A stay at Summit Cabin Rentals is a wonderful way to take a break from busy day-to-day home maintenance. It can also be a great way to take a break from cooking your own meals! Our comfy cabins are conveniently located near a diverse selection of tasty, family-friendly restaurants, wineries, and distilleries. A stay at Summit Cabin Rentals makes for a convenient exploration of surrounding restaurants in the area so guests can get the feel of the Great Smoky landscape. When guests take time to experience some of the oldest, traditional recipes the historical area has to offer, it helps keep the tradition alive through storytelling and sharing food. Many of the restaurants near Great Smoky Mountain National Park are super-charged with southern history, and some of them even have foundings that date back as far as the early 1800’s.
Take some time to explore the areas around your cabin, or just stay in. It’s your vacation, and the choice is purely up to you! Many food options in the area offer delivery services to your doorstep. If you’re in the mood for BBQ, Country-cooking, or wholesome Mexican food, have a look at our top recommendations when it comes to Smoky Mountain restaurants:
1. Blue Moose Burgers and Wings
Blue Moose Burgers and Wings is a locally-owned, family-friendly sports bar. They have ongoing specials for vacationers, and are always showing the big games on high-quality screens. It’s only a 10-minute drive from the Summit Cabin Rentals Cabins, and the full menu can be found here.
Visit Blue Moose Burgers and Wings to enjoy a sports bar with a southern twist. Their entrée selection includes options like: Mozzarella sticks, fried jalapeños, boneless wings, bacon-cheeseburgers, fried shrimp platters, signature Pigeon Forge hot chicken, chicken fingers, and more. All meals can be capped with a cold, craft beer, and happy hour beverage options are available from 3pm-6pm, Monday through Friday. Settle into your vacation mode with Blue Moose Burgers and Wings. Friendly staff, traditional sports bar food, and this week’s best live-streamed games await you! Many restaurant structures in the area are a product and witness of the old settlements. If you’re interested in learning a bit of history, be sure to ask your Smoky Mountain restaurants if they have any historical stories, archives, or components that offer perspective on old stories. Mills, structures, or methods used in the areas surrounding Great Smoky Mountain National Park are a product of an extensive time of settling and hardships. Wherever you choose to dine, there is sure to be compelling histories, friendly hospitality, and excellent food.
2. The Old Mill Restaurant
The Old Mill Restaurant is roughly a 13 minute drive from Summit Cabin Rental’s cozy spaces. They specialize in serving classic southern breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for their guests, and the facility is nearly 200 years old! In the 1830’s, settlers built a water wheel on the Pigeon Forge river to power their stone-mill. This stone mill grew into the founding of Tennessee’s southern gem: The Old Mill. Since the 1830’s, there have only been 2 stones used to grind fresh flour to this day, and the mill is still in full-functioning order.
Guests are able to purchase freshly stone-ground flour, chocolates, desserts, and even pottery at The Old Mill’s various venues. The Old Mill Restaurant is attached to additional lodging services, a gift shop, and a distillery, so this area is a popular place for visitors to get the feel of Tennessee’s best dishes, drinks, and home-grown history. Visit The Old Mill’s site and choose-your-own-adventure at this historical Old Mill.
The different shops are bunched up in a single location, so guests are able to dine, shop, and experience the history of the area in a single trip.
3. Cielito Lindo
Cielito Lindo is an authentic Mexican restaurant that materialized its founder’s dreams. The name itself translates to mean: little, cute sky, and serves to remind the owners of their upbringings under the beautiful, blue ceilings of central Mexico’s sky. This restaurant is located about 15 minutes from the Summit Cabin Rentals cabins, and features a beautiful, friendly, and festive interior serving traditional Mexican cuisine.
The restaurant maintains its traditional standards despite its distance from the land it was all inspired from. Cielito Lindo shows that Mexican food in the south can be good! Let this charismatic restaurant set the standards for traditional Mexican cuisine in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area. They are serious about their chili, style, and atmosphere.
Just like the traditional Mexican song suggests, Cielito Lindo is a space that is based on sharing joy through food, music, tradition, community, and style. Their full menu can be found here, and ongoing specials are typically written on a erasable menu within the restaurant itself. Visit Cielito Lindo for a colorful experience, friendly service, and all sorts of incredible, hand-crafted cervezas. The staff is always ready to celebrate a birthday with a large, charismatic sombrero paired with a lively song and dessert. Enchiladas, tacos, fajitas, and desserts will leave you and your loved ones feeling satisfied and ready to relax at the cabin.
4. J.T. Hannah’s Kitchen
J.T. Hannah’s Kitchen has hungry guests covered: burgers, steaks, ribs, and pasta are only a few hot entrees that they offer, but people also venture here for the southern ambience. This favorite among Smoky Mountain restaurants is located a small 9-minute drive away from Summit Cabin Rental’s check-in facility, and houses guests in a large space with a polished wooden interior.
Fat barrels of distilled whiskey are stacked up to the ceiling, and chalk-on menu signs around the walls advertise freshly-milled flour, or cooked fowl. If you’re after a classically-southern cuisine experience, venture over to J.T. Hannah’s for a exemplary foodie adventure. A full menu with gluten-free options can be found here, and their full website, complete with a google-maps walkthrough of the interior, can be found here. Their staff is very friendly and welcoming, and requests that large parties call in advance to make a reservation. Have a great time, and be sure to try their signature strawberry shortcake for dessert.
5. Boss Hogg’s BBQ
Boss Hogg’s BBQ is a convenient 3-minute drive from Summit Cabin Rentals with dine-in or takeout options. It’s a locally-owned restaurant that specializes in serving slow-cooked meats basted in their signature BBQ sauces. The restaurant’s interior is cabin-themed, and covered in paintings and other décor that is telling of the surrounding cultural landscape. All in-house dishes are served in a traditional basket, on top of checkered red and white tissue paper. BBQ sauce is available to-go, and if you really like it, ask Boss Hogg’s staff members about bulk shipping options. They’ll gladly send their signature sauces to your home address to help cure vacation withdrawal!
Boss Hogg’s BBQ smokes and seasons their meats on-site daily, and offers the following popular options: pulled pork, ribs, beef brisket, and smoked chicken paired with coleslaw, baked beans, green beans, french-fries, or potato salad. Enjoy the friendly hospitality of the hardworking staff members, and inhale aromas of freshly smoked and seasoned BBQ dishes. A visit to Boss Hogg’s BBQ makes for a memorably classic BBQ experience at one of the top Smoky Mountain restaurants. Gather up friends and family, and prepare for a flavorful and traditional southern meal.
6. The Melting Pot
Have a true experience rather than just a meal at The Melting Pot in Gatlinburg! The Melting Pot is a great way to catch up with your loved ones while sharing multiple courses of delicious fondue. Dip your meats and veggies into gourmet cheeses blended and seasoned tableside. This interactive dining experience is something different from your usual restaurant experience and a great way to enjoy a tasty meal.
Whiskey, moonshine, fowl, stone-ground flour, and other traditional southern cuisine experiences will whisk you away from your familiar dishes, and launch you into the stories that founded the expansive forests of The Great Smoky Mountains. Enjoy your restful stay at Summit Cabin Rentals in The Great Smoky Mountains! We appreciate your time in reading our restaurant recommendations.
