Welcome to Gatlinburg – a foodie’s mountain paradise. Come and savor slow-cooked pit barbecue, the spicy pico de gallo of a great Mexican dish or a juicy blue cheese burger. The vacation-days-to-restaurants ratio is terribly unbalanced with hundreds of delicious options to choose from. You will be woefully outnumbered but hey – give it your best shot anyway.
BBQ
Delauder’s Smoky Mountain BBQ is a family-owned, hole-in-the-wall hidden treasure that serves up smoky pulled pork barbecue, fried mac and cheese, collards, and fried okra in a tiny restaurant with red-checked tablecloths and paper plates.
Hungry Bear BBQ is easy to find – just look for the smoker out front. Inside, beef brisket and tender ribs, smoked sausage and chicken come in a combination dinner that is served with several sauce choices.
Pancakes
Crockett’s Breakfast Camp temps guests with fluffy, thick pancakes that are crispy on the outside and steamy soft inside – perfect with butter and oozing with syrup.
The Pancake Pantry has luscious fruit-topped pancakes, chocolate-chip pancakes dusted with powdered sugar and delicate crepes with whipped cream along with their amazing buttermilk pancakes for a sweet or savory breakfast.
Mexican
Estrella Hondumex offers spicy, authentic dishes like yucca con chiccaron or chorizo and eggs with homemade corn tortillas and salsas.
Burgers
Tom and Earl’s Back Alley Grill is the place to be for juicy burgers like the Hillbilly Philly and batter-dipped fries.
Seafood
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company – Fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, calabash shrimp – every kind of shrimp Forrest Gump could ever have dreamed up is found here at Bubba Gump’s and it’s delicious!
Smoky Mountain Trout House has family dining and exceptional trout dishes like the Trout Eisenhower and blackened trout that melts in your mouth.
Crawdaddy’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar – Oysters Rockefeller, red beans and rice, creole crab legs and a balcony with a nice view – what’s not to love about this place?
Family Friendly
When you have a large group and want plenty to eat without breaking the budget, Big Daddy’s Pizzeria, Smoky Mountain Shakes and Dawgs, and New Orlean’s Sandwich Company have menus for adults and children to enjoy.
Romantic
A quiet weekend in Gatlinburg calls for a romantic place to eat. Buckhorn Inn has gas lanterns, a fabulous porch filled with rockers, and a chef that greets every table. Four-course meals with light music playing in the background make for a perfect evening together.