The Ultimate Guide to Dining in Gatlinburg: Where to Eat and What to Try

Bring your appetite when you visit Gatlinburg! From upscale dining, to unique cafes, to down-home BBQ, these restaurants are Gatinburg’s can’t-miss dining experiences.

1. Red Oak Bistro 

This chic cafe pairs small plates of Mediterranean and East European cuisines with a curated selection of wines, bourbons and beers. The seasonal menu changes, but dishes might include smoked salmon bruschetta or thin, savory vegetable and cheese pancakes. On fair days, dine outside by the fire pit. 

Never tried tender, lean bison meat? Order the flatbread topped with bison. 

2. Crystelle Creek

The setting is a stunner: Lights sparkle in a towering tree, koi swim in a pond, and a waterfall cascades from the roof. Crystelle Creek’s upscale menu includes steaks, seafood, chicken, burgers and pasta, with special touches like made-from-scratch dressings and sauces. 

Try Appalachian smoked chicken. Smoking is a favorite cooking method in mountain cuisine, for tenderness and flavor. 

3. The Peddler Steakhouse

Dining at The Peddler is a tradition more than four decades old. Order your entree–steak, seafood, chicken and more–then indulge yourself at the vast salad bar, loaded with everything from vegetables to oysters. Rich desserts are a specialty, including hot blackberry cobbler and chocolate-peanut butter pie. 

Start with the signature chicken almond soup, then order filet mignon with freshly made portobello mushroom sauce.

4. The Greenbrier

The Greenbrier is an elegant stone and timber lodge with high-end dining. Its speciality is hand-cut steaks, dry-aged in house. You’ll find lamb, duck, chicken, pastas and seafood from sea bass to lobster. The drinks menu features dozens of whiskeys and bourbons. Add a Greenbrier whiskey or wine tasting event to your Smokies vacation.

Hungry? Get the 40-oz. tomahawk ribeye. Not into steak? Try duck breast with cheddar grits and cherry bourbon glaze. Grits and bourbon add Southern flair.

5. Delauder’s BBQ

The bustling BBQ restaurant is one of Yelp’s top 100 BBQ restaurants in America for 2024. This mom-and-pop spot dishes up pork, ribs, brisket, and sides like mac and cheese and homemade potato salad. Delauder's is known for its wide variety of sauces, from sweet to zingy. Dine in, or enjoy classic Tennessee BBQ back at your vacation cabin.

Get the pulled pork sandwich with a side of fried mac and cheese, like the locals eat.

Stay in a Gatlinburg cabin rental and you’re conveniently close to all of Gatlinburg’s delicious dining options. Book a cabin today and start planning your culinary adventures!