. The service is fast The prices are good. If your just passing through on I75 it's worth Going a couple of miles out of route To try this place. read more

Probably the best bacon Double Cheeseburger I've ever had!! This place throws you in a time machine back to the 70's and I love every second of it. Highly recommend. MAKE SURE TO BRING CASH (it's cash only) read more

Love the service and the food, but most of all the attitudes from these people... well there are now they are always so happy and smiling I love it!! read more

Definitely a do again. Great burger and service was great too. Figured it was good based on how busy it was. Not disappointed.

Best place to eat in Loudon by far. Great food great service at a great price. And it's a HomeTown run company it's not a chain restaurant.

Time machine back to the 50s! The little gem in Loudon truly takes you back in time. The location is conveniently located, heading toward Lenoir City on Highway 11. This place hasn't been updated so don't expect anything fancy, it's nostalgic! The buglers are great, the fries are normal fries, but the hot dogs and dip dogs are Aaaahhhhhmazing! The hot dogs have the best slaw and chili on them. Greasy perfection! The dip dogs are hand dipped in a homemade batter that is so tasty. The shakes are good and definitely warranted to wash everything down. Everything is brought on a tray that sits right on your window for true retro dining! Reason for only 4 stars, drinks are small and no refills, car hops could smile more, and they do not accept cards- CASH ONLY! read more

Carl's Drive In - Food is delivered on a tray that clips onto your window for true retro dining! - American Near Me - Loudon, Tennessee

Carl's doesn't look fancy & it isn't. it has passed the test of time by providing basic value - good food at a good price - brought to your car by some very nice ladies. Stop by at noon & you will find the drive in bays packed for good reason. This little throwback to the 50's is hard to beat for a quick meal 7 the onion rings can't be beat. but be prepared - Cash only (but not a lot of it). read more

Horrible experience. Was passing through to get gas. Had been in the car for 7 hours and saw this place. Checked out the reviews which were mostly good. Pulled up to one of the speakers and placed our order. Then sat there for 25 minutes watching other cars pull up, order and get their food. We asked the one waitress about our food and she informed us that some people call ahead. A few minutes later the speaker clicks on and the lady asks us what we ordered again. Two minutes later she comes back on to say she doesn't have our order. I left! Left a few choice words too. Guess don't go here if are from out of town! read more

Best food in Loudon!! Reasonable prices, excellent service and delicious food make this one of my favorite restaurants ever!! Check them out!! read more

Carl's Drive In - The menu. They also take call ins. - American Near Me - Loudon, Tennessee

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I love Carl's!! I had a corn dog (a "dip dog"), fries, and (of course!) a hot fudge cake. I love the nostalgia of an authentic drive-in restaurant, and Carl's certainly did not disappoint. The "dip dog" is wonderful...a hot dog on a stick dipped in their own batter!! read more

Ate here passing through a while back. My goodness what amazing food! I didn't know people still made Dip Dogs from scratch. It was so good I got 2 for the road! The fries were cooked perfect and service fast and friendly. read more

Eh wasn't impressed with the food, the milkshake was delicious. Wondered how the prices were so low till I got home. Not much meat on the burger and the small is pretty much a Krystal burger. Fries were good and milkshake was good. I'd try again and just get something else to eat. Very busy when we got there but service was friendly and quick read more

I had heard of this place for years, but not eaten there. The opportunity arose and my wife and I enjoyed lunch there. It is, as advertised, an old fashioned drive in that has great and simple food. We each got hot dogs and I went for a foot long chili dog that didn't disappoint! The bun was the right size and soft/steamed the way it should be. The chili was quite tasty. The tater tots were hot, crispy, and plentiful. Cost is unbelievably reasonable as well. We'll be back! read more

Get in your time machine and go to Carl's, it's the same as it ever was. Makes me member when I was young and there was no McDonalds.

Awesome small business to patronize. CASH only. Burgers were nothing too special, but their onion rings and dip dogs were awesome. Prices can't be beat. Definitely worth a stop. read more

The "burgers" consist of patties that are approximately 1/4" thick: tiny, hard, tasteless hockey pucks like you used to get in school cafeterias in the 1970's. Carl's Drive-In adds a piece of bread between two of those terrible things (following the philosophy of "if you can't find the beef, at least you can fill up on spongy, tasteless carbs) and puts the condiments on the bread in the middle, so if you do the only reasonable thing and remove the extraneous piece of bread from between the patties, you also remove the mustard. Service is terrible and slow. And terrible. And neglectful. And neglectfully slow. The fries are cold. The burgers are cold. The chocolate milkshake is warm. And all of that is because it took 35 minutes from the time we ordered until the food arrived. The only thing that was anywhere near edible and/or freshly cooked were the fried pickles, and when we ordered them, the woman taking the order exclaimed, "FRIED WHAT?!" as if she had never heard of them before. Sadly, the fried pickles came with a tablespoon of watered-down ranch dressing. (Same size serving of watered-down ketchup for the cold fries.) The only "positive" about Carl's is that the prices are super cheap, but the food is so bad, it's still overpriced. You will not spend more than $15 on dinner for two, but you will go home and fix a ham sandwich to make up for the crud you'll throw away after two bites. read more

Great throwback drive-in; think Sonic but 50 years ago. The prices are great, the service is fast and friendly and the food is delicious. I'll definitely head back next time I'm in the area read more

Descent place, we have eating here several times. I love it, my wife says the jury is out, she had a cold burger once and that ruined it. I have had great burgers and dogs, old school driving and great prices. Keep on keepin on. Beats the drive throughs hands down. Looking forward to a banana split read more

Carls used to be the place to go for a great burger and dessert! It was the best fast food in Loudon County. But since Carl passed away and his wife took over, it had just gone down hill so fast. I suggest the burgers as they seem to be the only thing on the menu that hasn't changed much yet. Sometimes you get a burger that has different condiments than the last time you ordered it because apparently even if you order it "regular" the staff doesn't know what that means anymore. The chicken, the bbq, even the dip dogs (corn dogs) have all become bland.. sorry to be harsh but it all taste like microwaved freezer meals. Let's just say there had to be a reason Carl never his wife's food on the menu and now it's covered in "( wife's name)'s homemade chicken salad and meatloaf sandwich" etc. Carl's is now just a place you pass on your way out of town. read more

Great old fashioned car hop! Prices were very conservative We had the Double Cheeseburger basket with Onion Rings. It was filling and delicious read more