The 26 Best Restaurants in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg sit on the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, offering visitors beautiful views and easy access to the country’s most biodiverse national park. A quick drive apart, the two towns are also neighbors with Sevierville, the hometown of country music icon Dolly Parton, who played her first paying gig in the city’s historic downtown. Growing from the region’s natural and cultural riches is an eclectic dining scene. From dinner with a side of live music to pancakes served up with a “Here ya go, darlin’,” these Southern Appalachian restaurants turn tasty meals into memorable experiences.

In the bustling tourism center of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, don’t be fooled by the chain restaurants lining the main parkways. Tucked all throughout the destinations are family-owned eateries that will give you a taste of how the locals dine. U.S. News used expert knowledge and dozens of restaurant, dining and travel industry review sites to determine the area’s top places to eat. Whether you’re looking for the most delicious Southern-style breakfast around or a made-from-scratch lunch off the beaten path, this list has you covered with the best restaurants to try in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.

Red Oak Bistro is an intimate wine and tapas restaurant run by a husband and wife team. It’s tucked away in the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community of Gatlinburg, an 8-mile scenic loop east of downtown that features more than 100 artists studios. Mediterranean and Eastern European dishes inspire the menu’s small plates, designed for sharing. Travelers love its location away from the more touristy areas of town as well as the restaurant’s decor and atmosphere, describing the spot as a modern chalet. You’ll love the baked brie in puff pastry served with dried fruit, apricot jam and roasted walnuts. Just be sure to make a reservation in advance, as the small bistro often cannot accommodate walk-ins.

The Wild Plum Tea Room offers a delightful lunch experience in the Arts and Crafts Community of Gatlinburg. Designed to replicate the teahouses in the mountains of Austria, the space has a whimsical feeling and is surrounded by forest in the Smoky Mountain foothills. For seating, diners can choose the main indoor dining area, the screened-in porch or the outdoor patio that is partially shaded by towering walnut trees. The decor is elegant, with lacy tablecloths and floral printed dishes. The Wild Plum Tea Room’s menu uses recipes that the restaurant says are passed down from relatives, crafters, friends, neighbors and artists. Visitors recommend trying the lobster pie, which is generous with its lobster portions, or the tea room’s signature homemade chicken salad. You’ll also want to order its bottomless wild plum tea, which is served hot or iced. Given the restaurant’s quaint size, reservations are highly recommended.

Named in honor of Tennessee frontiersman and soldier David “Crockett” Maples, Crockett’s Breakfast Camp serves up some of the best breakfast in Gatlinburg. The restaurant’s story began when Crockett returned from his military service in 1865 to his home just north of Gatlinburg. He opened a store at the base of Mount Le Conte, one of the most famous peaks in the Smokies, where he and his wife, Mary R. Ogle, began serving travelers a home-cooked breakfast. Today, the bustling brunch spot still whips up Appalachian-inspired breakfast dishes for locals and tourists alike. You won’t want to miss the thick, fluffy griddlecakes served with a generous scoop of whipped butter and warm maple syrup. Patrons recommend ordering one of the restaurant’s skillet breakfasts, which feature items like country fried steak and come with a griddlecake, Cherokee sweet corn pone, grits, potatoes, a biscuit and sausage gravy. While Crockett’s Breakfast Camp doesn’t take reservations, you can visit the restaurant’s website to join its waitlist, which is highly recommended for this popular spot.

Gatlinburg Brewing Company serves up classic appetizers like chicken wings and soft pretzels with beer cheese, as well as salads and personal pizzas – alongside a menu of microbrews sure to please any beer lover’s palate. Travelers recommend the Meat-A-Palooza specialty pizza, which comes with pepperoni, ground beef, sausage, bacon and ham. For beer, try a flight of three of the brewery’s signature drafts: the Gatty Light golden ale, Breakfast Juice hazy IPA, and Don’t Feed the Bears English brown ale. Purchasing the latter ale supports the work of local black bear rescue efforts. Gatlinburg Brewing Company also has a second Sevierville location in a quieter part of town if you’re looking to escape the crowds.

Delauder’s BBQ is a no-frills, family-friendly restaurant that offers a menu of barbecue favorites like pulled pork, baby back ribs, brisket and sausage. The space is decorated simply with round tables adorned by quintessential red-and-white checkered tablecloths. Travelers share that the service is fast and the quality of the food is worth the stop. Try the five-meat sampler dinner, the loaded baked potato or the pulled pork sandwich.

If you’re looking for a natural foods store on your travels, Whole Earth Grocery & Cafe is the perfect spot. The small shop sells organic foods, seasonal produce, nutritional supplements, natural beauty products and locally made gift items. It also hosts a cafe with fresh lunch options, which some visitors say is a welcome break after enjoying all the candy, fudge and fried street foods that downtown Gatlinburg has to offer. Travelers recommend getting the chicken salad sandwiches to take for a picnic in the Smoky Mountains. All sandwiches come with a side of pasta salad, potato salad or blue corn chips. Diners also note the cafe’s plentiful vegan and vegetarian options.

Split Rail eats offers Southern-style lunch items and brunch on Sundays, as well as a full coffee and bar menu. Its coffee is from Mahalo Coffee, a local roaster based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and its chicken comes from Springer Mountain Farms, a regional supplier. The eatery’s focus on quality ingredients pays off. Diners praise the perfect chicken batter seasoning and melt-in-your-mouth brunch biscuits. The cheesesteak is a popular lunch menu item, with thinly sliced sirloin, caramelized onions, provolone and horseradish mayo on ciabatta.

If you’re looking for classic Mexican dishes like nachos, chimichangas, enchiladas, burritos and fajitas, El Soñador Mexican Restaurant will delight your tastebuds. The eatery also provides live music and an outdoor patio to complement your meal. Diners recommend ordering the fajitas for two, which will save you a little money while offering generous portions of the meat and vegetable combinations of your choice.

Crystelle Creek Restaurant offers oak-wood-fired steaks, seafood, pasta, chicken and other fine dining options in a tranquil, park-like setting. A creek surrounds the restaurant, which sits on landscaped grounds with a koi pond and a 150-foot tree that brightens the night with cascading lights. Travelers recommend trying the tender and flavorful ribs, the Southwestern chicken, and the made-from-scratch blackberry vinaigrette for your salad.

The Park Grill is located just outside one of the entrances to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which influences its ambiance. The restaurant was designed to feel like a rustic mountain lodge, and the menu focuses on Southern Appalachian flavors, including hickory-grilled steaks. Patrons recommend splitting one of the combination plates if you’re on a budget. You can get an 8-ounce New York strip or rib-eye along with chicken, shrimp, trout or salmon, plus a choice of sides or what some diners say is the best salad bar in the area. The restaurant begins taking seating requests one hour before opening if you call ahead.

Best Italian Cafe & Pizzeria has served the Gatlinburg community for more than 40 years. The restaurant also has an express location a few blocks north, which has a more limited menu. The establishment specializes in Italian food favorites, including spaghetti dinners, calzones, chicken Parmesan and more. Visitors recommend an order of the garlic bread rolls, which come with extra butter to pour over them.

Given its proximity to the national park, Smoky Mountain Brewery’s Gatlinburg location is the perfect spot for a calorie-dense meal after a day spent hiking in the Smokies. The restaurant is in a building reminiscent of a ski lodge mixed with a Bavarian beer hall and has an enclosed deck with mountain views. Patrons recommend ordering a flight to sample the brewery’s many great beers, such as the Cherokee Red Ale. For dinner, try the Big City Reuben or the Veggie Philly. The brewery also has a Pigeon Forge location.

The Listening Room Café brought Nashville’s acclaimed music scene to Pigeon Forge in July 2021, opening a sister restaurant and venue outside of Music City. The Pigeon Forge location sits within the growing Mountain Mile shopping, dining and entertainment area. While travelers can stop by for lunch or dinner throughout the day, the true treat is pairing your evening meal with a show. The venue offers one or two live music performances every night it’s open. These events typically showcase three songwriters who sing and tell the stories behind their music, including up-and-coming stars like Ella Langley and Hazi. Attendees love the intimate setting with its great acoustics, especially when paired with the restaurant’s smoked wings with Nashville hot sauce. With show tickets costing just $5, The Listening Room offers high-quality entertainment for a low price, leaving room in your budget for an encore to your meal – like the Tennessee cheesecake with bourbon caramel sauce.

Blink and you might miss this hole-in-the-wall restaurant with authentic Honduran and Mexican fare. Just 2 miles down the street from Pigeon Forge’s famous theme park, Dollywood – and thus a favorite stop for visitors after a fun day of rollercoasters – Talitas Restaurant is tucked behind a small Honduran grocery store called Rivera’s Market. Don’t be fooled by the nondescript building, though, as this restaurant’s food is packed with flavor. Diners rave about Talitas’ reasonable prices and massive portions of tender, perfectly spiced meats. The family-owned restaurant is also happy to craft a tasty meal for the vegetarians in your group. Try an order of the baleadas sencillas – beans, scrambled eggs, cheese and avocado in a fresh, warm tortilla – with a side of plantains.

Lil Black Bear Cafe is a cozy local diner located off the busy strip in Pigeon Forge. It’s open for breakfast and lunch and is welcoming to all the little travelers you may have along on your trip. While enjoying your meal, kids are invited to join the “Color the Bear Club” and provided with the cafe’s signature coloring page and crayons. When they finish, they can post their artwork to the restaurant’s wall. While patrons enjoy the spot’s omelets, they note that the thick, fluffy pancakes are Lil Black Bear Cafe’s showstopper dish. The restaurant only has a handful of tables inside and a couple outside, so be patient when supporting this small family-owned business. Once you get your table, you can enjoy bottomless coffee from friendly staff as you wait for your order.

Lee’s Fusion Cafe is Pigeon Forge’s go-to for to-go orders. This Asian fusion restaurant accepts takeout and delivery orders online or over the phone and offers a range of Chinese and Thai dishes, as well as a kids menu with standards like chicken nuggets and fries. This eatery is the perfect option for a quick meal back at your cabin after spending the day hiking in the Smokies or hitting all the alpine coasters in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Customers appreciate the perfect sweetness and mild spiciness of the General Tso’s chicken dish, as well as the hibachi chicken with fried rice.

The making of moonshine has a rich history in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, and travelers to the area can experience moonshine tastings at a variety of local distilleries. Junction 35 Spirits stands out from the crowd, however, as an option where visitors can both sample some of the region’s “white lightning” whiskey and enjoy a proper meal – not a bad idea when imbibing 100-proof alcohols. Visitors love the menu’s comfort foods like barbecue nachos or shrimp and grits. Don’t forget to try the distillery’s moonshine, which is offered via a blackberry moonshine sauce for the smoked wings and infused into the peach moonshine cobbler. Junction 35 also uses other in-house spirits to make craft cocktails, such as a barrel-aged old-fashioned or the kitschy Bubbletini – a fruity vodka martini served with a smoke bubble on top. The restaurant is dog-friendly and adorned with multiple large televisions for travelers trying to catch their team’s game while on the road.

With all its breads, soups, pot roast and chicken salad made from scratch, Pigeon Forge Deli is a great stop for lunch. The little deli is tucked into the corner of the Shops of Pigeon Forge outlet mall. Customers call the deli’s pretzels delectable; they’re baked when you order them and come in flavors like jalapeno or straight salt and butter. For a sandwich, try the Chub, a sub loaded with ham, turkey, bacon, American cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomato. Diners also appreciate the deli’s ability to accommodate gluten-free options.

This family-owned business has served the Smoky Mountains for more than 25 years and is serious when it says, “Y’all better come hungry!” The establishment is best known for its all-you-can-eat catfish dinner, which travelers say is served hot and crispy. This order comes with endless catfish and bottomless sides – or “vittles,” as the restaurant calls them. The vittles include baked white beans and turkey ham; dill pickles and sweet onion slices; creamy coleslaw; made-from-scratch hushpuppies; and your choice of fries, green beans or mashed potatoes. Vittles are served with all dinners, even if you choose one of the restaurant’s single-serving dishes, such as country fried steak, Southern pork chops, gator tail, frog legs or chicken.

Bullfish Grill will satisfy any diners looking for the perfect surf-and-turf restaurant in Pigeon Forge. The restaurant offers fresh seafood and hand-cut steaks from aged grand champion Angus beef. Patrons describe the restaurant’s steak as some of the best they’ve ever had – cooked to perfection, well-seasoned, marbled and juicy. Start your meal with the chargrilled oysters or loaded potato cracklins.

The Old Mill Restaurant is the cornerstone of the historic Old Mill district in Pigeon Forge. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner adjacent to views of the Little Pigeon River flowing through the water wheel of a 200-year-old gristmill. The mill continues to operate today, grinding grains that the restaurant uses to bake its breads and sweets and that The Old Forge Distillery next door uses to produce its spirits. Visitors can buy bags of Old Mill flour and grains for their own baking back home. The restaurant serves family-style Southern classics like meatloaf, chicken pot pie, chicken and dumplings, pot roast, and vegetable plates. Diners celebrate the large portions and the many country sides that come with each meal, including corn chowder, corn fritters, salad, mashed potatoes, green beans and dessert for all dinners. Past guests recommend getting there early to put your name on the waiting list.

While you wait, you can walk around the neighborhood to explore its distillery, creamery and many gift shops. Diners who are too hungry to wait mention trying The Old Mill Restaurant’s sister cafe across the street instead. The Old Mill Pottery House Cafe serves up lighter options like soups, salads and sandwiches on dishes made at the neighboring pottery house.

Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que has been locally owned and operated for more than 29 years, with locations in both Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The restaurant serves hickory-smoked pork ribs, chicken, pulled pork and beef briskets basted in its own special sauce and slow-cooked for up to 14 hours. Reviewers say it’s some of the best barbecue they’ve had in Tennessee and encourage travelers to try the restaurant’s blackberry cobbler for dessert. If you’re looking for a delicious night in, Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que also offers to-go family feasts complete with smoked barbecue, beans, potato salad, coleslaw and bread.

Penny’s Café is one of the new restaurants that have opened in historic downtown Sevierville following renovations to the district. The coffeehouse offers light breakfast and lunch items, including a variety of avocado toast, panini, breakfast sandwiches, salads and waffles, as well as a full espresso and juice bar with signature smoothies. Diners enjoy the cafe’s healthy options and lovely atmosphere, complete with walls covered in local artists’ work and an abundance of plants in macrame hangers. The cafe offers free Wi-Fi, making it a perfect spot to get remote work done during your trip or to plot your next adventures for the day while savoring an avocado toast option like The Caprese. Take your Turmeric Sunrise smoothie to go and stroll the downtown area for photo ops with the bronze Dolly Parton statue outside the Sevier County Courthouse and the “Wings of Wander” mural by local artist Pinkie Mistry. It’s also worth keeping an eye on Penny Café’s social media for updates on fun community events like yoga, craft classes, artist talks and square dancing.

For a special treat on your trip to the Smoky Mountains, plan for a fancy night out at Sevierville’s best fine dining establishment, The Appalachian. This upscale restaurant takes a contemporary approach to the region’s traditional southern Appalachian cuisine. As much as possible, the ingredients are sourced locally for a fresh farm-to-table experience and a menu that changes with the seasons. Expect delectable smoky flavors across many of The Appalachian’s dishes – from elk loin to porterhouse steak – thanks to the restaurant’s large wood-burning hearth in the heart of the kitchen. Guests enjoy starting their meal with executive chef David Rule’s unique butterbean hummus, served with local raw vegetables, Georgia olive oil, hemp seeds and a grilled baguette. Visitors also note the establishment’s impressive list of house cocktails, including nonalcoholic craft options.

You can find the area’s best Italian food in a delightful Smoky Mountain setting. Ristorante DellaSantina is located along a quiet country road and offers outdoor patio seating next to the West Prong Little Pigeon River. The DellaSantina family proudly shares that they’ve been serving excellent food since 1420, starting in Verona, Italy, and now cooking up the same fresh pastas and classic Italian dishes in Tennessee. Diners say to start with the fresh focaccia bread and opt for the restaurant’s filet mignon special, which comes with two 4-ounce filets, four lightly breaded fried shrimp and a side of pasta. The made-from-scratch Alfredo sauce is rich and creamy – a great choice for your side of fettucine.

If you’re looking for the best burger while in the Pigeon Forge area, you’ll want to head to Graze Burgers in Sevierville. The restaurant uses locally sourced, farm-to-table ingredients, including all-natural, grass-fed beef burger patties. Diners can select from a variety of specialty burgers, such as The Tennessee, Bourbon Bleu or Southern Jam, which incorporate regional flavors like pimento cheese, bacon jam and bourbon caramelized onions. If you have a vegetarian in your group or are looking for something a little lighter, travelers recommend The Hippie, an in-house veggie burger made with black beans, corn, feta cheese and more. Diners recommend saving room for the Boozey S’mores milkshake, which is infused with marshmallow vodka. Of course, Graze’s decadent milkshakes are available without alcohol, as well, with the bananas Foster shake noted as a favorite by reviewers.