Top 5 Truly Local Restaurants to Try in Gatlinburg

Why eat at a chain restaurant when you can enjoy a truly local restaurant? Try these top five one-of-a-kind eateries you’ll only find in Gatlinburg. From a high-end steakhouse to a casual tater tot spot, these restaurants can satisfy any taste.

1. Split Rail Eats

Split Rail Eats serves lunch and dinner with a full bar. Order a Tater Bowl–tater tots gone wild with toppings! Choose tots or fries piled with fried chicken and Buffalo sauce, or grilled chicken and feta cheese, or jalapenos and avocado. The menu includes burgers, reubens, cheesesteaks, salads and appetizers like quesadillas. The restaurant has a full coffee menu and on Sundays serves brunch.

2. The Greenbrier

This fine dining restaurant is an elegant stone and timber lodge nestled at the edge of the national park. At The Greenbrier, the specialty is hand-cut steaks, dry-aged in house for maximum flavor. The menu changes but you’ll typically find steaks and lamb, pasta, duck, chicken and seafood, from sea bass to lobster. The extensive drinks menu features unique craft cocktails and dozens of whiskeys and bourbons.

3. Delauder’s BBQ

For a true Tennessee experience, eat local BBQ on your Smokies vacation. Delauder’s is a mom-and-pop restaurant where locals go for tender pulled pork, brisket, ribs and sausage. Made from scratch, the mouth-watering Southern sides include fried okra, mac and cheese, seasoned green beans and potato salad. Fans on TripAdvisor call Delauder’s a true hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the best sense–local, friendly, and delicious. 

4. Red Oak Bistro

Red Oak Bistro offers small plates of Mediterranean and East European cuisines paired with a curated selection of wine, bourbon and beer. The bistro tailors its menu to each season. Expect dishes like flatbread topped with bison, smoked salmon bruschetta or thin pancakes layered with savory vegetables and cheese. Sit inside at a table or the bar, or outdoors, on a sofa around the fire pit. 

5. Crystelle Creek Restaurant

Dine on the banks of a creek, with lights sparkling in a 150-foot-high tree and koi serenely swimming in a pond. The menu focuses on affordable fine dining, with steaks, prime rib, seafood, chicken, burgers and pastas. Specialities include Appalachian smoked chicken, prime rib crusted with black pepper and garlic and salmon with bourbon sauce. Crystelle Creek’s menu is full of special touches, like homemade dressings and sauces. 

Make a private vacation cabin your home base for culinary adventures. Browse our Gatlinburg cabin rentals today.